Tourist attractions in West Bengal refers to the tourist attractions in the Indian state of West Bengal. West Bengal is a state in the eastern] region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous.[1] It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants.[1] It is bordered by the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). West Bengal encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north. With these there are two major natural regions i.e., the Western plateau and the great Sundarban delta.
During the British colonial era from 1700 to 1912, Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) enjoyed the privilege of being the capital of British India and witnessed a spate of frenzied construction of buildings,[2] largely influenced by the conscious intermingling of Neo-Gothic, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Oriental and Islamic schools of design. Unlike many north Indian cities, whose construction stresses minimalism, the layout of much of the architectural variety in Kolkata owes its origins to European styles and tastes imported by the British and, to a much lesser extent, by the Portuguese and French.
Kolkata - now the state capital, is considered to be an ideal hub to cover all the destinations in West Bengal.[3] It is the largest urban center in Eastern India and is well connected by road, rail and air.
Siliguri - the largest city of North Bengal will be another ideal hub to cover all destinations in Northern Bengal and an alternative to Kolkata. This city is the second largest urban center in West Bengal and is also well connected by road, rail and air.
The following is a list of some of the attractions of West Bengal
West Bengal also has a long tradition of popular literature, music and drama largely based on Bengali folklore and Hinduepics and Puranas.
Kolkata, the state capital city, was also the workplace of several social reformers, like Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Swami Vivekananda. These social reforms have eventually led to a cultural atmosphere where practices like sati, dowry, and caste-based discrimination or untouchability, the evils that crept into the Hindu society, were abolished.
West Bengal is also known to make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, Kalojam and several kinds of sondesh. Pitha, a kind of sweet cake, bread or dimsum are specialties of winter season. Sweets like coconut-naru, til-naru, moa, payesh, etc. are prepared during the festival of Lakshmi puja. Popular street food includes Aloor Chop, Beguni, Kati roll, and phuchka.[9][10]
The variety of fruits and vegetables that Bengal has to offer is incredible. West Bengal is also famous for its costumes.
Seven wonders of West Bengal
NDTV along with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India conducted a nationwide campaign for searching the "Seven Wonders of India in 2008-09. The campaign started with shortlisting 200 places from all of the Indian states and then inviting public to cast their vote for their favorite places. It also included seven wonders of particular states. In West Bengal a total 13 were selected of which the "Seven Wonders of West Bengal" were shortlisted. The list of the 30 selected places are as follows:
"Durga Puja". Festivals celebrated throughout West Bengal. Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.