Things to Do in Kolkata

Dating back to the end of the 18th century, St. John's Church was the first Anglican cathedral in India. It was one of the earliest buildings set up by the East India Company, its construction funded largely by public lottery. The church served as the seat of the Anglican Church until the 1847 construction of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Founded in 1814, Kolkata’s Indian Museum is India’s oldest and largest museum, and hosts a vast collection of historical artifacts and natural history specimens. Located near the Maidan park, the colonnaded museum is a must-see for visitors interested in India’s past.

Gangtok, the largest town and capital of the Indian state of Sikkim, got its start as a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the mid-nineteenth century, but today, it’s better known as a jumping off point for treks in the surrounding Himalayan mountains.

Much like Darjeeling, Gangtok descends in steep tiers down a mountain ridge, with views of towering Khangchendzonga to the West. At first glance, there isn’t much to the city as far as attractions go, but visitors often find themselves lingering, entranced by the laid-back vibe and local culture of the very clean and very well laid out town.

Most of Gangtok’s notable sites are of the religious variety, including the Enchey Monastery, the Rumtek Monastery (one of Buddhism’s most sacred), the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and the Thakurbari Temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to Ganpati and Hanuman.

The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, often referred to as simply the Darjeeling Zoo, was founded in 1958 to help conserve the unique fauna of the Himalayan range. The 68-acre (27-hectare) zoo, considered among the best in India, houses animals like clouded leopards, Himalayan bears, Tibetan wolves and red pandas.

As a conservation organization, the zoo specializes in captive breeding programs for Himalayan megafauna. Thanks to the success of the snow leopard breeding center, the Darjeeling Zoo is now home to the largest captive population of the endangered species.

In 1953, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI was founded in Darjeeling to celebrate Tenzing Norgay’s trip to the summit of Mount Everest alongside Edmund Hillary. Today, the institute has become somewhat of a pilgrimage site for climbers, who come from around the globe to train here.

Located in the heart of Kolkata, the MP Birla Planetarium is the largest planetarium in Asia and second-largest in the world. The single-story dome houses a working observatory equipped with a Celestron C-14 telescope. The outer ring of the structure is home to an astronomy gallery with a large collection of paintings and models from some of the world’s most renowned astronomers.

Often described as the lungs of Kolkata, the Maidan is the city’s largest urban green space, home to numerous cricket and soccer fields, playgrounds, the flowery Eden Gardens, and several memorials and monuments. The park is an important gathering place in Kolkata, and residents head to the Maidan for entertainment and leisure on the weekends.

The Marble Palace, one of Kolkata’s more curious landmarks, was constructed in 1835 by a wealthy merchant and art enthusiast named Raja Rajendra Mullick. Made from more than 90 varieties of marble, the palatial mansion draws inspiration from nearly every cultural influence imaginable, with artifacts from across Asia, Africa, and Europe; they even have authentic Rubens and Renoir pieces on the walls.

Considered one of Kolkata’s most important Jain temples, the Pareshnath Temple is also one of the city’s most extravagant. Composed of four temples located in ornamental gardens, the complex is dedicated to Pareshnath, a Jain tirthankar (spiritual teacher), and attracts thousands of Jain followers and non-Jain visitors each year.

Built in 1926, the Nakhoda Mosque is Kolkata’s principal and biggest mosque, capable of holding 10,000 worshippers. Located in the Chitpur area of Kolkata, this enormous red-sandstone edifice echoes India’s Fatehpur Sikri-style of architecture, with its ornate exterior and green-roofed domes, minars (Indian turrets), and minarets.

If you're looking for a place to escape the heat of Kolkata, Aquatica Water Park will deliver. This giant park and conference center features a variety of waterslides for visitors of all ages, including a lazy river and a family pool with gentle waves and water features, plus a smattering of fast-paced slides for daring visitors.

Built in 1875, the Tagore House was the ancestral home of India’s greatest modern poet, Rabindranath Tagore—a native of Kolkata. The first non-European to obtain the Nobel Prize for Literature, the poet was born (1861) and died (1941) in this vast house, which is now a museum honoring his life and works.

Ganga Sagar (Sagar Island, the largest village on Sagar Island 50 miles (80 kilometers south of Kolkata, has long been an important pilgrimage site for Hindus. Each January on Makar Sankranti, pilgrims from around the country gather on the island to take a ceremonial bath in the waters where the Ganges River meets the Bay of Bengal.

Bharat Sevashram Sangha is a Hindu charitable organization headquartered in Kolkata. Visitors to their temple and ashram on the island of Ganga Sagar can learn about the organization’s humanitarian efforts, including disaster relief, healthcare, education, tribal welfare, vocational training programs, and spiritual outreach.