Delhi - Kolkata in 16 days?

Anne M

Hi everyone,

I am going back to India this fall, with my mother. I went and did the "golden triangle" alone last August, but have the opportunity to go back this time bringing my 62 yr old mum who hasn't traveled in about 40 years. I don't want to do the Jaipur, Udaipur, Agra circuit again, but I do want her to see the Taj. We would also like to get up to Darjeeling. I am thinking of the following itinerary:
Fly into Delhi
Train to Agra
Overnight train to Varanasi
Overnight to catch the day train up to Darjeeling
Either fly down to Kolkata or take a train
Fly out of Kolkata

The time spent in any of these locations is still to be determined.

I love train travel, and am hoping that this isn't too ambitious. We were planning for the last two weeks of October. Thoughts? Recommendations? Additionally, we are looking to stay in the area of Darjeeling rather than Darjeeling itself. Any recommendations in this area would be grand.

Thanks!
Anne

machadinha

Nope, looks fair enough to me. No real other comments. Fog is always a concern around Darjeeling, which would greatly diminish the experience, I have no idea what the chances of it are that time of year. Hopefully others can tell.

(Edit: Trying to think along about time, this is all highly arbitrary and personal of course, just seeing how far it might get you):

1 Land in Delhi. Rest and acclimatize, do some looking around; depending on arrival time,
2 or 3 Delhi.
2 or 3 Late train to Agra.
4, 5 Agra & Fatehpur Sikri
5 overnight to Varanasi
6, 7, 8 V'nasi. Some people like to visit Buddhist Sarnath from here, and Jaunpur with its mosques has been recommended on this site, I haven't been to either. Both are close by.
8 Overnight to Siliguri/Darjeeling (or surrounds)
9 Probably ride up to D'ling this day.
9, 10, 11 D'ling (or surrounds)
11 Back to Siliguri/New Jalpaiguri and overnight to Kolkata
12 etc. Kolkata.

So no matter how you toggle this around, it leaves you with 4/5 days to distribute among the lot. Splendid Don't rush out of Kolkata, it's a fascinating city, and a breather before leaving I never mind anyway. A little more time in the mountains wouldn't hurt either I'm sure; or certainly if you're already acquainted with Delhi, it's a city well worth exploring some more and show your mother your favorite spots in.

Have fun

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puchoo

i agree with Mach on it being a comfortable time frame...

i cant comment on areas around Darjeeling but there was a recent thread on hotels in Darjeeling here

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Sidharth

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