Top Things to see and do in Mumbai, Kolkata, Gangtok and Darjeeling
- Michelle Adler
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
From the chaotic charm of Mumbai, the colonial grandeur of Kolkata to the hill station of Darjeeling and Gangtok in the Himalaya, FBI Travel Advisor Michelle Adler recounts her wonderful journey across this fascinating country. Read on for Michelle's recommendations for the top things to see and do.
Top things to see and do: Mumbai
My journey started in Mumbai and after a restful night, I took a 5:30am Wake Up Mumbai tour. It was fascinating to see the city wake up. We went to an area to watch the newspaper delivery workers collate all the different newspapers and load them onto their bikes to deliver, a large fruit and vegetable market, the Dadar flower market and the fish market. The fish market is right at the port so we were able to watch the fishermen come in and sell their fish directly off their boats to the buyers.
I also enjoyed a Dharavi Slum tour with a young man who lives in the slums. The Dharavi is one of the largest slums in Asia and is where Slumdog Millionaire was filmed. It was really interesting to see the hard-working people who live here and their recycling efforts. Over 20 million people live in Mumbai which produces 6,500 tonnes of garbage every day. 85% of this is recycled and the people of Dharavi use a lot of the recycled goods to manufacture lots of different things like pottery, garments, leather goods and more, often created in very tiny spaces!
I then visited Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architecture is just amazing – a combination of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, blended with traditional Indian architecture. I went to the end of the platform and waited for a train to stop to watch the hundreds of people get off the train. It was amazing!
I stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, an iconic historic majestic hotel built in 1903. It was just gorgeous. Roughly an hour from the international airport, it is one of the original grand hotels of the world and has hosted celebrities and royalty from all over the world.
The hotel has two building – the historic Taj Mahal Palace wing (285 rooms and suites) and the Taj Mahal Tower which opened in 1973 (258 rooms and suite). I highly recommend booking into the historic Palace wing rather than the Tower. The Palace rooms have been completely restored and you can overlook the city, pool or the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea.
I enjoyed an entertaining and educational Heritage Walk through the hotel, hosted by the Palace Historians who had plenty of stories to tell! The walk is offered daily and needs to be booked through reception.
The hotel also offers 9 wonderful restaurants each offering something different, a bar, a J Wellness Circle, Taj Salon, an art gallery, sailing and a Royal E-Victoria Ride which is an electric carriage modelled on the horse-driven Victoria’s. These are a great way to explore the neighbourhood!
Top things to see and do: Kolkata
From Mumbai, we headed to Kolkata. It’s a fabulous bustling city with amazing colonial architecture.
I enjoyed visiting the busy Mullick Ghat flower market which was stunningly colourful and full of action – perfect for photographers!
I also visited the Queen Victoria Memorial, which is one of the most visited museums in India. It has nearly 30,000 artefacts from the three centuries beginning in the mid-1600s including paintings, photographs, books, stamps, coins, medals, armour, sculptures, costumes and personal relics.
I was fortunate to visit four beautifully restored synagogues, which were centrally location in the town.
We stayed at the lovely Taj Bengal Kolkata which is in the Alipore neighbourhood and close to many tourist attractions.
The hotel has a great selection of restaurants and bars including Middle Eastern, Chinese and a poolside grill (seasonal). We had dinner at Sonargaon within the hotel which was traditional Punjab and West Bengal cuisine and was absolutely amazing.
Top things to see and do: Gangtok
We then flew to Gangtok which is a mountainous city in the northeastern state of Sikkim in the Himalayas. It was very picturesque, serene and with gorgeous views.
The drive from the airport was unfortunately a very long 7 hours but a new airport will be opening closer to the hotel soon.
We visited the Rumtek monastery (Dharma Chakra Center), the seat of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The original monastery was built in 1734 but had fallen into ruin by 1956. After a few years of construction, a new monastery, designed in traditional Tibetan style and a replica of Tsurpu in Tibet, was completed. The 16th Karmapa took up residence there in 1966 and died in 1981. The original monastery which is only a short distance away from the new one was rebuilt recently.
We stayed at the Taj Guras Kutir Resort & Spa, which is inspired by the rhododendrons (or guras) that grow here. It's a stunning mountain retreat overlooking the breathtaking mountains of the Himalaya.
The resort has 69 rooms and suites with three dining venues serving local favourites and Pan-Asian fare. The J Wellness Circle offers a range of spa, signature treatments, yoga and meditation all inspired by Ayuveda.
From here, you can enjoy nature walks and visits to monasteries and temples.
Top things to see and do: Darjeeling
From Gangtok, we headed to Darjeeling. The town is great to wander around with lots of cafes and shops.
We enjoyed a hike through the tea plantations and enjoyed a cup of local chai (tea) in a Himalayan Village.
We also took a ride aboard the UNESCO World Heritage Site Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR). It was built in the late 19th century and uses innovative engineering such as zig zags and loops to gain altitude. The ‘Toy Train’ climbs to Ghum which is India’s highest railway station at 7,218 feet. The views along the journey are lovely.
We stayed at the Taj Chia Kutir Resort & Spa which is within the historic Makaibari Tea Estate. It has 73 rooms - all have breathtaking mountain views and most have hill station-style balconies.
The Resort restaurants use seasonal produce from the small farms nearby as well as offering fine dining with classics from the Raj and the Zamindari. There’s also an all glass bar where you can enjoy rare single malts and boutique rums along with the view.
Practical Information:
How to get there:
If you are flying from Melbourne, you can fly direct to Delhi with Air India and then onto smaller destinations within India. The flight arrives in the early morning which means that in many cases, you will be able to connect through to your final destination on the same day. To come home, the flight leaves Delhi around 1am so you have all of the previous day to get yourself to Delhi.
Singapore Airlines is another option. They fly to 8 cities within India via Singapore or you can transfer in Singapore onto one of their Scoot flights to an additional 5 destinations.
Michelle flew with SriLankan Airlines to Colombo and then onto Mumbai and found the service and food very good. SriLanka Airlines currently fly to 14 destinations in India.
Hot tip: As you would expect, traffic in India’s major cities is chaotic and congested. Security procedures at the airports are thorough which means they can be extremely slow. There are separate security lines for men and women which also adds time. It’s therefore essential to allow plenty of time for the journey to the airport, departure formalities and navigating the airport to your departure gate.
All airline information is correct as of 8 April 2025. Please ask your FBI Travel Advisor for current flight information.
Best time to travel:
India is a huge country and the climate can change depending on where you are travelling. Generally speaking, the best time to visit is December to early March, which is in the winter.
It starts to get very hot from April and many regions experience monsoons from June to September.
Kolkata is best visited from mid-December to February and Mumbai's best time is January and February.
If you are heading to the Indian Himalaya, the best time to visit is from November to February. Avoid the summer months from June to August due to heavy rain.
Visas
You must apply for a visa before arriving in India, visas cannot be obtained on arrival. You might be eligible for an e-visa. Please visit the Smartraveller website for the latest information.
If a trip to India is on your travel wish list, contact Michelle Adler, your preferred FBI Travel Advisor or check out our upcoming 14-day hosted tour.
Michelle travelled courtesy of Taj Hotels and Secrets of India.