Example Itinerary
Price is based on double or twin hotel room occupancy and includes accommodation, transfers, car/driver, English-speaking guide, activities and entrance fees, breakfasts and some casual lunches while touring. Flights and optional special activities will be quoted separately. Most personal expenses, including dinners, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments and gratuities can be paid on the spot while traveling. Prices may vary depending on season, choice of accommodation and other factors.
This luxury eight-day itinerary begins in Calcutta, the former colonial capital of India, where you’ll enjoy exclusive access to several key sites, such as Tollygunge Club and the Calcutta Polo Club. You’ll spend a few nights in the charming hill town of Darjeeling, hopping aboard the remarkable UNESCO-listed Toy Train and wandering the legendary tea fields. You’ll also spend time in the remote state of Sikkim, where you’ll have the chance to dine with royalty. You’ll also experience an unforgettable private helicopter tour of the world’s third-highest peak.
This itinerary is an example. It’s designed to inspire you and provide you with thoughtfully curated ideas. You can choose to do this exact itinerary or completely personalize it. All trips are 100% bespoke.
After checking into your luxury Calcutta hotel, you’ll begin your Northeast India adventure with a trip to the historic “Tolly” or Tollygunge Club. The Tolly is an exclusive country club founded in 1895 that offers golf, tennis, equestrian sports and more, with a grand colonial clubhouse dating back more than 230 years. This is an excellent launch point for the afternoon’s Colonial Calcutta guided tour, where you’ll see beautiful old vestiges of Indian colonial history, including the General Post Office, the National Library of India, and the Victoria Memorial, where it may be possible to access areas normally closed to the public.
Preferred Hotel
After a leisurely morning at your hotel, you’ll be chauffeur-driven to the Calcutta Polo Club, established in 1862. Considered the birthplace of modern polo, you’ll enjoy a sumptuous meal while watching a polo match; the Maharaja of Burdwan and his wife - friends of Remote Lands - will be your dining companions if they’re available. Next, visit Mother House, the headquarters of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity order and her final resting place. In the evening, return to your hotel and enjoy world-class dining by some of the best chefs in Calcutta.
Today you will fly to the hill town of Darjeeling, where emerald-colored tea plantations lay against a backdrop of Himalayan peaks. Here you’ll visit the UNESCO-listed Toy Train - the narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that zig-zags down the mountains from Darjeeling at 7,400 feet. You’ll also take the breathtaking walk across a suspension bridge to Manjitar Village, where you can enjoy a hot local brew in a village tea house. Next, visit Hayden Hall, a non-profit initiative that provides vocational training, health care, education and lunches to impoverished women and their children.
Today you’ll visit the 1875 Tibetan Buddhist Ghoom Monastery. The monastery features a 15-foot high statue of the Maitreya Buddha, rare Tibetan Buddhist literature, fluttering prayer flags and colorful traditional architecture. You’ll also be treated to a tour of Glenburn Tea Estate, enjoying the fresh mountain air as you pass through rows of tea bushels. After touring the factory, you’ll have assistance from the manager to create your own personalized blend of tea. Spend the night in your luxury colonial bungalow here on the estate.
Gorgeous Kalimpong is on the itinerary today. A Himalayan hill station offering stunning mountain views, it’s home to a diverse array of ethnicities and is a center of Tibetan Buddhism in the region. You can visit the flower market, see examples of beautiful colonial architecture or perhaps visit Zang Dhok Palri Phodang monastery, with panoramic views from the top of Durpin Hill. Today you will also have the opportunity to trek before returning to Glenburn Tea Estate for the night.
Today you will head to Gangtok (around 3 hours' drive away), the capital of Sikkim State in the Himalayas bordering Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. Sikkim’s steep mountainsides provide the perfect environment for orchids to flourish, and you’ll visit a farm where more than 500 exotic species are grown. In the evening, enjoy traditional cuisine with some remaining members of the Sikkim royal family before bedding down in your Gangtok hotel for the night.
For an unforgettable experience and superlative mountain views, you’ll be whisked into the skies in a thrilling Himalaya helicopter tour. This private flight will take you around the awe-inspiring Mount Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest peak at 28,169 feet.
Today your trip concludes and you’ll fly back to Calcutta for your departing international flight.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, in the continent that our north American founders Catherine and Jay have adored and explored for decades, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.
An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands - a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.
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Here is a small selection of the kind words our clients have said about us recently.
Our private jet was a very important part of our trip. Most of the legs were less than 30 minutes, compared to six to 10 hours if we traveled by road. Overall, we had a fantastic trip to a new country for us. Remote Lands never fails!
Remote Lands arranged an absolutely flawless trip for me to Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan where I stayed in some of the world's finest hotels.
It was individual and authentic. And I was treated like a family friend, not a paying guest.
