Kolkata to Amritsar by rail

This small-group holiday begins in Kolkata, a city where the clatter of flower markets and the intricate gardens of its Jain temple offer an immediate introduction to India’s contrasts. From there, the route follows the rails east and north, reaching Bodh Gaya with its towering Mahbodhi Temple and Buddhist pilgrim atmosphere.

Next comes Varanasi, where a dawn boat ride along the Ganges reveals life unfolding on its many ghats, and the old city’s lanes are alive with devotion and commerce. The journey continues west to Agra, with visits to an elephant rescue centre followed by the sandstone walls of Agra Fort and, before dawn on day eight, the pale marble of the Taj Mahal.

After Delhi’s colonial avenues and chaotic bazaar streets, the tour climbs via the narrow-gauge Toy Train to Shimla, a former hill station where mock Tudor buildings stand beneath Himalayan slopes. The final stops are in Amritsar, with its serene Golden Temple surrounded by holy water and the Partition Museum telling a 20th-century history rarely seen elsewhere. This escorted tour from Explore Worldwide moves at a steady pace along iconic and lesser-known routes through northern India.