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Near
By Places
Kolkata - Calcutta
Sunderbans
Jaldapara Sancturary
Bakkhali
Shantiniketan
Vishnupur
Darjeeling
Sagardwip ( SAGAR ISLAND )
Raiganj Bird-Sanctuary
Plassey
Kurseong
Kalimpong
Durgapur
Digha
Buxa Tiger Reserve
West Bengal
 Kolkata, a city with a fabled
past and spell binding present, the enigma that is for every individual
to uncover. The legacy trail winds alongside the bustling streets to
divulge a treasure trove of antiques, architecture, music , festivals
and fairs, soccer matches, religious festivals, a political
demonstration, music, art, poetry, eating or adda (chat session), quiet
evenings on a boat and much more. Places for sightseeing here in the
city includes Raj Bhawan, the residence of the Governor of Bengal;
Victoria Memorial, the city’s landmark; Botanical Gardens, which is
noteworthy for the oldest banyan tree, orchid house, Armenian Church;
Marble Palace, one family’s collection of memorabilia; and the Birla
Planetarium.
Darjeeling, popularly known as the Queen of the Hills, is the jewel in
the crown of the Eastern Himalayas and is the perfect destination for
nature lovers, trekkers and holidayers. Famous for tea and tea gardens,
for breathtaking valleys and scenery, Darjeeling also boasts of the
quaintest toy train in India.
Kalimpong is a quieter destination, fabled for orchids, rarest cacti and
nurseries. Kurseong the hill station en route to Darjeeling is an
attractive spot with an excellent view of the Kanchenjunga ranges and
the valleys below.
Kolkata - Calcutta
 Kolkata is the largest metropolis and is the Gateway to Eastern India.
It is the intellectual and cultural capital of India and has a lot for
the tourist to explore. Summers are extremely hot and humidity is high,
while winters are pleasant with temperatures dropping to 10°C.
Getting
there:
Air: India Airlines connect Calcutta with Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Port
Blair, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Patna, Lucknow, Tezpur, Jorhat,
Dibrugarh, Silchar, Imphal, Bagdogra, Agartala, Bangalore,
Vishakhapatnam (Vizag), Guwahati, Dimapur, Hyderabad and Car-Nicobar.
Rail: Howrah and Sealdah, two main railway stations are there in
Calcutta. Calcutta is connected by rail to most of the important places
in India.
Road: Good motorable roads connect Calcutta to all the major
cities in India. Some of these are: Puri-560 kms, Bhubaneshwar-498 kms,
Siliguri-000 kms, Darjeeling-678 kms, Krishnanagar-000 kms,
Baharampur-000 kms, Patna-547 kms, Ranchi-000 kms, Alahabad-000 kms,
Kanpur-000 kms, Lucknow-000 kms, Haridwar-1586 kms, Varanasi-681 kms,
Bombay-2060 kms, Delhi-1490 kms, Chennai-0000 kms.
Local Transport:
Metered Taxis, Cycle & Man-pulling rickshaws, city buses, Trams,
Electric Trains & Metro rail services are available.
Hotels
Deluxe - Taj Bengal, The Oberoi Grand. Standard – Park Hotel,
Airport Ashok, Hotel Hindustan International. New Kenilworth
International, Ruttdeen, Lytton, Astor. Budget – Astoria, Minerva,
Swagat, Carlton, The Samilton, Host International, Shalimar, Udaychal
Tourist Lodge, YMCA, YWCA.
