Duration: 06 Nights - 07 Days
Destination Covered: Kolkata - Bagdogra - Darjeeling - Gangtok - Bagdogra Departure
Upon arrival at Kolkata by flight. We will do your traditional Swagat' (Welcome), our representative would assist you at the airport & transfer to your pre-booked hotel for check-in.
Calcutta-Kolkata is a city that means many things to many people. For some, Calcutta - Kolkata is the city of joy, while for others it is dirty, crowded, and noisy.
Once it was the greatest colonial city in the Orient, Calcutta- Kolkata was later reviled as a cauldron of poverty, dirt, and disease. Today, it ranks among the four major metropolis of India along with Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. A mere village in the 17th century, Calcutta- Kolkata is originated largely due to the expansionist ambitions of the European powers, especially the British Raj. Little wonder, Calcutta- Kolkata has some of the finest Raj edifices built in a variety of styles.
Overnight Hotel - Kolkata (B)
Today morning you will visit Birla Mandir, Lakshmi Narayan Temple Botanical garden, Eden Garden, Fort William etc. & walk through Howrah Bridges.
Howrah Bridge is a spectacular construction, the third largest cantilever bridge in the world and was opened in 1942. The 72 feet wide bridge can accommodate eight lanes of traffic and is flanked by two wide footpaths.
Overnight Hotel - Kolkata (B)
Today you will transfer to airport to board the flight to Bagdogra.
Upon Arrival at Bagdogra and you will drive to Darjeeling, Queen of India's hill stations. Its setting is one of incomparable beauty. A Victorian town of old world charm 'discovered' by the British. It is surrounded by fragrant tea gardens which seem to flow over the layered slopes like emerald swells on a rough sea.
Overnight Hotel - Darjeeling (B)
Today morning you will visit Tiger Hill, famous for its magnificent view of Kanchenjunga, Mt. Everest & other eastern Himalayan peaks especially at the time of sunrise. On our way back we first visit Ghoom, as the name suggests it is gloomy & clammy with perpetual fog. A Tibetan village, one can hear the foghorn-like sounds of Buddhist monks blowing their giant Gyeling pipes from the rooftops of the nearby Yiga-Choling ' Yellow Hat' Buddhist Temple.
Later you will vcisit the two Buddhist monasteries Chholing & Darli.
After some rest we take a ride of toy train of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also visit the Mountaineering Institute, created by the late Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who conquered Mt Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. A display of equipment used on the climb is one of the highlights. Next we visit the Tibet Handicraft Centre & the beautiful Tea gardens. In the evening visit the Observatory Hill known locally as Makal-Babu-Ko-Thaan. According to legend, a Red Hat Buddhist Monastery called Dorje Ling, or 'place of the Thunderbolt', stood at this very spot. The Nepalese destroyed it in the 19th century, now the Shivas & Buddhists share the temple that stands there today.
Overnight Hotel - Darjeeling (B, D)
Today you will drive to Gangtok, a fairytale capital in the clouds, balances precariously on Steep Mountain slopes, Surrounded by lush rice terraces, swifts flowing rivers & distant snow views. It is situated in the lower Himalayas & was a small hamlet until the construction of the Enchey Monastery in 1840 made it a pilgrimage centre. It is a centre of Tibetan Buddhist culture & learning with numerous monasteries & religious educational.
Half Day Tour
Later we take a tour of Gangtok, visiting Research Institute of Tibet ology, organization dedicated to furthering Tibetan studies, Buddhist philosophy & region. It attracts scholars from all over the world. It houses a rare collection of 29,000 books, Tantric documents, rare manuscripts written in gold on the bark of a poisonous tree, antique thanks & 190 icons, all prized objects of art for the Buddhism.
Overnight Hotel – Gangtok (B, D)
Today we take an excursion tour to Tsongo Lake, considered extremely sacred by the local people. The place is a paradise for bird lovers with large number of Blue Whistling Thrush, Redstarts & Fork tails around. It hosts a number of migratory birds prominent among which is the Brahminy ducks. The word Tsongo in Bhutia language means source of the lake.
Later you will visit Do Drul Chorten, are two exquisite Stupas, the Dul-dul-Chorten, and was built to commemorate the victory of good over evil. The Jhang Club Chorten wasbuilt to perpetuate the memory of a great spiritualist of today. Thrul-Shik Rinpoche an ardent devotee of Buddha & one of his best interpreters died in 1962, the stupa immortalizes Rinpoche in the land of his birth.
Later you will visit Rumtek Monastery, meandering roads through emerald green rice terraces, lays Rumtek, the main monastery of Kagyud or 'Black Hat' sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Built in 1959 by His Holiness the 16th Reincarnated Gyalwa Karmapa, it is a replica of Tsurphu Monastery from the Kham region of Tibet.
Later we visit Himalayan Zoological Park also known as Bulbuley. It has paved cement path that passes by fenced open air enclosure housing the Red Pandas, barking deer & bears in a semi natural habitat. Next Government Institute of Cottage Industries (GICI), which produces crafts in authentic Sikkimese designs. Hand woven Tibetan carpets sprout dragons in natural dyes, Sikkimese-style tables called Choktse are expertly carved & colored in red & gold. Also explore Lal bazaar, melody of colour. Various ethnic groups from different villages gather to haggle, bargain, gossip their wares.
Overnight Hotel - Gangtok (B, D)
Bagdogra - Kolkata by flight departure
Today you will transfer to Bagdogra airport to board the flight for Kolkata, on arrival take the connecting flight for your onward destination with some sweet memories of the tour.
Our tour concludes: India Tour Makers thank you for your patronage & look forward to serve you again in near future.