Places of Interest in West Bengal


Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a beautiful hill station situated in the northern part of West Bengal in the Shiwalik Hills on the lower range of the Himalaya, at an average altitude of 6,982 ft. Mount Kanchenjunga - the world's third-highest peak, is the most prominent peak visible from this small town. During clear days, where rain clouds are not there, Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world can also be seen from the town. The most attractive spot of Darjeeling is the Tiger Hill, from where one of the most beautiful sunrises can be witnessed during clear days. Darjeeling is internationally famous for its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


A Tea garden at Darjeeling

Digha

Digha is a seaside resort town, which lies in East Midnapore district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It is the most popular sea resort in the West Bengal. Renowned for its beaches, Digha is visited by thousands of tourists every year. The entire stretch of the Digha seaface from Old Digha to New Digha is filled with casuarina plantations, which looks beautiful. Tourists visit these to bath in the sea, stroll by the beach along the casuarina trees and enjoy the sights and scenes offered by this magnificent stretch of sea. Shankarpur, Junput, Talsari, Mandarmani, Chandaneswar are some of the near by places of interest from Digha.


Sea Beach at Digha

Murshidabad

Murshidabad, located on the southern bank of the river Bhagirathi, was the capital of undivided Bengal during the Mughal rule. Nawabs of Bengal used to rule Bengal from this city. The Hazarduari Palace or the palace with a thousand doors is the chief tourist attraction of Murshidabad. It is now a museum and has an exquisite collection of armoury, splendid paintings, exhaustive portraits of the Nawabs, various works of art including beautiful works of ivory of China (European) and many other valuables. The other places of attraction in and around the city are Imambara, Wasef Manzil, Katra Mosque, Jahankosha Canon, Jafarganj Cemetery. Murshidabad is also famous for its silk.


Hazarduari Palace

Sunderban

Sunderban, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the largest single block of mangrove forest in the world. The forest lies at the feet of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger, as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes.


Mangroves at Sunderbans

Shantiniketan

Shantiniketan, a small town at Bolpur, Birbhum, is famous for Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Visva-Bharati University. Santiniketan attracts thousands of visitors each year. Numerous social and cultural events take place through out the year - Basanta Utsav, Barsha Mangal, Sharodutsav, Nandan Mela, Poush Mela, Magh Mela, Rabindra Jayanti to name a few. Poush Mela is famous for its live performances of Bengali folk music, baul.


Boshonto Utsav in Shantiniketan

Tarapith

Tarapith, a small town near Rampurhat in Birbhum district, is famous for Kali temple that attracts tourists. The deity in Tarapith is famously called Maa Tara and the place is also k known for the great saint Bamakhayapa. Tarapith hosts a burning ground (situated near Temple), where Bamakhyapa sat in meditation. Tourists can visit Bakreshwar from Tarapith.


Tarapith Temple

Bishnupur

Bishnupur, a small town in Bankura, is famous for its terracotta temples and the Balucheri sarees. There are many temples, which stand as testimony of the best craftsmanship of the artisans of the region, crafted from the local laterite and brick and covered with terracota tiles. The famous sites include Rasmancha, Jorebangla, Madan Mohan, Radheshyam temple to name a few.


Rasmancha Temple at Bishnupur

Jaldapara

Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected wild life park situated at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar and on the bank of river Torsa. Jaldapara, the vast grassland with patches of riverine forests was declared a sanctuary in 1941 for protection of the great variety flora and fauna, particularly one-horned rhinos, an animal threatened with extinction. Activity includes an adventurous elephant ride in the morning that takes tourists deep inside the grassland. Chilapata Forest, Totopara are adjacent places that attract tourists.


One horn rhinos at Jaldapara forest

Raichak

Raichak is a small town in Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, located on the bank of the Hooghly river. The British had built a fort at Raichak, which is on a river bend, in the 18th century, for guarding against pirates. The fort gradually fell into ruins and was converted to a lively 5-star hotel. Those who are more adventurous can make also use the Raichak jetty or the nearby Nurpur jetty and take a ferry across the river. It is perfect for a weekend gateway from Kolkata.


River bank at Raichak

Mukutmanipur

Mukutmanipur is a small town in Bankura district of West Bengal and is located at the confluence of the Kangsabati and Kumari rivers close to the Jharkhand border. Mukutmonipur and Jhilimili nearby are major tourist attractions visited by more than one lakh visitors. The second biggest earth dam of India is located in Mukutmonipur 55 km away from Bankura. The place is very famous for its superb natural beauty. Approximately two kilometers from the lake is the Bangopalpur Reserve Forest, a home of many species of flora and fauna. Four kilometres from the dam is the ancient town of Ambikanagar, once an important place of pilgrimage for Jains. Mukutmanipur is home to the world's reportedly longest (10.8 km) man-made mud-banked fresh water barrage that canalises Kangshabati & Kumari rivers into the three drought affected districts of Bankura, Purulia & Midnapore for irrigation in the summer months.


Mukutmanipur lake