The name Darjeeling is a composition of 'dorje' meaning 'thunderbolt' and 'ling' meaning 'place' ... 'the Land of Thunderbolt'. The Nepalese had marched till the east of Sikkim in 1780 as far as Tista river. Due to a disagreement with Nepal, the British declared war against Nepal at the end of 1813. In 1816 by a treaty signed at Seagoulie, Nepal ceded 4000 sq. miles of territory and by the treaty of Titalya in 1817 the Rajah (king) of Sikkim was reinstated.
Darjeeling : The
town and hill station of Darjeeling lies in northern West Bengal,
India. Darjeeling district lies between 26° 31' and 27° 13' north
latitude and between 87° 59' and 88° 53' east longitude.
Altitude : Comprising mainly of mountain terrain, Darjeeling stands at a height of 2134m (7053 ft) on a mountain ridge.
Area : Darjeeling town covers an area of 11.44 sq. kms.
Population : About 100,000.
Languages spoken : English, Nepali, Hindi, Tibetan and Bengali.
Climate :
Almost every year Darjeeling's temperature drops below freezing during
the Winter season, from November to February. In Summer, Darjeeling is
delightfully cool with the maximum temperature reaching about 20°C.
Rainfall : Rain falls mostly during months from June to September. The annual recorded rainfall in Darjeeling is 320 cms.
Clothing : Light woollen for summer and heavy woollens for winter.
Best months to visit : March to mid-June and September to mid-December.
Say
Darjeeling, and your listener is bound to reply tea. The association is
well deserved. Darjeeling produces the world's most aromatic variety of
tea. The unusual mixture of soil, altitude, sunshine, rainfall and the
character of the people help Darjeeling produce the most fragrant of
teas.
Thus, good Darjeeling tea is indeed the champagne of teas.
It
was around 1834 when Lord William Bentinck appointed a committee "to
consider the question of importing seeds and plants from China; to
decide upon the most favourable localities for growing them..." Around
1835 seedlings and tea seeds were distributed to various parts of
India, mostly in the hilly regions of the country.