Nakhoda Masjid
নাখোদা মসজিদ
The city’s principal mosque, in red sandstone.
About Nakhoda Masjid
Built by the Kutchi Memon community and completed in 1926, Nakhoda Masjid was modelled on Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra, with a gateway that recalls the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri. Nakhoda means mariner, after the seafaring merchants who paid for it. Its prayer hall holds thousands, and the streets around it are the centre of the city’s Ramzan evenings.
Why visit
Grand Indo-Saracenic architecture, with the best Mughlai food streets in the city at its door.
What to see and do
- The great gateway on Zakaria Street
- The dome and the two tall minarets
- The courtyard and prayer hall
Plan your visit
- Area
- Jorasanko & Chitpur, North Kolkata
- Nearest landmark
- Chitpur Road (Rabindra Sarani) at Zakaria Street
- Best time
- Morning or evening. October to March is the most comfortable time of year.
- Time needed
- About 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Entry
- An active place of worship that admits visitors; its own rules apply. An active mosque. Visitors are generally admitted outside prayer times; follow the caretakers’ directions.
- Metro
- Mahatma Gandhi Road (Blue Line), about 10 minutes’ walk
- Walking
- Little walking
- Photography
- Photography is fine with some care. Ask before photographing inside or photographing worshippers.
- Food nearby
- Zakaria Street kebabs and haleem; Royal Indian Hotel for biryani and chaap.
Tip
Dress modestly, cover your head and remove shoes. Avoid prayer times, especially Friday midday.
Nearby and related places
- Zakaria Street: The kebab-and-haleem street beside Nakhoda Masjid.
- Royal Indian Hotel: A 1905 Mughlai restaurant known for mutton chaap and biryani.
- Chitpur Road (Rabindra Sarani): The oldest road in the city, lined with trades that survive nowhere else.
- Jorasanko Thakur Bari: The house where Rabindranath Tagore was born and died.
- Marble Palace: A merchant prince’s mansion crammed with European art.
- Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House: The restored house where Narendranath Datta was born in 1863.
Walks that include it
- Many Faiths Walk: A cathedral, two synagogues, an Armenian church and a great mosque
More guides
- Places in Jorasanko & Chitpur
- Heritage places in Kolkata
- Places of worship to visit
- Free places to visit in Kolkata
- Places to photograph in Kolkata
- Places near a metro station
- All places to visit in Kolkata
Last checked on 2026-10-02. Each place was checked to exist and its position confirmed. Timings, closing days and ticket prices are shown only where known and can change: confirm before you travel.