Tourists flock to Darjeeling to escape from scotching heat

Darjeeling (West Bengal), May 22 (ANI): Tourists, both domestic and foreign, are making a beeline for Darjeeling, to escape the scorching heat of the plains.

Darjeeling, located in the Lesser Himalayas, with its varied landscape and spectacular beauty, has been a favourite and affordable destination not only for locals, but also for people across the globe.

Tourists seemed to enjoy the cool weather while taking photographs of the hilly terrain.

Raj Basu, a local tour operator and member of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), said: "We are very enthusiastic about Darjeeling, the reason being, in the past two years, with the peace coming back in Darjeeling, what has happened is that the number of tourists has increased not only in the town of Darjeeling, but across the villages around Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Hills are full of foreign and Indian tourists."

The main attraction of the valley is the famous Toy Train, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and runs between Siliguri and Darjeeling.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Toy Train was launched in 1896 by the then British Lieutenant Governor Ashley Eden, offering riders an opportunity to enjoy the majestic beauty of nature along the picturesque hills. In its initial years, this railway was named as the Darjeeling steam Tramway Company.

Tourists have also been enthralled by the beauty of famous tea gardens of the hilly town.

"It's very good. We have been here for one day and we are going to stay for couple of days it's very beautiful. We are just having a look around the town at this moment," said Thomas, an Australian tourist.

The state has 183 established tea gardens belonging to British era, besides over 500 tea gardens planted in recent years.

The tea industry in West Bengal forms the backbone of the state's economy. It contributes 21 percent of the total production of tea in India.

Tea from the gardens in Darjeeling is famous world over for their finest blends.

Tourism in Darjeeling, which accounts for substantial revenues for the state tourism industry, has been badly hit since 2008 when the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) revived a violent stir in support of forming a separate state of Gorkhaland but now it has gained momentum after peace prevailed in the hill town. (ANI)