Best time to visit West Bengal

“Kolkata is a center of the Indian independence movement and the center of modern Indian education, science, cultural revolution and politics. You come here to absorb Kolkata; Kolkata absorbs you instead. It strangely moves and engages you as a traveler. You give in to a moving montage of faces and facelessness – the heritage and the contemporary – rabbit runs and time warps at the same time. It’s Lapierre’s city of joy. For Ginsberg it’s a city where poets are worshiped as minor gods. Pele came here to share his love for football and Pete Seeger to share his countless folk songs with the city under an open sky. And yes Kolkata is regarded as the most tolerant and sensible city in India. This is also the safest and friendliest area for solo female travelers. Apart from a regular city tour, Kolkata is best to explore by foot with a storyteller. You can explore the old quarters of Central Kolkata, the street foods and the heritage eateries or a literary tour.”

“Believe it or not, food addiction of Bengalis is no less impressive than that of any Italian, French, American or Mexican. From homemade preparations to street food items, Kolkatans never fail to impress you with their culinary creativity. Bengalis have always possessed a dynamic culture and the various food items found across this state showcase a unique blend of fervor with flavours. For Bengalis, eating is a serious business. You talk to anybody in Kolkata, and he would convince you that it is also (kind of) an aesthetic experience. He would assure you that having tender coconut sherbet at Paramount in summer or a taalsaans sandesh at Nakur’s in winter makes you philosophical! So does savoring Kalika’s fried onion chop with muri while listening to the pitter-patter of falling rain! Each season has its own food. And each food becomes very much ‘Calcuttan’ in Kolkata.”

“October to April (light woollen clothes for Kolkata/Sundarbans and heavy woollen clothes with layers for Darjeeling). Allow two to three days to explore each key destination: Kolkata, Sundarbans and Darjeeling.”

“The more the cruise sails through the dense green expanse of water the deeper you enter a planet like no other on the earth. It’s another world where you are surrounded by life and none of it human. You don’t even want to break the spell – the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness that seems to be still in the making. The wall of a colossal jungle, so dark green as to be almost black, is grim and glowing at the same time.”