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Darjeeling, history

The British colonizer had made Calcutta (Kolkata) the capital of the British Indian Empire from 1773 to 1912. The capital experiences a tropical monsoon climate, in other words very wet during the rainy season and high temperatures throughout. the year. This is not exactly the kind of climate that officials and other English nationals wishing to settle in the colony are used to ...

Very quickly they discovered the charms of Darjeeling, a city located on the foothills of the Himalayas, at an altitude of 2000 meters. The freshness that Calcutta lacks quickly makes it a hill station where the British meet on weekends, in fact whenever they have the chance.

The city was founded by the British East India Company.

Darjeeling is located in the state of West Bengal, in northern India.

tea

To many people, the name Darjeeling evokes more of excellent tea than a city. The quality of Darjeeling tea is well established. The geographical location and climate of the Darjeeling region provide ideal conditions for this culture. The British, particularly fond of tea, developed this culture in the foothills of the Himalayas to counter the Chinese virtual monopoly for the sale of tea.

Darjeeling tea owes its exceptional quality to the type of tea plant used (sinensis) but also paradoxically to a parasite which by eating its leaves causes a reaction which gives a taste similar to muscat to tea.

The quality of Darjeeling tea also explains the important part taken by counterfeiting. Far more tea is sold under the Darjeeling name than the region can produce.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Nicknamed the Toy Train, the railway line connecting Siliguri to Darjeeling railway line was built from 1879 to 1881. The route is 82 kilometers long with a drop of 121 to 2076 meters above sea level. Small steam train, the Toy Train is a World Heritage Site. The gauge of the rails is very small, since it does not exceed 60 centimeters. It would have been technically very complicated to create a railway with "normal" locomotives in an environment such as the foothills of the Himalayas.

the Yiga Choeling monastery in Ghoom (or Ghum)

A few kilometers from Darjeeling is the Ghum monastery, also called Yiga Choeling. This Buddhist monastery is of Tibetan obedience. Ghum Monastery is modest in size compared to other monasteries in the region.

Darjeeling

Traces of the British occupier can still be seen all over the city. The architecture of the houses as well as the many churches found there bear witness to this past.

about the place, Darjeeling:

Darjeeling is a city in the state of West Bengal in India, at the foot of the Himalayas. The city was appreciated by the English colonizer for its freshness and therefore became a holiday city. They are the ones who introduced the tea culture that made the reputation of the region.