List of tourist attractions in West Bengal

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Tourist attractions in West Bengal refers to the tourist attractions in the Indian state of

Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan
area in the north. With these there are two major natural regions i.e., the Western plateau and the great Sundarban delta.

During the

British India and witnessed a spate of frenzied construction of buildings,[2]
largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Neo-Gothic, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Oriental and Islamic schools of design. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, the layout of much of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins to European styles and tastes imported by the British and, to a much lesser extent, by the Portuguese and French.

Kolkata - now the state capital, is considered to be an ideal hub to cover all the destinations in West Bengal.[3] It is the largest urban center in Eastern India and is well connected by road, rail and air.

Siliguri - the largest city of North Bengal will be another ideal hub to cover all destinations in Northern Bengal and an alternative to Kolkata. This city is the second largest urban center in West Bengal and is also well connected by road, rail and air.

The following is a list of some of the attractions of West Bengal

List

Attraction(s) Location Image
Darjeeling Darjeeling
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy Train)
New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling
Morgan House Kalimpong
Cooch Behar Palace Cooch Behar
Dooars Dooars
Jaldapara National Park Alipurduar district
Gorumara National Park Jalpaiguri district
Hazarduari Palace Murshidabad district (Murshidabad)
Nizamat Imambara Murshidabad district
Adina Deer Park Malda district
Tarakeswar Temple Hooghly District
Gaur
 Maldah
Bangarh Gangarampur
Shantiniketan Birbhum
Bishnupur Terracotta Temples
 Bankura
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden Howrah (Shibpur)
The Great Banyan Tree Howrah (Shibpur)
Howrah Bridge Howrah to Kolkata
B. B. D. Bagh Kolkata
Dakshineswar Kali Temple North 24 Parganas district (Dakshineswar)
Second Hooghly Bridge
 Kolkata to Howrah
Belur Math Howrah (Belur Math)
Victoria Memorial
 Kolkata
Sundarbans delta of India Southern 24 Parganas District
Digha
Purba Medinipur
Mandarmani
Purba Medinipur
St. Paul's Cathedral Kolkata
Sundarbans National Park Sundarbans delta of India
Mayapur Nabadwip
Kumortuli North Kolkata
Salt Lake Stadium
Bidhannagar
Howrah station
 Howrah
Eden Gardens Kolkata

West Bengal stretches to the

Orissa has some beautiful coastal settlements namely Digha, Shankarpur, Mandarmani, Bakkhali, Gangasagara, Tajpur and more others.[5]

Tourist attractions also include some more geographical indications like Nakshi kantha (handicraft), Darjeeling tea (agricultural), Santipore Saree (handicraft), Shantiniketan Leather Goods (handicraft), Fazli Mango (agricultural), Khirsapati or Himsagar mango (agricultural), Laxman Bhog mango (agricultural), Baluchari Saree (handicraft), and Dhaniakhali saree (handicraft).[6]

Goddess Bhavatarini
from the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple

Other attractions include the culture of West Bengal. It attracts tourists for pilgrimages to the holy places of different religions. People from different sections of the world come to West Bengal for holy pilgrimage as Kolkata is one of the

other 52 shaktipeethas some are located in West Bengal. The notable Hindu temples include Kalighat Kali Temple, Tarapith, Belur Math, Mayapur ISKCON Temple, Hangseshwari Temple, Tarakeshwar Temple, Thakurnagar Thakur Bari Temple and Dakshineswar Kali Temple
.

The Nizamat Imambara is the largest one in India and Bengal

West Bengal also has countless mosques like the

Katra Mosque in Murshidabad, Furfura Sharif and Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque
in Kolkata.

Basanta-Utsab, Shantiniketan

Other pilgrim destinations include

Church of the Lord Jesus
.

Buddhist Monasteries in West Bengal are especially located in the hilly regions like the Ghoom Monastery, Bhutia Busty Monastery, Mag-Dhog Yolmowa Monastery, Tharpa Choling Monastery, Zang Dhok Palri Phodang and more others.

Notable festivals include the

Gautama Buddha, is one of the most important Hindu/Buddhist festivals while Christmas, called Bôŗodin (Great day) in Bengali is celebrated by the minority Christian population. Poush Mela is a popular festival of Shantiniketan
, taking place in winter.

Being home to notable people like

Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem and Swami Vivekananda, a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA[8]
there houses and residencies like Shantiniketan and Jorasanko Thakur Bari are world famous and attract many tourists.

West Bengal also has a long tradition of popular literature, music and drama largely based on Bengali folklore and

epics and Puranas
.

Kolkata, the state capital city, was also the workplace of several social reformers, like Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Swami Vivekananda. These social reforms have eventually led to a cultural atmosphere where practices like sati, dowry, and caste-based discrimination or untouchability, the evils that crept into the Hindu society, were abolished.

Patisapta - A kind of Pitha; which is a popular sweet dish in West Bengal during winter.

West Bengal is also known to make distinctive

phuchka.[9][10]

The variety of fruits and vegetables that Bengal has to offer is incredible. West Bengal is also famous for its costumes.

Seven wonders of West Bengal

NDTV along with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India conducted a nationwide campaign for searching the "Seven Wonders of India in 2008-09. The campaign started with shortlisting 200 places from all of the Indian states and then inviting public to cast their vote for their favorite places. It also included seven wonders of particular states. In West Bengal a total 13 were selected of which the "Seven Wonders of West Bengal" were shortlisted. The list of the 30 selected places are as follows:

The shortlisted list, compiling of the "Seven Wonders of West Bengal" as per the votings is as follows:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "India: Administrative Divisions (population and area)". Census of India. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Kolkata was the capital of British India". Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 10 Aug 2012.
  3. Britannica. "Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal"
    . Retrieved 10 Aug 2012.
  4. ^ "West Bengal stretches to the Bay of Bengal". Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  5. ^ Government of West Bengal. "Sea beaches in West Bengal". Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Karnataka gets highest number of GI tags". Business Standard. 11 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Durga Puja". Festivals celebrated throughout West Bengal. Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  8. ISBN 3-935001-06-1
    .
  9. The Telegraph (Kolkata). Archived from the original
    on February 28, 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Mobile food stalls". Bangalinet.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
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