Lepcha people
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The Lepcha are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,000. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, Darjeeling, the Koshi Province of eastern Nepal, and in the hills of West Bengal. The Lepcha people are composed of four main distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Dámsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ʔilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of Samtse and Chukha in southwestern Bhutan.
A group of Lepcha shingle cutters at Darjeeling in the 1870s
A group of Lepchas in Darjeeling (circa 1880)
Kinthup, a noted Lepcha Pundit, was a Buddhist pilgrim when he surveyed Nepal in the 1870s (photograph 1914).
Darjeeling
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Darjeeling is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft). To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.
Image: Darjeeling panoramic
Image: Darjeeling Train Fruitshop (2)
Image: Tea plantation Darjeeling
Darjeeling, Nepal, Bengal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Tibet