Asia > India > West Bengal > Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar is a small city in far northern West Bengal, close to Assam, Bhutan, and the tea country of the Dooars. It was once the capital of the Cooch Behar princely state, and it still feels different from the industrial and riverine towns further south: quieter, more planned, and proud of its royal past.
The obvious reason to come is Cooch Behar Palace, a huge red-and-white building whose domes and arcades look more European than Bengali. Around it are the old tanks, temples, government buildings, and shaded roads of a town laid out with ceremony in mind.
Cooch Behar is not a fast city. That is part of the pleasure. Spend a few hours at the palace, walk around Sagardighi, and leave time for the temples that tie the town to both Bengal and Assam.