Located at an altitude of 1,482.55 metres (4,864.0 ft),[5] Kurseong is 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Darjeeling[6] and has a pleasant climate throughout the year.

Kurseong is 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Siliguri and is connected to the city by road and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

(O'Malley 1999, p. 216) The original inhabitants were the Lepcha people, who named their home "Kurseong", because every spring it was alive and bright with Kurson-Rip orchids.

[7] With its mountains providing a cool and dry environment in the summer, Kurseong was a favourite of the British[original research?].

Nevertheless, they found travelling there from the plains of Bengal difficult, even on warm sunny days because of the mountains[original research?].

Nevertheless, in 1835 the British decided that Darjeeling would make an excellent sanitorium and summer residence for their military and civilian officers along with their families[citation needed].

Negotiations with the Chogyal of Sikkim, Tshudpud Namgyal, provided them a strip of hill territory in Kurseong for an annual fee.

[citation needed] Kurseong is home to one of the oldest municipalities in the state of West Bengal.

[citation needed] Established as an independent Municipality in 1879, it did not become a Sub-Division until 1890, when the District of Darjeeling was formed.

Kurseong and the District were added to the Rajshahi Division (now West Central Bangladesh) by the British Raj for the Bengal Presidency.

In 1939, when Bengal became a province of British India, Kurseong was allowed to elect its own member to be the chairman[by whom?

The current Chairman of the Municipal Committee is Mr. Birga Gurung, presiding office since 10 June 2021.

Since 2007, the GJMM has been campaigning for the creation of a separate state for the Indian Gorkhas, the original goal of the GNLF.

[15] Kurseong has its own Munsif Magistrate Court and has the Police Station and Town Out Post in P B Road.

[16] This small initiative played a vital role in the development of Indian Gorkha culture, language and literature.

About 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north on the way to Darjeeling at Tung, there is an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) which offers various vocational course in plumbing, motor mechanics, and book binding.

North Bengal state buses also run from Darjeeling to Siliguri and NJP Station via Kurseong.

[20] In 2023, Prasar Bharati ordered Akashvani Kurseong to be upgraded as the hub for Nepali language content generation and broadcasting in India.