Darjeeling

Area:
11.44 Sq. Km (4.4 Sq miles)
Elevation:
7,000 ft. or 2,134 meters
Population:
83,000
Telephone Info:
Country Code: 91
City Code: 0354
Climate:
Summer: Min: 8.5 degrees C, Max: 14.8 degrees C
Annual Rainfall: 320 cm (126 inches)
Best Tourist Season:
April to Mid-June
Mid September to November
Best Mountain Views:
Mid Sept - Mid Dec
Recommended Clothing:
Light woollens and tropicals in summer (umbrellas and raincoats are useful) and heavy woollen
in winter.
Languages Spoken:
English, Bengali, Gorkha, Nepali and Tibetan

History of Darjeeling
The origin of the name Darjeeling is most likely from the Tibetan words Dorje which means
thunderbolt and Ling which means place or land. Quite literally, it is the Land of the
Thunderbolt. Originally, this was the name given to a Buddhist monastery atop the Observatory
Hill which over time became the name of the whole surrounding area.

Early History of Darjeeling
Historically, Darjeeling was part of Sikkim and the Kingdom of Sikkim extended as far as
eastern Nepal. However, the late 1700s saw a barrage of attacks from Nepal resulting in
Darjeeling becoming a part of Nepal. This changed in 1814 when the British East India
Company declared war with Nepal due to border disputes. The victorious British forced the
Nepalese to cede 4,000 square miles (10,000 km) of territory through a treaty signed at
Segouli at the end of 1816. The Rajah (King) of Sikkim was reinstated making Sikkim (including
Darjeeling) a buffer state between Nepal and Bhutan.
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Darjeeling
Ten years after the treaty, fresh dispute broke out and the Governor General William Bentick
sent two officers Captain Lloyd and Mr. J.W. Grant, Commercial Resident of Malda to restore
normalcy. The two officers found Darjeeling to be a suitable to establish a sanitarium (a type of
health resort) and the strategic location of Darjeeling as a gateway to Nepal and Bhutan was an
added bonus.

Geography
With an area of 1,200 sq. miles, the Darjeeling is shaped like an irregular triangle, the southern
region, the base, comprises the Terrai, a marshy low-lying area at an average height of 100 m
above sea level; the apex is formed by the Phalut ridge where Nepal meets India. The eastern
frontier lies along the rivers Tista and Rangeet, beyond is Rishi-La and Bhutan. The lower
regions of the labyrithine hilly forest-clad ridges, have been cleared for the cultivation of the
world famous Darjeeling tea. Started in the area of only 14,000 acres in 1872, it had risen to
7,87,000 acres by 1956. The town itself laid out by Lord Napier of Royal Engineers, is at an
altitude of 2,134 m (lies between 26 31' and 27 13' North Latitude and between 87 59' and
88 53' East Longitude); moving up the hills one is greeted by smiling tea gardens, changing to
firs, pines and fast moving torrents, while around 4,000 types of flowering plants and 300
varieties of ferns, including the rare tree fern. Beyond the town itself, modern elegant and
sophistacated, lies nature in the raw in hills, valleys and forest, unbroken and untamed.
Kanchenjunga
The 3rd Highest Mountain in the World: Five summits adorn Mt. Kanchenjunga whose name is
derived from the Tibetan words, 'Kanchen' and 'Dzonga' meaning 'Five Treasuries of the Great
Snow'. The highest summit is 28,156 feet and the second highest peak at 27,820 feet. Many
parts of Darjeeling offer spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain range and especially that
of the majestic Kanchenjunga.
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