Garh Panchkot & Joychandi
গড় পঞ্চকোট ও জয়চণ্ডী পাহাড়
Purulia district · Tagore Country & Rarh
A ruined fort under a hill, and Ray’s rocky skyline.
About Garh Panchkot & Joychandi
At the foot of Panchet hill lie the ruins of the capital of the Panchkot kings: broken temples, a gateway and guard posts among the forest, abandoned after the Maratha raids of the eighteenth century. Not far away, the bare rock domes of Joychandi Pahar served as the landscape of Satyajit Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe and are now a centre for rock climbing.
Highlights
- The ruined temples of Garh Panchkot
- Forest walks on Panchet hill
- The climb up Joychandi Pahar
- Palash blossom in spring
Plan your trip
- Best time
- October to March.
- How to reach
- Trains from Howrah to Asansol or Adra, then by road; Joychandi Pahar has its own station on the Adra to Asansol line. About 250 km from Kolkata.
- Suggested stay
- 2 days
- Distance from Kolkata
- About 250 km by road
- Travel time
- 5 to 6 hours
- Nearest railway station
- Asansol, Adra or Joychandi Pahar
- Budget
- Mid-range
Tip
The ruins are fragile: do not climb on the temples.
Nearby and related destinations
- Purulia: Chhau dance, red earth and the Ayodhya hills. (about 300 km from Kolkata, nearest station Purulia Junction)
- Susunia & Bikna: A forested hill, an ancient inscription and a dokra village. (about 220 km from Kolkata, nearest station Chhatna or Bankura)
- 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)
Part of these guides
Distances and travel times are approximate road figures from central Kolkata. Check timings, permits and road conditions before you travel.