Stone temples of Barakar, West Bengal, India
Barakar stone temple Barakar is in the neighbourhood of Asansol in the Burdhawan district of West Bengal. It is at the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand. Barakar houses some very beautiful stone temples dating back to the 8th century and 14th, and 15th century. And not many people know about it! From Kolkata it is at a distance of 250 km. You can go by road but I am not certain about the road conditions. The best way would be to board a train from Howrah to Dhanbad. You can hire a car to take you to Barakar. Or, you may fly from Kolkata to Durgapur (30 min) and hire a car from there. It would take you around 1 and a half hours to reach Barakar. These temples are known as begunia temples because they are shaped like Eggplants (the Bengali name for eggplant is Begun). This place definitely deserves a visit. If you like old temples, Barakar is one pleasant surprise. An update on Barakar: I am adding some more facts about Barakar, thanks to a very valuable comment by someone ...