Luxury Kalimpong Tours

Kalimpong sits on a ridge above the Teesta and Relli rivers, about an hour and a half from Darjeeling by road. It was a Bhutanese and Sikkimese trading post before the British took it in 1865, and a staging post on the old trade route to Lhasa until the Chinese closed the Tibet border in the 1950s. That history left a mix of Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha and Tibetan communities, and a cluster of monasteries on the surrounding hills. The town is also known for flower nurseries — orchids, cacti and gladioli grown for export — a trade that took root among the Scottish missionary families who settled here. Deolo Hill above the town gives one of the region's clearer Kanchenjunga views on a good morning. It is quieter and less built-up than Darjeeling, and usually taken as a two-night add-on rather than the main stop.

Where To Stay

Elgin Silver Oaks, Kalimpong

Continue To

Darjeeling, Kolkata, Sundarbans