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Hill Stations in West Bengal

Darjeeling - "The place of the Thunderbolt" is popular hill-resort in Eastern India. Also known as "The Queen of the Hills", Darjeeling lies 686 km north of Calcutta. Perched at a height of 2,134 m with a panoramic view of the mighty Himalayan peaks of the Mt. Khangchendzongna Cluster. It has attracted many generations of visitors to enjoy the joys of the cool and healthy climes of the mountains. Darjeeling was the very first "hill sanitarium" developed by the British to escape from the hot Indian summers of Gangetic Bengal.

DARJEELING (666 km from Kolkata) - Shiliguri : 90 km toy train route to Darjeeling, a world heritage route, major hill resort, New Jaipalguri (86 km, 7.5 hour) connects Darjeeling by narrow gauge. Trekking (April-May, Oct-Nov), gardens, museums, temples, handicrafts, fishing, Himalayan training institute, zoological park and museum, Lloyd botanical park, Rangeet valley rope way (5 km), Observatory hills, Ghoom Buddhist monastery (6 km), Senchal (11 km) : View of Everest and Mt. Kanchenjunga from Tiger hill, picnic spot.

Darjeeling Photo Gallery

Kalimpong - A relatively small and bustling bazaar town – is set among the rolling foothills and deep valleys of the Himalayas. The name, Kalimpong, has three different origins. One, it means the place where the local tribesmen gathered to organize field sports, second, it takes it’s name from the Bhutanese king’s minister’s stronghold and thirdly, it is named after Kaulim, a fibrous plant found in abundance in this region.

Mirik - Just two and a half hours away from Siliguri located at an altitude of 1767 m is Mirik, where one can smell citrus in the air tinged with the fragrance of cardamom and tea. A lovely hillstation, Mirik is once again not a very commercially exploited place yet.