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West
Bengal is India's 12th largest state. West Bengal is the gateway to the
beautiful north eastern states of India where the visitor can only gaze
in wonder at the pristine beauty. Its capital was once the capital of
the british empire, that is Calcutta remains the cultural capital of India
with a strong tradition in literature and fine arts. West Bengal's beautiful
buildings haven't been eclipsed by high reises.
The total area of West Bengal is 88,853 sq kms. West Bengal covers the
bottleneck of India in the east, stretching from the Himalayas in the
north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. Countries that share international
boundaries with West Bengal include Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal while
Sikkim, Assam, Orissa and Bihar frame its domestic borders.
West Bengal is known for its fertility, which makes is it one of the largest
producer of Jute. It is famous for its cotton and silk sarees, Filigree,
Gold Jewellery. It's really a great time shopping here. In the heart of
its city there is Fort William, surrounded by the maidan all around where
sports club flourish. In this expanse of green is the victoria memorial
"The British Taj Mahal" Built in the memory of Queen Victoria.
West Bengal is strategically placed with three international frontiers
- Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. From the coastal tropical rain forest
at Sundarbans to the great Himalayas, and the green and fertile alluvial
heart land in between, West Bengal has a lot to offer tourists. Calcutta
the capital of West Bengal is also world's greatest cities and known as
the gateway to the East.
Places of Interest
Asansol : Industrial centre. more
Bakreshwar : Hot springs. Hindu pilgrim centre, Temples.
Bethudahari : Wild life sanctuary.
Bishnupur : Temples, Ruins of ancient capital, Fort, Terracotta work.
Bok-khali : Beach.
Calcutta : Howrah bridge, Gardens, Museums, Hindu & Jain Temples, Churches,
Mosques, Libraries. Cultural centre, Planetarium, Fort, Sporting centre,
Monuments, Zoological gardens, Underground Metro Railway, Tramways, Memorials,
Boating, Lakes.
Belur (11 kms) : Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters.
Dakshineshwer (11 kms) : Temples.
The confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal Sea where the biggest
mela in West Bengal is held every year in Makar Sankranti (mid Jan). The
Places in West Bengal are Youth Hostel Beach resort - Bakkhali, Dharamshala,
Tourist Logues.
Bengalis
pride themselves as being the cultural ambassadors of the country, for
after all did they not give the world India's only Poet Laureate, Rabendranath
Tagore and the famous film maker Satyajit Ray And Calcutta, the pulsating
vibrant City of Joy? But there is more to West Bengal than its capital
city.
Tucked
away in the picturesque valleys of the eternal snow-capped Himalayas are
the famous hill resort towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and down south
at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal are the Sunderbans, home of the Royal
Bengal Tiger.
The Lay of Land
A thin strip of land runs like a wedge between Bangladesh in the east
and Bihar in the west connecting the northern Himalayan highlands with
the plains in the south that reach down to the Bay of Bengal. In the north
West Bengal touches the Indian states of Assam (north-east) and Sikkim
(north) and shares international borders with Bhutan (north) and Nepal
(north-west). To the south-west of the state is Orissa. The southern plains
of the state are criss-crossed with a network of rivers, the major ones
being Bhagirathi and its tributaries. The Bhagirathi itself, known as
Hooghly in the lower reaches, is part of the Ganga. The two great rivers,
the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, merge to form great deltas at the mouth
of the Bay of Bengal before they drain out into the sea.
There are about 17 districts in West Bengal. They are -
Bankura, Birbhum, Barddhaman, Calcutta, Koch Bihar, Darjeeiling, Hughli,
Howrah, Jalpaiguri, Maldah, Medinipur, Mushidabad, Nadia, Puruliya, North
Parganas, South Parganas and West Dinajpur.
There are three distinct climatic zones, the coastal region, the interiors
and the Himalayan highlands. Temperatures along the coastal belt are fairly
hot and humid with no appreciable changes throughout the year. The inland
plains experience wide fluctuations, getting to be chilly in winter and
scorching in summer. The Himalayan highlands are cold in winter and wonderfully
pleasant in summer. The state receives around 100 cm to 300 cm of rain
each year.
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