Kolkata is the gateway to a variety of places that could make your honeymoon as special as it should be. Most honeymooners prefer to use this city as the base camp, striking out for a beach or a hill resort nearby, before returning to Kolkata and to their homes.

Be it a beach resort, a hill station or even a wild adventure trail, there's always a great honeymoon haunt just a few hours away from Calcutta.

If you're dreaming about long walks in the clouds, winding road aflame with rhododendrons, quaint pony rides, the majestic silence of a gompa, sips of steaming yak-butter tea, colorful trinkets to take back home and paddling in a calm lake, the hill towns around Kolkata are the best bet for you on your honeymoon. Your itinerary could include the tea town of Darjeeling, quiet Kurseong, the river-soaked Kalimpong, or even the busier Mirik.

If you're game for traveling a little further, you can spend your honeymoon in the lap of nature. Go closer to the mountains in Sikkim. Arunachal Pradesh is another marvelous honeymoon destination near Kolkata, but you need to find another couple to obtain the permit necessary to travel to this place. The tea gardens of Assam offer a verdant backdrop for your honeymoon, but do check the law and order situation here before you plan to travel to this state.

If you've always dreamt of a Baywatch-style honeymoon spent lazing around on a beach, soaking up the sun and basking in the warmth of your partner's company, head out for the beaches around Kolkata. You could plan a trip to Digha, Fraserganj and Shankarpur, or the more popular beach in Puri.

If you'd rather be charmed by the sights and sounds of Calcutta, book yourself into a deluxe hotel and spend your honeymoon taking a lazy tram ride through the city , holding hands under the cool marble shade of Victoria Memorial, close-dancing at the city's nightspots , and sitting down to an intimate dinner for two at some of the city's premiere restaurants.