Set 2,200m high on the steep slopes of the Indian Himalayas and surrounded by the ice-capped peaks of Khangchendzonga, the world’s third-highest mountain, the hills surrounding Darjeeling are – quite literally – breath-taking. Wild elephants and tigers roam the valley ridges and Buddhist monasteries cling to the slopes, but it’s Darjeeling’s vast blanket of emerald-green tea plantations that has led its cash crop to be called the ‘Champagne of teas’ and propelled it to international fame.