Living On The Edge

Darjeeling has reinvented itself very little since the British founded it in the late 1880s as a sanatorium. Darjeeling soon became a hill station. To date, this town on the edge of a mountain retains its lost in time quality. To visit Darjeeling is to enter a storybook world-hills carpeted in green, frothy rivers, vibrant flora, winding stairs to colorful temples that seem to brush the sky, and a ‘toy train’ chugging around the hillside. Darjeeling’s Himalayan railway is one of only two trains that have been accorded world heritage status. The hill resort is also a haunt for plant and animal lovers, fans of adventure sport, and of course, connoisseurs of tea. The tea industry is what provides much of the employment in the area, and the Darjeeling variety of this beverage is often called the ‘champagne’ of tea.