Kolkata is the gateway to three distinct ecosystems — the Eastern Himalayan hill belt (Darjeeling, Kalimpong), the Sundarbans mangroves, and the Shantiniketan-Bishnupur Bengal interior. Each is a different category of weekend.
Hill-station picks need an overnight train (NJP) or flight (Bagdogra) plus 3 hours of driving — true 3-day weekends only. Sundarbans and Bishnupur work as 2-day road trips. Avoid mid-summer for the hills (closed-monsoon roads).
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