West Bengal Tours & Experiences

Things to do in West Bengal

Our three trips here each sit on their place's own page, Kolkata, Darjeeling and the Sundarbans, and our West Bengal travel guide covers the sights.

Pandal-hopping at Durga Puja in Kolkata

In September or October, each Kolkata neighbourhood raises a pandal, a temporary pavilion around a clay image of the goddess, and people walk from one to the next late into the night; UNESCO lists the festival as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Our Durga Puja experience gives you a private guide who follows that year's pandals, with a vehicle for the longer hops.

The toy train from Darjeeling to Ghum

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, opened in 1881 and a World Heritage Site still run by Indian Railways, climbs the hills on track two feet wide. Its joy ride circles the Batasia Loop on the way to Ghum, the summit of the line at 2,258 metres, and comes back. Our Darjeeling toy train experience takes care of the tickets, the guide and getting you to the station.

A boat safari in the Sundarbans

South of Kolkata, the Sundarban Tiger Reserve is explored only by water, aboard a registered tourist boat with one of the reserve's eco-guides, and visitors land only at camps open to tourists. Tigers are rarely seen; crocodiles, spotted deer and birds usually are. Our Sundarbans safari sorts out the boat and the forest permit for you.

Darjeeling tea from the estates that grow it

Only the produce of 87 estates in the Darjeeling hills, registered as a geographical indication, may be sold as Darjeeling tea, under a certification mark the Tea Board controls. The gardens line the toy train's route, while Kolkata, at the other end of the state, is the main auction centre for the crop.

Rhinos in the Dooars

In the eastern Himalayan foothills near Bhutan, Jaldapara was protected in 1941 for the Indian one-horned rhino and became a national park in 2012; Gorumara National Park, near Malbazar, has rhinos too. Both are explored on forest safaris.

Rafting on the Teesta

Around Kalimpong, the hill town on the east side of the Teesta, West Bengal Tourism lists white-water rafting on the river, with the hills rising on either side.

Santiniketan, Tagore's university town

About 212 km north of Kolkata, the school Rabindranath Tagore opened in 1901 grew into Visva-Bharati University, and UNESCO made Santiniketan a World Heritage Site in 2023. Walk the campus and its art school, or time a visit for the Poush Mela, a week of Baul singers, tribal dancers and village artists from the seventh day of the Bengali month of Poush.

Bishnupur's terracotta temples

In Bishnupur, about 132 km from Kolkata, the Malla kings' temples are faced with terracotta panels telling stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata; see the Shyam Ray temple, the twin shrines of the Jorbangla and the Rasmancha. The town weaves Baluchari saris and sells terracotta, the Bankura horse among it.

Gangasagar at Makar Sankranti

At Makar Sankranti in mid-January, pilgrims from all over India cross to Sagar Island, about 100 km south of Kolkata, to bathe where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal and pray at the Kapil Muni temple, during the Gangasagar Mela, one of the biggest fairs in the state.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

All three of our West Bengal trips are experiences, single activities to fit into a longer stay. Durga Puja suits people who enjoy crowds and long nights on foot, not anyone with limited mobility; the toy train is a seated ride for almost any age; and the Sundarbans safari takes patience and usually two to three days, rewarding an interest in the mangroves more than the hope of a tiger. Each is also listed by type: festivals, toy trains and wildlife safaris in West Bengal.

When to go for these

On the plains, Kolkata gets almost no rain from November to February, while three-quarters of its yearly 1,778 mm falls in the June–September monsoon, by IMD's averages for Alipore, and May days reach about 35 °C. That makes October to March the comfortable season in the city and the main one for our Sundarbans safari. Up in Darjeeling, IMD records July as the wettest month and January nights close to freezing. Durga Puja falls in September or October, and the Gangasagar Mela in mid-January.

Planning tips for West Bengal

• During Durga Puja, traffic across Kolkata slows considerably, so book rooms early; our experience places you in a hotel close to the main pandal routes.
• Pack layers: Darjeeling is cold at night in winter, and early mornings on a Sundarbans boat are cool.
• In the monsoon, rain can affect the hill roads and occasionally the Darjeeling railway, so leave spare days.