The world's Best Tea and Darjeeling

Darjeeling is situated at around 2050 meters above sea level, in the north of India. Darjeeling is best known for its tea which is exported world wide and its toy train which was declared a world Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999. During the British rule of India, Darjeeling was developed into a hill station for the British wanting to escape the heat of the plains of India.

Darjeeling is nestled between hills and lofty peaks and the snow clad mountains of the Himalayas tower over the town. Mount Kanchengunga, the world's third highest peak at 8850 meters can be seen on clear days.

Darjeeling is rich in flora and fauna. The hills are covered in dense forests of sal and oak. Rare orchids are found here. Wildlife consisting of rhinoceros, elephants and the red panda are abundant here besides many types of birds too.

Darjeeling has come a long way since the days of the British. What was once a proud informal summer capital of the British Raj and a popular tourist destination, it is now sadly deteriorating under the constant strain of the agitations and clashes between the people of ethnic Nepali origin wanting a separate state and the West Bengal government of India .

The town often suffers from power outages and the electrical supply voltage is unstable, resulting in candel lit evenings at hotels and homes . Roads are narrow, and often damaged by land slides during the wet summer monsoon. Houses are built right upto the edge of the road and congested by traffic and people. Darjeeling schools which were built based on models of Eton and Harrow, used to enjoy a reputation as centers of educational excellence but now are neglected and run down, damp and sadly lacking the vitality of an earlier era. Haphazard planning of buildings and infrastucture and deforestation has lead to adverse effects on Darjeeling's climate. Periods of drought and heavy rainfall and floods have left its scars on the landscape. The tea estates have also been under constant pest attacks. It remains to be seen if Darjeeling can regain its past glory under the leadership of the DGAHC, the Darjeeling Gurkha Autonomous Hill Council.

All in all, it still retains some of its charm from the days gone by and many people still visit it or want to visit it.