Bishnupur
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Offbeat weekend in Bishnupur
Bishnupur weekend tour
Bishnupur is a small town in Bankura district of West Bengal which is the hotspot of every tourist visiting West Bengal. The town is well known for its diverse and rich culture whose impact is portrayed on its architecture, music and handicraft. A weekend tour to Bishnupur usually includes visiting its 16th century built temples, shopping for the region’s Baluchari Sarees and its various kinds of handicrafts. Nowadays a package tour to Bishnupur also includes visiting nearby artisan’s villages or small hamlets around it featuring heritage architectural beauty. Located just 136 km North West of the city of Kolkata, a road trip to Bishnupur is an ideal choice for a weekend getaway from Kolkata. A drive to Bishnupur passes through the scenic jungle of Joypur. Train facility to Bishnupur in suitable time is available but in limited numbers.
Bishnupur Royal family was founded in the 8th century CE by Adi Malla, son of a king abandoned with a Brahmin. Initially the capital was in a village named Lau, but 300 years later it was shifted to Bishnupur by a Malla descendant named Jagat Malla as he was instructed by divine intervention to build a temple of Mrinmoyee there. However, it was not before 17th century, the temples of Bishnupur started coming up into existence during the reign of King Hambir (1565 CE to 1620 CE), whose interaction with Vaishnav guru Srinivas Acharya transferred Bishnupur into a Vaishnav Hub.
2 nights 3 days
- AC Room
- Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks, Dinner
- Pickup and dropfrom Barbil to Barbil
*Excluding First day Breakfast,Guide and Porter charge
3 nights 4 days
- AC Room
- Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks, Dinner
- Pickup and dropfrom Barbil to Barbil
*Excluding First day Breakfast, Guide and Porter Charge
Sight seeing in Bishnupur
Established in 1600 AD by the King Hambhir, the Rasmancha is a marvelous example of architecture during the era of Malla Kings. It is a priority visit for tourists on a weekend tour to Bishnupur who finds pleasure in taking a stroll through its arches through light and shade. The structure is built of bricks sitting on a stone base with 108 columns and a pyramidal roof. This is a ticketed monument maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. Buying a ticket here allows the visitor to visit the Kesto Rai and Shyam Rai Temple as well.
Built in 1658 by Malla King Bir Singha Lalji temple is an ekratna temple with stucco decoration on low relief carvings on its front wall.
Ek ratna Radheshyam Temple was built by Malla king Chaitanya Singh in 1758. It has an interesting temple gateway. There is a small Tulsimancha inside the premises. The temple wall has several stucco works on its wall.
The oldest temple of Bishnupur is the Mrinmoyee Temple. Mrinmoyee Temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga. Built during the rule of Jagat Malla, the deity is worshipped everyday with special pomp and show during Durga Puja. Tourists visiting Bishnupur come in huge numbers to visit Mrinmoyee temple during Durga Puja. King Jagat Malla established the Mrinmoyee temple in 997 AD due to divine intervention. Close to the temple besides a pond lies the ruins of Bishnupur Royal Palace/Fort.
Built in 1655 by Malla King Raghunath Singh the Kesto Rai temple is built in Jor Bangla style (Roof with Double sided curved thatch with a triple arched gateway on one side. The walls of the temple have numerous terracotta panels featuring scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Examples are of King Dasarath killing Sindhumuni’s Son, renunciation of arms by Bhisma, Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows (Sharashajja), Saga of Laxman & Surpanakha, Bheem and Jarasnadha mace fight and European warships.
Built in 1643 by King Raghunath Singh, Shyam Rai is a five pinnacled temple with triple arched gateway on its four sides. Besides its exterior and interior walls, the temple has a large number of terracotta artwork on its pinnacles as well. There are numerous scenes of Krishna Leela as well as a huge Raschakra and Dasavatar panels including Kalki avatar. Both Kesto Rai and Shyam Rai Temple enchant travelers visiting Bishnupur with their terracotta panel arts
The small laterite stone gate is situated on the middle of the road. Just a few steps from this structure is a huge gate which is the entrance to the royal enclosure housing the above mentioned temples. The large gate also has a huge terrace.
