Cooch Behar Palace

Cooch Behar Palace is also known by Victor Jubilee Palace. It is a very famous landmark of Cooch Behar City in West Bengal. The design is based on Buckingham Palace of London and was built in 1887 at the time of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan’s rule. The structure of the palace is built in classical western style. It is a double storey building made up of bricks.

History

The construction of the palace started in the year 1887 during the rule of the Maharaja, Nripendra Narayan. It has been remarked for its royal architecture and elegance. The Archaeological survey of India protects the palace.

Architecture

The palace is a double storey construction of bricks built in classical western style. An area of 51,309 square feet which is equal to 4766.8 meters per square is covered by it. The dimension of the structure is 120 m long and 90 m wide and it is 1.45 m above the ground. The first floor of the palace has verandahs which were arranged in single as well as double rows. The palace has a porch which provides an entrance towards the Durbar Hall in the centre towards the southern and northern ends which is shaped in a dome of metal topped by a ventilator cylindrical in shape. It is built in the style of Renaissance architecture which is 38 m high from the level of ground. The palace has many rooms and halls which consist of bed rooms, dressing rooms, billiard hall, kitchen, dancing room, dining hall, Vestibules, toshakhana, library and ladies gallery. Although certain things are lost from the palace which includes the articles and the precious objects. There are also various beautiful paintings inside the palace.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit the palace is during the months of September and October when the climate of the city is also pleasant enough to travel and visit the places in the city.

How to Reach

The Cooch Behar palace is in Cooch Behar district in West Bengal. It is an easy and comfortable place to travel by air, rail and road. There is an availability of travel guides as well who guide along the city and the nearby places.

By Air

There is an airport in Cooch Behar which is at present not functioning. Therefore at present, Bagdogra airport which is situated near Siliguri is the nearest airport from the Cooch Behar district. It is located 160 km away from the city. Major flights that passes from the airport links the Cooch Behar district with several places includes the Jet airways, Kingfisher airlines and Indian airlines.

By Rail

The best option to travel from and to Cooch Behar is railways. The New Cooch Behar railway station is situated at a distance of only 5 km from the main city. All the super fast and express trains halt at the station which runs regularly from Cooch Behar. There are trains with direct connectivity from several cities as well.

By Road

Cooch Behar is very well-connected by the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) via road. The bus service of the city provides a regular service to the tourists which connect to various cities from the district. The cities include Guwahati, Kolkata, Siliguri, Malda, Barpeta, Kishanganj, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Barpeta. Not only state buses run in the city but the private buses are also available in the entire West Bengal which travels to Cooch Behar. So it becomes easy and comfortable to reach the Cooch Behar Palace after reaching Cooch Behar district by any means of transport.

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