Mirik near Darjeeling used to be a commercial trading town for the tea gardens around. It had a large ground on which British officers would ride horses and play polo. In 1969 the tourism department of West Bengal started working on developing tourism in the area. By 1979 a large lake was constructed by blocking the water passage, a day centre opened up and Mirik arrived in the tourism scene of the Darjeeling hills. Most tourists visit Mirik as part of a day trip from Darjeeling or on their way to Darjeeling from the plains. Most tourists staying in Mirik are from West Bengal itself with some national or international travellers staying here.

Tourism in Mirik in recent years has grown beyond the immediate vicinity of the lake. Recent developments in tourism of Mirik have taken tourism beyond the Mirik Lake, New destinations of tourist interest have come up all around Mirik, especially in and around the Rangbhang river valley area. The scope of developing tourism to the West of Mirik is limited as the Nepal border is barely a few kilometres away. But towards the East and North of Mirik town, many new accommodations have come up. Some of them have joined hands with the Humro Home project as well.