West Bengal পশ্চিমবঙ্গ

Snow-capped Sandakphu, highest mountain in West Bengal, India
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandakphu.jpg
Author: solarshakti


West Bengal পশ্চিমবঙ্গ) is a state on the eastern bottleneck of India. It stretches from north to south covering a narrow band between the Indian states to the west and Bangladesh largely to the east. West Bengal covers 88,752 sq km (34,267 sq mi) and has a population of 91,347,736. It is the 13th largest state in terms of size, but ranks fourth in terms of population. It is the second most densely populated state in India after Bihar.

Main Cities in West Bengal

Major Sights in West Bengal

Koley Market in Howrah, West Bengal
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P_K_Roy_Chowdhury_2nd_Bye_Lane_-_Howrah_2011-01-08_9908.JPG
Author: Biswarup Ganguly


West Bengal comprises two main regions. To the north are the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan areas while to the south the Gangetic Plain, where the state capital and largest city, Kolkata, is located.

West Bengal was part of the larger Bengal, a geographical and historical region at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. It was split along religious lines following the independence, becoming East Pakistan and West Bengal. East Pakistan broke from Pakistan in 1971 to form the modern state of Bangladesh.

Hasnabad ferry pier in West Bengal for ferry services to Bangladesh
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HasnabadFerry.JPG
Author: Arne Hückelheim


The Ganges is the main river that flows through West Bengal. It splits into two distributaries within the state, with one branch entering Bangladesh as the Padma, while the other flows through West Bengal as the Bhagirathi River. The tallest mountain in West Bengal is the 3636 m (11,929 ft) Sandakphu, located at the edge of the Singalila National Park on the border between West Bengal and Sikkim.

The climate of West Bengal is determined by its location and elevation. The low-lying parts of the state experiences a tropical savannah climate while the northern parts a humid subtropical climate. Most of the people in the state are farmers, or depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Food crops grown in the state include pulses, oil seeds, wheat and potatoes while the main cash crop is jute. The highland ares of the state, particularly Darjeeling, is a major producer of high-quality teas.

Night time in Aharitolla, Kolkata
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:5459g_ahiritolla_traffic-jam-crowds-at-0418AM.jpg
Author: Mukerjee

How to go to West Bengal

Kolkata is the gateway to West Bengal. Most visitors arrive at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU), located in the neighbouring city of Dum Dum. The airport receives flights from major cities in India as well as Asia. From the airport, you can catch a prepaid taxi to downtown Kolkata. The fare is aroune Rs 150 to Rs 250, depending on your destination.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap