13 nights from £2897
From the end of the 19th century Bengal was one of the most prosperous territories of the British Empire and Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) considered the Jewel in the Raj’s crown. Each year at the beginning of the monsoon the Viceroy would move to Darjeeling for the cool crisp air of the Himalayas, the slower pace of life and of course the tea which is among the most famous in the world.
Sikkim is one of India’s smallest states but with peaks above 21,000 feet it is definitely the highest. Together with Bhutan it is considered to be the last of the Himalayan Shangri-La’s, remote and spectacular, ancient and mystical. Here the Buddhist religion pervades everything with its colourful prayer flags, robed monks, dzongs and gompas. These fortresses and monasteries are perched on steep slopes or nestle in fertile valley’s all set against the snow-capped peaks of the highest mountain chain in the world.
