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The Fabulous Kolkata Food and Culture Tour 
The Indian Adventure for Active Seniors 
Darjeeling Walking Tours 
Impressions of Kolkata 
Ease Into India
 

 

(14 Days with options or design your own tour) 

ORGANIZED AND LED BY AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONALS 
 

Calcutta dazzles the senses, including the culinary. You know Tandoori and Moghul, but do you know the richness of Bengali cooking ... shukto, hilsa, loochi, maach-bhaat, sundesh? Learn to cook Bengali and other Indian regional dishes in the homes of local Indian women and dine at some of the finest restaurants in all India. 
A unique feature is that the cooking menus have been determined by local Calcuttan women who have expressed the pleasure of teaching you their favorite dishes, in their own kitchens.
 

By going into Bengali homes we gain intimate insights into the daily life of a different culture and have the opportunity to make new and significant friends. We attend cultural events in Kolkata, the cultural capital of India and walk through the city at your pace, going to places you would like to see and engaging with people you would like to meet.

You are free to add or tailor your tour to your own needs. Recent guests on our food tour have boated down the Ganges to the mangrove delta and stayed in local villages. They have also met local political leaders, visited social organizations working with the poor, explored historical localities, drunk with the locals and played badminton with street children. Or why not add on a week's trip to Darjeeling? 
The possibilities are endless.

 

 

 

ORGANIZED AND LED BY AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONALS 
 
Adventure walk - Tour 1 (21 days)

Come join old friends or new on the walking tour of a lifetime. We traverse the hills around Darjeeling in the shadow of the mighty Himalayas, explore the town, its tea gardens, multi-ethnic communities and the stunning beauty of its rainforests. We then go on the famous Singalila Walk, staying in the homes of welcoming Sherpa families. On this walk we enjoy the lushness of the temperate rain forest, its exotic flowers, rich bird life and the unparalleled views of the eastern Himalayas. Later we journey to the Teesta Valley and to Kalimpong, the old trade route town to Tibet with missions and nurseries around it. The last few days can be spent in a delightful farmhouse on the Sikkim border where we relax or go on short walks through local villages and verdant forests.

 

Darjeeling luxury walk - Tour 2 (14 days)

Each night we relax in comfort and luxury and each day we walk in and around the towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and a village lodge close to Sikkim. Tea gardens, monasteries, missions, nurseries, forests and local markets all await you along with a hot shower and cocktails on the veranda at night. Tailor your own tour. You can use trekking or Darjeeling as a basis for tailoring a tour to match your own interests. Take some of these ideas and add your own or borrow those from our other tours. We will also take you to Sikkim or walk with you through villages or the mesmerising streets of Calcutta. You can also choose the length of the tour and the time of year. 

 
 

 

( Burst the Tour Bus Bubble and Live ) 

ORGANIZED AND LED BY AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONALS 

Since when did we gain much from sitting on our backsides and watching the world go by? We are not dead yet and travel does not have to be from the isolation of a seat in a tour bus. There is a world to explore and the only way to do that properly is to get into it. Come with us, (we are in our 50’s) and travel down the Ganges Delta by boat, cycle through the Indian countryside, walk through Bengali villages and the pulsating enigma of Calcutta, and much more. 
We are open to your own travel ideas and will include them wherever we can.

* Village stays * Great Restaurants
* Exotic Calcutta Walks * Raj Hill Stations
* Mountain Walks  * Ganges River Trips
* Varanasi Views   * Fascinating People

The purpose of the tour is to explore eastern India by actively engaging with it rather than through passive observation. We will organize a range of activities that interest you and put you into the heart of Indian life. That could include walks through Bengali villages or the side streets of Calcutta, bicycle rides through the countryside or a slow boat down the Ganges to the mangrove forests of its delta. We can explore tribal villages and/or play golf in Calcutta’s Tollygunge Club or go to the racetrack. Or trek through the tea gardens of Darjeeling or the hill paths in the shadow of the highest mountains in the world.
We go at your pace, resting each afternoon if you wish to build up energy for the evening meal at some great eatery on Park Street in Kolkata or a Sherpa village in the hills. Why not drinks on a veranda in Varanasi overlooking the ghats on the Ganges? 
On our tours we negotiate with you and try to decide what your interests are and how you would like to spend your time. If you have specific interests let us know. 

 
 

ORGANIZED AND LED BY AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONALS

(14 days plus options or set your own time) 

Calcutta, once the second city of the British Empire, often maligned, rarely understood, atmospheric, pulsating, a city of contradictions, emotionally confronting ... an inspiration to any traveler. On this tour we will visit many sites : temples, bazaars, gardens, the river and streets. We'll meet many people, some who'll share your interests and passions. 
Bring your sketch pad, camera, video, poet’s pen, private journal or observer’s eye and along with a group of similar searchers explore your feelings and record your impressions of this unique and remarkable place. 

We also visit rural Bengal where we can experience the timelessness of the great Indian village. Whatever your interest we will try to connect you to like - minded locals. And if you simply want to absorb the atmosphere of this fascinating city, this tour is for you too. We emphasize participation and involvement, including your say in the outline of the tour.

  
 

ORGANIZED AND LED BY AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONALS 

(10 days or as you wish) 

Always wanted to go to India but felt you needed a helping hand getting started? Need a little initial support to deal with problems you've heard about? On our '...Ease into India...' tour you will make friends, learn the ropes, the do's and don'ts and ...Ease into India, a land you will return to again and again. 
Ten days of fun, touring, practical instruction and plenty of contact with the locals. We'll explore the city and the countryside and run informal sessions, invite travelers and Indians to talk and answer questions.

