Located along the eastern bank of the Hooghly River in the lower Ganges Delta, Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal.
This 350-year-old metropolis is the heart and soul of eastern India, and is known for its crumbling colonial architecture, elegant gardens, countless temples and bustling bazaars.
Celebrated as the birthplace of the early 20th-century Bengal Renaissance, Kolkata is a major centre for drama, art, film, theatre, literature, spirituality and music.
Visitors can roam the streets and soak up the atmosphere of faded grandeur, or take a ride in a rickshaw to one of the many Indian restaurants serving mouth-watering Bengali cuisine.
Must-see highlights include the Victoria Memorial, with its east-meets-west architecture; the Indian Museum, with its range of rare artefacts; and the Kali Temple, an important pilgrimage centre for Hindus.
Bodh Gaya is a village in the northeast Indian state of Bihar. A sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site, Bodh Gaya is one of the most important and sacred Buddhist pilgrimage centres in the world.
Bodh Gaya is one of four Buddhist sites related to the life of Buddha; two others can be found in northern India and one in Nepal.
The giant Bodhi Tree commands an impressive presence alongside the temple.
Visitors are able walk beneath its sacred green canopy to see the site where Buddha sat in deep meditation.
Today, the temple complex includes the 50-metre-high Grand Temple – built in the 3rd century B.C by Emperor Asoka, a patron of Buddhism – the Bodhi Tree and six sacred sites, surrounded by numerous stupas.
Visitors can also look forward to a day of fun at the nearby Bodhgaya Waterpark, and view the Giant Buddha Statue.
An ancient and deeply sacred city, Varanasi rests along the banks of the holy River Ganges and encompasses a wealth of beautiful riverside temples, stately old forts and vibrant markets.
It’s considered the spiritual capital of Hinduism, and it’s widely believed that dying here will bring salvation.
As a result, the city is home to a multitude of ghats – stone steps leading to the river –some of which are used for bathing rituals and others as cremation sites.
An early morning boat ride along the Ganges offers an excellent way to take in the ghats and the bustling activity centred on them.
