4 Days From Kolkata: Sundarbans and Beyond
Four days is the full single-day-trip circuit: Days 1 to 3 repeat our 3-day version exactly, Dakshineswar and Belur Math, Chandannagar, then Shantiniketan, and Day 4 adds Murshidabad, the old Nawab capital, the furthest of the 4 at roughly 194km. This is the itinerary to book if the Sundarbans is not on your list this trip. For that, see the 6-day or 7-day version instead.
Book these before you go
- Hotel near Park Street or New Market: check listings on Agoda
- A private Shantiniketan day trip: book on Viator
- Hazarduari Express tickets for Murshidabad: book ahead on IRCTC, this train fills on weekends
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Kolkata |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Belur Math | Inside Greater Kolkata, Metro plus a short ferry |
| Day 2 | Chandannagar, the French Strand | About 50-55 minutes each way by local train |
| Day 3 | Shantiniketan, Visva-Bharati | About 2 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours each way by train |
| Day 4 | Murshidabad, Hazarduari Palace | About 3 hours 20 minutes to 4 hours each way by train |
Day 1: Dakshineswar and Belur Math
- Dakshineswar Kali Temple, free entry, roughly 5am-12:30pm and 3-8:30pm, the Blue Line Metro’s northern terminus
- Belur Math across the river, headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, also free, roughly 6am-12pm and 3:30-8:30pm
Day 2: Chandannagar and the French Strand
- Local train from Howrah, about 50-55 minutes, to the Chandannagar Strand, the old French colonial river town’s riverside promenade
- The Institut de Chandernagor museum for French-era artifacts and photographs
Day 3: Shantiniketan, Tagore’s university town
- The Shantiniketan Express from Howrah at 10:00am, arriving Bolpur around 12:15pm, about 2 hours 15 minutes each way at its fastest
- Visva-Bharati campus, the Uttarayan residences complex, and the Sonajhuri weekend haat if the season lines up
Day 4: Murshidabad and Hazarduari Palace
- The Hazarduari Express leaves Kolkata around 6:50am, arriving Murshidabad by roughly 10:10am, about 3 hours 20 minutes, confirm the current timetable before you go
- A local auto-rickshaw or toto covers the roughly 3km from the station to Hazarduari Palace, the Palace of a Thousand Doors
- Entry runs Rs 25 for Indian visitors and Rs 300 for foreign nationals, 9am-4:30pm, closed Fridays, the ticket also covers the neighboring Nizamat Imambara and Madina Mosque
- Return train back to Kolkata, budget the full day for travel plus the site itself
Is 4 days enough to cover all the gateway trips?
All except the Sundarbans, yes. Dakshineswar, Belur Math, Chandannagar, Shantiniketan and Murshidabad all fit into 4 focused days without feeling rushed. The Sundarbans genuinely needs its own 2 to 3 days on top, which is why it sits in our longer itineraries instead of squeezed in here. The West Bengal Tourism site is a good check for any current advisories on the Murshidabad rail line.
Is Murshidabad worth an entire day just for a palace?
If 19th-century Mughal-era Bengal history interests you, yes, Hazarduari Palace and the Nizamat Imambara next door are a real, uncrowded payoff for the distance. If you are building this trip around food, shopping or the Sundarbans instead, Murshidabad is the easiest of the 4 to cut and still have a full plan.
Bring cash for the Murshidabad palace complex, card readers at the ticket counters are inconsistent outside Kolkata itself. Incredible India has background reading on Hazarduari Palace and the old Nawab capital if you want context before Day 4.