Cabin Food Walk
Indian Coffee House and around
It is something that has been known for a while and a belief we at Calcutta Walks strongly stand by, that food is one of the strongest connects you can have with any city. Any cuisine with its varied flavours, common ingredients and distinct taste adds a unique identity to the character of a place.
Calcutta too has its incredible tastes – but what makes her’s so amazing is the variety of flavours that have emerged because of the plethora of influences that she has merged in herself.
In an endeavour to provide a holistic experience of the city to those who are more than tourists, Calcutta Walks has come up with its unique Cabin Food Walk.
In this we take you through all the hole in the wall eateries that dot old Calcutta where everyone from revolutionaries to literati have gathered to satiate their hunger for food and flock. So join us to eat from the palette that has served many a poet, writer, activist, footballer, filmmaker, photographer, et al.
Street Food Calcutta Tours
New Market and around
You get to experience some of the best food in the world at a fraction of the cost that you’d pay anywhere else. While some food items developed indigenously most have been brought it by the many settlers who came in attracted by the prosperity of this colonial city. Without further ado let’s plunge in and find out the best available street food in the city and the many locations and outlets that will leave you craving for more.
From the famous Kati rolls, a unique Calcutta style wrap, to street side masala cha, from varieties of fried fish to the unending list of delectable sweets. The range that you will experience will be a delight for all foodies.
Depending on where we go the tour may include a taste of:
Jalebis, Soota Kababs, Dahi Papdi Chaat, Gaathia, Dalpuri, Chai, Chilla, Chowmein, Bhel Puri, Jhaal Muri, Puchkas, Paw Bhaji, Shinghara, Aloo Puri, Fish Fry… and so on.
Confluence Of Cultures / The Melting Pot Walk
Bow Barracks to Burrabazar
Our city has witnessed many more cultures in its past than most others would even in this globalised present. Here we will trace for you the origins and remains of the varied communities that hung their boots and called Calcutta home. Lets check out why Chinese breakfast still rules Tiretta Bazar, where the Parsis are dwindling in numbers with each passing day and how the Armenians gave the city its oldest surviving Christian church while we pass the Anglo-Indians, the Muslims, the Marwaris, the Biharis and many more that made this city a great melting pot of diverse cultures. This is one of our most popular tours and highly recommended to get an idea of the melting pot that Calcutta is.
Good Morning Calcutta! / A Royal Enfield Motorbike Tour
Old City to Botanical Gardens via Howrah Bridge
The city from a Royal-Enfield-rider’s perspective. Simply because maneuvering through the old town is easier and faster this way, and we love these beasts that have been in production in our country every since WWII. Join us on a discovery of the city through the lens of the riders of the cult bike, Royal Enfield. Do the must see sites of the city with intermittent breaks at various bikers’ stops.
We pick you up at 8am and take you to the nearest biker’s tea stop. After some tea and snacks possibly, we head out to see the various sites of the old city and its Southern extensions.
Via the old Howrah Bridge we may head out to the Botanical Gardens to check out one of the world’s largest Banyan tree. Return back via the new hanging bridge and head straight to lunch at an interesting Calcutta joint. Drop back to the hotel by 12 noon approximately.
Special Instructions
Not for the faint-hearted. Although we ride at slow cruise speeds, the Calcutta traffic may get challenging.
In Calcutta, do as the Calcuttans do. / Public Transport Tour
Chowringhee to Riverside
One of the best connected cities of the world, Calcutta has a plethora of options to take you from place to place. The International Association of Public Transport ranks this city among the top 40 cities in urban mobility.
Trams were introduced in the 1860s. Horse-drawn at first, they were electrified early in the 20th century. Tram routes have been cut back at a time when our gasping city needs this means of cleaner transportation.
Taxis – A veritable tank that barrels through our streets, the Ambassador is based on an old Oxford Morris design not in production in England sadors serve as taxis and remain vehicles of choice for our much-since the 1950s. The best cars for the crater-pitted roads here.
Autos – Unlike in other cities the auto rickshaws ply only on fixed routes. A fun crazy ride if you can find one with music and disco lights.
Metro Rail – India’s first and Calcutta’s cleanest – the metro serves millions who traverse from north to south. An East-West Metro and several other routes are now being added.
Rickshaws – Officially banned, this archaic mode of transport still plies through old Calcutta’s streets. They become indispensable on days when it rains cats and dogs and the city is flooded with knee deep water. Fares need to be agreed to in advance.
Buses – The popular joke is buses don’t ply in Calcutta, they ‘fly’. You will come to realise this when you see them hankering after passengers and overtaking each other, often with less than pleasing results. There are various kinds, including air conditioned services.
Trains – Hundreds of trains bring in loads of passengers seeking their livelihood in this city. Then there’s the circular railway network that can be used to go to different localities within the city.
Ferries – Another super-cheap mode of transport, this one is great to bypass the traffic-clogged Howrah Bridge.
