Kalimpong is a city in the far northern portion of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on a ridge of the Himalayan foothills at an altitude of 1250 meters (4100 feet), about found 50 kilometers east of Darjeeling and 80 kilometers south of Gantok. It has a population of approximately 50,000.
On possible etymology of the name Kalimpong is "minister's stronghold" in Bhutanese, referring to Bhutan's control of the city from 1706 until 1865 when it was ceded to British India in the Treaty of Sinchula. Dzongkha (the main language of Bhutan) can still occasionally be heard on the streets of Kalimpong, although the majority of its residents are Nepali-speakers. Many Tibetans also escaped to Kalimpong after fleeing the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet.
Other suggested etymologies for the name Kalimpong have included:
- from "ridge where we play" in Lepcha (cf. Lepcha, My Vanishing Tribe, A.R. Foning, ASIN: 8120706854)
- from "hillock assembly" in Lepcha (cf. The Unknown and Untold Reality about the Lepchas, K.P. Tamsang)
- from the fibrous kaulim plant found in abundance in the region
- from kali bong ("black spur") in the 'language of the local hill people'
The newest monastery in town, Zong Dog Palri Fo-Brang Monastery, was consecrated by the Dalai Lama in 1976. It contains a number of important texts brought out of Tibet after the Chinese takeover in the late 1950s.
Kalimpong is well known for its flower exporting industry (primarily orchids). It is also the site of an important regional bazaar.
Historically, Kalimpong was an important stopover along the wool trade route which ran from Tibet through Sikkim to India until the closure of the Tibetan border by the Chinese in 1962.
