Singalila National Park

Singalila National Park covers the Singalila Ridge in Darjeeling district, along the border with Nepal. It is popular with trekkers for its wide views of the eastern Himalaya, taking in Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu.

The British government bought the area from the Sikkim Darbar in 1882 and declared it reserve forest under the 1878 Indian Forest Act. It became a national park in 1992 and was then opened up to tourism. The ridge was once a regular approach route for expeditions to Kangchenjunga, and in 1955 Tenzing Norgay welcomed the first climbers to reach that summit when they returned to Sandakphu. The name Sandakphu is of Nepali origin and is said to mean 'mountain of poisonous plants', probably after the Himalayan cobra lilies that grow there.

Forests of oak, bamboo, magnolia and rhododendron cover the slopes, with rare orchids, the endangered red panda and more than 120 bird species. Trekking, camping, mountain biking and climbing are the main activities.