Bandel
4.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
4.5
55 reviews
Excellent
24
Very good
24
Average
7
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Mander Mukherjee
Kolkata (Calcutta), India315 contributions
Oct 2020 • Friends
The city of Bandel is located in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. The place is famous for its church was built by tge Portuguese settlers way back in 1599.
Written 6 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Monira khanam
1 contribution
Feb 2020
Good for picnic. Family outing. Moderate for photographer. Now it’s a tourist spot. Crowd. Cheaper food available.
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RAJARSHI BANERJEE
40 contributions
Feb 2020
|| Tour de Bandel ||
There was a long wish to go for local site-seeing of Bandel. The bucket list includes - Hangseshwari Temple, Bandel Church, Hoogly Imambara & Lahiri Baba Ashram.
• So finally selected this Sunday and started our journey by car in the morning 8 o’clock. We took Kalyani Expressway and followed the same for next 44Kms. After Jounpur More, we took left and reached the famous 220 years old Hangseshwari Temple built by Raja Nrisingha Deb Roy Mahasay.
• The architecture of the temples is the representation of "Tantrik Satchakrabhed".The structure tells about the structure of a Human Body. Because the five storied temple is like the five parts of our Human body, such as: Bajraksha, Ira, Chitrini, Pingala and Sushumna. The main shrine is surrounded by 12 Shiva lingas. The main deity is quite different from traditional Kali idol.
• Here the form of Kali is sitting on a Lotus which is coming out from the Navel of Shiva lying down & with one feet of Hangseshwari touching the the chest of Shiva as in the form of Dakhina Kali but without a protruding tongue, which is only superficially attached on the night of Kali Pujo.
• Spoke to the pujari and got to know that the main deity is also 220 years old made of Neem wood, painted once in 12 years. Bhog is available @ Rs.40 for which you need to collect coupon from the main temple by 9 o’clock.
• Beside the main shrine, there’s an eye catching Terra cotta temple - Ananta Basudeba temple of Shri Narayana in its four-armed form which is very rare in Bengal. It is built in the traditional eka-ratna style, with curved cornices. The tower on top of the temple is octagonal. The terracota works depict stories from the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as from lilas of Krishna. From a local resident, got to know that the Ananta Basudeba temple is much older than the current main shrine of Maa Hangseshwari.
• The complex also hosts beautiful Gardens and seasonal flowers. There’s a place to deposit your shoes @ Rs.2. The temple remains open from morning 6 AM to 12:30 PM and thereby distribution of Bhog at 1 PM. It re-opens at 4PM. There’s a shop inside the temple where one can buy idols, photos, key chains & books at reasonable rates. There’s a car parking zone chargeable @ Rs.25.
• The Rajbari is just opposite to the temple complex where no lineage stays. Only few Rajsewaks resides there. Beside the Rajbari there is also a very old building which the locals say was once a hospital made by the Rajbari for the locals.
• From Hangseshwari temple, we headed towards another famous destination – Bandel Church which was founded in 1599. Some points to note while visiting Bandel church on Sunday. Mass service is performed till 12:30PM when no visitors are allowed inside the church. One can still enjoy the church complex, roof top and other areas. There’s a shop inside the church where one can buy souvenirs at reasonable rates. There's also a Ship's Mast of a Portuguese ship from 1655 which has been restored here in a separate enclosure. Here we ate our breakfast from a very clean and hygienic restaurant – Lokenath Family Restaurant with Peas Kochuri. Cars are parked on road which are also chargeable.
• Next, we headed towards Hoogly Imambara which is also very near to the Church. Entry fee is Rs.10 per head. Hoogly Imambara is a Shia Muslim congregation hall and mosque started by Muhammad Mohsin in 1841 and completed in 1861. The mosque has intricate designs and texts from Quran engraved on the wall which is really magnificent.
• The Imambara complex also hosts a wonderful Clock Tower or Minarets which is approx 150 ft high and one can reach the top by climbing 152 stairs. Separate stairs for Gents & Ladies. The panoramic view from the top is just unexplainable. At the backyard of the Imambara, a beautiful Sun Clock which gives an exact time of the day. Behind the Imambara there’s the beautiful Ganges and on the shore there are small stalls of Phuchka & Gola. One can book small boats to roam on the river Hoogly. The cost is Rs. 150 for 3 persons for 30 minutes. Cars are parked on road which are also chargeable @ Rs.50 which is really too high.
• Next, we headed towards Lahiri Baba Ashram which is approx 8kms from there but by then the Ashram was closed and re-opens at 3:30 PM. The road towards Ashram is extremely narrow.
The day tour was really replenishing from city’s honking, crowd and pollution.
There was a long wish to go for local site-seeing of Bandel. The bucket list includes - Hangseshwari Temple, Bandel Church, Hoogly Imambara & Lahiri Baba Ashram.
• So finally selected this Sunday and started our journey by car in the morning 8 o’clock. We took Kalyani Expressway and followed the same for next 44Kms. After Jounpur More, we took left and reached the famous 220 years old Hangseshwari Temple built by Raja Nrisingha Deb Roy Mahasay.
