
Darjeeling is a mesmerising hill station located in West Bengal and is a
divine amalgamation of lush green hills, beautiful serene monasteries,
tea plantations and the amazing toy train. The city is also known as the
Queen of Hill Stations and it's name comes from the Tibetan word
'Dorje' which means a precious stone or the thunderbolt and 'ling'
meaning place, thus Darjeeling means the land of thunderbolt. At one
point of time, Darjeeling was the most preferred location of the
Britishers because of its cool climatic conditions and lush mountains.
It is also very famous in the world for it's Darjeeling tea. Being in
Darjeeling and sipping the hot cuppa tea is priceless. The town has a
total population of over 132,016 people and is ethnically diverse with
the common languages spoken being Nepali, Tibetan, Hindi, Bengali and
English. Months from March- May and September-November are considered
the best time to visit this heavenly place. In the month of July,
Darjeeling gets heavy rainfall and due to the rampant deforestation and
the poor planning, landslides occur.Thus, the rainy season should be
avoided while planning a trip to Darjeeling.

One of the major attractions of Darjeeling is its toy train which was
built in the late 19th century and runs from Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage
site. Its tracks rise from sea level to an altitude of over 7,500 ft in
just about 70 km. In order to overcome these gradients, the train does
Zigzag, reverses and loops, the most famous being the Batasia Loop,
where the train does a complete figure of eight. The train covers about
83 km in six or seven hours, so you have plenty of time to breathe in
the fresh mountain air.

The mighty Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world 8586 m
is one of the eye catching beauty of Darjeeling. The path to ascend the
mount is full of hardships, but the feeling that you get when you are at
the summit and are seeing the world from the top, is incomparable.
However, you shouldn't be disheartened if are not able to see the view
from above, not everybody can summit Kanchenjunga. You can view the
beauty of Kanchenjunga from Tiger Hills, the sunrise tour is the most
famous one amongst the tourist. One can also watch the panoramic view of
Ranjit River and the green tea plantation of the city through the
Passenger Ropeway. This is the first passenger ropeway in India and
covers a distance of 5 km from North point to Singla Bazaar. Visiting
Darjeeling and not paying a visit to the tea gardens is a big mistake.
The tea garden which are located at the rolling slopes of the hills are
going to charm you without a doubt. You can visit the Badamtan Tea
Estate, which was once, one of the tea company owned and managed by the
British. It is located across the Ranjit River. You can purchase first
flush tea, which fills the estate with sweet flavor and fine aroma.

Fast Facts
Temperature
Summer 14.9 - 8.6 C
Winter 6.11 - 1.50 C
Best Season
March to Middle June and October to December
Getting to Darjeeling
AIR
Bagdogra is the nearest airport connected by flights to major cities like Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati.
RAIL
Nearest railway stations New Jalpaiguri NJP that is directly connected by rail to all the major places in India.
ROAD
Darjeeling is connected by good motorable roads to all places in India.
Darjeeling is
686 km from Kolkata
80 km from Siliguri
32 km from Kurseong
51 km from kalimpong
114 km from Gangtok
86 km from New Jalpaiguri
Air Distance from places (in Kms)
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Delhi to Darjeeling 178 Kms
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Mumbai to Darjeeling 891 Kms
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Bengaluru to Darjeeling 1564 Kms
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Chennai to Darjeeling 1554 Kms
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Kolkata to Darjeeling 496 Kms
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Siliguri to Darjeeling 36 Kms
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Hyderabad to Darjeeling 1073 Kms
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Patna to Darjeeling 158 Kms
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Ahmedabad to Darjeeling 444 Kms
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Bhubaneswar to Darjeeling 752 Kms