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West Bengal, an eastern Indian state, offers a great combination to treat your mind, body, soul, and senses, with its diversified rich history, heritage, culture, and art in the form of music, theatre, magnificent view of nature, and man-made architecture and hill stations with a touch of the colonial era. Other unmissable highlights include the colourful zeal during festivals and the delicious local cuisine of West Bengal, its sweets, and dishes to treat your taste buds. It is a paradise for seafood lovers.
There are various holiday destinations in West Bengal between the terrain of the mighty Himalayas, green tea gardens, great deltas of rivers, rich fauna, and wildlife resorts where Bengal Tigers are famous worldwide to the beaches of the Bay of Bengal. This state offers many attractions and amazing destinations for all kinds of travellers, such as solo travellers, youngsters, nature lovers, trekkers, honeymoon couples, and religious and historical kinds of exploratory ones. There are plenty of activities in various tourist spots to make it a memorable and mesmerising holiday time for the kids, family, and groups if you are travelling with friends.
In Sanskrit, it is also known by the name Bangla; ancient names were Vanga and Banga referred from the history going back to the 3rd century BC when it was part of the great Mauryan kingdom of emperor Ashoka the Great. This civilisation is 4,000 years old, with the earliest remnants from the Vedic period.
The British changed the original name of the capital city Kalikata to Calcutta, and now it is known as Kolkata. In the 17th and 18th centuries, West Bengal thrived due to factories and seaports – the locals traded with people from other countries such as the Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French, and of course, the British, who later on began to rule India. The state combines old-world charm with rich culture and heritage and the new modern world.
It has old charm and new Kolkata, a perfect combination of the colonial era and modern structures and markets. There are plenty of places to be explored in the city like Victoria Memorial, Potter’s area, flower market, Howrah bridge, sunset view on the banks of river Ganges, Dalhousie Square, and Park Street, to name a few.
Taking a Cruise ship starting from Kolkata in the Hoogly river, a tributary of the Lower Ganges gives you a view and travel experience that you can miss otherwise. There is an old city – Chandannagar, and Matiari – a village with brass working and terracotta temples with magnificent architecture.
It is a vast wetland spread throughout southern West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is often visited by nature lovers and those who wish to see the famous Bengal Tiger, also known as a man-killer. A cruise through the river will ensure that you witness the local wildlife such as tigers, deer, dolphins, crocodiles, wild pigs, turtles, monkeys, and various birds.
This is a beautiful hill station at a height of 2,000 m. It is famous for its ‘Toy Train’ run by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways. It is a UNESCO World Heritage recognised single-track route covering 88 km from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. Originally it was started to serve the famous and huge tea plantations in the entire area. A steam engine pulls it, and one can see the most scenic, picturesque green views covering the museum and monastery. It also has huge handicraft markets run by Tibetan refugee centres.
If you wish to witness the first ray of sun on the majestic snow-covered top and edges of Kanchenjunga and adjoining peaks, you can travel in the early hours from Darjeeling to Tiger Hill to reach around sunrise time. It will take you 45 minutes to reach this hill in the Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary.
Built on the river Hoogly, this bridge is often seen in so many films that tourists would definitely like to visit it. The sunset view over the river and across this bridge is a fascinating scene in the evening.
It is a famous Viswa Bharati University, well-known worldwide, and founded by Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. This area is also famous among visitors for its handicraft items, such as handcrafted leather bags and accessories made with different patterns, styles, and techniques.
It is situated on the northern side of West Bengal on the foothills of the Himalayas and is famous for its adventure sports like paragliding, trekking, and hiking activities, where people can have a bird’s eye view of the beautiful peaks of the Himalayas and the wildlife. You can also visit the largest monastery Durpin Gompa, the place on top of Durpin Hill at an altitude of 1372 m.
There are plenty of options for adventure sports to be done, trekking to so many treks in the hills, visiting wildlife resorts, or spending a day in the tea plantation estates to witness how it is plucked and processed. You can find the fine and best tea, famous as Darjeeling tea. There are many old temples and architecture to be explored with added colonial historical sites.
If you happen to be in West Bengal during the famous Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja and
Basant Panchami, you will be able to enjoy the best of food, celebrations, fairs, colourful décor, and markets all decked up like a newly wedded bride.
There are plenty of options when it comes to travel within India. All have different reasons to travel, and there seems to be a lot of planning that goes on to ensure you have an enjoyable and memorable vacation. India has many perfect travel destinations for solo travellers or the ones who travel with family or friends. Main cities are getting crowded during the holiday season, so people look for places where they can enjoy themselves safely and peacefully. Offbeat destinations, pilgrimage, adventure sports, or a vacation with kids – whatever the purpose is – look for various tips and options onCleartrip to simplify your travel plan and easily book your flight tickets and hotels, and add to your enjoyable experience.
The best time to visit West Bengal is from October to April. It is festival time, and also the weather is not humid. While visiting West Bengal, check out the temperature at the place you are planning to visit, depending on whether you are going to a coastal area or the mountains.
You should plan a vacation trip to West Bengal for activities such as jungle safari, wildlife, adventure activities, trekking, and also to take in the colonial-era monuments, heritage, art and crafts, culture, temples, hill stations, beaches, the toy train etc.
Purulia is the most beautiful vacation destination as it has enthralling natural beauty and landscape.
West Bengal is famous for the local food of fish (maach) and rice (bhaat), which is eaten in almost every household.
One cannot afford to miss the following items to buy when in West Bengal:
1. Traditional and handwoven sarees of Bengal like Tant, Katha and Baluchari.
2. Painting
3. Bamboo and Jute items
4. Terracotta Souvenirs
5. Clay Dolls
6. Darjeeling Tea
7. Conch Shell bangles or Shakha
8. Desserts