West Bengal Travel Planner
Plan itineraries and routes across West Bengal with practical travel tips.
Suggested itineraries
Kolkata in 3 days (3 days)
Old Kolkata, colonial core and food; add a river-town day trip up the Hooghly.
- Kolkata: The City of Joy: colonial grandeur, adda, books and food.
- Chandannagar: A former French colony on the Hooghly. (about 40 km from Kolkata, nearest station Chandannagar)
- Serampore (Srirampur): Danish Bengal and the birthplace of modern Bengali printing. (about 30 km from Kolkata, nearest station Shrirampur)
Tagore & Terracotta (weekend) (3 days)
Poets, potters and temples in the red-soil country of Birbhum and Bankura.
- Shantiniketan: Rabindranath Tagore's university town. (about 160 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bolpur Shantiniketan)
- Bishnupur: Terracotta temples of the Malla kings. (about 140 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bishnupur)
- Tarapith: A famous Shakti Peeth and cremation-ground temple. (about 220 km from Kolkata, nearest station Rampurhat)
Himalayan Bengal (6 days)
Tea estates, toy train and monasteries; easy to combine with Dooars wildlife.
- Darjeeling: Tea, toy train and Kangchenjunga at sunrise. (about 620 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
- Kalimpong: A quieter hill town of monasteries, orchids and nurseries. (about 630 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
- Mirik: A lake, tea gardens and pine forest slopes. (about 600 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Wildlife & forest (5 days)
Rhinos, elephants and Dooars forests in winter.
- Jaldapara National Park: Home to the Indian one-horned rhinoceros. (about 680 km from Kolkata, nearest station Hasimara or Madarihat)
- Gorumara National Park: Rhinos, elephants and forest watchtowers near the Murti river. (about 620 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Mal Junction)
- Buxa Tiger Reserve & Jayanti: Forest, a hill-top fort and a river on the Bhutan border. (about 700 km from Kolkata, nearest station Alipurduar Junction)
Delta & sea (4 days)
Mangroves, pilgrim islands and beaches from Kolkata.
- The Sundarbans: The world's largest mangrove forest, shared with Bangladesh. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Canning)
- Bakkhali & Gangasagar: A coastal escape and a major pilgrimage island. (about 130 km from Kolkata, nearest station Namkhana or Kakdwip)
- Digha: Bengal's most popular seaside town. (about 185 km from Kolkata, nearest station Digha)
Nawabs & ruins (4 days)
Medieval capitals and princely palaces across north-central Bengal.
- Murshidabad: The last independent Nawabi capital of Bengal. (about 210 km from Kolkata, nearest station Murshidabad or Berhampore Court)
- Malda: Gaur & Pandua: Ruined medieval capitals of Bengal. (about 330 km from Kolkata, nearest station Malda Town)
- Cooch Behar: A princely state and its European-style palace. (about 700 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Cooch Behar)