This journey includes some of the classic sights of the subcontinent but manages to stay relatively tourist-free.
Click on the links below to find out more about individual destinations.
Journey Summary
From Calcutta we head north via normal trains and toy trains to the famous tea-producing hill station of Darjeeling. After relaxing in the cool of the hills it's back down to the plains and west to Varanasi, arguably the heart and soul of everything that is Indian. Heading west again by train brings us to Gwalior's huge hilltop fortress and palace, and another train journey brings us to Agra and the Taj Mahal, with a day trip to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri. Finally we arrive in Delhi, having crossed the country from east to west.
Suggested Itinerary
The following is only a suggested itinerary – one of the things about India is how it manages to make all carefully laid plans irrelevant after just a few hours. In India planning as you go is pretty much the only thing to do, and bear in mind that transit days are often just as fascinating as days spent exploring, especially if you're taking the train...
| Day | Suggested Itinerary |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fly to Calcutta |
| 2-3 | Two days in Calcutta |
| 4 | Calcutta to Siliguri |
| 5 | Siliguri to Darjeeling |
| 6-9 | Four days in Darjeeling |
| 10 | Darjeeling to Siliguri |
| 11 | Siliguri to Varanasi |
| 12-16 | Five days in Varanasi |
| 17 | Varanasi to Gwalior |
| 18-19 | Two days in Gwalior |
| 20 | Gwalior to Agra |
| 21-22 | Two days in Agra |
| 23 | Day trip to Fatehpur Sikri |
| 24 | Agra to Delhi |
| 25-26 | Two days in Delhi |
| 27 | Fly from Delhi |