Tourism Citis in West Bengal

A dream destination for vacationers, West Bengal is a gift of nature unlike any other. Nestling on the eastern side of India, West Bengal is bordered by Jharkhand and Bihar to the west and Nepal to north east and extends from Himalayas till Bay of Bengal. With such varied geography, West Bengal has some of the best hill stations crowning its head and exquisite beaches washing its foot. The most famed of all is Darjeeling; arguably the best tea producer in the world. Overlooking the mighty Mt. Kanchenjunga, it offers breathtaking views of sun rise on Eastern Himalayas. Along with the splendid Darjeeling tea, what brings glory to this jewel of East India is the Darjeeling Toy Train. Run by Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, the train has been operating for almost a century now and has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Darjeeling is surrounded by many other scintillating hill stations like Kalimpong, and Siliguri.

Nature did not restrict its endowments to north of Bengal only. One of nature's best wonders lies abreast with Bay of Bengal. The world's largest mangrove forest and India's largest national park, Sunderbans, lies on the Gangetic plains. Sunderbans National park is famous for the mysterious Royal Bengal Tigers, coined the man eaters. The wildlife park has the highest number of Royal Bengal Tigers in India.

More than anything else, West Bengal flaunts its history and culture as its most prized possessions. Like anywhere else, West Bengal too is a mix of its past and present. However, there are not many places like Bengal where past glory is more prominent and stands with the same glory and aura. Especially the capital city of Kolkata, where century old buildings stand shoulder to shoulder with the flashy new glass buildings. The former capital of British India, Kolkata was earlier called as Calcutta. The greatest attractions of Kolkata are its heritages like Victoria memorial, Town Hall, the famous Indian Museum and Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge). The strategic position of west Bengal made it an important gateway into India. Not only did British come to India through here, many others like Portuguese and French too used Bengal as their settlement. They too left their mark on West Bengal which can still be seen. History of West Bengal is incomplete without a mention of legendary personalities that made the history so special. Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Satyajit Ray have all taken West Bengal to the world.

The state is called the cultural and intellectual capital of India. And if you wish to know the reason why, visit West Bengal during the five day Durga Puja celebrations held during September-October months, precisely during the Navaratris. The energy, enthusiasm and devotion will take you to a different dimension of experiencing. Religion of West Bengal is not the only aspect this festival shows us. It brings forth the exquisite cuisine, rich art and crafts, music and dance, traditions and creativity of Bengali people. West Bengal is a state with uncountable attractions to see and even more things to do. A lifetime in West Bengal seems less to experience this one of a kind state in all its colors and fervors. Start your journey in West Bengal from any corner and by the time you are through with attractions of the state, you will crave to start it all over again.

Museums an Art Galleries :Academy of Fine Arts, Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, Birla Planetarium, Gurusaday Museum, Nehru Children's Museum, Rabindra Bharati Museum, State Archaeological Gallery, Victoria Memorial Hall Museum.

Major Tourist Attractions in Kolkata

Victoria Memorial A fascinating piece of architecture, which has been converted to a museum, hosts the most memorable artifacts and collectibles from the days of British rule. The building was built from the white marbles of Jodhpur as a memorial to Queen Victoria.

Indian Museum Established in 1814, the building has beautiful structure. The oldest museum in India, it has one of the rarest collections of archeological importance. Some of the coin in the collection are about 2400 years old.

Eden Garden The oldest cricket ground of India, gets its name from Mrs. Eden, sister of Lord Auckland. The garden has a Burmese pagoda and a band stand. The cricket ground here can accommodate more than 1 lac people.

Birla Planetarium Its one of the largest planetariums in the world, and a good place to enjoy. Inaugurated on 29th September, 1962, the internal diameter of the tomb is 82 feet. The auditorium has a capacity of 500 and it conducts regular shows in Hindi, English and Bengali.

Howrah Bridge An excellent example of engineering techniques, the 450 m long bridge hangs without any towers in the river. The bridge is also one of the busiest bridge in the world, catering to around 100,000 vehicles and innumerable pedestrians. The bridge connects Kolkata and Howrah over river Hooghly.

Shanti Niketan 136 km from Kolkata is the place where Rabindranath Tagore lived and established a university.

History: West Bengal's early and intellectually productive contact with the West and with other parts of India is one of the most significant factors affecting the state's history. The other was its partition into Muslim East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and the Hindu Indian state of Bengal in 1947. Integration of Cooch Behar and the former French colony, Chandernagore into Bengal took place post Independence. After gaining land from Bihar, a link between the northern and southern parts of the state, separated earlier.

Tribes : West Bengal contains about 40 recognized communities of tribes--the better known among them being the Santals, Oraons, Munas, Lepchas, and Bhutias--that make up less than one-tenth of the total population. Bengali is the language of most of the people, with Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, and English as minority languages. English, however, is the language of administration and a lingua franca for business purposes.

Occupation: More than one-half of the people are engaged in agriculture; rice being the most important crop. Bengal's tea plantations account for much of India's tea production. The state has a significant mineral output, including dolomite, limestone, and china clay. It has steel plants, an automobile-manufacturing plant, and numerous chemical, machinery-building, and light-engineering industries.

Festival : Calcutta festival in January; Bathing Festival in Sagar Island in January; Jhapan festival in Vishnupur in August, Nag Panchami in August; Durga and Kali Puja during September-October and the Flower and Tea festival in Kalimpong in October. Id and Christmas are also important festivals.

Culture : Bengal, the cultural centre of India has produced 4 Nobel Laureates: Tagore, Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray and Amartya Sen. The theatre is popular, and both amateur and professional performances are quite sophisticated. traditional open-air performances, are popular in the countryside, along with kavigan an impromptu duel in musical verse between village poets. Traditional music takes the form of devotional and cultural songs. The kathakata a religious recital based on folklore, is another rural entertainment. Films offer yet another type of popular diversion, and Bengali productions has earned national and international awards.

Excursions: Digha Beach- 185 kms, Santiniketan- 213 kms, Bakkhali Beach- 132 kms, Chandannagar- 39 kms, Diamond Harbour- 51 kms, Sundarban- 131 kms, Tribani- 48 kms, Gangasagar- 140 kms, Malda- 340 kms, Kalna- 82 kms, Navadweep- 110 kms, Mayapur- 134 kms, Murshidabad- 221 kms, Vishnupur- 152 kms, Belur Math- 16 kms, Dakshineshwar Temple- 20 kms, Botanical Gardens- 8 kms, Murshidabad- 221 kms, Shantiniketan- 167 kms.

By Air: Well Connected with the major cities.
By Rail:Howrah and Sealdah are the main railway stations in Calcutta. Calcutta is well Connected with the major cities.
By Road: Well Connected with the major cities.

Roads Surfaces – 25984 Km, Un-surfaced – 32016 Km,
National Highways – 1631 Km Railways 3767 Km Eastern & South Eastern Railway Headquarters are in Calcutta.
Airports Domestic : Bagdogra International:
Calcutta Major Ports : Calcutta, Haldia