Book your 2025 & 2026 adventures Risk free.
Kolkata (Calcutta), India's second most populated city is regarded as the Intellectual & Cultural Capital of India. It was indeed the Capital of British India till 1911 and the second most important city after London during the Raj era.
A city to be felt and not just visited, it is the friendliest of all other mega cities of India. It will not assault your senses but cajole you to understand, feel and build empathy with it. The coexistence of the famed Bengali cuisine with those from other parts of India and the world will bear testimony to the harmony of the city which is truly cosmopolitan in nature. Colonial architecture, modern air-conditioned sprawling shopping malls, squalid slums, a wide spectrum of transport options from the primitive to the most modern exist simultaneously with the country's best golf courses and gentlemen's clubs. It's bound to be one of the most heady experiences, we promise you!
For all of the above and from the feel you would have of Kolkata as you read on, you may safely come to the decision that a visit to India can be truly experienced and appreciated if you start from Kolkata & Bengal. Then allow us to gradually take you to the other celebrated locations, by which time you would have grown into an arguably better accustomed position to appreciate those locations possibly more than others.
There are so many ways to start looking at the city and getting a feel of it. One of the best ways are the Kolkata Story Trails that we steer including some exciting Walking Tours. You may chdeck out the Raj Heritage Tour details listed beelow as you scroll down.
We could also help you to visit the other main attractions of the city including its famed Museums, Galleries, Institutes, Sports Arenas, markets. Please visit with us Unique sites like Mother Teresa's Motherhouse or the Ramakrishna Ashram in case you believe in giving back to this world, to variously challenged people, some of the kindness and empathy you have yourself received or missed.
A typical full day Kolkata Tour sample itineraries are to be found at The Sutanati Tour & Mesmerising Kolkata.
Want to explore more of Kolkata? Get the Kolkata feel under your skin. Visit more places. Interact and engage with Kolkatans with our facilitation. Do the off beat stuff. Visit our page «For a Feel of Kolkata» for some pointers to these directions. Warning: Kolkata will grow on you. You will probably start loving Kolkata as much as we do. But Kolkata will surely be an unforgettable part of you for sure.
We have many other exciting day tours ready for you. We can also customise tours for you. Please feel free to get in touch with us sans obligations for your queries.
Kolkata (Calcutta), India's second most populated city is regarded as the Intellectual & Cultural Capital of India. It was indeed the Capital of British India till 1911 and the second most important city after London during the Raj era.
A city to be felt and not just visited, it is the friendliest of all other mega cities of India. It will not assault your senses but cajole you to understand, feel and build empathy with it. The coexistence of the famed Bengali cuisine with those from other parts of India and the world will bear testimony to the harmony of the city which is truly cosmopolitan in nature. Colonial architecture, modern air-conditioned sprawling shopping malls, squalid slums, a wide spectrum of transport options from the primitive to the most modern exist simultaneously with the country's best golf courses and gentlemen's clubs. It's bound to be one of the most heady experiences, we promise you!
For all of the above and from the feel you would have of Kolkata as you read on, you may safely come to the decision that a visit to India can be truly experienced and appreciated if you start from Kolkata & Bengal. Then allow us to gradually take you to the other celebrated locations, by which time you would have grown into an arguably better accustomed position to appreciate those locations possibly more than others.
There are so many ways to start looking at the city and getting a feel of it. One of the best ways are the Kolkata Story Trails that we steer including some exciting Walking Tours.
We could also help you to visit the other main attractions of the city including its famed Museums, Galleries, Institutes, Sports Arenas, markets. Please visit with us Unique sites like Mother Teresa's Motherhouse or the Ramakrishna Ashram in case you believe in giving back to this world, to variously challenged people, some of the kindness and empathy you have yourself received or missed.
A typical full day Kolkata Tour sample itineraries are to be found at The Sutanati Tour & Mesmerising Kolkata.
