Rarh · Middle & Lower Gangetic Plain
How to reach
By air
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata (CCU) — The region's gateway; Bishnupur is about 140 km away and Bolpur about 160 km.
- Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Andal (RDP) — Near Durgapur, with limited domestic service. The most direct approach to the Ajay–Damodar basin and to Birbhum.
By rail
- Bolpur Santiniketan (BHP) — On the Howrah–Rampurhat line; about two and a half hours from Howrah on the faster trains.
- Bardhaman Junction (BWN) — The region's principal junction, and the interchange for Katwa and the Ajay valley.
- Bishnupur (VSU) — On the Kharagpur–Adra line; the station is a short ride from the temple cluster.
- Purulia Junction (PRR) — For the Ayodhya hills, Charida and the Manbhum tract.
- Asansol Junction (ASN) — For the coalfield, Churulia and the Jharkhand fringe.
- Rampurhat (RPH) — The railhead for Tarapith, about 8 km away.
- Adra Junction (ADRA) — A railway colony town and the interchange for the Bankura–Purulia lines.
By road
NH-19, the Grand Trunk Road, running Kolkata–Bardhaman–Durgapur–Asansol along the DamodarThe Panagarh–Morgram highway, the main north–south road through Birbhum and the approach to SantiniketanThe Bankura–Purulia and Bankura–Bishnupur roads across the Mallabhum uplandsThe Purulia–Baghmundi road for the Ayodhya hills and Charida
By water
None of these rivers is navigable; the Damodar's water moves through canals, not boats
Getting around
Trains between the district towns are frequent and are the sensible way to move. Totos and cycle-rickshaws within Bolpur, Bishnupur and Bardhaman; buses to the villages. The Ayodhya hills, Charida, Panchmura and Massanjore effectively need a car, and the Purulia hill roads are slow.
How to reach Rarh by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (9)