Kharagpur
India · Asia
About Kharagpur
Kharagpur is a semi-planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision and the largest city of the district. It is located 120 km west of Kolkata. Kharagpur holds the oldest and biggest Indian Institute of Technology namely IIT Kharagpur. It has one of the largest railway workshops in India. Kharagpur Junction contains the fourth longest railway platform in the world (1072.5 m) and is the headquarter of the Kharagpur Division of the South Eastern Railways.
Kharagpur received its name from the twelfth king of the Mallabhum dynasty, Kharga Malla, when he conquered it. Kharagpur was a part of the Hijli Kingdom and ruled by Hindu Odia rulers as a feudatory under Gajapati Kings of Odisha. Historians claim that in the 16th century, Kharagpur was still a small village surrounded by dense forests. The village was on high rocky barren land. The only inhabited settlement near Kharagpur was Hijli, a small island village on the banks of the Rasulpur River, in the delta of the Bay of Bengal. It developed into a port town in 1687. Hijli was also...
Kharagpur travel guide
Understand
History Kharagpur was once a part of the Hijli Kingdom and ruled by Odia rulers under the Gajapati dynasty. Till 1886, the Hijli Kingdom covered parts of present-day West Bengal and Odisha. The British initially developed Kharagpur as a railway town, with its railway junction serving different parts of present-day West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. The nearby Hijli was once home to a detention camp to imprison Indian independence activists. In 1951, four years after Indian independence, the abandoned detention camp was converted into a technical education centre, called the Higher Technical Institute, and later the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur).
Climate
Summers start in March and are hot and humid, with average temperatures close to 30 °C (86 °F) and mean maximum temperatures approaching 40 °C (104 °F). They are followed by the monsoon season which sees about 1,140 mm (45 in) of rain. Winters are brief but chilly, lasting from December to mid-February, with average temperatures around 22 °C (72 °F). Total annual rainfall is around 1,400 mm (55 in).
Getting there
By plane The nearest commercial airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU IATA) in Kolkata.
By train Kharagpur is served by three railway stations, including Kharagpur Junction, Midnapore and Hijli.
1 Kharagpur Junction SER (station code: KGP). The busiest railway station in Southwest Bengal with the fourth longest railway platform in the world. Virtually every long-distance train passing through Kharagpur Junction has a scheduled halt at the railway station. The railway station is also served by suburban trains from Kolkata. The headquarters of an eponymous railway division of SER, Kharagpur is home to one of the largest railway workshops in India. (updated Jul 2026) 2 Hijli SER . A bypass station for Kharagpur Junction. It is used by trains to avoid rake reversal at the crowded Kharagpur station. (updated Jul 2026)
Buy
1 Gole Bazaar. A reliable but highly congested shopping destination. (updated Dec 2017) 2 Gate Bazar. (updated Dec 2017) 3 Spencer's, Kaushallya. 9AM - 9PM. (updated Jul 2018)
Eat
More than 50 restaurants are present all over Kharagpur with delicious food. Tea shops and paan stalls abound and there is a high concentration of sweet-shops. Here you can find one of the very notable sweets in Bengal – 'Khirayer Gogjaa'. The shanty restaurants in Bogda bus stand are always ready with cooked food, comprised of coarse rice, watery dal, etc. The owner will welcome you in such a fashion that they have been waiting for you only for a long time with their culinary expertise.
Taaz biriyani, New Bus Stand. 11:30 AM to 11:30 PM. Flavour, Nawab Conclave, Ground Floor, O.T Road, Ananda Nagar Colony, Inda. 11AM to 10:30PM. Scrummys Kharagpur, OT Road, near Allahabad bank, Inda. 9AM to 11PM. The Waldorf, Chota Tengra. Momo Center Salua, SH 5, EFR,Salua, Salua. Great India Restaurant, NH 6, Saha Chowk, Malancha. Hotel Capsicum, NH 6, Saha chowk. (updated Dec 2017) Food City, 253/219, Malancha Road (opposite Axis Bank). (updated Dec 2017)
Drink & nightlife
Mahua from Santal women on the way to Bhosraghat.
Little Sisters Restaurant & Bar, Chota Tengra (near Puri Gate). (updated Dec 2017) Hongkong Restaurant Cum Bar, No shooting Area, Kharagpur Local, Salua. (updated Dec 2017) Havana Restaurant, Kaushallya. (updated Dec 2017)
Sleep
1 Guin Brothers Hotel & Lodge, Traffic side railway booking counter (near the Railway Station), ☏ +91 3222 226543, +91 9641241665. 2 Guin's Bros Lodge, Orissa Trunk Road, ☏ +91 3222-225021, +91 8001200463, [email protected]. Has a minibar and parking. 3 Hotel Dwarika, Gole Bazar, Bhandari Chawk, ☏ +91 9474811485. 4 Hotel Greenland (near industrial area), ☏ +91 3222 291606. 5 Hotel Greenland Towers Pvt. Ltd. (near Bharat Petrol Pump), ☏ +91 3222 291605. 6 Hotel Park, Dhami Centre, Chhota Tengra (near IIT Kharagpur), ☏ +91 3222 645837, +91 3222 223981. Restaurant, credit cards accepted, TV in rooms. 7 Hotel Swagat, DVC/IIT, ☏ +91 3222 278826. 8 Hotel Tamrolipto Park, NH 6, Saha Chowk, Dhekia (near Tata Metalick Road Crossing), ☏ +91 3222 234194, +91 9434009553.
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Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.