Review: Darang Tea Estate, Dharamsala

027The privately-held Darang Tea Estate, roughly midway between Palampur and Dharamsala, is synonymous with warmth, hospitality and heavenly home-grown, home-cooked organic food. For pretty much every ingredient that goes into your meals comes freshly produced from their farm:  fruits, vegetables, juices, dairy products, you name it.

The gracious hosts, Neeru and Naveen, leave no stone unturned to ensure your stay is 025completely comfortable. They are assisted in no small measure by their three friendly canines: Layla, Simba & Brandy. And that lovely machaan that Naveen has built for his grandchildren is bound to be a big draw for other kids, too. All meals are served in the family dining room in the main house, though guests are welcome to enjoy a cuppa in the veranda, or snacks around a cosy fireside. Neeru’s finger-licking cakes, sandwiches, jams, pickles, preserves and cereals are the kind legends are made of. 024-001

As accommodation, the 70-acre estate offers two quaintly rustic cottages with two bedrooms each, as well as, one room in the main house that justifiably claims heritage status. A tiny old-fashioned factory, woodlands, forested hillsides, tea-gardens, and a mountain stream variously dot this 150-year-old plantation. Lovingly maintained and invitingly decorated, the foliage-enveloped cottages are placed at a convenient distance from each other, and the main house, to provide maximum privacy to guests.

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