Darjeeling Mall, Chowrasta

 

 

The Chowrasta or the Mall is the heart of Darjeeling town. Located on top of Nehru Road, this is a flat open promenade where tourists and locals come to lounge in the sun, take a seat on one of the many benches scattered along the periphery, have a cup of tea and watch the wonderful views of the mountains and valleys all around, and of course, see people go by, kids play around and tourists do store hopping. 

 

 

 

Mall is the town center or the social center of Darjeeling. This is where some of the old and heritage stores are lined up on one side, and there is open view on the other side that's fringed by pine trees. If you want to feel the real vibe of Darjeeling, watch people and activities, this is the place to be. 

 

So why is the place known as Chowrasta Mall? The word 'Chow' means four and 'rasta' stands for roads. So it essentially means that the Mall is where four main roads meet. Here they are... 

 

 

There are however few other narrow lanes that also originate at the Mall that are not counted as part of the four main roads. One of them is the CR Das Road that leads down to the Step Aside Museum which has been created in the house where the freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das once lived. Another one is a narrow lane where the Mall Market (also known as the Bhutia Market) with many temporary stalls sets up. 

 

Darjeeling Mall - benches for relaxing 

 

 

Once you enter the Mall area from Nehru Road (which originates near Gandhi Road below), you will see a fountain that has models of fishes and pelicans on it. I have seldom seen this fountain operational though. 

 

The Fountain at Darjeeling Mall 

 

 

Next to it is the Bellevue Hotel overlooking the Mall and the Ara Restaurant & Bar at the ground floor. Further to the left, Dr. Zakir Hussain Road enters the Mall through a crowded bazaar or market area. On that road you will get all sorts of grocery items, vegetables, fruits and pickles. Further left on the boundary of the Mall are a number of small shops selling items like tea, curios, art & craft, gifts and souvenir items. 

 

Further on the left is the Police Assistance Booth. This booth is manned 24 hours by Darjeeling Police. They also keep filtered drinking water in a water filter and is available to the public as well. So if you are thirsty, you can come here and have a glass of water. It's free. 

 

One thing you will surely notice at the mall is many young local lads as well as local ladies with their ponies offering horse rides to children. Many elderly tourists indulge in horse riding as well. 

 

 

 

A short ride up to the Ranga Manch Bhawan, an auditorium along the Mall Road (west) costs about Rupees 200/- and a full round along Mall Road (i.e. starting from Mall road west and returning by Mall road east covering a distance of nearly a mile) costs about Rupees 400/-. You can however negotiate the cost. 

 

 

 

However, the Mall area is often made quite dirty and smelly by these ponies. And lots of stray dogs on the Mall sometimes add to the irritants. Perhaps, the municipality needs to be more sensitive to this special area. You will also find lots of pigeons at the Mall. I don't know where they come from, but they are there all around even in the early morning hours. They sometimes fly very low and can be quite scary. Shopkeepers and tourists feed grains and puffed rice to the pigeons and therefore the Mall has become one of their favorite feeding grounds. 

 

Pigeons at the Mall, Darjeeling 

 

 

Several storekeepers on the Mall provide shelters and even feed the stray dogs. 

 

On the left of the police booth is the Golden Tips Teattoria, a tea lounge by Golden Tips having both inside seating as well as outside terrace seating. Further left you will see benches laid out and people sitting there enjoying the Mall activities. There are local vendors who sell tea and other small snack items like alu dum (spiced boiled potato) that are favorites to many as they sit and enjoy the atmosphere. 

 

Further left on the boundary is the Hawa Ghar, a large two storied concrete structure with slanted roof where cultural programs like Nepali dance and music are performed during the high season. 

 

Hawa Ghar at Darjeeling Mall 

 

 

The structure with a triangular roof is like an elevated stage. Chairs are laid out in the mall and people watch the shows sitting or standing on the grounds. The elevated platform facing the Mall is used for the program, while the lower space is used for preparations (more like a green room) and also as a kitchen to prepare food that are sold to the audience. Hawa Ghar is also used at times to deliver political speeches to the people of Darjeeling by the political leaders and dignitaries. On the left of Hawa Ghar there are again benches laid out for people to sit under the pine trees behind which is the grand view of the mountains. 

 

As you look further left, you will Mall Road (East) that goes out and makes a full circle around the well known Observatory Hill for about a mile and returns to the Mall about 100 yards left of its origin. 

 

Hawa Ghar and the benches 

 

 

In between the two entrances of the Mall Road, there is a huge golden colored statue of the Nepali poet Bhanubhakta Acharya. He wrote the Nepali version of Ramayana translating it from Sanskrit. He was born in 1814 and died in 1868. This statue was originally erected on June 17, 1949 and reinstalled on July 13, 1996 by the Nepali Sahitya Sammelan, a Nepali community. 

 

Poet's Statue at Darjeeling Mall 

 

 

Just next to the statue and on its right there is a special seating with a shade and having a board saying "Senior Citizens Only". You will find several old people, mostly locals sitting here. Update: In 2014, the nice park behind the poet's statue has been converted into a large concrete stage area for holding functions. During carnival time, many local bands also play music here. The senior citizens' shed has been removed. 

 

As you look towards left, you will now see a series of well known shops. First the outlet Tibet Art selling lots of artwork created by local and other artists. Next to it is Nathmulls Tea Store & Lounge where you can relish a cup of Darjeeling tea with cakes. Nathmull's is an old family run establishment in Darjeeling and offers some of the largest collections of Darjeeling Tea in packets. They also sell tea accessories. 

 

To the left of Nathmulls is another tea lounge Golden Tips - Tea Bar offering tea and snacks, as well as packaged Darjeeling teas of various types and grades collected from numerous gardens in Darjeeling.  

 

Darjeeling Mall with shops lined up on one side 

 

 

On the left of Golden Tip is the famous Oxford Book & Stationery, an old and one of the best book stores in Darjeeling. On its left is another famous store Habeeb Mullick & Son that was established in 1890 and has two sections run by two brothers respectively... it has been selling rare collections of artwork, curios, special jewelry and other souvenir items. 

 

Then there is a wine shop called Chowrasta Store, and finally the last one close to the entry at the Nehru Road is the cafe and restaurant called the Fiesta that has both inside dining as well as outside seating under umbrellas. 

 

The Mall offers a great opportunity for shopping. If you like to know about the shopping scene here, the various stores and their offerings, go through Shops in Darjeeling Mall. 

 

 

Location

 

The Chowrasta or the Mall in Darjeeling can be reached through different roads. The most popular is the Nehru Road that starts from Gandhi Road where the restaurant Keventer's is located. If you walk along Nehiru Road, it would be a little uphill walk through shops on both sides. It takes about 5-7 minutes by walk. Taxis are not allowed in the Mall area. 

 

Taxis can only come up to the stand near the junction of Nehru road and Gandhi road, or up to the Windamere hotel on the Mall road from where it would be a shorter and easier walk to the Mall. 

 

Check out Darjeeling Map to see the location of the place. 

 

Open Hours

 

Mall area always remains open and there is a police vigilance round the clock. However it is not advisable to hang around here late at night. All shops generally close by 8pm around the Mall. 

 

Related Articles

 

 

1) Check out Darjeeling Tourist Places to know about many other great sightseeing places.