Malda

Malda is an important city of West Bengal situated on the banks of the river Mahananda. It lies 347 kilometers north of Kolkata. It was formerly known as English Bazaar. An English factory was reputable here in 1771. Malda is a base for visiting the historical sites of Gaur and Pandua. Gaur was capital to three dynasties of ancient Bengal , the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Nawabs and has a glorious past. Pandua, once the alternate seat of power to Gaur, has the third largest concentration of Muslim monuments in Bengal. The Malda Museum has a great collection of the region's architectural and anthropological specimens. Malda can be reached by bus from Kolkata, Murshidabad and Siliguri, and by train from Kolkata and New Jalpaiguri. It is the Divisional Headquarter of the Eastern Railway and almost all trains bound for North Bengal and North Eastern states of India halt at Malda station. Malda is famous for its ?Fajli? mango orchards.

Access
Malda may be reached by road-bus service from Kolkata, Murshidabad and Siliguri, and train services from Kolkata and New Jalpaiguri.
Gaur is 12 km south of Malda, exact on the Indo-Bangladesh border. It is linked by road, bus, taxi and rickshaw services from Malda. Situated on the main highway, Pandua is 18 km north of Malda. Adina is another 2 km north of the village of Pandua. Reachable by road from Malda, there are bus and taxi services.

Places of Interest
It had been surrounded by the restrictions of antique ‘Gour’ and ‘Pandua’ (Pundrabardhana). These two cities had been the capital of Bengal in olden and medieval ages and are central, north and south, from English Bazar Township.

Ramkeli
A miniature village on the way to Gour, Ramkeli is well-known for being the temporary home of Sri Chaitanya, the enormous spiritual reformer of Bengal, where he had stayed for a small amount of days on his way to Brindaban. An accumulation of two tamal and two kadamba trees can still be seen, underneath the saint is said to have meditated. A small temple constructed below this tree contains Sri Chaitanya's footprints on sandstone.
Gour
Gaur, 12 km south of Malda, right on the Indo-Bangladesh margin, is one of the most significant Historical spaces of 14th and 15th century Bengal having enormous worth from the archeological point of vision. The remnants chiefly worth seeing are the Bara Sona Mosque, Dakhil Darwajah (built in 1425), Qadam Rasul Mosque, Lattan Mosque and the carcass of the widespread reinforcement. There are colourful enameled strips on the Gomti Gate and Firoz Minar.