In the 1800s, summers in India’s plains could be brutal — heavy heat, high humidity, and no real escape. British officials, wrapped in stiff uniforms and gasping under the sun, knew they couldn’t change the weather.

So, they did the next best thing: they climbed above it.

That’s how the hill station came to be — not as a holiday spot, but as a kind of lifeline. These misty, cool towns high up in the mountains were built out of medical need, longing for familiar climates, and the sheer desire to breathe easier.

From Darjeeling’s crisp air to Landour’s silence, these places might look scenic, but they were built with purpose. Designed to heal, comfort, and cool. Let’s explore five such towns that still carry the traces of that legacy.

1. Darjeeling

In the 1830s, British officials in Bengal were desperate for a break from the heat and humidity. The answer lay 6,000 feet up — in a patch of land leased from the rulers of Sikkim. One officer described the air there as “a climate as fine as any in Europe.”

From sanatorium to station

Darjeeling started out as a recovery centre for sick soldiers sent up from the plains. The cool, crisp mountain air was seen as medicine — something that could ease fevers and help people breathe easier.

But it didn’t stay quiet for long. Soon, schools, churches, clubs, and even army barracks appeared, turning Darjeeling into a full-fledged colonial outpost.

Designing........

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