Ilam Tea Gardens

Tea came to Nepal in Ilam in 1863, when cuttings were brought from nearby Darjeeling. Today the hills around Ilam bazaar are covered with estates and smallholder gardens producing orthodox leaf tea that is sold around the world, often at a fraction of Darjeeling prices for similar quality.

Walk the paths through the government tea estate just outside town, watch pickers at work in spring and summer, and taste fresh tea at a factory. Ilam bazaar itself has old wooden houses, and the district also grows cardamom, ginger, broom grass and the famous Ilam milk products.