Seeking relief from scorching heat? Darjeeling beckons you to do things beautiful this summer

Darjeeling: Summer has peaked early this year and cool climes are beckoning people looking for relief from the sweltering heat. The school summer holidays are also approaching and a visit to summer destinations is not only refreshing but also an education for children.

One is spoilt for choices in terms of destinations but Darjeeling remains an ever favourite. The hill station in West Bengal is famous for its tea plantations and for the views of majestic Kanchenjunga.

Pine trees, the toy train and walking tours and delicious street food - there is no dearth of memorable options in the quaint hill station.

Darjeeling is perched high in the Himalayas at an altitude of 7000 feet. During a visit to Darjeeling, one can hardly miss Mirik Lake a place to soothe the soul of a weary traveller. The magnificent Himalayas are mirrored in the Lake's placid waters. This is a lovely picnic spot nestled amidst the beauty of the mountains, where one can enjoy fishing, horse riding or go for a boat ride.

Darjeeling's best gift to its visitors is the dawn of a new day. The visitors are enthralled by seeing the exotic view of sunrise from Tiger Hill. Kanchenjunga the world's third-highest peak is magnificent and majestic and one can get a clear view of the peak on a sunny day.

Like many places in the Himalayas, half the fun is in getting there. Darjeeling has the unique attraction of the famous miniature train, which loops and switchbacks its way from the plains up to Darjeeling in a 10-hour ride. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage, this train has been in service since 1881.

Ghoom is a small hilly locality in Darjeeling. Ghoom Railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the highest railway station in India, which is situated at an altitude of 2,258 meters. The place is famous for Ghoom Monastery.

Darjeeling has been a favourite hill resort since the British established it as a hill station for their troops in the mid-1800s. Every year at the beginning of summer, the British would move lock, stock and barrel from Calcutta to Darjeeling, to escape from the heat and dust of the Indian plains.

In the 1840s, tea plantation was introduced in the area. And the Darjeeling tea went on to become the world's most famous and expensive tea.

A Darjeeling visit will remain incomplete without visiting the zoological parks in the city to see Red Pandas, which are only found in Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in the whole country. The zoo is internationally recognized for breeding programmes of Tibetan Wolf, Snow Leopards, and Red Panda. (ANI)