Sunderbans

Sunderbans
Location: south of Kolkata
Highlights: famous tiger reserve

Sunderbans is a very famous wildlife sanctuary of our country. It is the habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger and owing to this fact; it is also referred to as Sunderbans tiger reserve. In the Calcutta Sunderbans national park, you can find the estuarine crocodile, wild boar and several varieties of birds and snakes. It is located on the south of Kolkata, India and stretches till Bangladesh. Also, Sunderbans is the largest delta of the world formed by the unification of three rivers-the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna.

It is spread over an area of 2,585 square kms, out of which the core area of 1,330 square kms is formally declared as the world heritage site and a national park. Apart from the Bengal tiger, it also houses other wildlife animals like monkeys, herons, spotted deer, kingfishers, wild pigs and white-bellied eagles. Sundarbans wildlife sanctuary in Kolkata is just an apt destination for ornithologists and bird watchers.

Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan
When it comes to excursions in Calcutta, the mention of Shantiniketan is like a must. Shantiniketan in Calcutta, is mainly known for Vishva-Bharati University that provides a platform for the convergence of western and eastern culture. Its foundation was laid by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The best part about this international university is that it exhibits the Indian tradition in the most modest manner, while simultaneously incorporating the best of other cultures.

The best time to visit this soothing place is between November to March. Set up in the midst of green lushy fields and forested land, it makes an excellent landscape. Initially, Shantiniketan of Kolkata, India was an ashram that was started by Maharishi Devendranath Tagore in 1863.

Later in 1901, Shantiniketan underwent a modification when Rabindranath Tagore conducted experimental open-air classes to promote education. His effort didn't go wasted and he gradually kept widening the scope. An interesting feature of Shantiniketan consists of the awesome sculptures, mural paintings and frescoes of Rabindranath, Nandlal Bose, Ramkinkar, Bindobehari Mukhopadhyaya and others.

Digha Calcutta

Digha Calcutta

Location: 185 km south east of Calcutta

Digha is located about 185 kms away from the city on the south east of Calcutta. In the list of must visit Kolkata excursions, Digha beach is on the top. It is a splendid beach resort consisting of a 6 km long beach. Shankarpur is the twin beach of Digha, Calcutta that is about 10 kms away. Digha, India is very well connected with Kolkata by road. Infact, its about five hours drive from there. Digha beach is worth visiting, as its shallow water will help in rejuvenating you. The whole atmosphere over there is very soothing and serene.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens
Botanical gardens of Kolkata, India are situated 8 kms away from the city, on the west bank of the Ganga, covering an area of about 273 acres. Laid out in the year 1787, Calcutta botanical garden is one of the oldest and largest botanical gardens of India. It contains about 12,000 living perennial plants and millions of dried out plants gathered from world over. The main attraction of the botanical gardens is the giant size banyan tree that is said to have the second largest canopy in the world. Over here, you can find a plethora of beautiful orchids and other colorful flowers. The garden also has a library, where you can find a valuable collection of books on botany. The botanical garden of Calcutta houses trees of rarest variety.

Calcutta Excursions

Calcutta Excursions
When the talk is about Calcutta excursions, there are fabulous places to visit around Kolkata. The reservoir of excursion of Kolkata, India is very comprehensive consisting of a number of places. But, in this section, we will inform you mainly about the popular places.

Here is given a list of famous Kolkata excursions:

Shantiniketan
Sunderbans wildlife sanctuary
Digha Calcutta
Botanical gardens
Other places include:

Gandhi Ghat - Gandhi ghat is a memorial to our dear Bapu, Mahatma Gandhi. It is built on the banks of river Hooghly.
Ganga Sagar
Nabadwip - it is the birthplace of St. Chaitanya

Calcutta Religion

Calcutta Religion
Being a cosmopolitan city, Kolkata represents a blend of different religions. Majority of people inhabiting Calcutta are Hindus. Muslims are in minority. Other minority communities include Christians, Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains. Thus, the religion of Bengal India is not very clear. Read on to know more about the religion of Kolkata West Bengal…

On the basis of religious sects, Hindus can be further classified into a number of categories ranging from monotheists to polytheists. The largest religious sect follows Vaishnavism. In the traditional caste hierarchy, the highest position is held by the Brahmins, who are considered to be the main guardians of sacred scriptures. After Brahmins, the next caste in order of the precedence is that of Vaidyas followed by Kshatriyas and Sudras.

Calcutta Cuisine

Calcutta Cuisine
Bengali traditional food, especially the yummy mouthwatering sweets are popular all over India. Bengal boasts off its cottage cheese based sweets like sandesh, rosogolla and chanar payesh. Other must try delicacies consist of Misti doi (sweetened curd) and Patali gur confectionery (date palm jaggery). When it comes to Calcutta cuisine, it can be said that each district of Bengal has its own unique dish to offer like Langcha and mihidana-sitabhog of Bardhaman, sharbhaja of Krishnanagar, chanabora of Murshidabad etc. Read on to know more about cuisine of Kolkata, India…

Calcutta will never disappoint food lovers. In Bengal, Chinese cuisine is in demand. North Indian and south Indian food can be found virtually in any restaurant. Other cuisines that Bengalis are fond of include Continental, Thai, Tibetian and Anglo-Indian. If you wish to savor the taste of these cuisines, you can visit some eating-houses in and around Chowringhee and Park Street. When it comes to the cooking specialty of Calcutta, Kathi rolls (kebabs wrapped in dough) truly deserve a special mention.

What to eat in Calcutta India

Below is given a list of some foods that you can indulge in:

Luchi
Cholaar dal
Kochuri and alurdom
Chop-cutlet
Telebhaja

Some of the best confectionary shops of Kolkata that provide quality stuff are:

Flury's (formerly Swiss owned) on Park Street
Nahoum's (oldest Jewish bakery) in New Market
Others include Uppu, Crust, Kathleen, Monginis, Jalajoga