Joychandi Pahar is a hill which is a popular tourist attraction in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Purulia Purulia, officially Purulia Sadar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is locate ...

district. It is from the subdivisional town of Raghunathpur and from Adra town. The hill is situated south from

–

Barakar Barakar is a neighbourhood in Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is governed by the Asansol Municipal Corporation It is situated at the border of the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Grand Trunk R ...

road via Nanduara village and west from Raghunathpur- Adra Road via a growing township known as Annapurna pally. It is also just away from

Adra Junction railway station Adra Junction railway station serves Adra town, and also serves the industrial towns of Raghunathpur and Kashipur in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a gateway to the famous tourist spots of Purulia district. It als ...

and from Joychandipahar railway station, which is situated on Adra-Asansol section. Joychandi hill is a popular tourist centre and major attraction for rock climbing. Joychandi Pahar railway station is on the

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

– Adra section of South Eastern Railway, in the state capital of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Another rock climbing centre to the south east is at Susunia Pahar. Joychandi Hill is characterized by its rich variety of plant species, including ''Acacia concinna'', ''Helicteres isora'', ''Alangium salviifolium'', ''Holoptelea integrifolia'', ''Azadirachta indica'', ''Butea monosperma,'' and many others. Additionally, 74 species of butterflies have also been documented in the vicinity of Joychandi Hill.

Geography

Location

Joychandi Pahar, Raghunathpur is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Area overview

Purulia district forms the lowest step of the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau () is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and th ...

. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.

Raghunathpur subdivision Raghunathpur subdivision is a subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Purulia district was divided into four subdivisions, viz., Purulia Sadar, Manbazar, Jhalda and Raghunathpur, with effect from 6 April 20 ...

occupies the north-western part of the district. 83.80% of the population of the subdivision lives in rural areas. However, there are pockets of urbanization and 16.20% of the population lives in urban areas. There are 14 census towns in the subdivision. It is presented in the map given alongside. There is a coal mining area around

Parbelia Parbelia is a census town in the Neturia CD block in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location As per the map of Neturia CD block on page 309 of ''District Census Handbook, ...

and two thermal power plants are there – the 500 MW

Santaldih Thermal Power Station Santaldih Thermal Power Station () of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited is a power station with an installed capacity of 500 MW (2x250 MW). Location Santaldih Thermal Power Station is located at , at Santaldih, in Para (communi ...

and the 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station. The subdivision has a rich heritage of old temples, some of them belonging to the 11th century or earlier. The

Banda Deul Banda Deul is an 11th-century temple in Banda village (also called ''Deulghera'') in the Raghunathpur II CD block in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Locat ...

is a

monument of national importance A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

. The comparatively more recent in historical terms, Panchkot Raj has interesting and intriguing remains in the area.

Festival

Every Year A Festival is held in the foothills after the Christmas and this Festival usually continues to 1 January or 2 January. This Festival often becomes tourist attraction and also motivates local artists. This Festival Gives all local artists to show their skills. The Festival Often referred as Joychandi Pahar Pariyatan Utsav।

Fiction

The Bengali film directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

, ''

Hirak Rajar Deshe ''Hirak Rajar Deshe'' (; English title: "Kingdom of Diamonds") is an Indian Bengali dystopian fantasy musical film and a sequel to the 1969 anti-war fantasy musical '' Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne'' (and the second installment of '' Goopy Gyne Bagha ...

'' was mostly shot in this mountain area.

Gallery

File:Joy chandi pahar.jpg, Joychandi pahar File:View_of_the_joychandipahar_railways_station.jpg, Inside view of the Joychandi Pahar Railway's station File:Temple of Joychandi.jpg, Temple at the hilltop of Jaychandi pahar, Purulia File:Joychandi Temple.jpg, Goddess Joychandi Temple.( Locally known as "Joychandi Matar Mandir" ) File:Hanuman_mandir_above_the_mountain.jpg, Hanuman Temple in the Joychandi Mountain File:Joychandi Hill Railway Station, Purulia.jpg, Joychandi Hill Railway Station

References

External links

* {{Purulia topics Hills of West Bengal Tourist attractions in Purulia district