Malda, located 365 km north of Kolkata, was formerly known as English Bazaar. An English factory was established here in 1771. Malda is a base for visiting Gaur and Pandua. Gaur, capital to three dynasties of ancient Bengal – the Buddhist Palas, the Hindu Senas and the Muslim Nawabs – has seen three distinct eras of glory. Pandua, once the alternate seat of power to Gaur, has the third largest concentration of Muslim monuments in Bengal.

Places Of Interest:

There is a museum at Malda that houses the archaeological finds at Gaur and Pandua.

Gaur: Historical relics of 14^th and 15^th century Bengal particularly worth seeing are the Bara Sona Mosque, Dakhil Darwajah (built in 1425), Qadam Rasul Mosque, Lattan Mosque and the ruins of the extensive fortification. There are colourful enamelled tiles on the Gomti Gate and Firoz Minar.

Pandua: The impressive Muslim architecture includes the vast Adina Mosque built in 1369 by Sikander Shah. It was one of the largest mosques in India, built over a Hindu temple, and has 378 small domes. Nearby is the Eklakhi mausoleum (built at a princely cost of one lakh rupees) and several smaller mosques.

Specialities:

Malda is now famous for Fajli mango orchards.

Communication:

Malda may be reached by road-bus service from Kolkata, Murshidabad and Siliguri, and train services from Kolkata and New Jalpaiguri.

Gaur is 12 km south of Malda, right on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Connected by road, bus, taxi and rickshaw services from Malda.

Located on the main highway, Pandua is 18 km north of Malda. Adina is another 2 km north of the village of Pandua. Accessible by road from Malda, there are bus and taxi services.