West Bengal

Vishnupur
Area : 20.6 sq.km.
Altitude : 70 metres.
Temperature (deg C): Summer- Max.44, Min.28; Winter- Max.29, Min.21.
Rainfall : 14.3 cms (July-August).
Clothings : Summer- Tropical, Winter- Light woollens.
Languages spoken : Bengali, English.
Best Season : September to March.
STD Code : 03244.

Terracotta, metalware & temples characterise Vishnupur. The temples are built mostly of brick & at times, of laterite. Clay & laterite are the only building materials available here besides wood and bamboo. The architecture is modelled on the pattern of Bengali huts built of bamboo & mud and roofed with thatch. 
Vishnupur will remain ever famous for its distinct style of music, i.e. the Vishnupur Gharana, if not anything else. The name of Jadu Bhatt, the music teacher to Rabindranath Tagore, is remembered with respect to this day.
A discerning visitor may find traces of the past splendour and glory thatwas Vishnupur in its superb temples and unique handicrafts.

Getting there
Air : Nearest airport Calcutta is 201 kms away from Vishnupur. 
Rail: Vishnupur, the railway station is connected with Calcutta (Howrah). 
The trains from Howrah are: Asansol Passenger, Gomoh Passenger, 
Howrah-Purulia Passenger, Hatia-Kharagpur. 
Road: Vishnupur is well-connected by regular bus services to Calcutta 151 kms, 
Durgapur 81 kms, Purulia 145 kms, Bankura 34 kms, Mukutmanipur 000 kms, 
Jhilimili 000 kms, Digha 000 kms, Khargapur 91 kms etc. 
Local Transport: Cars on hire and jeeps can be arranged through the Tourist 
Lodge. Cars on hire from Kiron Homoeo Hall, Matukgunge. 

Places to see
Ras Mancha (3 kms), Dalmadal Cannon, Jor Bangla Temple (5 kms), Madan Mohan Temple (5 kms), Malleswar Temple (6 kms), Lalji Temple, Mrinmoyee Mandir (3 kms), Shyam Rai Temple (7 kms), Malla King's Fort (3.5 kms), Jogesh Chandra Pura Kirti Bhavan Museum (Timmings 1000 to 1200 & 1400 to 1800 hours).

Jairambati & Kamarpukur: 43 kms and 48 kms respectively. These two places are associated with Shri Ramakrishna and his consort Shri Maa Sarada. Ruins of the historic Garh Mandaran fort are a few kilometres from Kamarpukur.

Mukutmanipur: 82 kms. A dam has ben constructed across the rivers Kangsabati and Kumari. A picturesque spot for a quiet holiday.

Bahulara: 25 kms. The Siddheswar Shiva Temple of Bahulara is well known for its unique architectural style and exquisite ornamentation of the temple walls. The Shaileswar Temple of Dihar, 8 kms from Vishnupur, is also an old temple.

Panchmura: 21 kms. Famous for the terracota Bankura Horse, a folk artefact and now the national symbol for Indian handicrafts.

Susunia Hills: 50 kms. The famous rock inscription of Chandavarma can be seen on the walls of a cave and dates back to the 4th century AD. Susunia is connected to Bankura town by bus. Delightful holiday resort in winter. Also, a centre for rock climbing & trekking.

Festivals
Jhapan (Shravana Sankranti/Mid-August):
Most important festival of Vishnupur is Jhapan, held in the glory of Manasa, the daughter of Shiva & goddess of snakes. Jhapan represents the snake worship cult in Bengal. It is basically a regional harvest festival and closely associated with the fertility cult too. Amidst chanting of hymns in glory of Goddess Manasa, groups of snake charmers demonstrate tricks and feats with poisonous snakes. Jhapan literally means a stage erected to exhibit tricks with snakes. At times performed on decorated bullock carts and carriages. Charmers, called Jhampanias, bring king cobras, spectacled and other cobras, vipers, kriats, pythons, rat snakes, vine and flying snakes, in baskets made of cane, bamboo or grass, to the old palace ground. Jhapan festival began as a grand reception first given to Bir Hambir Malla on his return after battle festival continues and the great snake show by traditional devotees of Goddess Manasha, with live & venomous snakes, attracts a large gathering every year.

