Eastern India

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) was the capital of British India, before the Raj left for Delhi in 1911. The city still bears the signs of its colonial past in landmarks such as the white-marble Victoria Memorial and the cantilevered Howrah Bridge, one of the world’s busiest river crossings. Northward, Darjeeling sits at 2,045 metres (6,709 feet) in the Himalaya, under the gaze of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest peak. Tea gardens here are tended by families across generations, and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, or “toy train”, winds through misty hills, offering a slow view of the mountains.

Nearby, Kalimpong, once a key trading route to Tibet, is scattered with ancient Buddhist monasteries and hilltop viewpoints. East in Assam, Kaziranga National Park offers some of the best opportunities to encounter one-horned rhinoceroses in the wild, alongside swamp deer and over 500 bird species. To the west, Varanasi – also Banaras – thrives as one of the world’s oldest living cities and a Hindu pilgrimage centre, where devotees perform daily ritual baths along the Ganges’ stone ghats (steps).