History of Darjeeling

The History of Darjeeling covers the history of Darjeeling town and its adjoining hill areas which originally belonged to Sikkim. These areas eventually became part of British India and are now located in the Indian state of West Bengal, which is intertwined with the history of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Bengal and Great Britain. Part of the state of Sikkim, Darjeeling became part of an important buffer state between Nepal and Bhutan. The British, using the area as a sanitorium, found that the climate provided excellent tea-cultivating conditions and soon began to grow tea on the hills of Darjeeling. Darjeeling tea remains a world-renowned export from Darjeeling.