EDUCATIONAL TOUR IN DARJEELING

BENGAL NATURAL HISTORY MEUSEM

1.The Bengal Natural History Museum is at a distance of around 1 km from the railway station.[Exact location: Below Chowrasta on the back side of Gorkha Rangamancha Bhawan or Bhanu Bhawan].It remains open from 9 am to 5 pm on all days except on national holidays. The Museum was built in the year 1903; the idea for starting the Museum was to provide the visitors to have an opportunity to obtain information about the birds and butterflies of the hill areas. At that time there was no intention that the collection should be such which would provide the students to study the fauna of the hills. Due to such unsatisfactory reasons new building was formed in 1915.The Bengal Natural History Museum was thus formed in 1923 for the management of the museum. 

BOTANICAL GARDEN

Liyod's Botanical Garden locally known as Fulbari was established in the year 1878.Its about 0.5 Km below from Darjeeling Market [or 2.5km from Darjeeling Toy Train Station].The purpose of the garden is to preserve forest species like bamboo, rhododendron ,Orchids, Cactus few medicinal plants and other forest plants. The place is beautifully decorated with beautiful flowers around the area of 40 acres. Visitors are authorized to have look around the place without any restriction except few conditions, that they should not perform any type of unusual activities such as picking and touching flowers of the garden, smoking inside the gardens.

HIMALAYAN RAILWAY, STEAM ENGINE TOY TRAIN

Darjeeling is in the distance of 88 km from New Jalpaiguri or 77 km from Siliguri,There are several ways to reach Darjeeling, one can take local vehicles or buses but one should not miss out the pleasure of the travelling with the steam engine Himalayan Railway ie; Toy Train . The Toy Train is a 60 Cm (24 in) narrow gauge railway which has been declared as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999 for being an example of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region of the area and it was too considered a model for developments of same transportation system around the world, The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway DHR} is the second one they have the honour. The Toy Train chugs uphill via Tindhar, Kurseong, Sonada, and Ghum finally to Darjeeling.

 DARJEELING ZOO

Adjacent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, there is high altitude wild life park and new home for Siberian Tiger, Himalayan Black Bear, Deer, Red Panda, Snow Leopard and Birds. (The Snow Leopard breeding Centre was started on 1986 to breed Snow Leopard in captivity with the help of international Snow Leopard captive breeding project)

 HAPPY VALLEY TEA ESTATES

Darjeeling is the land of world famous Darjeeling Tea which has been prized above all other black tea, especially in the United Kingdom and other British Empire. There are many tea estates (also called "tea gardens") in Darjeeling, each producing teas with different character in taste. Some of the popular estates include Arya, Happy Valley, Chamong, Glenburn, Lingia, Castleton, Jungpana, Makaibari, Margaret's Hope, Rishihaat-Bloomfield and others like Abmotia, Balasan Arya tea estates.

SCIENCE CITY (KALIMPONG) 65KM ahead from Darjeeling. Located on Deolo Hill, Kalimpong, You can see the scientific object for display and awareness. And has garden with activites for children.  

SCIENCE CITY (KALIMPONG)

65KM ahead from Darjeeling. Located on Deolo Hill, Kalimpong, You can see the scientific object for display and awareness. And has garden with activites for children.

HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINEERING INSTITUTE

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) was established in Darjeeling, India on November 4, 1954 to encourage mountaineering as an organized sport in India. The first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary sparked a keen interest in establishing mountaineering as a well-respected endeavour for people in the region. With the impetus provided by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, HMI was established in Darjeeling. Tenzing Norgay was the first director of field training for HMI.

HMI regularly conducts Adventure, Basic and Advanced Mountaineering courses. These are very comprehensive courses. They are also highly subsidised to encourage mountaineering as a sport

MUNGPOO CINCHONA PLANTATION

   As evident, Mungpoo has been conserved for cinchona plantation since the midnineteenth century. Cinchona is planted for its bark to produce quinine and allied febrifuge alkaloids, used for medicinal purpose to cure malaria. The majority of population here has been relying on Cinchona plantation as the main source of their livelihood.

The cultivation, on an extensive scale, of those species of cinchona which contain
quinine and allied febrifuge alkaloids in their bark was begun in 1864.The plantation was started with one hundred plants each of Cinchona succirubra and Cinchona officinal is, and two plants of Cinchona calisaya, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet. A factory was established at Mungpoo in connection with the Rangbi plantation. This factory was equipped with the simplest of appliances for the extraction. Extraction started in 1871, expansion in 1887 and the present factory premises was established in 1905. However, in recent years, with the possibility for artificial production of quinine, its natural extraction has declined. Cinchona is a tree. People use the bark to make medicine.
Cinchona is used for increasing appetite; promoting the release of digestive juices; and treating bloating, fullness, and other stomach problems. It is also used for blood vessel disorders including hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and leg cramps. Some people use cinchona for mild attacks of influenza, swine flu, the cold, malaria, and fever. Other uses are for cancer, mouth and throat diseases, enlarged spleen, and muscle cramps. Cinchona is used in eye lotions to numb pain, kill germs, and as an astringent. Cinchona extract is also applied to the skin for hemorrhoids, stimulating hair growth, and managing varicose veins. How does it work?

Cinchona bark stimulates saliva and stomach (gastric) juice secretion. It contains quinine, which is a chemical used to treat malaria.