Kurseong

Kurseong is a hill station and sub-divisional town in the Darjeeling district of the Indian state of West Bengal.Located at an altitude of, Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout the year.Kurseong is from Siliguri and is connected to the city by road and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The nearest airport is at Bagdogra and the nearest major railway station is New Jalpaiguri, which is about from the town. The economy is based primarily on education and tourism.EtymologyThe origin of the name is unclear; stories suggest it comes from the Lepcha language word for "small orchid", kurson-rip because of the little white orchids dotting the valleys, or perhaps the term for a stick made out of a local cane.HistoryThe original inhabitants were the Lepcha people, who named their home "Kurseong", because every spring it was alive and bright with Kurson-Rip orchids. In the remote past, Kurseong was a part of the Kingdom of Sikkim, even before the British came to India. However, in around 1780 the Nepalese conquered and annexed Kurseong and its surrounding areas. Then came the Gurkha War, which the Nepalese lost. The 1817 Treaty of Titalia restored Kurseong to Sikkim.