Tourism in West Bengal - Architectural and Geographical

Architectural and Geographical

The state of West Bengal is rich in both architectural and natural heritage. The capital of the state, Kolkata is also known as the "City of Palaces". West Bengal is famous for its terracotta temples of Bishnupur.

Hazarduari Palace, a popular tourist spot, is known to have the second largest chandelier in the world and also the largest staircase in India. This three storey palace was built in 1837 by Duncan McLeod for Nawab Nazim Humaun Jah, the then Nawab of Bengal. The palace has been built in Indo-European style. It has derived its name from the thousand doors in the palace (among which only 900 are real). In 1985, the palace was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for better preservation. The Hazarduari Palace Museum is regarded as the biggest site museum of ASI and has got 20 displayed galleries containing 4742 antiquities out of which 1034 has been displayed for the public. The antiquities include various weapons, oil paintings of Dutch, French and Italian artists, marble statues, rare books, old maps, land revenue records, palanquins (mostly belonging to 18th and 19th centuries) and so on. Cooch Behar Palace built in 1887, was designed on the model of Buckingham Palace in London, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan.

Some like the Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) and the Second Hooghly Bridge (Vidyasagar Setu) are iconic of Kolkata. Except colonial and heritage buildings there are also high rising monuments and skyscrapers in the city. There are also a couple of cemeteries established by the British when Kolkata was the capital of British India. These include the South Park Street Cemetery and Scottish Cemetery.

The River Ganga also flows through the state. World heritage sites in West Bengal include the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Sundarbans National Park. Neora Valley National Park, which is one of the richest biological zones in the entire Northeast situated in the Kalimpong subdivision under Darjeeling District is in West Bengal.

The Ganges Delta (also known as the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, the Sunderbans Delta, or the Bengalla Delta) is a river delta in the South Asia region of Bengal, consisting of West Bengal and its neighbouring country of Bangladesh. It is the world's largest delta, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname "The Green Delta". The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the Meghna River on the east. It is approximately 350 km (220 mi) across at the Bay of Bengal. Kolkata and Haldia are the principal Indian seaports on the delta.

The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden or Calcutta Botanical Garden (previously known as Indian Botanic Garden) is the largest and oldest reserve of greeneries of its kind in South East Asia. It is also a premier Institution for botanical and horticultural research in India. The Garden is situated on the West bank of River Hooghly in Shibpur, Howrah nearly 8 km from center of city Kolkata. Located here is the Great Banyan Tree. It was the widest tree in the world in terms of the area of the canopy and is estimated to be about 200 to 250 years old. It became diseased after it was struck by lightning, so in 1925 the middle of the tree was excised to keep the remainder healthy.

West Bengal also has some more geographical indications like Nakshi Kantha(Handicraft), Darjeeling tea (Agricultural), Santipore Saree (Handicraft), Shantiniketan Leather Goods (Handicraft), Fazli Mango (Agricultural), Khirsapati or Himsagar Mango (Agricultural), Laxman Bhog Mango (Agricultural), Baluchari Saree (Handicraft), and Dhaniakhali Saree (Handicraft).

• The Second Hooghly Bridge illuminated at night.

• Facade of the Victoria Memorial.

• The Howrah Station is one of the four intercity train stations serving Howrah and Kolkata; the others are Sealdah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata railway station in Kolkata.

• Eden Gardens is the largest cricket stadium in India and second-largest in the world by seating capacity.

• Salt Lake Stadium is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world and the largest in the Indian sub-continent. The stadium was built in 1984 and holds 120,000 people in a three-tier configuration.