There is a 17th century built small chariot devoid of any wheels between these two gates. It is actually a small miniaturized temple which once had three wheels on each side. The lower floor is a replica of the style in which the Rasmancha was built.
Three ruined structures are inside the Royal Enclosure, between the Shyam Rai and Kesto Rai Temple. The first is the ruined Mahaprabhu temple which is identical to the Kesto Rai temple in architectural style. Next are the twin Krishna Balaram temples built in Rekha deul style. Apart from vertical projections or rekha on the walls, the temples feature single sikhara with large amalaka and kalasa on top. The third dilapidated structure is a square shaped structure devoid of any door or windows. Locally known as Gumghar or torture chamber, this structure in all probability was a granary.
Located 1km north of the stone chariot is the Madan Mohan temple is a brick built temple outside the Royal enclosure. Surrounded by fortified walls with a do chala entrance, the temple is a ek ratna temple with a triple entrance gate. Lord Madan Mohan is worshipped here. Among the several terracotta motifs, Nabanarikunjar (nine Gopinis forming an elephant) is a treat to the eyes. The temple was built in 1694 by the Malla King Durjan Singh.
Located south of the Royal enclosure, “Dalmadal” is a huge cannon that is around 12.5 feet and was made with 63 iron rings. Local folklores say that Lord Madan Mohan himself had fired this canon to drive out the hordes of Bargis when they tried to attack Bishnupur. Adjacent to the canon is the temple of Chinnamasta – A form of Kali where the deity is headless. Dressed in a garland of skeleton, the deity stands on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a sabre in another. Blood spurting out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants.
To the eastern side of the Chinnamasta temple are a group of temples. Three of them are inside the same enclosure, locally known as Jora Mandir group of temples. These were constructed by Malla King Gopal Singh in 1726. Each of the other four temples are inside separate enclosures. The Kalachand temple was constructed in 1656 by Malla King Raghunath Singh. This is the oldest Ekratna temple of Bishnupur. The Radha Gobinda temple was constructed in 1729. The temple premises have a stone chariot similar to the kind seen near the two gateways of the royal premises. The Radhamadhab temple was constructed in 1737 which has a do chala Bhog Mandap in the premises. All these temples have more or less stucco decorations on them except the Nandalal which is devoid of any foundation stone and is located opposite Jora Mandir group of temples.
Rupashi Bangla in the morning and Purulia Express in the evening are two comfortable train to reach Bishnupur from Howrah. However, the preferable route for travelers is the road trip by car from Kolkata to Bishnupur.
Bishnupur has a wide range of hotels from 3 stars to budget hotels. There are many restaurants in the city too.
You would love the restaurant if you are a Bengali as the in-house restaurant serves with all kinds of sumptuous Bengali food. Apart from that you can also try out Chinese and Moghlai food.
Tour Plan Itinerary
Offbeat weekend Exclusive Package
2 Night 3 Days
DAY ONE :
Pick-up from Barbil Rail Station at 1 pm.
Lunch at hotel
Visit
1. Kiriburu Hill Top / Sunset Point (the land of seven hundred hills)
Back to Hotel
Take Evening Snacks & Dinner.
DAY TWO :
Breakfast 8.30am. at Hotel
Visit -
1.Murgamahadev Temple & Waterfalls
Back to hotel & take lunch then visit
2. Jateswar Forest & Temple with Waterfalls
Back to hotel.
Take evening snacks & Dinner.
DAY THREE :
Breakfast 8.00am. at Hotel,
Visit -
1. Jhikra Waterfalls
2. Pacheri Waterfalls
Back to Hotel.
Lunch at 12 pm,
Drop to Barbil Rail Station within 1.15 PM.
Package Includes:
1. Room
2. Food (Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks, Dinner)
3. Car: Pickup-Drop (Barbil to Barbil) with all sightseeing (as per Itinerary)
Package Excludes:
1.First day breakfast
2. Guide charge
3. Porter charge
Offbeat weekend Exclusive Package
3 Night 4 Days
DAY ONE :
Pick-up from Barbil Rail Station at 1 pm.,
Lunch at hotel,
Visit -
1.Kiriburu Hill Top / Sunset Point (the land of seven hundred hills)
Back to Hotel
Take Evening Snacks & Dinner.
