Bengal | Orissa itinerary Bengal-Orissa Itinerary Bagdogra * Glenburn Tea Estate* Kolkata * Belgadia Palace* Bhubaneswar* Konark* Puri* Svanir Homestay* Rajbari Bawali* Kolkata Sketch Itinerary Day 1 : Bagdogra - Glenburn Tea Estate By: Surface Day 2 : In Glenburn Tea Estate Day 3 : In Glenburn Tea Estate Day 4 : Bagdogra - Kolkata By: Flight Day 5 : In Kolkata Day 6 : In Kolkata Day 7 : Kolkata To Belgadia Palace By: Surface Day 8 : In Belgadia Palace Day 9 : Belgadia Palace To Bhubaneswar By: Surface Day 10 : In Bhubaneswar Day 11 : Bhubaneswar – Konark – Puri - Svanir Homestay By: Surface Day 12 : In Svanir Homestay Day 13 : Svanir Homestay To Kolkata To Rajbari Bawali By: Flight Day 14 : In Rajbari Bawali Day 15 : In Rajbari Bawali Day 16 : Kolkata – Home By: Flight **** End of Tour **** Detailed Itinerary Day 1 Bagdogra - Glenburn Tea Estate (3 Nights) Fly to Bagdogra in the morning and on arrival, continue by road to Glenburn Tea Estate (4 hrs) in the Darjeeling foothills of the Indian Himalayas. A picnic will be laid out at a scenic spot during the journey from the airport up to the estate. Enjoy the evening starting with drinks by the bonfire, followed by a sit-down four-course dinner with your hosts and other guests in residence. Overnight at the Glenburn Tea Estate http://www.glenburnteaestate.com/ Day 2 In Glenburn Tea Estate Explore the 1,600-acre private estate with an introduction to the specialised art of growing and processing Glenburn Tea. Visit the tea fields, interact with the tea pickers, and follow the journey of “two leaves and bud” into the tea factory. End your experience with a tea tasting session to discover the incredible variety of flavours and aromas that come from a single bush through different seasons. The tour begins with an audio-visual presentation on the history of Glenburn, and a brief overview of how tea is grown, manufactured, and tasted. From here, you will proceed to the tea factory where you will enjoy a guided tour on how the leaves are brought in from the fields, weighed, and then taken through the processes of withering, rolling, fermenting, and sorting. The factory tour ends with a tea tasting session with the house‟s range of black, green, oolong and white teas, where you can learn to discern the differences in aroma, flavour, and appearance of tea manufactured in different ways and at during different times of the year. Walk or drive through the tea fields with a guide, who will give you an insight into how the tea bush is grown and looked after. Interact with the tea picker women who will teach you the art of plucking the “two leaves and a bud” that is processed for your cuppa. If you are visiting during winter, you can learn about the different ways of pruning done to increase the yield of the coming season. Interact with the estate workers as you move from one part of the estate to another. Enjoy the variety of birds, butterflies, and flora that add to the diverse landscape that makes up a tea estate. Catch a crab, or pick some watercress from the numerous springs that filter through the fields. Refreshments will be provided at a suitable mid-way point. Break for lunch at No. 10 Bamboo Grove, on the sandy banks of the River Rung Dung, which is accessed through a thick bamboo forest. Relax on the riverfront and paddle in the rock pools, while you enjoy your meal. An alternative picnic venue is the Coffee Bari, half way down the hillside, which has great views of the two Glenburn valleys on all sides. Alternatively, return to the Bungalow for lunch. Post lunch, go on a gentle afternoon hike or relax on one of Glenburn‟s peaceful verandas. Overnight at the Glenburn Tea Estate http://www.glenburnteaestate.com/ Day 3 In Glenburn Tea Estate Visit Darjeeling town for the day. Steeped in British colonial history, the hill station of Darjeeling stands at a height of 6,000 feet, with the magnificent Mount Kanchenjunga as a backdrop. Take a ride on the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (now a World Heritage Site) from Darjeeling Town, through the picturesque Batasia Loop and then to the neighbouring towns of Ghoom and Kurseong. Wander through the Mall, shop for local crafts and antiques along the way, drop in to the famous Das Studios for a peek at their collection of old black and white photographs of the area, and stop for a cup of tea or coffee at Keventers or Glenary‟s, two famous old cafeterias on the Mall. Visit the grand old Planters‟ Club, once the Palace of a local Maharaja, and enjoy the views of the surrounding hillside (Glenburn included!) from Chowrasta, where the bandstand still conjures up old colonial memories of days