Welcome to Bishnupur

Bishnupur Tourism A small town in West Bengal famous for its terracota temples, Bishnupur is famous among tourists, especially for its rich culture including architecture, music and handicraft.

Bishnupur is a town with a rich heritage and a present as rich in culture, art and architecture. Its heritage and an ornamented culture transcends into multiple attractions for the tourists, which can be witnessed in the area's soft corner for classical music, paintings or while you take home a Baluchari sari. The temples that the area is known for include Jorbangla temple, Rasmancha temple, Shyamrai Temple and many more. These find immense grandeur in their identity as carriers of significant histories as well as architectural marvels.

Bishnupur has innumerable homestays available. You wouldn't find anything exotic or very classy here. There are simple budget hotels in Bankura which would provide you with the basic facilities.

Welcome to Joypur Forest

Staying in a dense jungle of Sal and Teak with Spotted Deer herds crossing the lush forest-path every now and then if this excites you then Joypur Forest can be your next weekend destination. The age-old historic town of Bishnupur with its 17th Century terracotta temples and the Kansabati Dam and lake at Mukutmanipur are also located nearby. You can stay in a resort adjacent to the Joypur Forest, which has its own farm, vegetable garden, a huge lake (Jheel) and is equipped with all modern facilities. With the dense forest surrounding the resort area, this is an idle place to look out for peace that you otherwise miss in the busy city life. If you are planning to visit Bishnupur recently but hate the din and busy streets, then stay at Joypur. Bishnupur is only 14 kms from Joypur.

Places to see in Joypur Forest: This is a dense forest of 120 square kilometers with a watch tower to catch a glimpse of the greenery and the spotted deer Cheethals. You would also find a good population of birds here especially parrots. The forest vegetation mainly comprises Sal and Teak with few other trees like Amla and Bahera. Occasionally, during winters, you would also find wild elephants crossing the forest area. There is a forest watch tower within 10 mins walk from the resort. You can have a panoramic view of the forest from this watch tower. There is also an abandoned airstrip of British era within the forest, which you can visit. But, remember to return from the forest within 4 pm.

Kamarpukur near Arambagh in Hoogly District

Kamarpukur is a village situated in Goghat II Community Development Block under the Arambag subdivision of the Hooghly District in West Bengal state of India. It is famous for being the birthplace of Ramakrishna. It is the block headquarters of the Goghat-II community development block. A mile to the north of Kamarpukur, is situated the village of Bhursubo where a well-to-do person named Manik Raja lived. The renowned tanks of Sukhasayer and Hatisayer excavated by him as also the mango-grove now almost extinct in the nearby meadows, testify to some of his noteworthy acts. On the western border of Kamarpukur, the canal Bhutir-Khal flows in a zigzag course from the north to the south and joins the Amodar River at a little distance. Two cremation grounds called Budhui Moral and Bhutir-Khal lie on the north-east and north-west of the village respectively. Along the eastern border of the village a spacious road runs from Burdwan (32 miles from Kamarpukur) to Puri in Orissa.

To the south-east are the ruins of Gar Mandaran and the ancient temple of Saileswara Shiva, which bear witness to the prosperous days of the Pathan rulers. About 30 miles to the east, is the famous temple of Tarakeswar Shiva, which is connected with Kamarpukur by a road running via Jahanabad (or Arambagh). Besides this, Ghatal (18 miles to the south) and Vishnupur (30 miles to the west) are joined with Kamarpukur by another road that abuts on the aforesaid road to Puri, after passing through the village via Kotulpur and Koalpara.

Three miles to the west, is Jayrambati, the village in which the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was born. Kamarkupur gram panchayat (GP) is a constituent GP of Goghat-II community development block in Arambag subdivision of the Hooghly district. It is the block headquarters of the Goghat-II CD block.

Joyrambati near Arambagh in Hoogly District

Joyrambati is a town, in the jurisdiction of Kotulpur police station in the Bishnupur subdivision in Bankura district, West Bengal, India.

Joyrambati is three miles to the west of Kamarpukur and two miles to the east of Shihar - the birthplace of Hridayrama Mukhopadhyaya, a nephew of Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna Dev. Bishnupur and Arambag are twenty-seven miles and twelve miles distant respectively from Joyrambati.

The village, surrounded on all sides by green pastures, untrimmed meadows, trees and shrubs, has a rural atmosphere. The area that extends for about half a mile between this village and the Amodar is very fertile and yields all kinds of vegetables and other agricultural products.

The main temple of this village belongs to Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Belur Math, and named as 'Sri Sri Matri Mandir" dedicated to Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna. The temple was constructed on the birthplace of Ma Sarada Devi. ( http://belurmath.org/centres/display_centre.php?centre_id=JYR ).

The village hosts another temple of Vivekananda monks and the orphanage school for boys that the monks operate. The school hosts around 250 boys, providing them with an education through junior high. There is a temple called "Naranarayan Temple" where a child of below 5 years of age is worshipped as "God Narayan" at 10:00 A.M daily. This is a unique experiment started by Swami Nityanandaji Maharaj of Vivekananda Math to manifest the saying of "Shiva in Jiva". The offerings in this puja are unusual which suits the need of a child like, a pair of shirt and trouser, toys, books, pen and pencil etc.

In nearby Shihar village there is an old temple dedicated to Shantinath Shiva. Both Sri Ramakrishna and the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi visited this temple. A grand fair is organized on the last of day of chaitra (Bengali Calendar)on the occasion of Gajan.