TEA TOURS TO INDIA

Tea, locally known as 'chai', is an all time favorite beverage for the Indians. It is this magical leaf that makes Indian mornings refreshing and evenings relaxed. Although it is not exactly known where and when tea originated in India but commercial tea cultivation here commenced in the 19th century, when the Britishers started using acres of hilly areas of Assam for tea plantations. Today India is one of the largest tea producing countries in the world.

India is gaining importance as a popular tea tour destination. An Indian tea tour covers the lush rolling hills of velvety tea leaves present in Assam and Darjeeling in north-east India and the Nilgiri area of south India. Short treks are organized in the silent and pleasing terrains where you can witness acres of green cover till the horizon. Local women, in traditional attires, with baskets hung on their backs, can be seen in the fields, often chatting and laughing or singing a local rhyme.

Making your tea tour more memorable and educating are the factories along side the tea gardens, where there are special provisions made for the tourists to observe the processing of tea leaves. You can talk to the workers here and learn how they efficiently they make the fragrance of these tea leaves reach our kitchen and cups.

For a peaceful and pleasurable stay amid these enchanting vistas, you can easily book one of the luxurious resorts that are present along these tea estates. As soon as you draw out your curtains, you are welcomed by the fragrance of tea leaves thats brought to you by the fresh and cool winds of the hills.
To make your trip more exciting and fun-filled, you can get on with some adventure activities like hiking and jungle safaris.

Tea Producing Regions in India:

Assam:

Green misty hills of Assam, with mesmerizing natural beauty and calmness broken only by the chirping of birds and sounds of the local music, pure winds bringing a kind of freshness to the entire region simply win the hearts of travelers. Tea estates of Assam are famous all over the world for their quality and variety. Assam's more than a 100 tea estates together produce around 350 million kg of tea every year. The unique Black Tea of Assam is demanded worldwide for its strong fragrance and distinctive flavor. July to October months are mainly the plucking season for tea.

Darjeeling:

Nestled in the foothills of Himalayas, this beautiful city of West Bengal is known for its aromatic and rich tea which is branded as the 'Darjeeling Tea'. The sprawling tea estates of Darjeeling, including Makaibari Tea Estate, Margaret's Hope, Sungma, Castleton, Happy Valley Tea Estate and Glenburn Tea Estate, are spread in an area of 20,000 hectares. Though its contribution to the total tea production in India is as small as 3 percent, but the richness of its tea produce is incomparable to any of the tea produce in the world.

Nilgiri:

The picturesque landscape of southern India is ornate with elevations supporting tea plantations. The yellow and red color soils of the Nilgiri hills are irrigated with monsoons twice in a year, helping the cropping season to last for whole of the year. The tea produced here is compared to a mild and mellow liquor which smoothly settles on the taste buds. For a tea tour in Nilgiri, one can visit the Highfield Tea Factory, the Vigneshwara Tea Estate Factory and the Lockhart Tea Estate.