Bankura

Bankura (Bengali: বাঁকুড়া Bām̐kuṛā BAHn-koo-rrah) is the headquarters of its namesake Bankura district of West Bengal. Bankura town is an important stopover for most of the tourist destinations in Bankura and Purulia.

By plane
The nearest airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Durgapur, but only a few flights are present at the airport. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata is the nearest airport to get to Bankura smoothly.

By bus
Private and state transport buses are the most convenient to reach Bankura, although rail transport is also available. There are buses between Kolkata and Bankura. Regular bus services are also available for Malda, Siliguri, Purulia, Medinipur, Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Ranchi etc.

By train
From Howrah, trains like Rajdhani Express (Bhubaneswar Rajdhani), Rupasi Bangla, Purulia Express, Chakradharpur Passenger, Samarsata Express (Howrah to LTT)-(Bi-weekly) are available. Puri Express( Puri-New Delhi), Baidyanath Dham Express (Patna-Puri), Guwahati-Puri Express also run via Bankura. Passenger trains like Tatanagar-Kharagpur, Asansol-Kharagpur connect Bankura with major railheads in this region.



Get around
Rickshaws are available for local travel.

See and do
While the town itself has only a handful of attractions, it is surrounded by several tourist destinations like Biharinath, Bishnupur and Mukutmanipur. Thus, Bankura town serves as the base to visit these destinations.

Buy

 * Bankura is terracotta country. There are artistically designed terracota panels on temple walls, some depicting Ramayana and Mahabharata themes, but simple terracota items as wall plates and ashtrays are also readily available. The famous Bankura horse, now the symbol of Indian handicrafts, is available in various sizes, ranging from less than a feet to around three feet tall. With mounting tourist demand, wood-carved versions are also available.
 * Bishnupur baluchari saris are wonderfully handcrafted.

Eat

 * Bankura has its own sweetmeat speciality - mecha sandesh. The Beliator version is more renowned. Another popular sweetmeat, pera, is better known at Chatna. You can look for these in Bankura city also.

There are a few good restaurants such as Hotel Saptarshi (Lalbazar), Saptaparna (Chandmaridanga) and Classic (Chandmaridanga), where all kinds food are available at a cheap price.

If you are a sweet lover, go and check out 'Bhairab Mishtanna Vandar'.

Go next

 * Biharinath
 * Bishnupur
 * Midnapore
 * Mukutmanipur
 * Purulia
 * Susunia