Indra Puja (Bhadra/August-September):
Another colourful festival is held at Vishnupur with great pomp. This is known as the Indra Puja or the Indra Parab. On this occasion the Malla Raja of Vishnupur presents yellow turbans to local Santal chiefs.

Gajan (March-April):
Gajan festival begins at the end of a week culuminating in month long rural fairs on Shivaratri day and is a popular festival of rural Bengal. The festival at the Bahulara Siddheswar Shiva Temple (25 kms away) and the fair draws large crowds from distant places.

Shopping
The local handicrafts of Vishnupur include silk, tussar silk, conch shell wares & bell metal wares. No less important from the point of view of popular taste are the fine sweetmeats and flavoured tobacco of Vishnupur. Vishnupur is also famous for terracotta folk toys like the Bankura (rather Panchmura) horse and clay dolls. Vishnupur Silks are among the finest in the world.
1) Terracota Crafts, Dalmadal Road (1/2 kms from the Tourist Lodge).
2) Shri Hari Sankha Bhandar, Shankharipara.
3) Maa Durga Sankha Bhandar, Shankharipara.

Darjeeling
Altitude : 2134 Metres.
Climate (deg C) : Summer- Max. 14.9, Min. 8.6; Winter- Max. 6.11, Min. 1.50.
Best Season : April to middle June and September to November.
Clothing : Summer- Light Woollens & Tropicals; Winter- Heavy Woollens.

Darjeeling is nestied in a setting of Kanchenjunga and Mount Everest, Tibetan Monasteries, Himalayan Tribal Life, Pine Trees etc. Which make her qualify as the queen of the hill stations.

Infrastructure 
Air : Bagdogra Airport (96 kms from Darjeeling) has direct air connections to Calcutta, Delhi, Patna, Guwahati and other places of North-East India.
Fare : Calcutta - Bagdogra Rs.2019/- (J), Rs.1462/- (Y). 
Rail: New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station at the base of Darjeeling Hill area has the direct railway connections to Calcutta, Delhi, Guwahati, Madras, Bombay, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Cochin etc. And from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling by toy train it takes 7 hours on a narrow gauge line. 
Fare : Calcutta - Darjeeling Rs.700 (AC-2A), Rs.504 (I), Rs.170 (II). 
Road: Darjeeling is connected by road with Calcutta 651 kms, Gangtok 100 kms, Kalimpong 51 kms. Calcutta-Shiliguri have direct NSBTC Buses, daily. 
Local Transport : Cars and Jeeps (Landrovers) are available on hire. Jeeps and Mini Buses can be hired from the Deputy Director of Tourism, West Bengal, Nehru Road, Darjeeling. 

Places to see
Tiger Hill- 11 kms. 8482 ft./2590 mtrs; Ghoom Monastery- 8 kms; Batasia Loop- 5 kms; Himalayan Mountaineering Institute- 2 kms. 0830-1300 & 1400-1630 hours; Himalayan Zoological Park; Darjeeling Rangeet Valley Passenger Ropeway- 8 kmslong ropeway. Fare: Rs.25 return journey; Tibetan Refugees Centre; Lebong Race Course; Natural History Museum- 1000-1600 hrs; Happy Valley Tea Estate- 3 kms; Lloyds Botanical Garden- 0600-1700 hours; Observatory Hill; Dhirdham Temple; Senchal Lake- 10 kms.

1. Sandakphu: 58 kms. Jeepable Road. Tourist can reach by jeep or by landover.
2. Tonglu : 10074 feet or 2070 metres.
3. Phalut : 3600 metres.

Informations
1) Tourist Bureau, Government of West Bengal, Nehru Road Darjeeling.
2) Tourist Information Counters at Shiliguri Town, Bagdogra Airport, Shiliguri Jn. & New Jalpaiguri Jn.Tel: 393, Tel: (0353) 431974,431979 (O) & 432893 (R).
3) Tourist Bureau, Govt. of West Bengal, 3/2 B.B.D. Bag, (East), Calcutta- 700 001. Tel : 248-8271.