• The architecture of the temples is the representation of "Tantrik Satchakrabhed".The structure tells about the structure of a Human Body. Because the five storied temple is like the five parts of our Human body, such as: Bajraksha, Ira, Chitrini, Pingala and Sushumna. The main shrine is surrounded by 12 Shiva lingas. The main deity is quite different from traditional Kali idol.
• Here the form of Kali is sitting on a Lotus which is coming out from the Navel of Shiva lying down & with one feet of Hangseshwari touching the the chest of Shiva as in the form of Dakhina Kali but without a protruding tongue, which is only superficially attached on the night of Kali Pujo.
• Spoke to the pujari and got to know that the main deity is also 220 years old made of Neem wood, painted once in 12 years. Bhog is available @ Rs.40 for which you need to collect coupon from the main temple by 9 o’clock.
• Beside the main shrine, there’s an eye catching Terra cotta temple - Ananta Basudeba temple of Shri Narayana in its four-armed form which is very rare in Bengal. It is built in the traditional eka-ratna style, with curved cornices. The tower on top of the temple is octagonal. The terracota works depict stories from the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as from lilas of Krishna. From a local resident, got to know that the Ananta Basudeba temple is much older than the current main shrine of Maa Hangseshwari.
• The complex also hosts beautiful Gardens and seasonal flowers. There’s a place to deposit your shoes @ Rs.2. The temple remains open from morning 6 AM to 12:30 PM and thereby distribution of Bhog at 1 PM. It re-opens at 4PM. There’s a shop inside the temple where one can buy idols, photos, key chains & books at reasonable rates. There’s a car parking zone chargeable @ Rs.25.
• The Rajbari is just opposite to the temple complex where no lineage stays. Only few Rajsewaks resides there. Beside the Rajbari there is also a very old building which the locals say was once a hospital made by the Rajbari for the locals.
• From Hangseshwari temple, we headed towards another famous destination – Bandel Church which was founded in 1599. Some points to note while visiting Bandel church on Sunday. Mass service is performed till 12:30PM when no visitors are allowed inside the church. One can still enjoy the church complex, roof top and other areas. There’s a shop inside the church where one can buy souvenirs at reasonable rates. There's also a Ship's Mast of a Portuguese ship from 1655 which has been restored here in a separate enclosure. Here we ate our breakfast from a very clean and hygienic restaurant – Lokenath Family Restaurant with Peas Kochuri. Cars are parked on road which are also chargeable.
• Next, we headed towards Hoogly Imambara which is also very near to the Church. Entry fee is Rs.10 per head. Hoogly Imambara is a Shia Muslim congregation hall and mosque started by Muhammad Mohsin in 1841 and completed in 1861. The mosque has intricate designs and texts from Quran engraved on the wall which is really magnificent.
• The Imambara complex also hosts a wonderful Clock Tower or Minarets which is approx 150 ft high and one can reach the top by climbing 152 stairs. Separate stairs for Gents & Ladies. The panoramic view from the top is just unexplainable. At the backyard of the Imambara, a beautiful Sun Clock which gives an exact time of the day. Behind the Imambara there’s the beautiful Ganges and on the shore there are small stalls of Phuchka & Gola. One can book small boats to roam on the river Hoogly. The cost is Rs. 150 for 3 persons for 30 minutes. Cars are parked on road which are also chargeable @ Rs.50 which is really too high.
• Next, we headed towards Lahiri Baba Ashram which is approx 8kms from there but by then the Ashram was closed and re-opens at 3:30 PM. The road towards Ashram is extremely narrow.
The day tour was really replenishing from city’s honking, crowd and pollution.
Written 16 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SUDIP MAITI
Kolkata (Calcutta), India107 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
One day trip to Bandel church and Imambara in winter may be enjoyable with family and friends.Board train from HWH/SEALDAH for BANDEL JUNCTION.Take auto from outside of station for Church first at cost RS.15 per head.Toto also available at cost Rs.20 per head.One nice divine place to be visible.Replica's also available at counter inside the church.After visit the church,Toto/boat can be availed towards Imambara.The boat journey is awesome for scenic beauty of River Ganga.Imambara is a heritage where nothing is special but the time clock at rear/Riverside.Arial view of River Ganga and the city is possible by climbing 153 steps which is very tough for cardiac or patient of arthritis/old one.Overall good outing for a day.
Written 29 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Supro1991
24 contributions
Dec 2018 • Solo
Bandel junction is one of the oldest railway station of Eastern Railway. This small town is very good for living with all kind of facilities that is easily available. Places to visit is Bandel Church mainly than Hooghly Imambara. Chinsurah town is also nearby. It also has good schools for education purpose of one's child, like don bosco school for boys, Auxilium convent for girls, Techno India group school for co-ed students. Please come to our place for a one day trip and you will love it surely.
Written 14 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anupam
Hooghly, India3 contributions
Jan 2019 • Friends
Everything is fabulous in Bandel. Specially above mentioned places. it's my birthplace . That's why i know everything about Bandel.
Written 29 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leena B
37 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
I went there during Christmas last year along with my family.
