Darjeeling

Darjeeling became a British hill station after the East India Company acquired land here from the Chogyal of Sikkim in 1835. Tea experiments began around 1840 and proved so successful that the hills were soon covered in estates. Darjeeling Tea became the first product in India to receive Geographical Indication registration, with certificate number 1 issued in 2004.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway opened in 1881 to link the plains at New Jalpaiguri with the hill town. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1999 as an outstanding early example of a hill passenger railway; its 2-foot gauge line runs 88.48 km, with loops and zigzag reverses to climb the slopes, passing Ghum at 2,258 m.

Darjeeling is home to Nepali-speaking Gorkhas, Lepchas, Bhutias, Tibetans and Bengalis, and Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples, churches and mosques sit side by side. Tea is both the economy and the daily ritual, and momos, thukpa and sel roti are everyday foods. Prayer flags flutter along the ridges, and Losar, Dashain and Tihar are celebrated with enthusiasm.