There are two types of hill station holidayers. One reaches the cool confines of a hilly resort, warms up with a hot cuppa and then slumps into bed and doesn’t wake up till lunchtime.

The other is off sightseeing in a jeep before room service can ask if the fireplace needs lighting up.

At the new Sinclairs Retreat in Kalimpong (www.sinclairshotels.com), you can easily be both. The resort at 6th Mile, Purbong Busty, sprawls over five acres of landscaped green so it’s tempting to just give up sightseeing and settle for a walk around the resort to explore its hidden retreats. And then you glance at the service directory casually lying on the table that offers a list of places to check out. Suddenly, you can hear the bustling Wednesday Haat Bazaar and smell the strong Kalimpong cheese at Lark’s Provisions and visualise saintly monks at the Durpin Monastery.

So t2 did what any good holidayer would do. Keep a day for snuggling under the covers and another for stepping out in the mountain sun! Here are some of the sights we savoured....