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Best of Eastern India: Kolkata, Sikkim & Darjeeling

Best of Eastern India: Kolkata, Sikkim & Darjeeling

 

11 nights/ 12 days

Day 1: Kolkata

Arrive in Calcutta (now called Kolkata). You are met at the airport and transferred to the hotel.

A mere village in the 17th century, Calcutta today is one of the largest cities in the world, one of the largest ports in the east and the main outlet for the produce of West Bengal and neighbouring states. The city was built around Fort William, with the huge Maidan surrounding it. The main building on the Maidan is the Victoria Memorial, a massive domed building of white marble which houses a collection of Queen Victoria memorabilia, as well as objects and documents related to the history of Bengal. In the park are statues of Queen Victoria, Lord Curzon and other figures of the British Raj. The Race Course, opened in 1819, is the largest in the east. In its central oval are the Calcutta Polo Club grounds where the game has been played since 1861.

 

Day 2: In Kolkata

After breakfast, observe tea trading at Calcutta Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA). Established in 1861, this is the oldest tea auction centre in Asia. The auctions are usually held on Monday and Tuesday. Sadly, the traditional way of tea auction is rapidly being replaced by e-auction.

The most prominent Tea Broker of Kolkata is J. Thompson & Co who has a long history, spanning over 250 years. Responsible for conducting the first Indian tea auction in 1861, the company boasts of a proud tradition and is the single largest tea auctioneer in the world, handling over 155 m. kg of tea annually i.e. one-third of all tea auctioned in India, worth over US$ 310 million. A long history of successes has enabled J. Thomas to cater to emerging needs and explore new opportunities. It also runs a publication house fully devoted to the Indian Tea Industry. Also visit Dolly’s Tea Shop in south Kolkata, which is famous for the varieties of tea it has to offer.

 

Day 3: In Kolkata

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, take a heritage walk, an awareness tour of the distinct architectural heritage of Calcutta. It highlights the evolution of this city from where it all began, Dalhousie Square.

Kolkata Race Course, opened in 1819, is the largest in the east. In its central oval are the Calcutta Polo Club grounds where the game has been played since 1861. The Heritage Walk of Dalhousie Square takes you on a two-kilometre (two hour) trip around some 15 buildings in the area: including the imposing Writers’ Building, the newly renovated Town Hall, the St John’s Churchyard and the historic Metcalfe Hall.

The second heritage walk goes along the meandering lanes and by-lanes of the traditional neighbourhoods of North Calcutta, through hidden courtyards of merchants’ and noblemen’s houses steeped in the history of the 300-year old city. This tour also includes the House of Rabindranath Tagore and the Marble Palace. The tour ends with a coffee at the Coffee House.

Day 4: Fly to Bagdogra, drive to Gangtok (140 km/5 hrs)

After breakfast, drive to Kolkata airport for the flight to Bagdogra. You are met at the airport and transferred to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.

On arrival in Gangtok check-in at the hotel.

 

Day 5: Gangtok

In the morning visit the Research Institute of Tibetology: the most prestigious of its kind, built-in 1958 by the last Choegyal to preserve Tibetan culture, housing a library of more than 30,000 books on Buddhism, astrology, medicine and philosophy as well as a collection of thangkhas (Tibetan religious paintings on cloth). Today, it is a renowned worldwide centre for the study of Buddhist philosophy and religion.

After lunch, visit the Deer Park. Set amongst the picturesque dales and mountains of Sikkim it is based on the model of a similar one in Sarnath, in homage to the Bodhisattva who was reincarnated as a musk deer.

Also, visit the Government Handcrafts Centre instituted to promote and keep alive the state’s traditional art and crafts. The centre is a storehouse of hand-woven woollen carpets with traditional motifs, blankets, shawls in Lepcha weaves and exquisitely carved choktse tables.

 

Day 6: Gangtok

After breakfast visit Rumtek, which lies 23 km west of Gangtok. The monastery belongs to the Yellow Hat Karmapa sect, a reformist branch of Tantric Buddhism, founded in the 15th Century.

Built-in the 1960s, the monastery is traditional in design and is a replica of the original Kagyu headquarters in Tibet, which were destroyed at the time of the Chinese take-over. The monastery houses some of the most unique religious art objects and is the largest one of its kind outside Tibet.

