Creators from across India walked the Queen's Trail, visited Makaibari and Dow Hill, and explored Kurseong's heritage as guests of the Kanchenjunga Tourism Festival
Siliguri, 29 September 2026 — The Kanchenjunga Tourism Festival (KTF) 2026 has concluded, but the stories from it are still travelling. As part of the festival, the Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), in collaboration with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), brought content creators from different parts of India to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the surrounding hills. Their reels, stories and posts are now introducing the region to audiences far beyond North Bengal.
The creators' itinerary followed the festival's central idea that the hills are best seen slowly. They walked The Queen's Trail, the new dawn heritage walk from Chowrasta to Darjeeling Railway Station, and were taken to the Makaibari tea estate, Dow Hill and the heritage of Kurseong. They also experienced the Kalimpong circuit, one of several new tourism circuits launched at KTF 2026.
Among the creators hosted by the festival were Deeksha Nanda (@girlfromdhauladhar), Saqib (@saqibashraf_) and Rohan Saha (@mr._.peppermint__). Their content has spotlighted the quieter side of the hills: homestays, tea gardens, heritage walks and local food.
Why creators matter to the hills
The hills rely on homestays, community-led tourism and small local businesses. Creators give these a direct route to travellers who now plan trips through social media. Their content shows everyday life in the hills, from a morning in a tea estate to a walk past colonial landmarks, and points visitors to the lesser-known places the festival set out to promote.
"Creators are the new travel guides for a generation that plans trips on their phones. When they show Darjeeling and Kalimpong at walking pace, through homestays, tea gardens and heritage trails, they show the region as we hope it will be experienced: slowly, respectfully and with local communities at the centre."
— Shri Smrutiranjan Mohanty, IAS, Principal Secretary, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration
From the creators
"I came to Darjeeling expecting the postcard view. What stayed with me was the pace: a dawn walk down the Queen's Trail, tea at Makaibari, and people who genuinely want you to stay a little longer. That is the story I wanted to tell."
— Deeksha Nanda
"Every frame in the hills has a story behind it, whether it's a toy train, a tea leaf or a plate of momos. Kalimpong and Darjeeling deserve far more than a two-day checklist, and I hope my followers see that."
— Saqib
"The best part was meeting the people behind the places. Once you've sat in a homestay kitchen in the hills, you stop thinking of it as a destination and start thinking of it as somewhere you'll return to."
— Rohan Saha
Slow travel, shared widely
The creators' visit reflected the message of KTF 2026, "Slow is the new speed", and the festival's case for low-carbon, community-led tourism. By showing the hills on foot, by rail and through local hospitality, their content carries that message to a much wider audience.
"We brought creators to the hills because these places are best understood when seen closely, and they can carry that view to audiences we could never reach alone. Their stories are already sending people to look at these hills properly, which is what this festival set out to do."
— Shri Raj Basu, Convenor, Association for Conservation & Tourism
About the Kanchenjunga Tourism Festival
Running for over two decades, the Kanchenjunga Tourism Festival is North Bengal's longest-standing tourism platform. An initiative of the Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), organised in collaboration with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), KTF 2026 carried the message "Culture connects people" across Siliguri, Darjeeling, Sonada and Sukna.
