Europe meets the east in the towering temples of Bowali, which is also known for the ruins of a colonial mansion that was once surrounded by a landscaped garden dotted with statues of Italian marble and a water turret. Built by the Mondal family, the temples offer an insight into the European influence on Bengal’s […]
If a trip planning is made to Behrampore in Murshidabad, then we should drop at Bhattabati (or Bhattamati), a village near Lalbag. The name can be traced to the regime of Nawab Hussein Shah (1493-1519), when 1,200 Bhatta Brahmin families from Karnat in south India settled down here. No one from the Bhatta clan lives […]
A stone’s throw from Kharagpur, on the lap of the Subarnarekha, lays Bhonsraghat, a retreat of quiet beauty. It is ideal for a day-trip or a picnic. The drive itself is half the fun. The picturesque road lay straight as an arrow for about 35 kilometres from Kharagpur. In the spring season the foliage of the […]
Randiha is a homely tourist spot in the Durgapur subdivision of Burdwan district, about 10km from Panagarh on NH2 and about 19km downstream the Durgapur barrage. A picturesque town on the banks of the Damodar, Randiha offers a beautiful mix of greenery and water. You can spend the mornings with endless cups of tea, listening […]
Time stands still in Rajabhatkhawa. That’s what is felt when one reaches this quaint village surrounded by the Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district. Miles of deep forest, swift brooks and hills dotting the horizon greet us with a placidness that seems almost otherworldly. There is a story behind the name of the village. It […]
Taki is a cosy and quiet retreat, just a two-hour drive from the city. It is situated 73 km northeast of Kolkata, in North 24-Parganas, bordering Bangladesh. It is also the gateway to the Sunderbans. After crossing Science City, and driving down Basanti Road we cross the Bantala Leather Complex. The landscape started changing from […]
The family temples of the Duttas and the Deys in Jaypur, a nondescript village in Bankura, with rich terracotta work on their walls, are counting their days before nature and time run their course. Let’s pack our bags and head to this treasure trove before all these are lost forever. The Damodar temple of the […]
This hamlet in East Midnapore offers a beach to enjoy ourselves by escaping city life. We can laze around on the silver sand watching the sunrise or listening to the sound of crickets under the starry sky. Mouth-watering snacks and fried fish served by the resorts are other attractions. Tajpur is a sparsely populated fishing […]
Less than five hours away from Calcutta, Maluti is a temple village on the Bengal-Jharkhand border that the National Geographic website hails as one of the dozen “ancient landmarks on the verge of vanishing”. It has 72 terracotta temples in four clusters; most of them are bad shaped because of government’s neglect. The Chila river, […]
Pedong stands on the old silk route that connected India and Tibet through Jelep La. This quaint little hill station is one of the few in north Bengal which is an avalanche of tourists has not managed to spoil. Nearly 22km from Kalimpong, Pedong is a picturesque hamlet situated on a ridge and surrounded by […]
A long drive away from the city, this getaway on the edge of a deciduous forest is the perfect spot to laze around for a day or two. Around 140km down Durgapur Expressway, within minutes of the car crossing Burdwan, a billboard by the Aushgram panchayat will welcome us to Aranya Sundari Bhalkimachan. A freshly […]
If watching the Kanchenjunga from crowded Darjeeling or Pelling seems to be dull and boring, then Rinchenpong is an ideal place. Far away from the bustle of noisy tourist spots, Rinchenpong was, till recently, a small village in the hills of West Sikkim, 6,000 ft above sea level. None other than Rabindranath Tagore had spent […]
Rishop is a sleepy village in the Darjeeling district that offers a grand view of snow-capped Himalayan peaks. Only about 9 km from Lava, it is perfect for a quiet getaway in the lap of the mountains. In the local language, “Ri” means mountaintop and “shop” means an old tree. The striking thing about the […]
The hills of north Bengal provide some of the best weekend destinations for Kolkatans exhausted and strained by the summer sun and concrete chaos. Lava, with a handful of houses, an old monastery, and winding roads is one of them. The roads seem to be bordered with rows of pine, rhododendron and oak. The queen […]
The history of Halisahar, a busy industrial town on the northern fringes of North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal, dates back to pre-Mughal days. The name Halisahar is apparently derived from “haveli ka sahar”, meaning the city of palaces. Sadly, the havelis have not survived the test of time but a small terracotta temple complex still stands, […]
It’s a pity that many of us who frequently visit Santiniketan give the town of Supur a miss. Hardly 14km from Bolpur, it’s a place where history and art converge — a perfect weekend getaway. Supur, a not so popular village in Birbhum, is on the banks of the river Ajay. It however shot to […]
A small village between Manebhanjan and Sandakphu in the Darjeeling district, Tonglu is the perfect retreat to unwind and/or explore the mountains. A trek through a forest in the eastern Himalayas, a panoramic view of snow-covered peaks such as the Kanchenjungha, Pandim and the Makalu, a picturesque trekkers’ hut and solitude — Tonglu promises much […]
Chandannagore had been a French colony. Unlike other European colonies in Bengal, the French control over Chandannagore continued even after Independence. In May 1950, the French allowed the Indian government to assume de facto control over Chandannagore, officially ceding the quaint little town to India on February 2, 1951. Located about 33km from Calcutta, Chandannagore […]
If the heat and dust of the cruel Kolkata summer seems to be really sickening, a weekend at Reshi could be just what the doctor ordered. The small village near the Bengal-Sikkim border is named after Reshi Khola or the river Reshi (khola in Nepali means a small stream) that flows through it. The mountains, greenery, […]
Nestled among the hills and forests of the Ramgarh range, Godhahada gets its name from the river on which the irrigation department has built a dam. Gushing out of the hills at a height of 3,000 metres, the river suddenly becomes wide before flowing downhill. It is at this spot that the dam was built. […]
