Kolkata is an intense start to a trip that focuses primarily on mountains and countryside, but we find the contrast exhilarating. Here, medieval-seeming workshops turn out clay demons to be submerged in the Hooghly, while trendy university students attend indie music events and art exhibitions. Your hotel is an oasis of calm above the hubbub, with commanding views over the city and the Taj-esque Victoria Memorial. Meanwhile, our expert local guides are your key to understanding the chaos, taking you out to explore Mullik Ghat Flower Market, the pottery workshops of Kumartuli, and the remnants of British India.

Fly north from Kolkata and find yourself in the cool air of the Himalayan foothills, journeying through rolling tea fields and mist-cloaked hills to Darjeeling. Here, colonial history collides with Tibetan Buddhist culture, meaning you can take a British-era ‘Toy Train’ through rhododendron forests to a monastery in Ghoom, and see ivy-covered schoolhouses and Gothic churches alongside markets selling Tibetan woven blankets and momos in the town centre. Of course, the landscape is Darjeeling’s biggest attraction, and it really is stupendous: vivid green plantations and pine forest against a dramatic backdrop of jagged, snowcapped peaks.

Heading north from Darjeeling brings you next to Pelling, in the state of Sikkim. Backed by uninterrupted views of the Kanchenjunga Massif (which includes the third-highest mountain in the world), it’s a spectacular setting for your two-night stay at the Elgin Mount Pandim. A heritage property set in eight acres of oak forest, formerly owned by the Sikkim Royal Family, the Elgin is the perfect base for exploring the surrounding landscape. Begin with 300-year-old Pemayangtse Monastery, just next-door, then head further afield to wish-granting Khecheopalri Lake and jelly-leg-inducing Singshore Bridge, suspended over deep gorges with awesome views over valleys, waterfalls, and forests.

The capital of Sikkim, Gangtok, sits on a hilltop between two rivers under the gaze of the Eastern Himalayas. It’s a winding journey across forested hills and terraced fields to get here, where your base is another Elgin property: a 1930s lodge which has seen numerous famous guests, first as a royal guesthouse and later as a luxury hotel. On a half-day tour with one of our local guides, you’ll discover the Tibetan flavour of Sikkimese culture, stopping in at the golden stupa of the huge Rumtek Monastery, then the 108 prayer wheels of Do Drul Chorten, before making your way back into the city to wander the boutiques and teahouses of MG Marg.

It’s onwards from Sikkim next to West Bengal, and the little-visited hill station of Kalimpong. A contrast to Darjeeling, which has welcomed the world in for decades, Kalimpong is wonderfully under the radar, its culture a rich mix of Tibetan, Nepalese and Bhutanese flavours. By now, you’ll be getting used to the heritage style and comfort of Elgin lodges – this one is the former home of a British jute magnate, surrounded by manicured gardens and (of course) dramatic mountain views. Your time here is at leisure to relax and soak up your surroundings, or head out with one of our guides to see the Buddhist monasteries and colourful flower nurseries that Kalimpong is known for.

Leaving the mountains behind, you fly back to Kolkata today – this time leaving the city behind for the Rajbari Bawali, a 300-year-old residence that was once the ostentatious HQ of the Zamindar Kingdom. Set in a tiny village away from the tourist trail, a stay here is about appreciating the rural heritage of West Bengal. Guided village walks, bike rides in the countryside, pottery lessons, evening aarti prayers and Bengali cooking demonstrations are all part of the offering here, if you choose to partake. If you’d rather just read a book by the pool and soak up the atmosphere of this wonderfully historic property, that’s entirely up to you.