Ganges River & Varanasi Self-Launched Adventure

Arrive in Kolkata (Calcutta) and make your own way to your hostel or guesthouse in the Sudder Street area — pre-book an airport taxi or use the prepaid taxi counter (~£5-7). Spend the afternoon easing in: wander the colonial-era Dalhousie Square, the flower market under Howrah Bridge, and the buzzing New Market. Grab a cheap thali or kathi roll for dinner and sort onward train tickets at Sealdah or Howrah station.

🚌Airport to city: prepaid taxi ~£5-7 (30-45 min)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Sudder Street (dorm ~£8-12/night, private ~£18-25)

• →Explore Dalhousie Square
• →Howrah Bridge flower market
• →New Market stroll

Take a morning train from Howrah or Sealdah station towards Farakka (change at New Farakka Junction or take an overnight train the night before to save a hotel night). Check into a small local guesthouse. Farakka sits beside the Farakka Barrage, the enormous lock-and-dam that controls the Ganges' flow into the Hooghly. Take an evening walk along the river and prepare for your independent boat excursions. Note: rather than a private riverboat, you'll string together short local boat trips and riverside walks along the same stretch of the Ganges.

🚌Train Kolkata to New Farakka Junction, ~6-8 hrs, ~£2-4 (sleeper/chair class)

🛏Local guesthouse near Farakka (private room ~£12-18)

• →Farakka Barrage viewpoint
• →Ganges riverside evening walk

Take a short train or shared jeep to Rajmahal, a storied town with a fantastic local atmosphere and crumbling palaces, forts, and mosques buried in vegetation. Wander the ruins on foot or hire a local cycle-rickshaw. Book a small local boat for a short river excursion before continuing onward. Sleep in a basic guesthouse near Manihari Ghat or Sahibganj.

🚌Train/shared jeep Farakka to Sahibganj, ~1-2 hrs, ~£1-2; local boat hire ~£4-8

🛏Basic guesthouse, Sahibganj/Manihari area (~£10-16)

• →Rajmahal ruined palaces and mosques
• →Local cycle-rickshaw tour
• →River boat excursion

Base yourself at Kahalgaon (Bhagalpur district) and arrange a local taxi or auto-rickshaw to the idyllic Bateshwar hills, home to 6th-century rock carvings of Hindu deities. Continue a short distance to the impressive ruins of Vikramshila, a great Buddhist monastic university. Nearby Bhagalpur is India's silk capital — ask about a detour to a weaving village. Expect low-key guesthouse comfort and excellent street food.

🚌Shared auto/taxi to Bateshwar and Vikramshila, ~£6-10 split between travellers

🛏Budget guesthouse or hotel, Bhagalpur/Kahalgaon (~£12-18)

• →Bateshwar 6th-century rock carvings
• →Vikramshila Buddhist monastery ruins
• →Silk-weaving village (Bhagalpur)

Head towards Sultanganj. Ask a local boatman for an early-morning river trip between Bhagalpur and Sultanganj — this stretch is one of the best places in India to spot endangered South Asian river dolphins (Ganges river dolphins) surfacing at dawn. Later, arrange a boat to Jehangira Island to see more ancient Hindu rock carvings. In the afternoon, visit a colonial-era mansion and silk-weaving village.

🚌Local train/shared transport Bhagalpur to Sultanganj, ~£1-2; dawn boat trip ~£5-8

🛏Basic guesthouse, Sultanganj (~£10-16)

• →Dawn boat trip for Ganges river dolphins
• →Jehangira Island rock carvings
• →Silk-weaving village visit

Move on to Munger by local train or bus. Take a cycle-rickshaw loop through town to see the remnants of the Mughal-era Munger Fort and the old East India Company cemetery. Explore the lively local bazaar, walk up Pirpahar Hill for river views, and take a short trip to the Sitakund hot springs. Walk through nearby village fields en route to your night's stay. Travel light — this is authentic, unhurried rural India.

