West Bengal


West Begal starts from the Himalayan range to the Bay of Bengal. It was in Bengal that the dicisive battle of Plassey was fought.

 

Best period to visit:
October- March

Places of Interest:

Calcutta-
is situated on the bank of river Hoogly. It is the city of Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Robert Clive, Satyajeet Ray and Mother Teresa.

 

Howrah Bridge is an engineering marvel . It runs eight lines of vehicular traffic, including two wide pedestrian foot paths. There is a second bridge called Hooghly Bridge.

Botanical Gardens was created in 1787, at Shibpore. It boasts of more than 40,000 species of plants.

Calcutta Zoological Gardens at Alipore are truly beautiful and India's largest. They are home to many rare birds and animals.

Raj Bhawan was inaugurated by the Marquess of Wellesley to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Amiens.

The town hall, the West Bengal legislative assembly and Calcutta High Court are worth seeing. The Indian museum and Govt. College of Arts are worth visiting. So are St. Paul Cathedral and the Metropolitan Church of India.

Eden Gardens- were designed in 1840 and is worth visiting. 

Fort William was built in 1922 and the foundation stone was laid by King George V. It has a marble facade, and a grand arsenal, an art gallery and a museum.

The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal was built in 1784 by Warren Hastings and Sir William Jones for Oriental research, and contains many rare manuscripts. The Academy of Fine Arts has miniature paintings, old textiles and engravings, works of Tagore and Jaimini Roy.

The Birla Planetarium, Ashutosh Museum, Nehru Children's Museum, and Birla Industrial and Technological Museum are also worth visiting.

Calcutta Race Course is worth going to. 

Kali Temple at Kali Ghat is 350 yrs. old and is a very important shrine. The Paresnath Jain Temple and Japnanese Buddha Temple should be seen.

Darjeeling-
is at the height of 2134 metres, in the shadow of world's third-highest peak, Kanchenjunga. 
Tiger Hill offers the awesome picture of the sun's play on Mount Everest.

Kalimpong and Kurseong-
are picturesque retreats near Darjeeling.

Mirik and Phalut-
are other resorts to be visited.

Jaldapara-
is in east of Siliguri, home to the one-horned Indian Rhino.

Digha-
is a beach resort worth visiting.

Sagar-
is the site of the religious fair Ganga Sagar Mela in January.

Vishnupur-
is known for its terracotta temples, curios, jewellery and Baluchari Sarees.

Shanti Niketan-
is now a world famous open air university and home of contemporary Bengali art and culture.

Murshidabad-
it has the Hazarduari, Mansion of a Thousand Doors.

Sundarbans Marshes-
are the home of the famous Royal Bengal Tigers and also for boars, cats, crocodiles and deer.

Arts & Crafts:
Exquisitely embroidered linen. Murshidabad silks. Baluchari Sarees. Bankura horses. Krishnagar dolls. Malda brass-ware. Kumartuli clay images. Antpur terracotta temples. Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling silver. Shantiniketan leather.