Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel, Darjeeling
Category: Low Budget
About the Youth Hostel
If you are looking for a bed in a fairly clean dormitory room in Darjeeling, and the location offering great views of the mountains, yet not far away from the Mall, then this youth hostel provides one of the cheapest accommodations that you can possibly get.
Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel is a fairly large three storied building located at a relatively higher elevation in Darjeeling compared to the Mall area and about 16 minute walk from the Mall. The location is quiet and away from the crowded areas of the township.
The higher elevation gives you a great advantage to get excellent views of Darjeeling township, the valley as well as the mountain peaks from the hostel balconies.
The Youth Hostel essentially offers dormitory beds with basic amenities, there are no private rooms here for families. It is primarily meant for students and low budget travelers.
The Youth Hostel has gone through changes in management in the past. Earlier it was managed by West Bengal Mountaineering and Adventure Foundation (WBMAF). Presently, it is under GTA (Gorkhaland Terrirorial Administration).
There has also been policy changes, for example, the eligibility criteria of travelers who can book beds here (which I have discussed in detail in a separate section below).
The Location
Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel is located on Zakir Hussain Road... it's a narrow road which originates from the Mall (steps ahead of the shops like Jolly Arts, Top Notch and Darjeeling Tea Corner) and winds up towards the Jalapahar area. The Youth Hostel is about 1km away from the Mall and at a locality known as Tungsung Basti.
Getting into Zakir Hussain Road from the Mall
While approaching from the Mall, you will need to walk because no vehicular traffic is allowed in the Mall area. It's a slightly uphill walk from the mall and takes about 18-20 minutes to get to the Youth Hostel. However, from the hostel, it's an easier downhill walk to the Mall and will take a little lesser time.
Taxis and cars can come up to the Youth Hostel by taking routes where vehicles are allowed. Once at the entry gate, there is a steep ramp-like approach-way that leads to the main hostel building.
Although cars can go up to the doorstep, the commercial taxis may tend to drop you near the entry gate below, and you may need to walk up to the building with your own luggage. There is also a stairway from the building to come down to the Zakir Hussain Road below. This is a shortcut and convenient to use if you are not carrying luggage.
Entry to Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel
TIP: If you are arriving by bus or shared cab that drops you at the lower town near
Chowk Bazaar area, it is better not to plan to walk up to Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel. It will be a long steep and tiring walk, particularly with luggage.
The walk can take anywhere between 35-40 minutes even if you take the shortest route (by taking the steep Coochbehar Road passing by Hotel Broadway). Rather, take a local taxi... it may charge you around Rs. 300/- (you won't get a shared taxi for this).
Accommodation
Accommodations within the Youth Hostel has also changed a lot over the years. It's a 3-storied large building. The rooms are spread across the two upper floors. There is no guest accommodation in the ground floor.
Earlier, there used to be two 4-bedded wood-paneled rooms upstairs along with attached bathrooms/toilets that could be booked privately by families. They are no longer available to tourists and now used as residence for internal staff.
The Youth Hostel presently has three operational large dormitory rooms, each with 10 beds. Two rooms are in first floor and one in the second floor. In fact, the second floor also has a similar 4th dormitory room which is currently not operational.
So, a total of 30 beds are available for booking at present. But the number of beds could change depending on when the 4th Dormitory becomes available. Rooms are generally kept clean. Cleaning and changing of bed sheets usually take place every 3 days. They provide white bed sheet for each bed along with a pillow and a blanket.
There are a couple of desks scattered around in each room which can also serve as lockers. You won't likely get a personal locker or a desk in your room. So, you will usually need to keep your luggage on the floor unless another bed is vacant.
Rooms are airy and have several windows for sunlight to come in. There are no fans or any other gadgets in the rooms like a TV. There is however a fireplace at one end of the rooms... I have never seen them being lit up though.
A great positive here is... all rooms on the upper floors are surrounded on all sides by running balconies. These are common balconies and have access from all the rooms on the floor. A door from the room opens out to the balcony.
A balcony of Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel
You get marvelous views from a balcony... from one side of the balcony you can see the township of Darjeeling and the valley. After dark, the sight of the lights coming out of the township looks majestic.
From the other side of the balcony you can get a great view of Kanchenjunga snow peaks on a clear day. In fact, you can see wonderful views of sunrise and sunsets from two sides of the balcony... a sight which a very few accommodations in Darjeeling can offer.
View of Darjeeling Town from the balcony
Toilets and bathrooms are common to all rooms on a floor. There is a designated enclosure on each floor, which has two wash basins, three toilets or latrines and three separate shower rooms. There are also a couple of urinals for men to use.
Out of the three toilets, one is of western style and two of Indian style. The three shower rooms have overhead showers and taps with a mixers. A common geyser in one of them serves all the three shower rooms for hot water.
