Slowly down the Ganges – Holy India
Calcutta - Patna - Ganges River - Varanasi - DelhiDrift slowly down the Ganges right in the heart of this magical corner of spiritual India, from Varanasi to Patna.
This tour of Calcutta has been crafted to get under the skin of the destination, seeing both the main sights, but also allowing you to see how local Calcutta life ticks. It’s best to begin as early as possible, before the heat builds up (and the traffic!). Head down to the Hoogly River where locals perform their daily early morning rituals before wandering through the aromatic flower market. Your tour of Calcutta continues to Dalhousie Square, seeing the crumbling yet superb architecture such as the Writer’s Building, Governor’s House and almost forgotten Charnock Mausoleum at St Johns Church. You will then head north into ‘Black Town’ and visit Marble Palace, a superb Bengali mansion built in 1835 who collected an wonderfully ecletic selection of works of art, marble sculptures and paintings. Visit Kumartuli, or the Potter’s Market, where giant life-like religious idols are created. Its now time for lunch, and where better than to be hosted by Mr Surojit ‘Bomti’ Lyengar, an art collector and Calcutta socialite who lives in an amazing flat in Chowringhee and is a delight to hear about local Calcutta life and the art world. After lunch, head south and visit the Victoria Memorial; the British answer to the Taj Mahal and the moving Park Street Cemetery. It’s now time for tea, and we suggest working your way to the Flury’s Tea Room to end your day.
We arrange totally bespoke trips and design an itinerary that is designed around you. You may have seen a suggested itinerary that we can base your plans around, or we can start with a blank sheet and paper and design something from scratch. You can leave a phone number and suggest a time to call you back, and we can also arrange to do this during the evenings or at weekends if you are busy during the daytime. We can also meet up with you in you fancy a coffee and are based in and around London.