 

 

Day 7: Gangtok to Kalimpong (4 hrs)

After breakfast, depart on the drive to Kalimpong – a quiet hill resort which was once the headquarters of the Bhutanese Governor.

Kalimpong is a sleepy little town that is situated at an altitude of 1,200m: it was once the hub of trans-Himalayan trade between India and Tibet – merchants used to ferry goods by mule caravans over the Jelepla Pass on the Sikkim-Tibet border. Supporting the town’s historical significance, the word “Kalim” stands for “the King’s minister” and the word “Pong” means “stronghold”; hence “Kalimpong” means “the stronghold of the King’s minister”.

In the afternoon visit Tharpa Choling at Tirpai, the largest Yellow Hat sect Buddhist monastery in Kalimpong, which houses a library of Tibetan manuscripts and thangkas. The Zang-dog Palrifo Brang monastery on Durpin Dara Hill is smaller and of more recent construction.

 

Day 8: Kalimpong

Today explore Kalimpong town with your guide

Enjoy a walking tour of the town, its vibrant markets, heritage avenues & by-lanes. There is also a small market selling spices, fruit and traditional Tibetan medicines, textiles, wool and musk. Kalimpong was once the starting point for the trade route to Lhasa.

On your tour, you will also visit the town’s important Bhutanese monasteries which retain strong Tibetan characteristics, along with with a Sericulture farm producing silk, and a large missionary school, Dr Graham’s Home, founded in 1900.

 

Day 9: Kalimpong to Darjeeling (4 hrs)

After breakfast, drive to Darjeeling, a 4-hour drive through verdant hills and tea plantations. Situated at an altitude of 2,134 m, Darjeeling was developed by the British as a hill resort to escape the heat and rains of the plains. In the 1840s, tea plantation was introduced in the area.

Day 10: Darjeeling

Early morning excursion to Tiger Hill, to see the sunrise. Situated at an altitude of 2590 metres (8482 ft.) and 13 kms from the town, this spot has earned international fame for the magnificent view of the sunrise over “Kanchenjunga” and the great Eastern Himalayan Mountains. Even Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, is also visible from here (if the sky is clear).

After breakfast, enjoy a joy ride on the World Heritage Toy Train, from Darjeeling to Ghoom and back. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), popularly known as the ‘Toy Train’ is one of the main attractions of the region. Narrow Gauge trains are used in parts of India to travel to hill stations. UNESCO declared the railway a World Heritage Site in 1999.

In the afternoon, explore this quaint hill station. At the centre of the town is the Mall, Darjeeling’s commercial street, lined with souvenir shops which leads to Chaurastha, a square with a bandstand and several antique shops. The Observatory Hill is perhaps the oldest built-up site in Darjeeling. On Birch Hill to the north stands the Shrubbery, the residence of the Governor of West Bengal and further down along the Birch Hill Road is the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute – previously headed by the late Tenzing Norgay. A museum displays the equipment used on the first successful expedition to Mount Everest. The nearby Zoological Park specialises in high-altitude wildlife – yaks, Himalayan black bears, pandas, and even four Siberian tigers. Dominating the Mall is the Planter’s Club, where planters from all over the area meet, particularly on Sundays. The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre has a temple, school, hospital and a shop selling carpets, textiles and jewellery.

 

Day 11: Darjeeling

After breakfast, visit a tea estate and factory. Walk or drive through the tea fields with the estate manager, who will give you a comprehensive tour of how the tea-bush is grown and looked after. Learn how to pluck the “two leaves and a bud” – that is later manufactured into the tea-leaf that enters your teacup.

Continue to the Tea Factory for a guided tour on how the leaf is brought in from the fields, weighed, and then taken through the processes of withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and finally sorting. The day ends with a Tea Tasting Session, where you can discover the differences in aroma, flavour and appearance of tea manufactured in different ways, and during different times of the year. The session also includes tasting teas from other parts of India and the world, and examples of flavoured and blended teas.

 

Day 12: drive Darjeeling to Bagdogra, fly to Delhi and depart

After breakfast depart on the 4-hour drive to Bagdogra for your flight to Delhi. Connect with your onward flight home.

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