Places of
interest
-
Belur Math
16.5 km
-
Botanical
Garden 19.2 km
-
Dakshineshwar Temple 20 km
-
Howarh
Bridge 6.4 km
-
Jain Temple
9 km
-
Kali Temple
3.2 km
-
Marble
Palace 6.8 km
-
Nakhoda
Mosque 6 km
-
National
Library 1.4 km
-
Rabindra
Sarobar 4.2 km
-
Raj Bhavan
3 km
-
Ramakrishna
Mission Institute of Culture 5 km
-
Sahid Minar
(Ochterlony Monument)
-
St.Paul's
Cathedral, Victoria Memorial 0.5 km
-
Zoological
Gardens 3 km
-
Museums and
Art Galleries
-
Academy of
Fine Arts, Tel: 248-4302;
-
Asutosh
Museum, Tel: 34-7472;
-
Birla
Academy of Art & Culture, Tel: 76-6802;
-
Birla
Industrial & Technological Museum, Tel: 247-7341;
-
Birla
Planetarium, Tel: 242-1554/-6619;
-
Gurusaday
Museum; Indian Museum, Tel: 29-9902;
-
Nehru
Children's Museum, Tel: 248-3517;
-
Rabindra
Bharati Museum, Tel: 34-5241;
-
State
Archaeological Gallery, Tel: 243-6636;
-
Victoria
Memorial Hall Museum, Tel: 248-5142
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. Famous for the exquisite 17th & 18th century terracotta
temples, Seat of classical music. The Stylised, "Bankura horse"
symbolic of excellence in rural handicrafts is native to this
district.
-
Belur Math
(16 km) is a modern temple within the grounds of the Ramakrishna
Mission.
Dakshineshwar Temple (20 km) dedicated to Kali is built in the
architectural style of Bengal.
-
Botanical
Gardens (8 km) cover 110 hectares and have a number of rare plants,
including a 200 year old banyan tree.
Murshidabad (221 km) centre of Bengal’s silk industry and the
residence of the erstwhile nawab of Bengal.
-
Shantiniketan (167km) now a university, founded by the Nobel
literature laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
Sunderbans
Situated on the lower end of the Gangetic West Bengal, the Sunderbans
are spread over the world’s largest delta covered by the rarest mangrove
forest and vast saline muddy soil. This is a land cris- crossed by
innumerable tributaries and branches of the River Hooghly, with creeks
all over. The forest is home to the internationally famous Royal Bengal
Tiger, to a large variety of fauna including the King Cobra, lizards,
pythons, deer, crocodile, fishing eagle, giant turtle, olive ridley,
easter knot etc.
Entry
Permit:
To visit Tiger Project area including Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary
permission is to obtained from:
The Joint Secretary (Forest), Govt. of West Bengal, 4th Floor, G-Block,
Writers' Building, Calcutta- 700 001, Tel: "225-5601 Extn 411/754.
Getting
there:
Air: Nearest airport is Calcutta (131 kms). Indian Airlines
connect Calcutta with the all major cities in India.
Rail: Sunderbans is accessible only by riverine waterways. From
Calcutta there are suburban train to Canning and buses to Namkhana,
Raidighi, Sonakhali and Najat from where Motor launch services re
available for Sundarbans.
Road: Above mentioned embarkation points from Calcutta are:
Namkhana (105 km), Sonakhali (100 km), Raidighi (76 km), Canning (64
km), Najat (92 km)
Waterways: Approximate time taken between various points are:
-
From
Namkhana - Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project (2.5 hours) Sagar Island (2.5
hours) Jambudwip (3.5 hours).
-
From
Sajnekhali - Sudhanyakhali (40 minutes) Buridabri (Tiger Project Area)
(5 hours) Netidhopari (3.5 hours) Holiday Island (3 hours)
-
From
Sonakhali - Gosaba (1 hour) 4. From Raidighi - Kalas (5 hours)
For Private
Launches Contact: West Bengal Launch Owners' Syndicate, Calcutta
Jaldapara Sancturary
Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary situated in Alipurduar Sub-Division of
Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal offers memorable elephant rides
through the rhino and tiger forests. Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary is
the habitat of the rare one- horned rhinoceros, the mighty bison, the
spotted deer, the barking deer, sambar, hog deer, reptiles, huge wild
tuskers, wild boars and the rarest variety of animals and birds
including the peacocks.
