Bengal Natural History Museum, Darjeeling, West Bengal India

The Bengal Natural History Museum is a visual delight for nature lovers, situated near Chowrashtra, right in the centre of the bedazzling city of Darjeeling. The museum contains an exhaustive collection of Himalayan and Bengali wildlife, housing in excess of 4300 specimens, including rare reptiles, birds of flight and animals, exhibited in their true to life altitudes.

The museum was originally started in the year 1903, with the purpose of educating interested visitors about the birds and butterflies of the surrounding mountains. However, over a period of time, partly due to the growing interest of visitors, and partly due to the ever increasing collection of fauna, the museum was shifted into its current building in the year 1915, and the Bengal Natural History Museum was officially formed in the year 1923.

Meriting special mention is the section of butterflies and beetles, as are the ones containing bird eggs, reptiles, fish insets, birds and a number of dried plants. There are over 822 bird specimens present here, totalling to over 405 species, including two foreign species that were gifted to the museum. The museum boasts of an impressive collection of mammals as well, with 67 specimens to be found here, such as the clouded leopard, panda and the flying squirrel. Several specimens of estuarine crocodile, widely held responsible for the greatest loss of human life in Asia, are also seen here. The museum is surely not one to be missed.