Planning Your Kolkata Trip

One decision shapes a Kolkata trip more than any other: whether you come for Durga Puja or after it. The festival triples hotel prices and takes over the streets; the cool months that follow are the easiest time to be here. Here is how to plan either way.

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How Many Days in Kolkata?

2 Days (Minimum)

Covers landmarks and a taste of the culture.

Day 1: Victoria Memorial, Maidan, Indian Museum, Park Street Day 2: Howrah Bridge, Kumartuli, Mother Teresa House, College Street

3 Days (Recommended)

Time to explore properly and eat well.

Day 3 addition: Belur Math, Dakshineswar Temple, food crawl, evening culture

4-5 Days (Ideal)

Day trips, markets, and time to sit in coffee houses.

Day 4: Shantiniketan day trip OR Sundarbans Day 5: Neighbourhoods, markets, coffee houses

For Durga Puja

Minimum 3 days to experience pandal-hopping properly. 4-5 days ideal.

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Best Time to Visit

October: Peak Season

Durga Puja falls in late September or October. The city transforms. If you want the festival, plan for Puja dates. If you want quieter tourism, visit 1-2 weeks after.

During Puja:

• Elaborate pandals, streets busy all night
• Extreme crowds
• Hotels 3x normal price, book months ahead
• Transportation chaos
• The city's biggest week of the year

Post-Puja October:

• Pleasant weather
• City returning to normal
• Some pandals still standing
• Better hotel rates

November to February: Winter

Best overall weather. 15-25°C, dry, comfortable for walking.

• December-January coldest (12-20°C)
• Light jacket needed for mornings/evenings
• Clear skies

March to June: Summer

Increasingly hot and humid. May-June brutal (35-42°C, high humidity).

• March still manageable
• April onwards uncomfortable
• May-June best avoided

July to September: Monsoon

Heavy rain, flooding possible, humidity extreme.

• July-August wettest
• September transition month
• Can be atmospheric if you like rain
• Transport disruptions

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Weather by Month

Month	Temperature	Conditions	Rating
January	12-25°C	Cool, dry	★★★★★
February	15-30°C	Warming, pleasant	★★★★★
March	20-35°C	Getting hot	★★★★
April	25-38°C	Hot, humid	★★☆☆
May	27-40°C	Very hot, humid	★☆☆☆
June	27-36°C	Monsoon starts	★★☆☆
July	26-34°C	Heavy rain	★★☆☆
August	26-34°C	Rain continues	★★☆☆
September	26-33°C	Monsoon ending, pre-Puja	★★★☆
October	24-32°C	Durga Puja, ideal	★★★★★
November	18-30°C	Perfect weather	★★★★★
December	14-26°C	Cool, pleasant	★★★★★

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Durga Puja Guide

What Is It?

Bengal's biggest festival celebrating Goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura. Five main days (Shashti to Dashami) with the goddess arriving, being worshipped, and returning.

Dates

Follows lunar calendar, usually late September to mid-October. Check specific years.

The Experience

Pandals: Thousands of temporary structures housing Durga idols. Some are massive artistic installations. Neighbourhoods compete for best pandal.

Pandal-hopping: Walking from pandal to pandal, often all night. The main Kolkata activity during Puja.

Top Pandals:

• Kumartuli Park
• Santosh Mitra Square
• Mohammad Ali Park
• Bagbazar
• Deshapriya Park
• College Square

Idol Immersion: On Vijaya Dashami (final day), idols are carried to the Hooghly River and immersed. Huge processions.

Practical Puja Tips

1. Book hotels 3-6 months ahead, prices triple
2. Wear comfortable shoes, you'll walk kilometers
3. Go late, pandals are best after 10 PM
4. Eat constantly, food stalls everywhere
5. Use metro, roads are impossible
6. Join the locals, Bengalis are welcoming
7. Expect no sleep, the city doesn't sleep

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Sample Itineraries

2-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Central Kolkata

• 9:00 AM: Victoria Memorial (2 hours)
• 11:30 AM: Walk through Maidan
• 1:00 PM: Lunch at Flurys or Peter Cat (Park Street)
• 3:00 PM: Indian Museum
• 5:00 PM: Park Street walk, coffee
• 7:30 PM: Dinner at Oh! Calcutta or 6 Ballygunge Place

Day 2: North Kolkata

• 6:00 AM: Sunrise at Howrah Bridge
• 8:00 AM: Kochuri-and-tea breakfast at a sweet shop near Shobhabazar
• 9:30 AM: Kumartuli (idol-making)
• 11:30 AM: Mother Teresa House
• 1:00 PM: Lunch at Golbari (kosha mangsho)
• 3:00 PM: College Street bookshops, a sherbet at Paramount (est. 1918)
• 5:00 PM: Indian Coffee House
• 7:00 PM: Street food dinner

3-Day Itinerary

Add Day 3: Temples & Food

• Morning: Dakshineswar Temple + Belur Math (by boat)
• Lunch: Traditional Bengali
• Afternoon: Kalighat Temple area
• Evening: Food crawl, phuchka, rolls, sweets

With Day Trips

Day 4: Shantiniketan

• Day trip to Tagore's university town
• 3 hours by train each way
• Art, culture, and a much quieter pace

Day 4-5: Sundarbans

• Overnight trip to mangrove forests
• Tiger territory (sightings rare but possible)
• Travel within the forest is by boat

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What Is Kolkata Famous For?

Landmarks

• Howrah Bridge, Cantilever bridge, around 100,000 vehicles daily
• Victoria Memorial, White marble monument, museum
• Kalighat Temple, Ancient Kali temple

Culture

• Durga Puja, On UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list since 2021
• Literature, Tagore, Ray, Bengali writers
• Cinema, Satyajit Ray, parallel cinema movement
• Music, Rabindra Sangeet, classical traditions

Food

• Sweets, Rosogolla, mishti doi, sandesh
• Bengali fish, Hilsa, prawn malai curry
• Street food, Phuchka, kathi rolls, jhalmuri

Legacy

• Mother Teresa, Missionaries of Charity headquarters
• Colonial architecture, Raj-era buildings
• Trams, India's last tram network, now reduced to a couple of heritage routes

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Combining with Other Destinations

Kolkata + Darjeeling (5-6 days)

• 2-3 days Kolkata
• Flight to Bagdogra or train to New Jalpaiguri, then road to Darjeeling
• 2-3 days in Darjeeling (tea gardens, mountains)

Kolkata + Odisha (6-7 days)

• 2-3 days Kolkata
• Train to Bhubaneswar/Puri
• 3-4 days temples and beaches

Eastern Circuit

Kolkata → Darjeeling → Sikkim (8-10 days)

For transport details, see our getting around guide.