Susunia Hill

Susunia hill nestles in southern West Bengal, India. On the way to Bankura- Purulia, this ancient hill is 10 kilometers North-East of Chhatna which is 13 kilometers distant from Bankura town.

Amidst the spectacular landscape of lavish green and red soil, Susunia hill owns a height of 1200 feet approx. The hill is a popular place for its great archeological value. Listen to those ancient tales by mysterious fossils scattered over here and there, witness proud blinking of stone-age tools, see the ‘Oldest’ rock inscription of West Bengal and incredible beauty of nature. The river, Gandheswari keeps whispering always down the hill while the ‘Palash’ dominates the place with its fiery orange hue in seasons. Unwind your mind and breathe in the solitude of pristine Nature. Guests on wings like Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Indian Pitta and many more can be seen in this place. Susunia is a home to vibrants butterflies like Golden Angel, Tawny Raja, Spotted Swordtail etc.For a nature photographer, this place is a pure bliss in Spring as this natural sanctuary glows like a Diva then. .

Explore the unspoiled beauty of Nature and relive ancient moments in Susunia Hill. The hill is believed to be more ancient than Lord Himalayas. According to history, Raja Chandravarman had his fort on this hill. The hill is carrying great archeological value as well as is the home to many ancient fossils like Giraffe, Asiatic Lion, Hyena and many more animal species. Let yourself be free among the crowd of ‘Shal-Palash’ and walk through the soft green light while climbing up the slopes of the hill. Susunia hill is also a great reserve of various types of medicinal plants. Spend your leisure days in the breathtaking beauty of nature embracing the vast canopy of flora. Embark your journey as a mountaineer from the rock climbing center of Susunia hill.

Narasimha temple

You will see an open temple of ‘Narasimha’ in the foothills. The idol is made of stone and doesn’t look like other Hindu goddess. The monolith of Narasimha has a demonic look actually that is completely different from Purana’s description. It seems the aboriginals from this place like Santhals,Kols, Munda, Vils etc used to worship the idol.

Dhara:- Near the ‘Narasimha’ temple, spring water is coming out of a stone-spout that has medicinal benefits and is better in quality than any other packaged drinking water. However, the actual source of the water is not known yet.

‘Lipi’

The Susunia hill is rich in historical value as well. You will witness a rock inscription that is considered to be the ‘oldest’ rock inscription of West Bengal. According to historical views, Raja Chandravarman built his fort in this place but there is no trace of that fort at present. The rock inscriptions of 4-th century AD was kept in the place named Pushkarana. Pushkarana or Pakhanna was the Capital of Chandravarman’s kingdom. People believe that Raja was killed against a battle with Chandra Gupta Maurya. The inscription is an ASI protected site. The ancient rock inscription consists of two parts and a prominent ‘Chakra’(wheel) with blazing edges. The first part indicates that the inscription is the work of Raja Chandravarman and the second one states that the village of Choshagrama was transferred to Chakrasvamin.

Chatna Basuli Temple

You may visit the ‘Basuli Temple’ that is dedicated to Goddess Basuli and is a serene place for local people. This ancient temple is also famous for the great medieval poet, Boru Chandidas and is a witness of his works on the religious movement known as Vaishnava- Sahajiya. Nice architectural view along with great historical values made the temple a must visit place.

Chhandar

At Beliatore, a distance of 20 Km from Bankura city, you will find a village named Chhandar which is the birthplace of the famous artist, Jamini Roy. In Chhandar, there is a place named “Avibyakti”, founded by Mr. Utpal Chakraborty in 1978 following the concept of Shantiniketan. You will see two workshop rooms dedicated to the works of Jamini Roy and Ramkinkar Beij. In “Avibyakti”, the main concept is carrying on the art-culture of Bengal terracotta, Potchitra, handcrafted items, Sculptures, Paintings, Folk Culture etc. You will get to witness the marvelous talents of Bankura at a glance under a roof in this place. Many great personalities like Sunil Ganguly, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Ganesh Pain, Mahasweta Devi, Purnendu Patri, Tarun Majumadar, Sudhir Chkraborty, Swami Lokeswarananda, Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay had visited this place and blessed “avibyakti” with satisfactory words.

Artifacts and Culture

If you are that kind of person who loves artifacts, this is the place for you. As this is a home to stone carving artisans, you will get to see various crafts using stone. You can buy mini artifacts made of stone dust as well. Purchase a souvenir from the foothills of Susunia and gift to someone special.