[1100D]

Just a simple request to everyone, let this thread remain a placeholder for reports (and fabulous photographs) of the tourist places in WB and discussion pertaining to reaching those spots.

Let's not dilute this to become just another route query thread.

[Dzire2Travel]

Request granted Sir - last thing we would like to do is dilute this Bible. Here comes 3 trips, 2 of them I did recently and one sometime back. The inspiration comes from capturing Bengal's history and not really the driving experience. So the pics do not really capture the roads and surroundings BUT the magnificent edifice's that have captured our imagination time and again.

[Dzire2Travel]

Dasghara

It was sometime last winter when me and my buddy decided to avoid the usual annual "Salt Lake Block" Picnic, but drive on to a small town named Dasghara situated around 70 KM from Kolkata. We took NH6 (vehicle Honda Jazz), turned left through Dhaniakhali connector to reach our destination. The town is around 12KM from Tarakeshwar.

Dasghara is famous for the Gopinath temple with its intricately curved terracota panels build by Sadananda Biswas in 1729. Today the temple still stands along with a Durga Dalan, Rash & Dol Mancha and the huge Biswas’ Mansion.

There is also an arched Gateway, a clocktower and an interesting landscaped garden build by Bipinkrishna Roy.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Nice report there on Dasghara. Short captions with the pics would have helped.

[Dzire2Travel]

Bawali

Never knew this Village existed till I started reading about "Zamindars of Bengal" in my quest to Discover and capture these monuments through my lens. Monsoon was just showing its fangs in Bengal when on an overcast and drizzling Saturday morning boarded the rainwater cleaned Mr Reliable and started for our Destination. Drive was uneventful, road quality deteriorated as we entered Behala. Rather than continuing on DH Road after crossing Majherhat Bridge to reach Thakurpukur-Bibirhat Road, I took James Long and then doubled back on DH Road as James Long. Just wanted to mention that Thakurpukur-Bibirhat Road is a dream to drive ON - super quality . Not sure if has been able to digest the last 2 months of deluge. It took us close to 2 hours to reach.

A little history on the Bawali Rajbari -
Built by the Mondals (who were originally Roys awarded the title Mondal), Rajaram Mondal who was the senapati of the Raja of Hijli was offered for his bravery the ownership of 50 villages, which included Bowali and Budge Budge.

The family set up residence in Bawali. This marked the beginning of their dominance in the area, roughly around 1710. The family flourished under Rajaram’s grandson Haradhan, who enjoyed the patronage of East India Company. He built many temples and his seven sons followed in his footsteps, turning the nondescript village into a temple town.

With the passage of time and after independence, trade dwindled and so did the fortunes of the Mondals. Lack of maintenance was turning the mansion to a virtual ruin when Kolkata based businessman took over the property and has taken up the initiative of turning it into a Heritage Hotel.

The Rajbari caretaker charged Rs 300/- for a guided tour. Next to the Rajbari is the Gopinath Sau temple, which is currently in ruins.


I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Nice report. We have a Bawali Mondal Lane here in South Calcutta, if you know. It is off Pratapaditya Road (opposite Mudiali Club). I am sure it is in some way connected to this family.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by Samba

Thanks a lot!



My camera Kit consists of a 2009 Canon Eos 50D
Tokina 11-16 f2.8
Canon 17-40 L
Canon 24-105 L
Canon 70-300 IS Usm
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro.
A Canon 600 ERT Flash Light
A vanguard tripod
One non branded wired trigger.
And few Uv filters and one GND filter.
Cs6 for editing.

The pics i shared in this thread, among them many were even taken by my iphone5. For example the last post on monsoon all the three pics i shared are from my i phone camera.

Your photographs are superb. Thanks for sharing them as well as lots of valuable information for those wishing to explore W.B.

[subhojitb]

Please allow me the opportunity to contribute to the analogy of 100m relay when Samba has started such a wonderful initiative and has covered couple of marathons

Murshidabad

Murshidabad, the last capital city of independent Bengal before the British rule was named after Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, the Dewan of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi, it is a city of splendours and is famous for its silk. It was made the capital of Bengal in 1717. Basked in the history, the town has witnessed the rise and fall of the Nawabs of Bengal and shifting of powers to the British empire. Nearby attractions include the famous Hazarduari, Nizamat Imambara, Katra Mosque, Jahankosa Cannon to name a few.

Distance: Ideally 210 Km from Kolkata taking NH34. But due to extremely poor condition of road near Bethuadahari and Plassey this route is currently not suggested. Alternate route
NH-34: Kolkata -Bara Jaguli - Krishnanagar
SH-11: Krishnanagar – Tehatta – Betai --Karimpur - Domkal – Berhampore (Baharampur) - Murshidabad
Total distance - 250 km approx

Road Condition -- Good till Krishnanagar with a patch of not so good of around 4 kms after Bara Jaguli -- Excellent till Domkal via SH11 -- Good till Baharampur

Drive Duration - 6.5 - 7 hours max with break and with sedate driving style

Accommodation: Excellent accommodation available in Baharampur, the adjacent twin town. Private properties include Hotel Fame and Hotel Sunshine and Govt. include West Bengal Tourist Lodge. Murshidabad has only decent hotels like Indrajit, Sagnik and Manjusha.

