Best time to visit : December to May
The love of nature, an inclination to green fauna and an attraction to snow capped mountains lure travellers to the hill station of Kurseong, situated in West Bengal. The hill station is also famous for beautiful white orchids, grown here extensively. Tea estates and toy train rides are also major tourist attractions of Kurseong.
The quiet paths, cool atmosphere and vast stretches of greenery are ideal for honeymooners. Situated in Eastern India, the place has a scenic beauty that can soothe your senses. This place can also be visited alone by those who wish to lead a quiet life away from the daily prosaic life.
Facts
Kurseong comes from the word Kharsang, which means ‘the land of white orchids’. This hill station is clean and peaceful. Around 1880s, this place served as a tourist destination and as the place where the sick chose to recuperate. The place has long served the need of medical place during the British period and now has emerged as a major tea plantation hub.
The place though rich in its scenic beauty fails to offer you lavish cuisines. The food served in the local joints is simple. Tea, omelette and packaged snacks can be bought from local eateries. The Aastha Restaurant and Amarjeet Restaurant are some multi cuisine restaurants at Kurseong. You can treat yourself to Momos and dumpling, found at almost all the eating joints. The dumpling is modified and made the Tibetan way, so the twist in taste can be expected. The local drinks made of fermented millets by the name of ‘Chaang’ is quiet famous in this area.
Known for its tea cultivation, the markets at Castleton, Makaibari and Gumtee offer a wide variety of teas to choose from. The tea lovers can choose from four main types of tea leaves- black tea, strongly flavoured oolong tea, green tea and organic tea. One can also shop woollen clothes from shops on the Tenzing Norgay or Hill Cart road. Original Tibetan artefacts, handmade items and prayer items are high on demand too.
Nearby Places:
- The picturesque hill station of Mirik, known for its Orange Orchards, is 10 km. away from Kurseong. A detour to this hill station with its beautiful view of lake lined by garden and pine trees with the splendid sight of the Kangchenjunga is a must visit place around Kurseong.
- A 32 km. travel form Kurseong is Darjeeling, popularly termed the ‘Queen of Hill Station’, for the beauty of snow caped mountains and lush green gardens.
- On the toy train route, you can visit Ghoom and Batista Loop which are famous tourist attractions. Ghoom is famous for its Buddhist monastery and Tibetan manuscript and Batista Loop houses a famous war memorial.