In this tour we will try and get you inside as many of the transport systems as possible thereby decoding for you the way the city moves. More than half of all journeys in the city are made on public transport which jostle with each other on the less than 6% road space that our city offers.
The Himalayan Sojourn – 15 Days – 1200 kms
Sikkim, Darjeeling, Dooars
Ride with us on classic WWII style Royal Enfield motorcycles through one of the most isolated, picturesque and mountainous regions in the world. The eastern Himalaya is a taste of paradise for adventure-seeking motorcycle travelers. Ride through alpine meadows, glacial lakes, the verdant thickly forested mountainsides; take in the serenity of small villages, terraced fields and Buddhist Gompas. Go off the beaten path to pristine and breathtakingly beautiful scenery, awe inspiring views of snow covered peaks including Mt. Kanchenjunga, and interactions with the warm and hospitable indigenous hill tribes; all combine to give you a unique and matchless holiday experience in the Himalayas. Explore the hidden kingdom of Sikkim and the mist covered mountains of Darjeeling with an intoxicating mix of adventure, culture and history that comes together to give you an experience of a lifetime.
Stop to drink from the pristine water streams,(mountain springs) ride through winding roads that beg to be ridden, interact with the locals and experience their isolated yet contented way of life, savour their fresh organic produce, learn the intricacies of their cuisine and indulge in many more such authentic journeys both within and without.
Cook as the Bongs do / Bengali Cooking Experience
Lake Market / Jadu Babu Bazar
Bengal is a foodie’s paradise and more so Calcutta, where various adventurers have left their gastronomical imprints. We take you through an experience not easy to forget…especially because of the satiating burps afterwards. A walk through the market will familiarize you with the ingredients that go into the making of some of authentic Bengali food and we follow that up with cooking demonstration by either a regular housewife or by the owners of the finest restaurants of the city. Always followed by authentic Bengali sweets – a good enough reason to be on this tour.
Special Instructions
Please do mention to the cook if you have any sort of allergies. All the food is bought fresh and cooked in front of you, in case your stomach is super-sensitive we advise that you take your necessary pills.
Greater Calcutta Cruise
Belur Math to Botanical Gardens
The cruise starts at 8 am and takes you to the pristine Belur Math for a greater understanding into who created the famous Ramakrishna Mission and how. With breakfast and lunch on board we also visit the Botanical Gardens, home of the famous Banyan Tree, the largest of its kind in this part of the world.
Available only on days we already have a group of 10 people going.
Now That’s Entertainment
Park Street - Societies to Cemeteries Walk
Park Street ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ as well as the erstwhile ‘Burial Ground Road’, welcome to the Park Street. If Calcutta was the capital of the British Raj, then Park Street was the capital street of the city, where the rich and the famous lived, dined and made merry. Here, we will traverse down this hugely famous as well as infamous promenade and pay homage to the pleasure capital of the British empire. So, come with us as we take you from one end of the street to the other taking in restaurants, watering holes, hotels, the churches, colleges, stately homes and the burial grounds. Whew! Now that’s some street!
Reminiscence and Resurgence
Chowringhee - Buzzing Calcutta Walk
We will circumnavigate the Grand, an iconic Calcutta landmark which has weathered changing tastes and turbulent times to retain its status as one of Calcutta’s most beloved luxury hotels. Take in the frenzied economic activity that occurs all around its periphery, and find out why savvy shoppers have never given up on New Market, where it was said one could buy anything – from pins to pachyderms. Ponder the loss of such great establishments as Whiteway-Laidlaw, Bourne and Shepherd, and Firpo’s and their ironic replacement by the ubiquitous hawker and his wares. Once known as the most fashionable street and earning Calcutta its epithet as the ‘city of palaces’ you will see how Chowringhee still has a lot of charm on offer.
As The Muezzin Calls / Ramzan Food Walk
Nakhoda Mosque and around
The holy month of Ramazan is extremely special for Muslims for a variety of reasons. It’s a month where they learn to abstain — abstain from excesses – excesses in food, drink, entertainment and everything else that is taken for granted throughout the year. This month makes them pause and reflect about everything that is consumed.
From sunrise to sunset, roza is all about battling hunger and thirst every day. Different people pass their days in different ways with varying levels of activity but everyone is united by that fact that come sunset when the muezzin stands to give the call to prayer (azaan), everyone waits with bated breath to thank the Lord for the enormous bounty he has provided us by way of food.
This is where we trace what goes into the making of the Iftar and all the special goodies that are rustled up for the devout.
Depending on availability the tour may include dates, fried stuff, fruits and sweets.
For reading the article on the Ramzan Walk 2017 in click here The Telegraph, Kolkata on the Ramzan Walk by Calcutta Walks
For further reading check out Explorer Ifte’s articles in The Telegraph, Kolkata and the Wall Street Journal, India.