Getting
there:
Air: Bagdogra is the nearest airport from where tourist can reach
Jaldapara by road-route, noted below. (Siliguri to Bagdogra - 13 kms).
Rail: All the mail & express trains stop at Birpara / Hasimara
railway stations both are 20 kms away from the sanctuary. Only passenger
trains stop at Madarihat railway station which is 7 kms away from the
sanctuary. Madarihat Tourist Lodge is in walk able distance from the
Railway Station.
Road: Jaldapara is connected by road with Darjeeling and Siliguri.
Excursions
Local Excursions may be arranged to visit tea gardens to see the
manufacturing of tea in the nearby tea gardens by prior arrangement with
the authority. Anthropological excursion in nearby Tribal village,
TOTOPARA, can be arranged.
Bakkhali
The second popular sea resort of West Bengal is Bakkhali, situated only
132 km away from Kolkata. It is quiet and fascinating.
Transport
A three hour bus journey from Kolkata to Namkhana, a ferry across the
river Hatania Doania, and another bus journey for one and half hour to
Bakkhali Between Kolkata and Namkhana there are CSTC buses as well as
private bus.
There is also a train service from Sealdah station upto Diamond Harbour
Namkhana is 58 km from Diamond Harbour.
How to Reach
Kumardhubi (10kms.) and Barakar (12kms.) are the nearest railway
stations. Asansol Junction is about 35 kms .fro, here. Regular bus
services are available from Dhanbad and Maithon to this place. Taxies
are also available. Dhanbad is 50 kms from here.
Shantiniketan
In 1901, a school in the traditional gurukul system was founded here by
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Born into the famous Tagore family,
he had a vision of a world where humanity would be in perfect harmony
with nature. Shantiniketan (abode of peace) is the fruition of that
vision.
The Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan, 2 kms from the nearest
railway station Bolpur, is now a centre of international studies and
culture. Another interesting feature about Santiniketan is that splendid
sculptures, frescoes, murals and paintings of Rabindranath, Nandlal
Bose, Ramkinkar, Bindobehari Mukhopadhyaya and others adorn the campus.
The University remains closed in May-June and for one month during the
Puja Holidays i.e. September-October.
Getting
there:
Air: The nearest airport is Kolkata 213 kms.
Rail: The nearest railhead is Bolpur, 2 km away. Trains
connecting Bolpur with Howrah/Sealdah (Kolkata) are 3015/3016
Howrah-Bolpur Shantiniketan Exp, 3133/3134 Sealdah-Mughalsarai Exp,
3071/3072 Howrah-Jamalpur Exp, 2557/ 2558 Kanchenjunga Exp., 335/336
Vishwabharati Fast Pgr., Shantiniketan Exp., Danapur Fast Pgr. and
Tarapith Passenger.
Road: Good motorable roads connect Shantiniketan with Calcutta
213 kms (Bolpur 2-Panagarh 44-Burdwan 48-Calcutta 119), Durgapur 56 kms,
Sarnath 197 kms
Local Transport: Tourist cars and buses available from the
Manager, Tourist Lodge. Charges are according to distance and time.
What to
see
Shantiniketan is a University town and a centre of learning. The
Uttarayan complex where the poet lived consists of several buildings
such as Udayana. Konark, Shyamali, Punascha and Udichi which reflect the
architectural genius of the poet's illustrious son the late
Rathindranath Tagore. In addition there are Kala Bhavan (College of Fine
Arts and Crafts). Sangit Bhavan (College of Music and Dance), Vidya
Bhavan (College of Humanities), Siksha-Bhavan (College of Science) and
Vinaya Bhavan (Teacher's Training College), Cheena Bhavan and Hindi
Bhavan. The Shantiniketan campus of Viswa Bharati has grown up to be a
centre for learning with a bias towards art, music and humanities. At
Shriniketan, mainly a Centre for Rural Service and Studies (Palli
Samgathan Bibhaga), there is a college of Agriculture (Palli Siksha
Sadan) as well.
