North Bengal forms the northern part of West Bengal.

Districts

North Bengal consists of the districts of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur.

Cities

• 1 Alipurduar — a city in eastern Dooars, close to the foothills of the Himalayas, forests and wildlife preserves

• 2 Balurghat — home to a museum with numerous ancient artefacts and close to forests and places for a picnic

• 3 Cooch Behar — the former capital of the Kingdom of Cooch Behar has a glorious late 19th-century palace

• 4 Darjeeling — the hill station famous worldwide for its tea gardens

• 5 Hasimara — a picturesque small tea-growing town and access point for the Bhutanese border city of Phuentsholing

• 6 Jaigaon — border town for crossing into Bhutan

• 7 Jalpaiguri — a historic city with rail links to North-Eastern India
• 8 Kalimpong - a popular hill station, known for its orchids, cheese, and schools

• 9 Malbazar — the second largest city in Dooars region after Alipurduar and main communicating hub.

• 10 Malda — a city near the border with Bangladesh that has notable religious and archaeological attractions and a university

• 11 Mirik — a picturesque and fertile hill station in Darjeeling district

• 12 Raiganj — a city with important wildlife and bird sanctuaries

• 13 Siliguri — the largest city in North Bengal and a major commercial and shopping hub.

Other destinations

• 1 Chilapata — a wildlife sanctuary that is a migration corridor for rhinos and elephants

• 2 Gorumara National Park — richly populated by many types of wildlife

• 3 Gour-Pandua — Gour and Pandua are two abandoned cities 14 km south and 15 km north of Malda, respectively, and are now great archaeological sites

• 4 Jaldapara — a national park with wildlife including one-horned rhinos

Understand

North Bengal was historically called Gour, but that region included certain districts or areas such as Rangpur and Rajshahi, which are now in Bangladesh. The total area has a distinctiveness in the matter of the dialects spoken, the folk culture and life styles. Far away from the madding crowds of the metropolitan city, it has a quietness of its own.

Standing at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, it gradually slopes down to the alluvial plains of the Ganges, the Padma and the Jamuna. The Ganges flows in circumventing the Rajmahal Hills and the Brahmaputra round the Garo Hills. Other turbulent rivers originate in North Bengal and flow down to the plains.

It is the land of the mountain-climbing Sherpas, and other people with some distinctiveness of their own. Certain Muslim-dominated areas have their own traditions. It has been home to the famous one-horned rhino and numerous other species of animals and birds.

With improvement in communication links, the inflow of tourists into North Bengal is increasing. It is a wonderful land waiting to be explored properly by inquisitive tourists.

Go next

• Maharaja Hat