Explore West Bengal

Destinations across West Bengal, from the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and the forests of the Dooars to the Sundarbans, the terracotta temples of Bishnupur and the old towns along the Hooghly. Each guide gives the best time to go, how to get there and what to see.

Trip ideas

Destinations

Kolkata: The City of Joy: colonial grandeur, adda, books and food.
Chandannagar: A former French colony on the Hooghly. (about 40 km from Kolkata, nearest station Chandannagar)
Serampore (Srirampur): Danish Bengal and the birthplace of modern Bengali printing. (about 30 km from Kolkata, nearest station Shrirampur)
Mayapur & Nabadwip: The birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. (about 130 km from Kolkata, nearest station Nabadwip Dham or Krishnanagar City)
Darjeeling: Tea, toy train and Kangchenjunga at sunrise. (about 620 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Kalimpong: A quieter hill town of monasteries, orchids and nurseries. (about 630 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Mirik: A lake, tea gardens and pine forest slopes. (about 600 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Sandakphu & Singalila: West Bengal's highest point (about 3,600 m). (about 650 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Lava, Lolegaon & Rishop: Forest villages with homestays and mountain views. (about 660 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri or New Mal Junction)
Jaldapara National Park: Home to the Indian one-horned rhinoceros. (about 680 km from Kolkata, nearest station Hasimara or Madarihat)
Gorumara National Park: Rhinos, elephants and forest watchtowers near the Murti river. (about 620 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Mal Junction)
Buxa Tiger Reserve & Jayanti: Forest, a hill-top fort and a river on the Bhutan border. (about 700 km from Kolkata, nearest station Alipurduar Junction)
The Sundarbans: The world's largest mangrove forest, shared with Bangladesh. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Canning)
Digha: Bengal's most popular seaside town. (about 185 km from Kolkata, nearest station Digha)
Mandarmani & Tajpur: Quieter beaches with red crabs and long open stretches. (about 175 km from Kolkata, nearest station Contai (Kanthi) or Ramnagar)
Bakkhali & Gangasagar: A coastal escape and a major pilgrimage island. (about 130 km from Kolkata, nearest station Namkhana or Kakdwip)
Shantiniketan: Rabindranath Tagore's university town. (about 160 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bolpur Shantiniketan)
Bishnupur: Terracotta temples of the Malla kings. (about 140 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bishnupur)
Tarapith: A famous Shakti Peeth and cremation-ground temple. (about 220 km from Kolkata, nearest station Rampurhat)
Purulia: Chhau dance, red earth and the Ayodhya hills. (about 300 km from Kolkata, nearest station Purulia Junction)
Jhargram & Kankrajhore: Sal forests and a royal town in the west. (about 170 km from Kolkata, nearest station Jhargram)
Murshidabad: The last independent Nawabi capital of Bengal. (about 210 km from Kolkata, nearest station Murshidabad or Berhampore Court)
Malda: Gaur & Pandua: Ruined medieval capitals of Bengal. (about 330 km from Kolkata, nearest station Malda Town)
Cooch Behar: A princely state and its European-style palace. (about 700 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Cooch Behar)
Bandel & Chinsurah: A Portuguese church, a grand imambara and a Dutch town. (about 50 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bandel Junction)
Bansberia: A temple with thirteen lotus-bud towers. (about 55 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bansberia)
Ambika Kalna: The temple city of the Bardhaman kings. (about 85 km from Kolkata, nearest station Ambika Kalna)
Guptipara: Where Bengal’s community puja began. (about 80 km from Kolkata, nearest station Guptipara)
Antpur: Terracotta, and the vow of Vivekananda. (about 50 km from Kolkata, nearest station Haripal)
Kamarpukur & Jayrambati: The birthplaces of Sri Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Goghat or Tarakeswar, then by bus)
Krishnanagar: Clay dolls, a royal town and sarpuria. (about 110 km from Kolkata, nearest station Krishnanagar City Junction)
Shantipur & Phulia: The handloom towns of the tant sari. (about 95 km from Kolkata, nearest station Phulia or Shantipur)
Bethuadahari Forest: A small deer forest beside the highway. (about 135 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bethuadahari)
Chandraketugarh: A buried city more than two thousand years old. (about 40 km from Kolkata, nearest station Harua Road)
Parmadan Forest: A riverside deer forest named for Bibhutibhushan. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bongaon Junction)
Gadiara: Where the Rupnarayan meets the Hooghly. (about 85 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bagnan, then by bus)
Deulti & Samtaber: Sarat Chandra’s house by the Rupnarayan. (about 60 km from Kolkata, nearest station Deulti)
Tamluk & Mahishadal: An ancient port and a rajbari with a museum. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Tamluk or Mahishadal)
Mousuni Island: Tents on a quiet delta beach. (about 125 km from Kolkata, nearest station Namkhana)
Naya, Pingla: The village of singing scroll painters. (about 130 km from Kolkata, nearest station Balichak)
Mughalmari & Kurumbera: A sixth-century monastery and a fifteenth-century fort. (about 180 km from Kolkata, nearest station Dantan or Kharagpur)
Gongoni: A red-earth gorge on the Shilabati. (about 170 km from Kolkata, nearest station Garbeta)
Susunia & Bikna: A forested hill, an ancient inscription and a dokra village. (about 220 km from Kolkata, nearest station Chhatna or Bankura)
Garh Panchkot & Joychandi: A ruined fort under a hill, and Ray’s rocky skyline. (about 250 km from Kolkata, nearest station Asansol, Adra or Joychandi Pahar)
Bakreshwar: Hot springs and a Shiva temple. (about 220 km from Kolkata, nearest station Siuri)
Jaydev Kenduli: The Baul fair on the Ajay. (about 180 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bolpur Shantiniketan or Durgapur)
Bardhaman: A royal town famous for two sweets. (about 100 km from Kolkata, nearest station Bardhaman Junction)
Purbasthali (Chupi Char): An oxbow lake full of winter birds. (about 130 km from Kolkata, nearest station Purbasthali)
Azimganj & Jiaganj: Twin river towns of merchant mansions and Jain temples. (about 230 km from Kolkata, nearest station Azimganj Junction or Jiaganj)
Kurseong: The quieter hill town below Darjeeling. (about 590 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Tinchuley, Takdah & Lamahatta: Homestay villages among tea and pine. (about 640 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Jalpaiguri)
Samsing & Suntalekhola: Tea gardens climbing into forest. (about 640 km from Kolkata, nearest station New Mal Junction)
Chilapata Forest: Dense forest with a ruined fort inside it. (about 690 km from Kolkata, nearest station Hasimara)
Kulik Bird Sanctuary: One of Asia’s great stork colonies. (about 400 km from Kolkata, nearest station Raiganj)