Eastern India holidays

Kolkatta (Calcutta) may be one of India's poorest cities but it is also one of the most vibrant and uplifting, with a warm and friendly local population and a long history illustrated by the extravagant old colonial houses and the Victoria Memorial. To the north lie the tranquil tea plantations of Darjeeling and Assam. Further west, Varanasi, on the Ganges River, is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and is an atmospheric, busy pilgrimage centre, unlike anywhere else in the world