DAY TWO :
Breakfast 8.30am. at Hotel,
Visit -
1.Murgamahadev Temple & Waterfalls
Back to hotel & take lunch then visit
2.Jateswar Forest & Temple with Waterfalls
Back to hotel
Take evening snacks & Dinner.
DAY THREE :
Breakfast 8.30am. at Hotel
Visit -
1.Jhikra Waterfalls
2.Pacheri Waterfalls
3.Fulbari Forest
4.Pundool Waterfalls
5.Karo River
6.Swapneswar Temple
OR
1.Jhikra Waterfalls
2.Pacheri Waterfalls
3.Gorubera Falls & Stone Curve
Lunch (Packed) at pundool or others site.
Back to Hotel.
Take evening snacks & Dinner
DAY FOUR:
Take your leisure time at hotel
Breakfast 9am
Lunch at 12 pm
Drop to Barbil Rail Station within 1.15 Pm
Package Includes:
1. Room
2. Food (Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks, Dinner)
3. Car: Pickup-Drop (Barbil to Barbil) with all sightseeing (as per Itinerary)
Package Excludes:
1.First day breakfast
2. Guide charge
3. Porter charge
Best time to visit
Except for the extremely hot summer months of April to June, Bishnupur is widely visited by tourists throughout the year.
Nearby places
Panchmura (23 km North West of Bishnupur)
This is an artisan’s village where one can get live demonstrations of Terracotta artifacts being made. Each house has several artifacts on display.
Joypur and Gokulnagar (15 km and 18 km east of Bishnupur)
Joypur has a scenic forest around it with two Nabaratna (Nine Pinnacled) terracotta temples at Depara and Duttapara. Inside the jungle there is a British built Semaphore tower. Gokul Nagar features laterite built GokulChand temple inside a fortified enclosure.
Chenchuriya Eco Park (27 km west of Bishnupur)
This is a small eco park situated on the way to Mukutmanipur
Joyrambati Kamarpukur (57 km east from Bishnupur)
The villages are famous for being birthplaces of famous Hindu mystic Ramakrishna and her consort Sarada Devi. A beautiful temple has been built by Ramakrishna Mission exactly on the spot where the Holy Mother was born.
The famous temples which a tourist gaze with awe while on a weekend outing to Bishnupur were all built up by King Hambir and his descendants of Malla Kings. The oldest heritage structure of Bishnupur is the Rasmancha, followed by Kesto Rai Temple, Shyam Rai Temple, Madan Mohan Temple, Lalji Temple, Radheshyam Temple, Jora Mandir group of temples and many more. Some of the temples are made of terracotta, while the others are made of laterite stone. The terracotta panels are a treat to watch as they not only talk of mythology but also about social scenarios of that period.
A weekend package tour to Bishnupur provides scope to purchase the locally made Baluchari Sarees and several handicrafts made of terracotta. Other than terracotta souvenirs of Bishnupur, Dashabatar Playing Cards of Bankura are also collected by tourists as souvenirs which are painted by the Ganjifa chitrakars. The cards may be an indirect influence of Vaishnavism in the area and it was developed in its own distinct form coupled with its rules for playing. Bishnupur is also the origin of Bishnupur Gharana of Singing – A Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani music.
What to shop at Bishnupur
Bishnupur is a souvenir hunter’s paradise. Apart from regular shop selling terracotta built artifacts, a fair named “Poramatir haat” is organized every Saturday between 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the grounds near Jora Mandir group of temples. Baluchari Sarees are also sold here. Other items for sale are stone art, paper dolls, lanterns made by local artisans.
Social life
For tourists interested in the local life of the place, it is important to note that Meghataburu is inhabited mainly by the local Munda tribes. Other tribal communities of Kiriburu and Meghataburu are the Majhis, Orao, Soren, Hasa, and Tirki.
Package starting from
INR 5500.00
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Good place to stay, effecient hospitality. Wel maintained.
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