Darjeeling - An Introduction

08Darjeeling is the northernmost district of West Bengal. Darjeeling has often been referred to as the Queen of Hills and is a very popular tourist spot.

Headquarters : Darjeeling

Major City : Siliguri

Darjeeling is famous for three Ts : timber, tourism and tea. This region produces the best tea in the world and is also one of the most popular tourist spots in the country. Some of the best tea estates are Makaibari Tea Estate, Castleton Tea Estate etc.

The Darjeeling-Himalayan Railways which runs a toy train (narrow gauge) from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. It has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The main city of the region is Siliguri which is situated in the plains near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is the main commercial and business center of North Bengal.

There has been a recent upsurge of political unrest in the region centering the Gorkhaland demand by the Nepalese speaking population in the region.

South 24 Paraganas - An Introduction

This is the southernmost district of the state of West Bengal.

Headquarters : Alipore

This district is most famous for its Royal Bengal Tigers which inhabit the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and deltaic formations.

North 24 Paraganas - An Introduction

This is one of the southernmost districts of West Bengal.

Headquarters : Barasat

The Belur Math and the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple are very important religious shrines in the district.

Its references in history dates back to the 2nd century AD. It is situated on the Gangetic deltas of the Sunderbans.

Kolkata - An Introduction

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital of the state of West Bengal.

It was founded by Job Charnock in 1690 by joining the villages of Kolkata, Gobindopur and Sutanuti to form the city of Calcutta. Calcutta was the political and military headquarters of the British East India Company during the years of its imperial expansions in India. Calcutta was also the capital of British India until 1911 when the capital was shifted to New Delhi.

Kolkata is the largest city of eastern India and one of the four metros in the country.