Darjeeling and the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan6/Apr
AJ D
“This holiday is for those who want something different, it covers a vast range in scenery, culture, and history. you start in Kolkata, like most large Indian cities, it is packed with life, there are people, there is manic traffic, there is history, but more than New Delhi or Agra it feels like a town where people live and work. It also has a lot of British history, having been the capital of the British Raj.
Moving up country using Indian railways, an interesting but pleasurable experience in itself, you arrive at Darjeeling, a much smaller city than Kolkata, but with crowded narrow roads and the general hubbub of life, here you can learn about the tea industry as well as seeing the plantations for yourself, and of course there is the UNESCO steam railway to travel on too.
The transfer to Bhutan is an amazing experience in itself, you leave India from a small town with the usual street scenes, walk down a corridor, get your passports stamped, and after a short wait you are ushered through a doorway into a totally different world. There is almost silence, no hooting vehicles, cars are neatly parked in marked bays, and the traffic is light, welcome to Bhutan. As one of our group put it 'We had gone down the Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole.
Bhutan is a stunning place all colourful buildings and mountains, unfortunately on our trip the weather did not completely play ball and persistent cloud obscured many of the distant views of the high Himalayas. All in all a brilliant holiday, brilliantly led by our very hard working Tour Manager
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