DARJEELING ROPEWAY
AN ELGIN EXCLUSIVE FEATURE By Katyayini Kesharwani
Hop in the gondola, float through the air, and savour supreme mountain views in all of Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Ropeway provides a panoramic view of tea gardens, houses, and always amazing Himalayas.
Image by @shadesofmediocrity, Instagram
And suddenly
We’ve woken up from
Our complacent slumber
The illusion of invincibility
And suddenly, it so occurs
We’re all but hanging
Utterly on faith.
For incomparable views of Darjeeling and its alpine ambience, the Darjeeling Ropeway offers vistas and sights that are befitting of postcards. The first cable car system in India started in 1968 and is a 45-minute ropeway ride running from Singamari to Singla Bazar. Perched at a height of 4,260m, this ropeway is considered as the longest and highest ropeway ride in Asia.
On a ropeway ride, one can experience the most striking sights of the township, all through the bird’s eye view midst the clouds. It gives you a feeling of flying over lush verdant valleys.
Image by @izsarah, Instagram
It was initially established to cater to the tea gardens at the valleys below which did not otherwise have an easy entrance. It Started with just one cable car or a gondola and was later upgraded to accommodate 16 cable cars each having a capacity of six persons.
Autobiography of a “Ropeway Cabin”
From the cable car, you can get an astonishing view of the valley below, witness the spread of lush green tea gardens on the hill slopes, flowing rivers, forests, waterfalls and above all the magnificent view of the Eastern Himalayan range including the snow-capped peaks of the Kanchenjunga.