It was an extremely beautiful place to visit.
We left for the place early in the morning.
Our driver decided to take Kalyani expressway instead of G.T. Road in the morning.
While returning we took G.T. Road.
It was indeed a wise decision.
What did I love about this place?
1. The place is an epitome of mystery- beautiful picturesque surrounding, neat and clean.
2. Ample parking place is available.
3. Restaurants are located nearby( cheap rates and hygienic food)
4. Lots of souvenir shops are present outside the church(cheap prices, good quality). There's a souvenir shop inside the church too.
5. A good place for an outing with family and friends.
6. Other places of interests are located nearby.
7. Lots of public vehicles are available to take visitors to stations and other places of interest.
What I did not like about the place?
1. I loved every part of our journey. However, some may feel that the place is a bit crowded.
My advice to others:
1. Take Kalyani expressway while going to Bandel from Kolkata. The scenic beauty is simply too pleasing to eyes and to the soul. The road is also less crowded in the morning. [ Take this way in the morning only, as at night this road is not safe just like Delhi Road ]
2. If you are returning back to Kolkata late ( evening or later) , take the G.T. Road. It is the safest option.
3. Buy souvenirs from the shop inside the church, it has gifts made in Italy that are not too costly.
It was an extremely beautiful place to visit.
We left for the place early in the morning.
Our driver decided to take Kalyani expressway instead of G.T. Road in the morning.
While returning we took G.T. Road.
It was indeed a wise decision.
What did I love about this place?
1. The place is an epitome of mystery- beautiful picturesque surrounding, neat and clean.
2. Ample parking place is available.
3. Restaurants are located nearby( cheap rates and hygienic food)
4. Lots of souvenir shops are present outside the church(cheap prices, good quality). There's a souvenir shop inside the church too.
5. A good place for an outing with family and friends.
6. Other places of interests are located nearby.
7. Lots of public vehicles are available to take visitors to stations and other places of interest.
What I did not like about the place?
1. I loved every part of our journey. However, some may feel that the place is a bit crowded.
My advice to others:
1. Take Kalyani expressway while going to Bandel from Kolkata. The scenic beauty is simply too pleasing to eyes and to the soul. The road is also less crowded in the morning. [ Take this way in the morning only, as at night this road is not safe just like Delhi Road ]
2. If you are returning back to Kolkata late ( evening or later) , take the G.T. Road. It is the safest option.
3. Buy souvenirs from the shop inside the church, it has gifts made in Italy that are not too costly.
Written 19 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nirmalyasKolkata
kolkata5 contributions
Feb 2018
Place of worship for Christians but frequented by people from all communitites. Bandel is in Hooghly district.
Written 16 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sushant19
Kolkata (Calcutta), India176 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
nice place and having so many old places in bandel. we had visited bandel church on 25 th December Christmas. at that day ,there was too much rush of tourists.
Written 1 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rakesh s
Kolkata (Calcutta), India852 contributions
Sep 2018 • Family
One of the oldest and most popular places in North 24pgs West Bengal kolkata. Place is very nice and clean.
Written 28 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is the Bandel basilica open for visiting after the lockdown? Planning to visit soon. Please help
LSS
Kolkata (Calcutta), India14 contributions
Any decent place to stay at Bandel or nearby place for overnight with space for car parking?
rupan das
Kolkata (Calcutta), India5 contributions
What are some good lunch options near Bandel church?
SUDIP MAITI
Kolkata (Calcutta), India107 contributions
Nearby local restaurants have several options like rice,paratha,roti and of course biriyani.
Is the church open for non-christians on 25the December?
Rebccare_23
Melbourne, Australia93 contributions
I believe the church is open for all religions to come visit not only Christians.
sayera06
Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Bandel church and imambara are they open on monday 2nd October 2017. Planning to visit there”
sayera06
Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Bandel church and imambara are they open on monday 2nd October 2017. Planning to visit there
_kdchatt
Kolkata (Calcutta), India
Is there any hotels for lunch
KaushikNandy
Howrah, India108 contributions
Hi, sorry for replying late. There are hotels available for lunch opposite of the church.
Is Sunday open ?
ANINDYA KISHORE BHATTACHARJEE
Hooghly, India16 contributions
Yes.
Bandel (Hooghly) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Bandel
- We recommend booking Bandel tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 1 Bandel tours on Tripadvisor
- Hotels near Bandel:
- (1.02 km) Aqua Marina
- (4.50 km) Welcome Hotel
- (13.45 km) Itachuna Rajbari
- (6.72 km) Hotel Ambassador
- (8.22 km) Dhakeshwari Palace
- Restaurants near Bandel:
- (0.45 km) Treats
- (1.02 km) Felu Modak
- (1.02 km) Ramkrishna Mistanna Prathistan
- (2.11 km) Nabani Sweets
- (2.54 km) Liza Fast Food Center
- Attractions near Bandel:
- (2.10 km) Shrine Basilica Bandel
- (3.10 km) Hooghly Imambara
- (2.35 km) Shanderswartala Temple
- (4.69 km) Hangseshwari Temple
- (7.81 km) The Strand