Darjeeling is a town and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Lesser Himalayas at an elevation of 6,700 ft (2,042.2 m). It is noted for its tea industry, its views of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain.
The name Darjeeling comes from the Tibetan words “Dorje”, which is the thunderbolt sceptre of the Hindu deity Indra, and “ling, which means “a place” or “land”.
The history of Darjeeling is intertwined with that of Nepal, Sikkim, British India, and Bhutan. Until the early 19th century, the hilly area around Darjeeling was controlled by the Kingdom of Sikkim with the settlement consisting of a few villages of the Lepcha and Kirati people.