Darjeeling. Kangchenjunga. No. 1

"Darjeeling is a hillstation and Sanatorium, situated on the lower slopes of the Himalayas. Guide-books tell us that its name signifies “the sunny spot,” but I consider this a misnomer, “The abode of clouds” would, I think, have been more appropriate. Clouds surround you on all sides, they envelope you in mist, they drive through the house like smoke, they fall in heavy rain or hail, and they constantly blot out the magnificent vista of snow-clad hills which forms one of the finest views in the world, embracing as it does the mighty Kinchinjunga, a monarch among mountains, and the lower ranges of Bhutan, Sikim and Thibet, all snow-covered and bounding the horizon on nearly every side of the plateau, forming truly an unrivalled panorama. Dazzlingly white under the rays of a clear noontide sun, exquisitely flushed by the “roseate hues of early dawn”, and almost more beautiful still when painted crimson and flame colour in the sunset gleam, but cold, grey and pitiless-looking when no sun appears to illuminate their snowy breasts. These hills, this unrivalled range, in fact dominate the whole landscape, excepting when the frequent clouds arise and cover them, then no landscape remains, nothing meets the view but grey clouds and mist," wrote Mrs. Margaretta Catherine Reynolds, author of the memoir At home in India ; or Tâza-be-Tâza (1903), p. 94.