Things to look out for: Chief attraction being Hazarduari. Other places of interest are Katra Mosque, Jama Mosque and Motijheel, Jahankosa Cannon, Kathgola Palace, Jagat Seth's house, Nasipur palace

Shop and Eat: Must try the special sweet "Chaanabora". Ananda sweets in Gorabazar, Baharampur is one of the famous one. Shop for the famous Murshidabad silk

Posting Some pics:

Enroute to Baharampur


Jama Masjid



Jahankosa Cannon


Katra Masjid




Clock Tower


Imambara


Hazarduari



Bank of Bhagirathi river

For more info, can refer to my travelogue
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post3852131

[Samba]

Mirik, Darjeeling, Ghoom, Peshok, Rajabhatkhawa, Bauxa, Jayanti

This time i took the route as- Siliguri- Mirik- Ghoom - Darjeeling- Temi Tea Garden - Ravangla- Namchi- Bauxa- Jayanti -Rajabhatkhawa- Siliguri. Hence this thread is on West Bengal i will skip the Sikkim part from here and will keep that for the dedicated travelogue on this trip.

Siliguri- Mirik- Ghoom- Darjeeling is a picturesque route. The drive through the fog between Pashupatinagar and Ghoom was something to look out for. Thats really one lovely drive.







We had a couple of days at our disposal at Darjeeling. We spent the days having nice food, visiting tiger hill and driving around Darjeeling with no fixed destination. We were just enjoying the hill drive in fog.

Sharing the pics.







































Darjeeling to Jayanti route will be-

Darjeeling- Peshok road- Melli bazar- Coronation Bridge- take left- go straight to Hasimara via Jaldapara and Holong. Take left at Hasimara go for a couple of kilometers and take right at old Hasimara towards old Hamilton. Go straight for 25kms. The road goes parallel to the Alipurdwar railway track. The road is not very wide but road condition is good without much traffic. Reach Rajabhatkhawa go straight till the check point. From there one has to make a permit to go inside Bausa and Jayanti. The permit is readily available for a price. The time they allow to get in and get out is from 6am to 6pm. For reaching Jayanti one has to drive for 10kms through Bauxa tiger reserve and turn right for Jayanti river bed.

The river bed at Jayanti is picturesque and one always can drive on it. High ground clearance vehicles are preferable for the river bed drive though small cars can manage it. I did it in my Etios. But do not venture into the river bed without an authorized forest guide. If the forest officers catch you driving with out a guide you will be fined. A guide takes 200rs.

Sharing the pics of Jayanti, Bauxa and Rajabhatkhawa.

















A couple of video's on the river bed drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49zh1SJX9U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ObTlodrvTs

Well there's a lot said on the Kolkata- Siliguri route, so instead of writing it again i will quote my own post from another thread. Plus one can always get the update of this route on these threads.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ding-nh34.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...la-routes.html

Originally Posted by Samba

Did a Kolkata - Siliguri run in 13 hours through Nh34. Total -618 kms.

Dankuni to Panagargh- Excellent road. To avoid traffic jam at Panagargh one can take the Panagargh bypass.

Panagargh to Moregram - Road is good to rough in few places. Road work in progress in few places. This 150kms took me 2.5 hours.

Moregram to Farakka- 90% of the road is now one way and in great condition. Its a toll road now.

Farakka to Malda- One of the most tricky stretch because of the dreaded Kaliachok traffic jam. Just before Kaliachok market one can take a detour through master para (road is super narrow) connect to Muthabari road, take right from Muthabari and connect back 5 kms before Malda. Malda bypass work is on progress but if any one want to take it, he can go through that road. Road is yet to be tarred but driving on it wont be a problem. The level crossing is unmanned.

Malda to Dalkhola - Road is one way for the first 25 kms from Malda. From then there are many diversions and ultimately one has to drive through single lane road. Road condition is 85% good with few rough patches and sudden pot holes. Traffic at Dalkhola is bad. In-case there is a long traffic jam at Dalkhola one can take a detour through the Dalkhola Bypass. Its not a bypass actually. Its a super narrow road. It goes through villages. Ask any local about the road, they will show the detour. Its not there in google maps. One has to take right turn 5kms before the Dalkhola railway crossing and this road connects Nh31 just before the Toll gate. The land mark on Nh31 is Holly cross school. This road is not advisable unless there is a very long traffic jam at Dalkhola. The level crossing is unmanned and in few places road is extremely narrow. This bypass took me 30 minutes.

Dalkhola to Siliguri - The first 30-40 kms road is okay with rough upper surface in the middle. One has to drive on extreme right or extreme left. From Islampur onwards road is excellent till Siliguri.

