Kolkata

Kolkata or Kolkatta is situated on the banks of river Hooghly and is the capital city of West Bengal.. This land of Rabindra Nath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray and other great personalities remains a wonderful and vibrant metropolis. Kolkata is widely known for its revolutionary history and therefore is called sometimes as the 'City of Processions' . It was also the capital of India, at the time of British rule until it was moved to Delhi in 1911. The city of Metro and trams has numerous places to see mainly the Belur Math, the Howrah Bridge, the Victoria Memorial, the Eden Garden, and many other forts and palaces.

Getting There

By Air : Airport is situated at Dumdum in Kolkata.

By Road : Kolkata is connected by a wide network of national highway to major cities and towns.

By Rail : There are two important railway station in Kolkata namely Howrah and Sealdah.

Related Accommodations

There are plenty of hotels varying from deluxe to cheap budget hotels. These hotels are located in the heart of the city offering an excellant experience to the holidayers.

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Did You Know?

• Kolkata is the third largest city in India.
• Kolkata has been a historical spot because of its great association with Indian struggle for independence, leftist and trade union movements.
• Kolkata is also famous as “City Of Palaces”.
• The city is also famous for its great depth of Indian classical music.
• Football is the most popular sport of the city of Kolkata.
• Kolkata is home to top national clubs such as: Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal.
• Kolkata also is the proud owner of Eden Gardens, one of the only two 100,000 seat amphitheaters in the world.

Attractions

Victoria Memorial

This great architectural structure was built in the early 20th century. Made of white marble, this memorial represents a brilliant combination of European and Mughal architecture. Built in the memory of Queen Victoria, this monument has large collection of pictures, statues, manuscripts, letters etc, belonging to the Nawabi and British times in Bengal. Spread in vast landscape of 64 acres it houses a large statue of Queen Victoria.

Howrah Bridge

This bridge is one of the finest examples of engineering marvel, and it took six years to complete this bridge. Madeup of high tensile steel, this bridge joins the main Railway Station in Kolkata and the industrial city of Howrah with Kolkata. It is nearly 90 meters in height above the road level supported by two piers. The bridge was opened for the public in 1943 and has a span of almost 500 meters with no pillars in the middle. The bridge is also called Rabindra Setu.

Dakshineswar Temple

Situated on the banks of river Ganges, this temple was built by Rani Rasmoni in the 19th century. This temple dedicated to Goddess Kali is one of famous pilgrimage and is associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, the renowned guru of Swami Vivekananda.

Birla Planetarium

This planetarium is situated near Chowringhee road. Astronomical shows with commentaries in different languages pull in toursits to this place. This planetarium is one of its kind in the commonwealth countries.

Travel Facts

Area 1026sq.km
Population 4,580,544
Climate Summer : 41.7 °C - 38.1 °C : Winter : 29.3 °C - 9.6 °C
Languages Bengali, English, Hindi
Best Time to Visit October to March
Excursion Digha Beach(185 kms), Sundarban( 131 kms), Shantiniketan( 167 kms)

Must Try Out

Shopping

The city offers good shopping prospects and Salt Lake, B.B. Ganguly street, BurraBazar are some of perfect locations for shopping. Kolkata best buys include sarees, cotton fabric, handlooms, masks, plastic clips, crystal ware, flowers, fabric, toys, luggage, ready-to-wear clothes, shoes, crockery, and candles.

Cuisine

There are numerous dishes in Kolkata featuring fish, vegetables, sweets and much more. Bengali's love for fish is a legend. In the sweets, Sandesh and Rosogolla, prepared from milk are the distinguished dessert of Bengal.