Tea estate walk near Madarihat
The Dooars produces strong CTC tea, mostly for the Indian market, from flat gardens shaded by tall trees. Around Birpara and Madarihat the main road runs through estates where you can watch women plucking from March to November, with the factory chimneys standing among the bushes.
Garden roads are often public, but the factory and the workers' lines are private. Some estates allow a factory visit if you ask at the office in advance or your lodge knows the manager. Walk in the early morning or late afternoon, keep to the roads and watch for elephants, which cross tea gardens at dusk.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
Can I visit a tea factory near Jaldapara?
Sometimes. Dooars tea estates are working businesses, and factory visits depend on the manager's permission and the season. Ask your lodge to phone ahead. There is no regular public tour like those in some Darjeeling gardens, so treat a visit as a favour and keep it short.
What kind of tea is made in the Dooars?
Mostly CTC tea, the strong granular tea used in Indian milk tea, along with some orthodox leaf tea. The gardens are on flat land at low altitude, unlike the steep high gardens of Darjeeling. Buy a packet from a local shop or garden outlet for a few hundred rupees.
Is it safe to walk in tea gardens at dusk?
Avoid it. Elephants, and sometimes leopards, move through Dooars tea gardens around dusk and at night. Walk in the morning or mid-afternoon, keep to the main garden roads and ask locals if elephants have been seen nearby that day.
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