Darjeeling is also named as the “Queen of Hills”. Nestled in the footsteps of the Himalayas around 2100 m above MSL, it is a 3 hr drive from Siliguri/Pelling and a 4 hr drive from Gangtok.

Chowrasta is the heart and soul of Darjeeling. Chowrasta has a special place in the hearts of her natives as well as her guests. Chowrasta basically means the meeting point of four roads, in this case the roads are the Nehru Road, the Mall Road and Zakir Hussain Road. The present day Chowrasta is in tune to the needs of the present generation, providing free WIFI networks (though the question of the speed of the network is open to debate), with her new open air theaters encouraging the young as well as the experienced minds to cultivate their talents.

Many artists such as Adrian Pradhan, Bipul Chettri, Gingerfeet, Sikkim’s own Girish and the chronicles, Mahima Chaudhuri, Ranbir Kapoor, and Darjeeling’s very own Carnival ensemble have made it more merry.

Chowrasta has also been part of many conspiracies with many political meetings and various speeches made by various politicians have influenced the young minds. The various stores in Chowrasta have got their own ambience with the most classic and the vintage being the Oxford Bookstore. There’s no denying the fact that even an “anti bookworm” would be tempted to atleast purchase a novel or any other books. We can go to any place in the region, but will not be able to find a bookstore such as the Oxford Bookstore.

The coffee stores such as the Café Coffee Day and Fiesta, makes her more alive. The curio shops also gives that traditional edge to Chowrasta. Many festivals such as the winter carnival fest and tea and tourism fest are inaugurated in Chowrasta. Chowrasta also supports many local businessmen and women sustaining their economy. With the timeless green bench of Chowrasta relieving people of their stressful lives, or mending relationships, or encouraging a callous conversation among friends, Chowrasta is truly alive in the age of worry.

Families can also enjoy the horse rides from Chowrasta. They usually take full round of the mall road. Many historic monuments such as the St Andrews Church, Mahakal Dara, Gymkhana, Gorkha Ranga Manch Bhawan, the districts oldest library, and the famous Mayfair Hotel is situated along this mall road. Mall road or simply “the mall” is a very picturesque walk, where one can see the mountain ranges of Kanchandzonga and also get a good view of Jorethang and Namchi’s Char Dhaam and Samdruptse.The mall road comes alive with early morning joggers and various health fanatics taking a walk around the mall road, with the ringing of the bells from Mahakal Dara, and the shoutings and screaming of monkeys, and the early morning tea stalls, and many pilgrims going to fulfill their pilgrimage, and the school kids going to schools, and the fresh breeze of air directly from Kanchendzonga. One can also visit the Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park (home to many rare species) en route to the mall.