gone by. Glenburn is happy to pack you a picnic lunch, but you can also eat at a number of places in the town – Glenary‟s has a pleasant cafeteria as well as a multi-cuisine restaurant, but you could also try a more typical local restaurant, for a traditional Momo and Thukpa meal. Whatever you feel like doing, the guide will lead you to the right place. In the afternoon, drive a little out of the main town to the Lebong Cantonment area, where the original Lebong Race Course remains. Although not in use today, Glenburn horses once walked across the valley every Sunday to take part in the weekly races held here. Visit the zoo – famous for its snow leopards and red pandas – the renowned Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the Tibetan Self-Help Centre, the Lloyds Botanical Gardens, and the Ghoom Monastery, and then drive back to Glenburn in time for dinner. OR Enjoy a hike down to the Glenburn Campsite with a barbecue lunch and relaxation by the River Rangeet. Options for other hikes are also available. An in-house guide-cum-naturalist will lead you through Bora Gaon Village and Simbong Tea Division, past the Sim Jhora (stream and waterfall), and finally into the Simbong Forest area. You can follow the main track, or break off at various points to take shortcuts through the forest. Enjoy the spectacular views of Sikkim (including Namchi Baazar and Manjitar Village), the hill station of Kalimpong, and the River Rangeet, which flows through the valley below. You will gradually descend from a height of around 3,000 feet, down to the river, which lies at around 800 feet. The forests here contain a rich diversity of birds, butterflies, and other animals typical to this habitat. Refreshments will be provided along the way, and a jeep is never far away should you feel tired and wish to drive down the rest of the way. Once down at The Glenburn Campsite, on the banks of the River Rangeet, guests have a choice of the following activities: . Paddling in rock pools . Fishing . Bird watching . Beach activities (croquet, cricket and other games) . Relaxing on the sandy beaches and rocks by the river . Short walks along the river Lunch is served according to each guest‟s preference, either as a sit-down meal by the cabin, or picnic-style on the river‟s beaches and rocks. A barbecue is a popular option, too. In the afternoon, guests have a choice of further river or beach activities before driving back up to the bungalow. There is also an option to do the hike to the Manjitar suspension Bridge after lunch. Overnight at the Glenburn Tea Estate http://www.glenburnteaestate.com/ Day 4 Bagdogra - KOLKATA (3 nights) Drive to Bagdogra. Fly to Calcutta. On arrival, you will transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy the facilities of the hotel or independent activities. Overnight Glenburn Penthouse http://glenburnpenthouse.com/ Day 5 In Kolkata Full day tour of Kolkata Early this morning you will embark upon a journey to understand the birth and evolution of the British Raj in India. Stroll in and around the Dalhousie Square now renamed BBD Bagh and learn how Calcutta evolved into the City of Palaces. Highlights of the tour include the Writers‟ Building that served as the former headquarters of the British East India Company, the magnificent Governor‟s House, and the almost forgotten mausoleum of Job Charnock credited to being the founder of the city of Calcutta. Dalhousie Square once served as the judicial, administrative, and political nerve centre of an Empire that stretched from Aden to Burma. Stop for a cup of tea and a snack during your walk through the gardens of 18th century Anglican Church of St Johns, the first cathedral of the city. Next, you will visit the Victoria Memorial that has become one of the most identifiable monuments of the city and a part of its iconic skyline. Built of pure white marble in the model of the Taj Mahal, the Memorial was completed the same year the British shifted their capital to Delhi. You have the option to visit the Currency Building that currently houses a stunning exhibition of Bengal Art spanning three centuries. Lunch is at the residency of Mr Surojit “Bomti” Iyenger, an art collector and a socialite who will give you a glimpse into the fast disappearing old Calcutta way of life. His apartment in one of the most interesting heritage buildings on historic Chowringhee area adds to the atmospheric nature of the lunch. Relish a spread of home-cooked Bengali delicacies served up with freshly brewed fine Darjeeling tea. The conversation weaves myriad topics including Bengali art and modern Kolkata and stimulating insights into the spirit of the city.