There is no provision here for attached private bathrooms or toilets. Even if you book an entire dormitory room, you will still need to share the common bathrooms and toilets. However, the common bathrooms and toilets are usually kept fairly clean.
Amenities & Services
Ground floor of the building is grossly unutilized and there is no guest accommodation here. This is where the hostel staff are usually available.
There is a large kitchen space as well as a dining space in the ground floor which are now non-functional. Once the hostel served all meals to the boarders including breakfast, lunch and dinner. You only had to order your choice of food in advance which they used to prepare in a homely style and charged a very reasonable rate.
But food and drinking water are no longer available in the hostel. This is mainly because of scarcity of drinking water here. This means, you will need to manage the food and water on your own. I have discussed about how to do this in the next section.
The staff are all well mannered and friendly, although they have nothing much to do other than doing some housekeeping and cleaning work. You won't get any in-room service here other than when you ask for a blanket or a bed sheet.
The staff of the Youth Hostel do not officially book cars for tours and transfers, but can help if you let them know in advance. They can also provide the phone numbers of cab drivers or operators.
There is car parking space inside the premises of the Youth Hostel. So, if you are taking your own car, there is no issue of parking, and this is a big boon in Darjeeling.
Although there is no in-house WiFi at the Youth Hostel, your phone network should work (3G or 4G) provided you are using a network like Airtel or Jio. Vodafone is patchy.
The building shows signs of wear and tear. It perpetually seems to have some maintenance issues... one part of it or the other remains unusable, some services like availability of food and water, remain inconsistent. However, overall, it stands as a stout building and a known landmark in this locality.
How to Manage Food & Water?
Come out of the Youth Hostel and take a few steps along Zakir Hussain Road, you will find a few convenience stores selling essential items including bottled water, packaged snacks, etc. This is from where you can pickup drinking water and some eatables like biscuits, fruitcakes, chips, etc. But note that, these stores do not stay open till late evening.
Another few steps away, you will find a restaurant 'T Dolma' on one side of the road. They make Indian, Chinese and Tibetan dishes including momos and thukpa. The preparations are okay and the price is moderate. You can dine here or pack your food. There are a few other eateries further ahead and within walking distance.
What's Nearby?
There are no attractions near Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel other than the
Chowrasta Mall, which will take a downhill walk of about 15-16 minutes. While coming back up, it can be longer and a little tiring because it would be an uphill walk, although not steep.
In and around the Mall, there are many attractions including glittering shops of all kinds, restaurants, bars, and bakeries... this is the heart of Darjeeling.
Booking Rates
You can only book a bed or a number of beds for your group. There are no private rooms here for families. Also, all bathrooms and toilets on a floor are common and shared by all persons staying on that floor. There are no attached private bathrooms for any room.
A bed costs Rs. 250/- (fare updated: August 2024). You can not choose a specific room, the bed might be allocated in any room as per availability. You can however book all beds in a dormitory room and ask for a specific room, if available.
Who are eligible to Book?
Until 2023, women and families could also stay here. But, the policy has changed. Presently, only students (both boys and girls) and men are allowed to book beds here. Women (solo or in group) or families are no longer allowed in this hostel.
Why such a change in policy? When I asked the lady staff about this, she mentioned that it is mainly because of the limitations in bathroom & toilet facilities here... they are common to all while private washrooms would be more appropriate for families.
Another possible reason is... families and women guests often tend to book an entire dormitory room for privacy. Since beds are so cheap here, it is generally within affordable reach for families to pay for all the beds in a large room and book the entire room.
And that would deprive many students for whom this hostel is primarily meant for. Many beds might remain unutilized in order to cater to such privacy. But this is not the case with
International Youth Hostel of Darjeeling where families are still allowed.
Also, if you are a group of only girl students, I am given to understand that you can book up to 10 beds, all of which will be allocated in the same room. But if you are a group of boy students or a group of men, you can book more number of beds.
How to Book
Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel does not presently have any online booking system. You will need to call them up over phone and initiate the booking. The phone number is an unpublicized one and therefore not known to many. This is perhaps the reason why this hostel doesn't have great occupancy, although it has a good potential to attract the youth.
Phone Number for Booking: (+91) 9749231200
NOTE: I have observed that the above phone number sometimes remains switched off or keeps ringing with nobody picking up the phone. If that happens, try after sometime or some other day. There is no other phone number as of now.
Once you connect with the staff, mention your requirements, and the staff will let you know about the availability of beds. If finalized, they will then send you the bank transfer details over text SMS or WhatsApp. You can then pay the full amount or 50% of the amount and then pay the balance on arrival.
You can also do 'on the spot' booking if beds are available. Foreign nationals can also stay in the hostel as long as they fulfill the policy requirements as mentioned in the previous section. If foreigners have issues with bank transfers, they can take help of a local travel agency to do the booking.
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