I had the option of taking the Deoghar-Bhagalpur road but it would have been 120+ kms more. So by the time i do that extra kilometers i could manage the same time through Nh34. I returned back through Nh34 too and the timing was similar.

[Uprasenjit]

Ayodhya Hills-

Ajodhya Hills is located in the Purulia district of the state West Bengal, India. It is a part of the Dalma Hills and extended part of Eastern Ghats range. Highest peak of Ajodhya Hills is Gorgaburu. The nearby populated town area is Bagmundi. There is a myth which is related to Ramayana, but that is not the reason why its name is Ayodhya. According to Hindu mythology, Rama and Sita had come to Ayodhya Hills and stayed during their exile. Sita was thirsty and Ram pierced an arrow through the Earth's soil crust and through that water gushed out. Sita quenched her thirst. The place is known as Sita-kunda. During the full moon day in Baisakh (Baisakh is a bengali month, which starts from mid April) every year tribal of nearby areas come and join in the game of hunting wild animals.

Its around 350 km from Kolkata, round trip is 700+ km. Route we took was- Kolkata > Durgapur > Raghunathpur > Purulia > Ayodhya Hill > Murguma > Purulia > Bankura > Durgapur > Kolkata.

The place is completely rural, and staying places are very few. 2 of the biggest hotels didn't have clean toilet and only dormitory available. Even the Lions club in that area had few staying places but had shabby rooms. Eventually one of the locals suggested to check Bharat Sevashram. For those who doesn't have any knowldge of Bharat Sevashram please read here. We spoke to the person in charge there and he offered us 3 rooms. Rooms were clean and better than any other hotels over there. And damn cheap, only 300 per room. The only downside was there was no food available and we couldn't consume any non-veg item there. The ashram had a large compound where we could keep our car easily.

Ayodhya hills has many waterfalls, deep forests, tribal villages, water dams and wild animals.

If you are looking for new places and tired of Digha/Mandarmani/Tajpur then Purulia/Bankura district has something good to offer you for weekend trips.

[SouraC]

Like last 3 years, this year also I have done a day-trip to Santiniketan during Durga Puja. Although trip to Santiniketan is not a new thing in this TL, but you know every trip is unique in its own way.

You can visit Surul Rajbari to see Durga idol and you can also visit the Mela at Khoyai where you can also see Hiralini Durgotsab.

This year we did find some extra time to visit the Visva-Bharati campus also.

Surul Rajbari



Surul Rajbari (Borobari) Durga idol



Surul Rajbari (Chotobari) Durga idol



Visva-Bharati Kalabhaban




Few decorated houses of Visva-Bharati







Can you Believe.. Its a Cinema Hall.



Khoyai Mela - You will find all kind of handicraft items










Hiralini Durgotsab - The History






The Hiralini Durga Idol

[Gosu]

Excellent thread here Samba. A terrific compilation of must visit places in the state. I seem to have forgotten most of these places, being away from Calcutta since such a long time. Will definitely try to add some of these places to my plans when I visit the city next.
Thread rates 5 stars!

[ultimatechamp]

Excellent thread . Full credit to Samba and other regular contributors here.

I have just two pint to make from my side -
1) Please tell us something about the pictures which you are posting
2) Give an update to the road conditions, at times to keep this thread updated.

[Samba]

Gadiara

This place is the point of convergence of the Damodar, the Rupnarayan and the Hoogli rivers.

Distance- 80kms from Dankuni.
Route- Kolkata- Uluberia- Bagnan- (Take left) Gadiara is 34 kms

Road condition- Till Bagnan its 6 lane highway (nh6), from there its a single lane road with town traffic but the road condition is good.

Stay option- Recently we had an overnight Team Bhp meet at Rupnarayan Tourist lodge from WBTDC at Gadiara. No doubt its the best place to stay over there with excellent food , excellent location and adequate parking space.

Its a nice week end location with hardly 2.5 hrs drive from Kolkata.

Sharing few pics-

[psurelia]

Dhanyakuria

Distance from Haldirams, VIP Road, Kolkata - 42 kms
Travel Time - 1 hr 15 mins
Food Options - Road side eateries. It is better to carry your own food if you are particular about cleanliness and hygiene.
Stay Options - None. This place is best for a day trip.

Highlights

The village of Dhanyakuria (pronounced as Dhaannokuria) was home to quite a few affluent traders and Zamindaars (landlords). The most prominent of them were the Gaines, the Ballavs and the Sawoos. These Zamindaars erected castles and mansions to establish their social stature. Mr. Amitabha Gupta has done a tremendous job in documenting their details in his article https://amitabhagupta.wordpress.com/...yakuria-castle. Please refer to the article for further details. We could only visit the Gaine Castle and the Gaine Mansion due to time constraint.

Below are some pictures from our half day ride to Dhanyakuria.

Route taken: Bishwa Bangla Sarani-Rajarhat Road-Taki Road


Assembly at Haldirams, VIP Road




Gaine Castle










Gaine Mansion






















The Team