Gour (West Bengal)

Gour (Bengali: গৌড় Gauṛ) is a historical city in the northern plains‎ of West Bengal. Gour is a medieval citadel complete with fortification walls and gateways. Fractions of the wall and a handful of gateways still stand along with the remains of several mosques and a tower. The ruins of Gour are best explored along with its twin citadel of Pandua with Malda as the base. The ruins of Gour also extend into the neighboring country of Bangladesh and are known as Gaud.

Understand


Gour (gourr) is the medieval capital of Bengal. Variously referred to as Lakshmanabati, Lakhnauti and Jannatabad, the area saw three eras of glory–the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Sultans. The Senas, the last Hindu kings of Bengal, were displaced by the Muslims at the beginning of the 13th century. Their capital was initially at Pandua but was moved to Gour in 1453. After the Mughal invasion of Bengal in 1576, the capital of Bengal was shifted to Dhaka, then Murshidabad. The Nawabs continued to rule Bengal till the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

Gour has long lost its former glory. There is no trace of any shrine or structure from the Buddhist or Hindu periods and even those of the Muslim period are virtually in ruin. Whatever has survived is still enough to turn Gour, alongside Pandua, into a leading tourism destination, but sadly the place lacks proper tourist infrastructure. Still, Gour-Pandua along with Bishnupur and Murshidabad are the three important historical tourist destinations of West Bengal.

By plane
The nearest airports are Siliguri and Durgapur.

By car
Gour is south of Malda. The normal route is to take NH 12, which links Dalkhola with Kolkata, but the longer route via Durgapur Expressway (part of NH 19) from Dankuni, NH 19 from Palsit to Panagarh bypassing Bardhaman city, and then taking the Panagarh-Moregarm Expressway up to Morgram and on to NH 12 is a more comfortable and enjoyable option.

Get around
Since Gour has no hotels it is best explored from Malda. Hired cars are the best option to explore Gour. The hotels in Malda can arrange for cars. A whole day is enough to major sites of Gour. Covering Gour along with the nearby twin citadel of Pandua in a single day may be a bit hectic. Tourists looking out for more details need to stay at least two days in Malda, this will provide the opportunity to explore other places like Nandadirghi Vihar in Jagjibanpur, Nimasarai Minar and Old Malda Jami Masjid.

See and do
A whole day trip (from 8AM-2PM) is enough to cover all the sites of Gour in detail.

Eat and drink
There are no proper eateries in Pandua. During the tourist season, makeshift stalls sell tea and snacks along with soft drinks. Vendors also sell freshly cut seasonal fruits and ice cream. For lunch, there are a few dhabas along the highway connecting Pandua with Malda.

Sleep
There are no accommodations in Gour, the nearest options are in Malda. Broadly speaking, there are several lodges around Tourist lodge, some around the NBSTC terminus and the private bus stand near it, and some on ABA Gani Khan Choudhury Sarani.

Go next

 * Pandua - The twin citadel of Gour and is usually covered in the same trip
 * Malda – virtually all the amenities for travellers visiting this area can be found in Malda
 * Murshidabad – about 140 km from Gour
 * Siliguri – about 250 km from Gour
 * Kolkata – about 347 km from Gour