Kurseong
A hill town about 30 km south of Darjeeling, known as the land of white champaca, with a toy train running through its streets, Eagle's Crag viewpoint and Netaji's former house.
Kurseong lies about 30 km south of Darjeeling at an elevation of about 1,450 m. Its name means land of white champaca in the Lepcha language, and its climate is milder than Darjeeling's. The toy train of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway runs through the town's central street, and Kurseong station has a small railway museum. Key sights include the Eagle's Crag viewpoint, where you can look out over the plains and Kanchenjunga on clear days. Netaji Museum is the former house where independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose was once kept under house arrest. There are also the colonial-era boarding school and Dow Hill, a forested hill with a reputation for being haunted. Tea gardens surround the town, and it is often visited on the same day as the Makaibari Tea Estate. It is about 1 to 1.5 hours by hired car from Darjeeling, or you can take the toy train.
Opening hours
Tea gardens about 08:00–16:00 (factory often closed Sun)
Nearby sights
- Makaibari Tea Estate
- Mirik Lake
- Tiger Hill Sunrise
- Ghum Monastery (Yiga Choeling)
- Batasia Loop
- Dali Monastery
- Japanese Peace Pagoda
- Rock Garden (Barbotey)