Darjeeling, Relaxing Holiday in West Bengal
Darjeeling, popularly known the ‘Queen of the Hills’, is a famous hill station situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Situated in the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalaya at an average elevation of 2,050 meters above the sea level, Darjeeling is a favoured tourist destination famous for tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways.
Darjeeling got its name from the Tibetan words ‘dorje'(the thunderbolt, the weapon of Indra) and ‘ling’ (land), which gave it the meaning of ‘the land of thunderbolt. Though the earlier records of Darjeeling are obscure, it is evident that the Raja of Sikkim ruled this land. The Gorkhas of Nepal captured Sikkim, during their invasion of Sikkim. Darjeeling became a part of British Sikkim, when the British defeated Gorkhas in the year 1816.
Darjeeling was returned to the Raja of Sikim in 1817 who later gifted the hill territory of Darjeeling to the British East India co. in 1835. In 1850 the area of Darjeeling was expanded by the annexation of the territory under Raja of Sikkim and Darjeeling was converted to a Sanatorium in 1852. The district of Darjeeling was further expanded during the British conquests over Sikkim (1861) and Bhutan (1864). Post Indian Independence, Darjeeling became a major hub of tourism and tea industry.
Darjeeling offers a plethora of tourist attractions to its visitors, which range from gardens and scenic spots to cultural and religious centres. Some of the major attractions of Darjeeling are Batasia Loop and the War Memorial, Ava Art Gallery, Chowrasta and Mall, Rock Garden and Ganga Maya Park, Peace Pagoda, Observatory Hill & Mahakal Temple, Dhirdham Temple, Happy Valley Tea Garden, etc. Darjeeling tourism also includes other attractions such as Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Raj Bhawan, Step Aside and Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre. Lloyd Botanical Garden, Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Nightingale Park/Srubbery Park, Darjeeling-Rangit Valley Ropeway, Senchal Lake, the Tiger Hill, etc. are some of the attractions visited by nature lovers. Darjeeling tourism also offers monasteries such as Druk Thupten Sangag Choling Monastery (Dali Monastery), Ghoom Monastery, Tashi Dargyalingh Monastery (the Tamang Ghumba) and The Mag-Dhog Yolmowa Buddhist Monastery (Aloobari Monastery).
Darjeeling can be visited any time of the year, as the climate of this hill station is mild and pleasant with an annual averagemaximum temperature of 14.9 °C and a minimum of 8.9 °C. Darjeeling can be accessed by air, road and rail. The nearest airport to Darjeeling is at Bagdogra (88 km) and the nearest railway head is at Jalpaiguri (88 km). Bus services and smaller vehicles are available from Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Bagdogra to Darjeeling.
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