[2] The place is the home of the Ghum Monastery and the Batasia Loop, a bend of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

Until 1878, the journey from Kolkata to Darjeeling took 5–6 days — using steam-engine-pulled trains, crossing the Ganges by steam ferry at Sahebganj, and then using bullock carts and palanquins.

[2] In 2007, the train journey from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri (a new railway station 6 km, 3.7 mi from Siliguri) takes about 10 hours.

After climbing from Siliguri to Ghum, the train starts descending about 1,000 ft (300 m) to Darjeeling, first crossing the graceful double loop at Batasia (meaning windy place).

[2] Ghum is (falsely) claimed by some tourist literature to be the highest railway station in the world.