The Places of interest are mainly on the campus and have a distinctive
feature of some of the best in Indian art and culture.
-
China
Bhavan: The Chinese Faculty.
-
Chhatimtala:
Here Maharshi Devendranath, the father of Rabindranath Tagore, used to
meditate. Prayers are held usually at Convocation time. Successful
graduates of the Vishwa Bharati University are presented a branch of
five leaves each from the Saptaparni trees which abound in the area.
-
Kala Bhavan:
The College of Fine Arts & Crafts has an museum exhibiting sculptures,
frescoes & murals and a library of art books.
-
Patha
Bhavan: Now a secondary school, it is of particular interest as an
example of the traditional `Brahmacharya Ashram'.
-
Prayer
Hall: Founded by the poet's father in 1863, the hall is made of glass.
Prayers are held on Wednesday.
-
Bichitra:
Also called Rabindra Bhavan, a Research Centre and Museum where the
poet's personal belongings, paintings & various editions of his works
are exhibited.
-
Sangeet
Bhavan: College of Dance and Music. The University is replete with
works on Art, Music and the Humanities.
-
Uttarayan
Complex: The poet lived and worked in the Northern Complex consisting
of several buildings as: Udayana, Konarka, Shyamali, Punascha and
Udichi. The Bichitra ( or, Rabindra Bhavan ) designed by the poet's
son Rathindranath Tagore.
N O T E: PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT PERMITTED.
Museums and Art Galleries
Parks and
Gardens
-
Deer Park:
Near Sriniketan, 3 kms from Shantiniketan. Originally, the area was a
fast eroding `Khowai'. It is now a large wooded area with herds of
deer and makes a natural bird sanctuary.
-
Uttarayan
Gardens: University Campus
Excursions
-
Fullora (40
kms)
-
Nalhati
(104 kms)
-
Kankalitala
(7 kms)
-
Bakreshwar
(58 kms): Nearest railway station Dubrajpur 12 kms. WBTDC Tourist
Lodges & PWD Inspection Bungalows available
-
Massanjore
(78 kms): Mayurakshi Bhavan, Youth Hostel available to stay there.
-
Kendubilwa
(42 kms): Buses ply from Bolpur railway station. Buses also ply or
Kenduli from Calcutta for tourists.
-
Nanoor (23
kms): Birthplace of the Vaisnava poet,Chandidas (14th century). Buses
ply from Bolpur railway station. Travet Sng time: one hour.
-
Tarapith
(80 kms): One can reach Tarapith firstly from Bolpur to Rampurhat by
train or bus and then 5 kms by bus or cycle rickshaw. Ramkanai
Dharamshala a number of hotels are there.
Shopping
-
Grameen (Bolpur)
-
Sarvodaya
Ashram (Bolpur) (Handicrafts & handlooms)
-
Vishwa
Bharati Shilpa Sadan (Shantiniketan)
-
Shantiniketan Co-operative Stores (Shantiniketan).
Festivals
-
Maghotsava
(February)
It marks the anniversary of the Brahmo Samaj and the Founding of
Shriniketan.
-
Vasanta
Utsava (March)
It coincides with Holi. The students, in colourful dress, dance their
way i nto the Mango Grove. Here an open air variety programme is
staged.
-
Varsha
Mangagal (Jul-Aug)
Cultural shows are held and a tree planting ceremony preceded by
Halokarshan (ploughing).
-
Sharadotsava (Oct-Nov)
An autumnal festival of song and dance before the University closes
for the Puja holidays.
-
Paush
Utsava (December)
The Calendar year comes to a close with a colourful fair marking the
foundation day. Tribal dances (Santhali) & Baul singers are a part of
the fair. Tribal crafts in silver and Dhokra metalware are popular
with visitors.
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