West Bengal is India's 12th largest state. The state stretches from the foothills of Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale once said “What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow." And Bengal, can be perhaps be justifiably proud of producing men and women whose ideas helped to shape modern India. Ram Mohan Roy, lswarchandra Vidyasagar, Ramkrishna and Vivekanand, spearheaded social and religious movements, Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Madhusudan Dutta, Rabindranath Tagore among others ushered in an era of new literature. A movement to evolve a true 'Indian art form' found its expression in Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandlal Bose, Jamini Roy and others. Proscenium theatre came into the country with Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali and the new wave in Indian Cinema began.

In this land India's freedom movement found some of the great sons like Sir Suren Banerjee, C. R. Das, Netaji Bose, Maulana Azad, as it drew inspiration from Rishi Aurobindo.

Bengal is a proud land of five Nobel Laureates (Tagore, Raman, Ronald Ross, Mother Teresa, Amartya Sen). It is also known for its sweet Bengali language, appreciative audiences, connoisseurs of art and culture and it’s highly cultured people who are ready to standup for a cause and take problems in their stride as they step towards a future. With no illusions, no false expectations but a deep conviction that life is truth and truth will triumph.

It is a land where there is seldom a dull moment, especially in Calcutta, one of the great buzzing metropolis of the world which has celebrated it tercentenary In 1989.

Area : 87,853 sq. km
Capital : Calcutta
Population : 67,982, 732 (1991)
Languages : Bengali
Literacy : 57.72% (1991)
Per capita : Rs 3,963 (1989-90)
Roads : 57,539 kms
Railways : 3,800 kms

No. of Districts : 17
Bankura
Birbhum
Barddhaman
Calcutta
Koch Bihar
Darjiling
Hughli
Howrah
Jalpaiguri
Maldah
Medinipur
Mushidabad
Nadia
Puruliya
North Parganas
South Parganas
West Dinajpur

Crops :  Fruits, Jute, Oilseeds, Pulses, Rice, Sugarcane, Tea, Wheat.
Minerals : Coal, Iron Ore, Limestone, Manganese.
Industries : Automobile, Chemicals, Coal, Cotton, Textile, Hides & Skins, Heavy and light Engineering, Iron & Steel, Jute, Lac, Leather & Footwear, Liquor, Locomotive, Paper, Pharmaceuticals, Tea.

PLACES OF INTEREST

• *ASANSOL : Industrial centre.
• *BAKRESHWAR : Hot springs. Hindu pilgrim centre, Temples.
• *BETHUDAHARI : Wild life sanctuary.
• *BISHNUPUR : Temples, Ruins of ancient capital, Fort, Terracotta work.
• *BOK-KHALI : Beach.
• *CALCUTTA : Howrah bridge, Gardens, Museums, Hindu & Jain Temples, Churches, Mosques, Libraries. Cultural centre, Planetarium, Fort, Sporting centre, Monuments, Zoological gardens, Underground Metro Railway, Tramways, Memorials, Boating, Lakes.
• Belur (11 kms) : Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters.
• Dakshineshwer (11 kms) : Temples.
• CHANDANNAGAR : French relics, Churches, Temples, Handlooms.
• CHUNCHURA : Dutch relics.
• Bandel (5 kms) : Portuguese relics, Church. Picnic spot.
• Bansbaria (8 kms) : Temples.
• *DARJEELING : Major hill resort. Trekking, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Museums & Art Galleries, Temples, Handicrafts, Fishing, Zoological gardens, Tea Estates, Rope-way, Horse-racing.
• Ghum (6 kms) : Buddhist monasteries,
• Mirik (49 kms) Small hill station with view of the Himalayas, Lak, Oranges, Temples, Treks,
• *Siliguri (90 kms) : Toy Train to Darjeeling, base to visit Bhutan & Nepal by road.
• DIAMOND HARBOUR : River side picnic spot, Fort.
• *DIGHA : Beach resort, nearby Temples.
• *DURGAPUR : Major industrial centre, Gardens. Deer Park. Toy train.
• *GAUR : Ancient capital, remains of Muslim rule, Mosques, .
• *Maldah (16 kms) : Stop for Gaur, Museum, Mangoes.
• Pandua (18 kms) : Another ancient capital of Bengal, with Mosques, Ruins, Museum, Handicrafts.
• *JAIRAMBATI-KAMARPUKUR : Pilgrim centres.
• *JAIDHAPARA : Wildlife sanctuary.
• JANPUT : Beach, Fishing.
• KAKDWIP :  Sagar mela,
• *KALIMPONG : Hill station, Plantations, Handicrafts, Handlooms, Buddhist Monastery.
• *KANGSABATI : Dam-site picnic spot.
• *KOCH BIHAR : Palace Temples
• *KARSIYANG : Small hill station, Scenic beauty, Buddhist Monastery. Gardens
• *KRISHNANAGAR : Palace, Clay Handicrafts.
• *MURSHIDABAD : Ancient capital and metropolis, Palaces, Mosques, Handloom silks.
• Baharampur (20 kms) : Handicrafts.
• Plassey (Palasi) (49 kms) : Where Clive paved the way to British rule.
• NAVADWIP : Pilgrim centre, Temples.
• *SANDAKPHU : Spectacular view of the Himalayas.
• Senchal (11 kms) : Picnic spot, Wildlife sanctuary, View of Mount Everest, and Kanchenjunga peaks. Scenic beauty, Golf, Lake.
• *SHANTI NIKETAN : Tagore's Vishwa Bharathi University of Fine Arts, Cultural festivals, Handloom textiles, Deer and Bird sanctuary.
• Sriniketen (3 kms) : Handicrafts, Gardens.
• SHRIRAMPUR : Christian Missionary Centre, Temples, Handlooms.
• SUNDERBANS : Wildlife sanctuary. Tiger Reserve.
• TARKESHWAR : Hindu pilgrim centre.
• Antpur (4 kms) : Temples, Hindu pilgrim centre, Handloom products. Terracotta Temple art.
• TARAPITH : Hindu pilgrim centre, Temples.

* Towns with good accommodation.
Best season October-March.