Kurseong

Kurseong (Bengali: কার্শিয়াং Kārśiẏāṁ) is a town in the Darjeeling Hills‎ of West Bengal.

Understand
The town is also known as the "Land of Glorious Sunsets" because it faces the western part of the hills, the sunset is visible through a glorious mix of clouds turning crimson, yellow and red.

The Lepcha name literally means the "white orchid of the eastern Himalayas", which was apparently given by a European researcher who was researching an exotic variety of white orchid that could only be found at the height of Kurseong i.e. 4500 feet above sea level. This variety of the white orchid only grows at this height; hence the name the white orchid of the eastern Himalayas.

Get in
Kurseong is about 45 kilometres from Siliguri the gateway to North Bengal. The airport of Siliguri is known as Bagdogra while the railway station is known as New Jalpaiguri. It takes approximately 2 hours to reach Kurseong if you travel by Hill Cart Road, the comfortable and scenic link running parallel to the railway tracks or about one hour using the Old Army Road (Pankhabari Road), which is steeper.

Get around
You can either walk or flag down mini-vans. These vans show availability if they have a sign-up with their destination (for duty or reserved means you can't flag them down). From Kurseong railway station to Makaibari Tea Estate is around 60 rupees.

See
Kurseong is home to the costliest teas in the world. World-famous Castleton, Ambotia and Makaibari tea gardens produce the most delicate aromas of all black teas known to mankind.


 * Museum of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (on giddha pahar)
 * Park which offers a peaceful respite with two historical schools located there, The Victoria boys school and Dowhill School. The water source for Kurseong is also located near Deer Park and is a popular place for picnics. There is a park there where there are some caged animals for the visitors to see. The deer roam freely in the enclosed boundary.
 * Heritage churches such as St Andrew's church and St Paul's.
 * You can also visit St Mary's Hill and visit the grotto church.
 * Park which offers a peaceful respite with two historical schools located there, The Victoria boys school and Dowhill School. The water source for Kurseong is also located near Deer Park and is a popular place for picnics. There is a park there where there are some caged animals for the visitors to see. The deer roam freely in the enclosed boundary.
 * Heritage churches such as St Andrew's church and St Paul's.
 * You can also visit St Mary's Hill and visit the grotto church.

Do
You just relax or move around the town, tea gardens or the parks. Enjoy the cool mountain breeze. The town is small, clean and relatively uncrowded.


 * You can walk to Eagle's Crag (Durpin Dhara) or trek (or take a taxi) to Deer's Park. Eagles Crag provides a panoramic view of Kurseong Town and the plains of Siliguri.  You can view Himalayan peaks with their golden glow for sunrise.
 * Trek to Balason river, take local advice if you are attempting this.
 * Forestry museum.
 * Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Museum at Kurseong railway station.
 * This entire scenic route can be travelled (with huge pine trees on each sides and greenery and peace everywhere) from St Marys Grotto till Deer Park.

Buy
One can buy beautiful Tea from either Tea Estate's outlet country or from any number of shops.

Woolen garments, jackets are very attractive and can be purchased from shops located on T.N.Road.

Eat
Most of the hotels have their own restaurants. Road side eateries serve popular snacks like momo and thupka.



Drink
You can try local drinks such as "chaang" prepared from fermented millet and "tongba", another regional drink that is often served with boiling water.

Sleep
Government owned Tourist Lodge and Shyams provide cosy stay.

Go next
Continue with your journey to Darjeeling (about 35 kilometres), to Sikkim or Kalimpong. To catch a train or flight, you have to go to Siliguri. Reserve cars are available from Siliguri, Kings Travels, dial-098304-28401/ 093319–39486.