Told in the hills
Mandarins in the hills of Darjeeling
Oranges have been grown in the Darjeeling hills for generations, and the lower, warmer slopes around Sittong, Mirik and the Kurseong valleys suit them best. The fruit is a small mandarin, loose-skinned and sweet, and it ripens in the cool dry months from November to January. For many families in Sittong, the orchard is a main source of cash income, sold to traders who carry the crop down to Siliguri and beyond.
The orchards have faced hard years. Ageing trees, pests and disease, and changes in rainfall have hurt yields across the Darjeeling hills, and some families have replanted or turned to other crops. Homestay tourism has given villages like Sittong another source of income, and many hosts now pair a winter visit with an orchard walk. Buying fruit directly from the grower, rather than at a roadside stall, keeps more of the money in the village.
Pinned to the board
Did you know
Sittong's mandarin oranges ripen between November and January, which is the busiest homestay season in the village.
Latpanchar, near Sittong, sits inside Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and is known among birders for hornbills.
The West Bengal government's cinchona plantations, which once supplied quinine, include estates at Latpanchar and Mungpoo near Sittong.
