Darjeeling - a picture perfect hill station sitting atop a ridge at 2134m is replete with Buddhist monasteries, trekking trails and awesome mountain views. People flock here to escape the heat and humidity of the plains and beat the stress of city life.
The panoramic views of the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas are straight out of a postcard and provide a welcome relief from the dust and soot of urban India.
Darjeeling originally belonged to the independent state of Sikkim. Later in the eighteenth century, it was taken over by the Bhutanese and the Gurkhas. The British East India Company in its many annexes finally gained control of the town and developed its potential as a sanatorium, and a "rest and recreation" centre for the troops and a pass to Nepal and Tibet. Even today, the place is full of Sherpas, Gurkhas, Bhutias and Nepalis.