3 / 5 - 3 reviews
How to get there
A two hour flight from Delhi
When to go
From November to May
Minimum stay
1 to 2 days
Calcutta (India)
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Vuillet Antonin
Practical information on Calcutta
Reviews of Calcutta
Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is an immense city extending over an area located to the east of the Hooghly River. It was once the capital of the British Indian Empire. It is in this city that Mother Theresa died in 1997.
My suggestion:
If you go to Kolkata, take the time to visit the city's flower market. It is located beneath the Howrah Bridge and astronomical numbers of flowers, especially French marigolds, pass through it each day. The piles are impressive.
My review
In my opinion, Kolkata is a place you either love or hate. The city is simply immense and its streets particularly hectic. It is famous for its gigantic traffic jams, especially beneath the Howrah Bridge, where you can end up waiting hours should you find yourself there at the wrong time.
Aside from all this, however, the City of Joy is a great place, and has a wide range of museums, memorials and very beautiful administrative buildings dating from colonial times to visit. Nevertheless, if you do want to breathe some fresh air, I recommend going for a stroll around the city's botanical gardens: it makes for a very pleasant walk. Near the lake, you will be able to spot a mass of vegetation resembling a small, lost wood. It is in fact just a single tree: a banyan with a circumference of over 330 meters. Kolkata is one of the main places to include on the itinerary when visiting India.
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Vuillet Antonin
One of the biggest cities in India, located to the north-east of the country in the middle of the Ganges delta.
My suggestion:
Take a look around the city's libraries, art galleries, and bookshops.
My review
The cultural capital of India, Calcutta is a fascinating city and truly different from the rest of the country. Nevertheless, the sight of such tremendous poverty and misery in its streets can be unsettling for travelers.
Many charities have set up their headquarters in Calcutta. Its a very interesting place for anyone who wants to do voluntary work for an NGO while traveling in India.
I love Calcutta because it's a city that's overlooked by the tourist circuits, but which has a magical soul and amazing monuments. Travelers are much thinner on the ground here than in Mumbai or Delhi. I've always felt that the city has a very strong intellectual, literary, and cultural dynamism.
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Nina Montagné
To Westerners, Calcutta has the image of the '"misery capital" of India. That's the result of many literary works and movies. However Calcutta also has immense cultural and intellectual wealth.
My suggestion:
In September or October, the Durga Puja festival celebrates the goddess in a lavish way.
My review
During a trip to India, few tourists include Calcutta on their itinerary. In fact, for many, Calcutta is considered the most indescribable city in India. Record population density, very noticeable poverty, and pollution that will suffocate you...however, it also has a cultural and intellectual heritage that is among the richest on the subcontinent.
Enough about popular beliefs, let's go take a tour. Strolling through the streets, I discovered a cleaner city than I could have imagined. The people I met were very nice and less clingy than anywhere else in India. A special feature in Calcutta are rickshaw pullers. With only the strength of their arms and legs, these horse-strong men transport customers in both drenching rain and scorching heat. Prohibited since 1997, there are still thousands who still have a license. It is not renewable. It is a servant profession, a symbol of slavery which must come to an end. I said my good-byes to India in Calcutta. The most upsetting and moving trip of my life.
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David Debrincat
344 travelers' photos