🚌Local train/bus to Munger, ~£1-3; cycle-rickshaw hire ~£2-4

🛏Guesthouse or dharamshala, Munger/Sitakund (~£10-16)

• →Munger Fort (Mughal remnants)
• →East India Company cemetery
• →Pirpahar Hill
• →Sitakund hot springs
• →Local bazaar

Continue upriver to the Barh area by local train along the Ganges plain. Use the day for slow travel — stop at riverside towns as your fancy takes you, chat with locals, and sample roadside chai and snacks. Barh is a small district town on the south bank of the Ganges; use it as a quiet overnight base before pressing on towards Patna and the Bodh Gaya region.

🚌Local train Munger to Barh/Patna, ~2-4 hrs, ~£2-3

🛏Simple hotel or guesthouse, Barh/Patna (~£12-18)

• →Riverside town wandering
• →Local market and street food

Take a train to Gaya and then a short auto-rickshaw to Bodh Gaya, the Buddhist pilgrimage town. Settle into a guesthouse (many sit beside monasteries from around the Buddhist world) and spend the afternoon walking the temple complex area. This positions you perfectly for tomorrow's visit to the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, the spot where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.

🚌Train Barh/Patna to Gaya, ~2-3 hrs, ~£2-4; auto-rickshaw to Bodh Gaya ~£2-3

🛏Bodh Gaya guesthouse (private room ~£12-20)

• →Bodh Gaya monastery quarter walk
• →Evening temple lanterns

Spend the morning at the UNESCO-listed Mahabodhi Temple Complex, home to the bodhi tree descendants and the Mahabodhi Vihar. Many monasteries run free or donation-based meditation sessions and some offer the chance to sit with resident monks for an informal talk on Buddhist history and the site's significance as a pilgrimage destination. In the afternoon, relax in the shaded complex or visit the giant Buddha statue. Note: the original tour's monk meeting is a paid guided experience — here you'll rely on monastery hospitality sessions, which are typically free or by donation.

🚌Walking and local auto-rickshaw ~£2-4

🛏Bodh Gaya guesthouse (~£12-20)

• →Mahabodhi Temple Complex (UNESCO)
• →Meet with a monk / meditation session (donation-based)
• →Great Buddha Statue

Travel to Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, by train (often via Gaya or Patna). Check into a riverside hostel or guesthouse in the ghats area. In the evening, book a shared boat for a sunset Ganges boat tour — float past the cremation ghats as pilgrims perform rituals, and join or watch a candle-and-flower ceremony on the water. Afterwards, if timing allows, sit in on an informal talk with a local scholar-guide at the ghats about the river's spiritual and social role (arrange via your guesthouse or a small local walking-tour operator).

🚌Train Bodh Gaya/Gaya to Varanasi, ~5-8 hrs, ~£3-6

🛏Ghats-area hostel/guesthouse, Varanasi (dorm ~£8-14, private ~£18-28)

• →Sunset Ganges boat tour with candle and flower ceremony
• →Ghats scholar talk / evening aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat

Start before dawn for a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges — watch pilgrims bathe and burning ghats smoke in the early light, the classic Varanasi image. Then head by tuk-tuk towards Sarnath, where the Buddha preached his first sermon, and explore the stupa and archaeological museum (closed Fridays) with a local guide or audio guide. For breakfast, seek out a vocational or social-enterprise café in Varanasi that reinvests in disadvantaged communities (in the spirit of the Open Hand-style café) — ask your hostel for current recommendations. Round the day off with street food and a wander through the old city lanes.

🚌Tuk-tuk to Sarnath return ~£4-6

🛏Ghats-area hostel/guesthouse, Varanasi (~£8-28)

• →Sunrise Ganges boat tour
• →Sarnath stupa and museum
• →Breakfast at a social-enterprise café
• →Old city lane wandering

Final morning for a relaxed breakfast overlooking the river or one last wander to Assi Ghat. Make your own way to Varanasi airport or railway station for onward travel. If you have time, book a yoga or music session, or pick up silk and handicrafts in the Vishwanath lanes.

🚌Tuk-tuk to airport/station ~£3-5

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Assi Ghat morning stroll
• →Last-minute silk shopping