Want to explore more of Kolkata? Get the Kolkata feel under your skin. Visit more places. Interact and engage with Kolkatans with our facilitation. Do the off beat stuff. Visit our page «For a Feel of Kolkata» for some pointers to these directions. Warning: Kolkata will grow on you. You will probably start loving Kolkata as much as we do. But Kolkata will surely be an unforgettable part of you for sure.
We have many other exciting day tours ready for you. We can also customise tours for you. Please feel free to get in touch with us sans obligations for your queries.
The Raj Heritage Walk
Kolikata (+Sutanati & Gobindopur) -> Calcutta -> Kolkata (as we call it today).
It is indeed a very interesting story of how the British started trading in this part of the world rivalling the earlier entrants like Portugese, French & Dutch. Many a booming cannon later, the British became the leading traders. What followed was a small fort, a big port, a great battle, many changing fortunes and lots of colonial cunning and politics. The British East India Company and later the Flag of the British Empire gave a lot of importance to Calcutta for its trading, political and administrative clout. Calcutta was after all the Capital of British India until December 1911 and arguably the second most important city in the Empire after London.
Naturally, a lot of important centres of power were built in the emerging city. Along with Defence & Administrative centres came, institutions for Entertainment, Education and Emancipation. The light of European renaissance came as an ambient source and later cascaded into its own indigenous, self generating brightness.
During The Raj Heritage Walk, we take you to the then-centre-of-power, show you the colonial buildings (which in many cases are fine examples of European Architecture with eastern influences in some instances) & the River Front where trading took place and the Royal Navy Exercised. We also tell you the fantastic stories, some of which cause goose bumps for their incredulous ferocity and adventure and yet some may sound outright hilarious today in hindsight. Sipping the organic packaged drink in the form of tender coconut water right from the fruit, be refreshed, enthralled, amused and entertained. Be enlightened about the Raj days.
The tour is centred around the Dalhousie Square (the names have changed but the Raj hangover continues and sometimes we still call places in their old names. Names that were usually given by the British Empire in Honour of their successive Viceroys and similarly important people). The formal name today is B.B.D. Baag, in honour of the bravery 3 of India's freedom fighters. Oh, that's another thrilling story, should you want to hear it!
We will look at the Writers Building, originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company, hence the name. Designed by Thomas Lyon in 1780, it received its impressive Corinthian façade, an example of the Neo-Renaissance style, in 1889.
The Royal Exchange Place, A one-time residence of Robert Clive and now the office of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The General Post Office (G.P.O.): A heritage building right in the heart of Dalhousie Square, Kolkata housing the general post office. This two-storied Victorian style building with an impressive dome is a key landmark for Kolkata. This is the site where the first Fort William built by the British East India Company once stood.
St. John's Church's yard has the Mausoleum of Job Charnock. The building is supposedly the oldest piece of masonry in Calcutta.
Raj Bhavan is the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal. Built in 1803 it was known as the Government House in the pre — independence days.Later after the transfer of power from the British East India Company to the British Crown in 1858 it became the official residence of the Viceroy of India.
The Ochterlony Monument as it was formerly called (The Shaheed Minar or Martyrs' Monument is it's new name) was erected in 1825 by Major General Sir David Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company, to the victory of the East India Company’s forces over the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Nepalese War. The monument was constructed in his memory.
The Raj Heritage Walk would be of a duration of 2 hours with possibility of 1/2 an hour spill over to account for your extra time for photography, etc. (only where ever it is allowed and if other group members are ok with it). We usually conduct this tour in the early mornings between 6.30 a.m. — 9.30 a.m. local time as it helps you to walk comfortably in the pleasant mornings and in time to go for a hearty breakfast at your chosen place for you are sure to build up a massive appetite after the tour.
The usual starting point of the walk is the Esplanade Tram Depot and the tour ends there too. However, we can make special arrangements to pick you up from your hotel in Airconditioned Cars and drop you off at the same place or any place within 1 km of your pick up point.
There are many other Walking Tours of Kolkata
