General Information :

Area : 10.57 sq km

Altitude : 2,134 m above sea level

Population : 73,062

Languages : Bengali, Nepali, Hindi, and English

Religion : Hindus (77.95%), Buddhist (11.95%), Others (10.1%)

Annual Mean Rainfall : 3,200 mm

Maximum Temperature : 14.89°C

Minimum Temperature : 5°C

STD Code : 0354

Introduction

Darjeeling , the queen of all hill stations,famous for its natural beauty, clean fresh air,year round plesent weather and above all, the ever smiling and welcoming local people.The 3rd highest pick in the world,mount Kanchenjunga is very close to this lpece and also gives the clearest view.Darjeeling is widely known as visitors paradise because every day it offers something new to everyone ,may be the first time visitoe and may be the regular one.The morning bell comes to the vewers when the firts ray of sun touchesthe mountaina pick.This is tiger hill,a steep ride of five kilometers from Ghoom, is the place where one can witness this hevenly feelings.Here the air is chilly ,but unique to get an experience.Here the new day starts with the world famous blend of tea,foggy and smokky weather,mountain view and smiling face of local Gorkhi people. Darjeeling is also a place to know Tibetan culture,Himalayan Tribal Life, and to see the Tibetian Monasteries, Pine Trees,Tea garden etc.very closely.

History

It was thanks to the efforts of Lloyd and Grant, two British officers that the Darjeeling came into being as a summer retreat for the employees of the Raj to escape from the heat and dusts of Calcutta now called Kolkata. The two officers who visited the area in 1829 were very much captivated by the beauty of the place and decided to set up a sanitarium for employees of the British Raj.

Places to visit in Darjeeling

Batasia Loop :

This railway loop is an interesting example of engineering. At this loop the toy train takes a very unique turn. This loop is just five kilometer from the main town of Darjeeling. This place also has a very good market where you can buy the purses, bags and other decorative items made by the local women at very reasonable price.

Bhutia Busty Gompa :

With the back drop of the Kanchenjunga range stands a monastery called the Bhutia Busty Gompa. This monastery was shifted from the observatory hills to the present place. The Gompa is a branch of the Nyingmapa sect's Phodang Monastery in Sikkim. The monastery is not far from the chowrasta and is very tastefully decorated. It also has a library which has a copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Botanical Gardens :

This place is worth a visit for its exotic and exclusive collection of a variety of Himalayan plants, flowers and orchids. This place is near the taxi stand. The gardens also has a green house.

Chowrasta :

This one of the important shopping places in Darjeeling . Here the Nehru Road and the Mall Road Intersect each other. The snow capped peaks of Kanchenjunga are visible from this place. Near Chowrata are several Hindu and Buddhists temples. This place is over flowing with foreign tourists. You can also enjoy a pony ride form this place.

Dhoom Gompa :

About 8 kms from Darjeeling is the Dhoom Gompa. Here a very beautiful statue of the Maitrayie Buddha ( prospective Buddha) is established. The Monastery has also preserved some of the rare handwritten Buddhist manuscripts.

Kalimpong :

Teesta ,the crown of this queenee valley is spreaded the tinny town Kalimpong. The view of Mac Farlane Church welcomes the tourists with open hands to this nature's paradise Once, it was the headquarters of a Bhutanese Governor. The word kalim means king's minister and pongmeans the stronghold. The place is situated at an altitude of 1250 meters and covers arround 3.5 square miles.

Dr. Graham' s Homes school which was founded by Dr. John Anderson Grahman in 1900 is one of the main attrctions of Kalimpong.. This has been built on the slopes of Delo Hill,approximately three kilometers away from the town.Visitors who wants to witness a bird' s eye view of the picturesque place has to go to Durpin Dara, an observatory point at hill top, from where he or she can get an overall view of the mighty Himalayan ranges.There are numbers of monasteries in this area, among them the Pedong monastery and Thongsha Gompa are the oldest and mostly known.. Another monastery is the Tharpa Choling Monastery which has been constructed in 1937 by the Yellow Hat sect , is situated at Tirpai Hill at a distance of arround two kilometers from Kalimpong.

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute & Museums :

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is on the West Jawahar road. The institute runs courses for training mountaineers as well as has the very good collection of mountaineering equipments which have been used in various mountaineering expeditions and other wise. Specimens of Himalayan flora and fauna are also kept here. The record of attempts made to conquer Mt. Everest has been kept in the Mt.Everest Museum. The institute also screens short films on mountaineering. You can also view the Himalayan peaks through the Zeiss Telescope given to the Nepalese Maharaja by Hitler. Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was the Director of this institute for many years and he was cremated near the institute after his death in 1986. Near the institute is Srabri which gives a very good view of the Single valley and the Kanchenjunga range. One can sit at Srabri and feel the cool breeze from the valley.

Kanchenjunga View :

From Darjeeling one can have the best, uninterrupted view of the worlds third highest peak. Bhan Bhakta Sarani provides one of the enthralling views of these snow capped peaks. The Chowrasta also gives you a good sight to the Kanchenjunga peak.

Natural History Museum :

The museum has a collection of over 4300 specimen . Established in 1903, this natural history museum packs in its folds a rich collection of fauna found in the Himalayas and in Bengal. Among the attractions are included the estuarine crocodiles. This unique museum also has a good collection of butterflies. The mineral forms of various stones are displayed in a very attractive manner in the museum.

Accessibility :

By Air : The nearest Airport to Darjeeling is Bagdogra.It gives arround 100 km journey to Darjeeling.

By Road : Shiliguri is also well accessed by road ways and buses , minibuses jeeps run every thirty minutes or so from Siliguri to Darjeeling,Mirik,Gangtok Katmandu and other places.