Discover Darjeeling and Bhutan

This small-group tour by Explore Worldwide takes in eastern India, Bhutan and Nepal with a steady pace that allows for absorbing both culture and landscape. Starting in Kolkata, visitors encounter the city’s layered history through its colonial architecture, temples and the vivid activity of Kumartuli’s potters. The mangrove forest of the Sundarbans offers a sharp change of scene, where winding waterways and bird-filled watch towers provide chances to spot wildlife, including the elusive Bengal tiger.

Next, an overnight sleeper train delivers travellers to the Himalayan hill station of Darjeeling, sitting at around 2,100 metres with views of Kanchenjunga and, on clear mornings, Everest. The journey continues through Sikkim’s monasteries and forested valleys before crossing into Bhutan. Here, visits include the capital Thimpu’s fortress-like dzong and Punakha’s riverside monastery, followed by the dramatic climb up to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery clinging to its cliff face.

The tour concludes with a short flight into Kathmandu, Nepal’s chaotic and ancient capital, where the bazaars and the cramped lanes around Durbar Square unfold a very different tone from Bhutan’s quiet valleys. It is a route through a diverse patchwork of places, each visited with time to take their measure rather than rush on.