Asansol is a city in Rarh in India. It is the second largest urban agglomeration in West Bengal and is an important mining and industrial centre. Burnpur, Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria are part of Asansol municipal corporation.

Sacred Heart Church (built in 1875), right in the market place, presenting Asansol's colonial charm

A secluded corner in Nehru Park

Get in

By train

Asansol is an important junction on the Howrah-Delhi track and most of the trains stop here. For travel from Kolkata, 200 km, the short distance trains are ideal - Ranchi Shatabdi Express, Agniveena Express, Coalfield Express and Black Diamond Express from Howrah, and Inter City Express from Sealdah. Be sure to book a reserved seat in advance because the trains are generally crowded. Reservation of seats will enable a person to avoid the gross misbehavior of uncivilized, ill-mannered and irritating daily passengers. Some long distance trains also offer reservation from Howrah to Asansol, but not the other way.

Daily direct trains to Delhi, Jammu Tawi, Dehradun, Kalka, Kathgodam, Jodhpur, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur and Mumbai either start from Asansol or pass through Asansol. There are several weeklies and bi-weeklies to far off destinations such as Kanyakumari, Yeshvantpur, Ahmedabad and Dibrugarh.

By road

Asansol is on Grand Trunk Road (the city is off NH 19) and so travel is straight. The road is superb with four lanes and a divider in place. Those travelling from Kolkata should take the Durgapur Expressway (part of NH 19) from Dankuni and then Grand Trunk Road/ NH 19 (bypassing Bardhaman town) from Palsit. Air-conditioned Volvo and State Transport buses along with non-air-conditioned buses leave daily from Esplanade (Kolkata) for Asansol. The tickets can be booked in advance or at the spot before the departure of the buses. The Volvo bus journey is comfortable and relaxing in comparison to the journey by State Transport AC buses. The additional comfort comes at an additional cost.

By plane

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport at Kolkata is the nearest commercial airport. There is a private airstrip at Burnpur, suitable for small planes. No direct flight service is available for Asansol.

Get around

Hired cars, auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are available. Nobody goes by meters and so be sure to check about the hire charges before boarding.

City landmarks

• 1 Asansol railway station, Station Road, Asansol. 
• 2 Eastern Coalfields Limited (Headquarters), Sanctoria. 
• 3 IISCO Steel Plant (Steel Authority of India Limited). Modernised at a cost of ₹16,000 crore, the new plant will be on stream by December 2013.  

See

• 1 Baranti. Baranti is a picnic / holiday spot. It is 6 km from Muradi railway station on the Asansol-Adra line. 
• 2 Churulia. Here the famous poet - Kazi Nazrul Islam was born. He is considered the national poet of Bangladesh. The village is about 17 km from Asansol, and contains a museum with his works and a memorial for him. A fair with high standard cultural programmes is organised on the occasion of the poet's birthday in the Bengali month of Jaistha (May-June). 
• 3 Joychandi Pahar. Popular picnic spot and centre for rock climbing training, is about 30 km from Asansol. One has to take a train on the Asansol-Adra line to get there. There is a station of that name. 
• 4 Kalyaneswari Temple. The temple of the Lady of Fulfilment, about 20 km from Asansol has been a place of pilgrimage, particularly for barren women, for about five centuries. It is near Maithon. Normally one makes it a part of a visit to Maithon Dam. 
• 5 Maithon Dam. Maithon Dam is about 20 km from Asansol. It is approachable via Neamatpur or Asansol Bypass, or one can take a little circuitous route via Chirkunda. Those travelling in a car often take one route for going out and return by the other. 
• 6 Nehru Park. It is 14 km from the station, on the bank of the Damodar river in Burnpur. There is an eatery in the park. 
• 7 Panchet Dam. Panchet Dam is about 17 km from Asansol. It is approachable via Chirkunda. 
• 8 Satabdi Park. It is 2 km from the station. There are facilities for paddle boating and a few rides for children. Nice place to spend the evening. 

Do

• Eylex Multiplex, Galaxy Mall. Asansol's first multiplex for a comfortable movie experience 
• 1 Galaxy Mall. One of the malls in Asansol, giving you access to almost all leading brands. 
• 2 Ghagar Buri Chandi Temple, Off NH 19. Maa Ghagar Buri is one 'roop' of Maa Chandi. You can offer puja in the morning hours. You can take a car, taxi etc from Asansol station 
• 3 Manoj Talkies. You can watch all newly released movies here. Good cinema hall; one of the biggest with a seating capacity of almost 1800. 
• Panifala, Contact: Dayamoy Maji, Mangaldeep, Near-Arghya ("Panifala" hot spring is about 7 km from the heart of the city.), ☏ +91 9932133154. It is a picnic spot. It has a lake for boating and beautiful garden of flowers. 

