Cradled between the Deolo and Durpin Dara Hills, Kalimpong is a beautiful hill station perched at the height of about 1250 meters. This small town of 9 sq. km. houses a population of around 40,000, comprising Nepalese, Bhutias and Lepchas.
The best part about Kalimpong is the serenity with its stunning beauty. Nestling in the lush green mid ranges of the Himalayas, this hill station has an incredible stunning backdrop of towering snow-capped peaks. There are three lines of origin of the name of the town. Kalimpong means king's minister's strong hold, a Bhutanese word, but also called Kalimpong in local dialect meaning "black spur". As per Lepchas, Kalimpong means 'ridge where we play' as the local tribesmen used to organize field sports while not engaged in agricultural pursuit which gave the town its name. It was ruled by Bhutan for 155 years, and was annexed by the British only in 1865, after which it flourished as a center of wool trade with Tibet. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity with their respective Gumpas, unusual churches, temples, monks and missionaries have a jovial coexistence in Kalimpong. Somewhat secluded and tucked away in the corner under big Darjeeling umbrella, Kalimpong offers a quiet and relaxed holiday, against the backdrop of the Kanchenjunga.
Kalimpong has some of the most exotic flowers and is famous for its orchids' nurseries. The local weather and the soil structure is perfect for the growth of exotic flora because of which it gets the name the city of orchids. With beautiful orchids, old colonial bungalows, scenic viewpoints and above all the panorama of snows is what Kalimpong is all that a traveler wants.