We'll help you understand the culture and issues such as travel and communication, health and safety and basic survival skills, including language. Nothing heavy, more learning by doing and in a supportive, friendly and safe environment. Your tour guides are Australian teachers with a love of India and a dislike of formal classrooms. The emphasis is on fun, exploring and making friends as we learn.

Classes : Discussion groups, guest speakers, survival Hindi, your issues, cultural considerations, practical advice, held in informal settings... parks, cafes, pubs, lounge rooms.
Tours : Through Calcutta streets and markets, by day and by night and into the Bengali countryside, even further if you wish. 

We will also help you plan onward Indian travel and arrange for local travel companions if you desire. Your interests and concerns form the core of the tour.
   
 
 
West Bengal and the regions around it provide the richest bird watching locations in all India.

West Bengal ranges from the foothills of the Himalayas, bordering Sikkim and Nepal, down the rivers that flow from these mountains to the tropical mangrove forests of the Ganges delta, the Sunderbans.

From the heat of tropical jungles to the cold of snow covered forests West Bengal packs more geographical zones into such a small land area than just about anywhere else on earth. The variety of bird species in this area are amongst the richest in the country. 

We provide guided tours by specialist in the field, tours with a non specialist guide or the opportunity to arrange a tour package for you to do on your own.
 
We will help build a tour with your input and include whatever else you want added to your east India experience, (see tailored tours).
Places for great birdwatching include
* One of the best places to see the Himalayan birds of the sub continent is in
   northern West Bengal.
* Darjeeling and Tiger Hill
* Singalila National Park
* The Duars which includes Gorumara National Park and Chapramari Wildlife
   Sanctuary.
* Lava and surrounding areas.

The Sunderbans, the Ganges delta on the Bay of Bengal Purbasthali is 120 kms north from Kolkata, on the banks of a large oxbow lake created by the river Ganges.

Around Kolkata. Salt Lake, Santragachi and Botanical gardens are all great places to see birds that live on the city edge.

Chilka Lake, Orissa

For those who want more than just bird watching these localities provide great opportunities for bush walking, observations of a wide collection of flora and fauna, including rhinos, elephant and deer, Buddhist temples, Hindu ashrams, village exposure, city life and great cuisine…. and a whole lot more. 
 
We offer personalised tours to the Sunderbans and local villages. With us you can go when you want and need not have to follow the dictates of a large organised tour. We stay in a local hotel, book launches for the times you want and spend time travelling and walking through local villages.

You stay in the comfort of your own room, on land and are not trapped into a compound but are free to wander the local area, exploring as you wish.

You can choose to travel by hire car or local buses and negotiate the length of the tour with us.

It is always better to go at times away from the weekends and you need a free week-day in Kolkata to arrange the permit.
Whether you want to visit the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve or just get away from the city and experience the calm and beauty of a Bengali village this is the experience for you.

Dear friends,
Just returned from the Sunderbans...maybe it's easier if I just give you impressions...
Left from our hotel in Kolkata at 7.00AM to catch the local bus... traveled by bus, a little cramped but OK, local ferry, a great ride on the river with glimpses into village life on the way and cycle van, slow and fascinating trip through beautiful Bengali villages at cycle pace....stayed in a local hotel opposite the Tiger Reserve, comfortable and clean by local standards but nothing special to look at ...stayed one full day and two nights...three days in all....full day occupied largely by a 4 to 5 hour launch trip into the Sunderbans with a short walk into the forest and a watchtower... longer trips are available...most time is spent sitting on our private launch under the cover of a cotton cloth gazing out into the forest...we did see a few animals but definitely not a tiger...after lunch we had a nap and then went on a village walk for a couple of hours... really fascinating ..I found this more interesting than the Sunderbans boat ride.... both nights were spent mainly in the hotel reading and talking but the local village bazaar has its interests and one can always wander down to the market centre for a tea or local snack...
 
Larger Group Tours
For people wanting a group experience and who have a group, we can get you onto a launch that will take you to a beautiful island in the Sunderbans from where you can explore the region at your leisure. This needs to be booked well in advance and available only from November to March. Group numbers should consist of six people and above. 
 
 
One of the oldest continuosly occupied cities in the world, Banares or Kashi or Varanasi evokes all that is mystic, spiritual, chaotic and material that is India today.

Some hate it, most love it, few are undecided; it is the quintisential Indian experience.

Take a morning boatride on the Holy RiverGanga, watch pilgrims of all kinds come to the ghats, bathe, worship, make offerings or cremate their dead. Visit temples, the birthplace of the teachings of Lord Budha at Sarnath, or the famous Hindu University.

It is the city of Lord Shiva, his devotees have made the city their own but all the Gods of the pantheon are represented as are Moslems who predominate in the silk factories that pepper the city backstreets. And the backstreets, full of narrow alleyways just waiting to explore, taking you to groovy little tourist shops and eateries, locally made food for the locals, small hotels, markets, music and craft centres, silk factories and you guessed it, a whole lot more.
Yet it is the river that keeps pulling you back, to sit and absorb the sights, have a massage, drink tea and gossip with locals or fellow travellers. At night there are religious pujas to fill your senses, concerts to attend and night walks along the river front to enjoy.

Love it or hate it it's an India must. Just watch the cow shit.

If you are moving from Kolkata or Darjeeling to the west we can take you there and show you around, or if you are coming on to Kolkata or Darjeeling we can meet you there and bring you on over.