Coochbehar PalaceThe land of glorious past with rich heritage and culture- lies on the eastern state of West Bengal bordering Assam in the east and neighboring country Bangladesh in the south. Coochbehar is the only planned town in the entire North Bengal District having the memories of the royal heritage. The monuments and palaces depict the lives of the golden ages. Coochbehar was an independent kingdom before merging up with India.

The history of Cooch Behar dates back to the period of 11th - 12th century AD during the reign of the Pala-Senas. Various artifacts, sculptures, coins, antics found from the excavations in different times reveal that the ancient territory of Kamrup played a role in the development of the present region of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal.
The recent excavation of 'Rajpat' or Palace at Gossanimari village, 25kms from Coochbehar marks the site as an ancient capital of Kamtapur of the Khen dynasty.

Bhola AshramThe present Cooch Behar originates from this 'Kamta' land and Maharaja Niladhvaja being the founder of the dynasty. Later during 1510 to 1530 AD Maharaja Viswa Singha established an independent 'Koch' kingdom. Cooch Bihar, the feudatory state under British Government before 1949, surrendered its full and extensive authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India by an agreement dated 28th August 1949, which came into force on 12th September 1949. Finally, on 19th January 1950 Cooch Behar was transferred and merged with the province of West Bengal and from that date Cooch Behar emerged as a new District in the administrative map of West Bengal.

Victoria HouseCooch Behar is also rich in tradition and culture. Hindus being majority of the population, this is the pious land with lots of Temples and festivals. The age-old historical structures and monuments play an important role to bring the city into the map of important heritage site. Although most of the buildings are now facing gradual destruction but the city is growing in popularity for still what remains.

Attractions in Coochbihar:

The Royal Palace: The most important tourist attraction in Coochbehar is the Palace or Rajbari- the city's pride even today. In 1887 the famous Koch King, Maharaja Nripendra Narayan built this magnificent palace. The creation of this palace was influenced by the classical European style during Italian Renaissance. The glorious double storied brick building covers an area of 4768 square meters. It extends 120 meters from north to south and 90 meters from east to west.

The architecture of the Palace is worth mentioning. A conclave shaped porch is projected in the center of the main entrance to the building through the Durbar Hall. The Durbar Hall is dodecagonal in shape, resting on four arches supported by massive Corinthian pilasters and projecting a lantern at the top. The shape recalls the memory of St. Peter's Church at Rome. The building contains more than fifty massive halls, which include the bedrooms, dressing rooms, billiard room, kitchen, dinning hall, dancing hall, library, and the ladies gallery. The rooms deserve special attention for their beautiful Royal paintings that adorns the ceiling as well as the interior wall.

Rasik BilThe Light & Sound show: Every Friday and Saturday the cultural dept of West Bengal organizes a musical show with colourful lighting and fountains just beside the Coochbihar Palace. The show has become tremendously popular among the tourist as well as the local citizens. The show starts with the fall of evening and continues till 8 o'clock at night. Set amidst a well maintained garden in the heart of the city the amusement park becomes alive as the show starts. The fountains turn and twist making peculiar shapes with rhythm of music. It's a fine recreation for spending leisure time.

SagarDighi: The most important water body in the town the Sagar Dighi is situated in the heart of Coochbihar. Surrounded by the age-old royal heritage buildings by the 4 sides of the square shaped lake SagarDighi is also famous for feathered animals. A large number of migratory birds assembled in the lake each year. Among the important species cotton teal, lesser whistling teal, ruddy shell duck are worth mentioning. Best time for watching birds in SagarDighi is December to February.

RasikBill: Spread over an area of 2500 hectares on the Alipurduar - Khamakhyaguri Road RasikBill is the largest abode of migratory birds in North Bengal. There is a well-maintained resort just beside the wetland.