Bengal was an outpost of the Mughal Empire and the first region to come under the control of the East India Company. Calcutta (now Kolkata) was founded in 1690 on the banks of the mighty Hooghly River where it became the capital of British India until 1911. It is now home to over 15 million, but the central district remains largely as it was during the Raj.

West Bengal is the land of lost capitals and fading grandeur: Hindus, Muslims, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish and French also founded settlements on the dreamy, fertile banks of the river. In the company of Dr Llewellyn-Jones you will gain a valuable insight into colonial India as well as the fascinating local life that continues to flourish on the banks of the Hooghly.

Four days are dedicated to the exploration of Calcutta and its myriad Georgian and Victorian buildings that formed the British city, before boarding an exclusively chartered river cruiser for a week-long journey on the Hooghly. Stops include Kalna, home to numerous, stunning 18th-century terracotta Hindu temples, and Murshidabad, once the Mughal capital of Bengal, where the magnificent Hazarduari Palace (1837) and gorgeous Katra mosque (1724) are a testament to the town’s former glory. There is an excursion to the site of the battle of Plassey, where Robert Clive’s 1757 victory of the Nawabs served as prelude to the extension of the East India Company’s power in Bengal.

Cruise past villages and watch rural life on the banks as dusk falls after a day sight-seeing, gin and tonic in hand, in what comes pretty close to a perfect Indian experience. Steeped in history but still very much off the conventional tourist route, this tour adds a new dimension to India for those who already know it, and for those who are yet to encounter it in what was once the richest province in India. 

Includes: All air travel (economy class flights with Emirates); transport by private air-conditioned coach and one journey by train (in the best class available); accommodation in the hotel and aboard the river cruiser; breakfasts, 11 lunches (including one packed lunch) and 12 dinners with wine or beer, water and coffee; all admissions to museums and sites; all tips for drivers, restaurant staff, and local guides and airport taxes.