Bandel Church - Overview
Bandel Church is one of the oldest churches in India and is also known as Basilica of the Holy Rosary. The church was built in 1599 to commemorate the settlement of Portuguese in West Bengal. The church is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. She is also known as Our Lady of the Rosary and that’s why the church got the name.
Bandel
Bandel town was established by Portuguese and it is situated in the Indian state of West Bengal. The name Bandel means port. The town comes under Hooghly district. Portuguese built a church and a monastery in 1660. There is a Dunlop factory nearby Bandel which is situated at a place called Sahaganj. The town is 40 km away from Howrah railway station and is connected to many places through road and rail transport.
Visiting Hours
Bandel Church can be visited from 6:00am to 6:00pm. It takes around two to three hours to visit the church as there are many things to visit in and around the church. The church is opened on all days including the public holidays.
Tickets
There is no entry fee to visit the church and tourists can come any time during the visiting hours and visit the church.
Best time to visit
Bandel is situated nearby Hooghly river and the best time to visit the place is during winter months. In the rest of the period, the climate is either hot or is hot and humid. The period between 25th December and 10th January are very busy and people may face parking issue. On 25th December the church is closed for the tourists as Christians have to perform many rituals.
Where to Stay?
There are very few hotels in and nearby Bandel but there are more than 800 hotels in Kolkata which is around 40km from Bandel. Some of the hotels nearby Bandel are as follows −
Some of the hotels in Kolkata are as follows