Buy

It is one of the big markets in West Bengal. There are many shops for buying clothes, electronic goods, sports accessories etc. Some prominent shops are: Mohan (Raha Lane-Hutton Road market) Bazaar Kolkata (Raha Lane) B.N.Ghanty (Raha Lane-Hutton Road market)

Eat

• Arpan, Burnpur Road, ☏ +91 341-2252007. Adjacent to Chitra Cinema. It has a bar.. 
• 1 Gangar Hotel, Court Compound. Dhaba type. No pretensions of luxury. Delicious Bengali food - dal-aloobhaja must try; fish range from rui and chital maachh to ilish and varieties of chhoto maachh; those who like can also order mangsho or dimer dalna. 
• Garam Masala, GT Road, ☏ +91 341 3262030. Bombay Hotel presents a complete vegetarian AC restaurant in the market place. 
• Sudhamrit, Bastin Bazar, GT Road, ☏ +91 341-2302757. On Grand Trunk Road, right in the market place. 

Drink

Many of the larger hotels have bars and restaurants. Most of clubs in the area have the colonial old world charm but entry is restricted to members and their guests.

Sleep

Mid-range

• 1 The Hindustan Residency, Kanyapur Road, ☏ +91 341 2250101, +91 341 2250055, wbtdc@thehindustanresidency.com. 
• Hotel Asansol Inn, Police Colony Lane, Burnpur Road, ☏ +91 341 2252552, +91 341 2250016. 
• 2 Hotel Asansol International, 66 GT Road (East), Murgasol, ☏ +91 2204875-77-20. 
• 3 Hotel Ispat International, 15 Burnpur Road, ☏ +91 341 2257851-2257852, fax: +91 341 2257585, hotelispat@gmail.com. 
• 4 Hotel Shreshtha International, GT Road, Kumarpur, ☏ +91 341 2253300, +91 341 3265175. 
• 5 Jubilee Resorts, JRO Complex, Kanyapur, NH2 Bypass, ☏ +91 341 3202694-3260270. 

Budget

• Evergreen Hotel, Abdul Latif Lane, ☏ +91 2204927. 
• Hotel Ajanta, 225 Hutton Road, ☏ +91 341 2214052, +91 341 2214721. 
• 6 Hotel Akbar, Leighton Place, Bastin Bazar Road, ☏ +91 2204758. 
• Hotel Arti, 7/162 GT Road, Raha Lane, ☏ +91 2206455-58. 
• Hotel Asansol Taj, BB Road, Bakar Ali Lane, ☏ +91 2212075. 
• Hotel Atithi, Atithi Complex, 1 GT Road, Hutton Road Morh, ☏ +91 2201431. 
• Hotel Classic, BB Road, ☏ +91 2206373. 
• Hotel Durga, 27 Apcar Garden, Sen Raleigh Road, ☏ +91 2253340. 
• Hotel Geetanjali, 114, GT Road, Station Road Morh, opposite Fire Brigade, ☏ +91 2220044, +91 2204824. 
• Hotel Glossy, Bastin Bazar, Asansol Market, ☏ +91 2202208. 
• Hotel Gloster, Bastin Bazar, Asansol Market, ☏ +91 2203730. 
• Hotel Maharaja, 163/8 GT Road, ☏ +91 2203119. 
• Hotel Mousumi, 29 Nuruddin Road, near Ashram Morh, ☏ +91 2204280. 
• Hotel Paramount, Bastin Bazar, Asansol Market, ☏ +91 2202340. 
• Hotel Plaza, Plaza Market, Bastin Bazar, Asansol Market, ☏ +91 2203830. 
• Hotel Rajshree, 46 Shiv Mandir Road, ☏ +91 2205637. 
• Hotel Sadab, Bastin Bazar, Asansol Market, ☏ +91 2204218. 
• 7 Hotel Sarita, 17 GT Road, ☏ +91 2207686-3152. 
• Hotel Shradhanjali, 20 & 22 GT Road, above Ghanty Cloth Store, ☏ +91 2206599. 
• Tourist Hotel, 169 GT Road, ☏ +91 2202270. 

Go next

• Bakreshwar – hot spring and temple is about 70 km from Asanasol.
• Biharinath - holiday resorts
• Durgapur - 42 km from Asansol.
• Dhanbad - 60 km from Asansol.
• Kendubillo – temple and birthplace of Sanskrit poet Joydeb, on the banks of the Ajay river, is about 80 km from Asansol. Makar sankranti mela with bauls (religious singers with a detached philosophy and spontaneity of their own) participating is held in mid January.
• Santiniketan - Visva-Bharati, founded by Rabindranath Tagore and now a central university and an institution of national importance, is located here. It is about 90 km from Asansol.
• Vishnupur - the famous terracotta temple town and home to major art and craft is about 100 km from Asansol. The Bankura horse, symbol of Indian handicrafts is produced at Panchmura, near Vishnupur. It is also the home of the Baluchari sari, initially woven with Ramayana and Mahabharata motifs but now modernised.