Natore, Rajshahi
Natore
The old seat of Rani Bhabani’s great estate, with two palaces — Natore Rajbari and Uttara Gonobhaban — the vast Chalan Beel, and the kacha golla sweet the whole country knows.
Local food to try
Where to eat
Where to stay
Culture
Natore’s heritage is that of its rajas and ranis: palaces, temples and ponds endowed by the estates, and the stories of Rani Bhabani.
- Boat races on Chalan Beel and the rivers around it are a highlight of the monsoon season.
- Kacha golla is the town’s proudest craft — a sweet with its own legends.
- Villages near the town grow medicinal plants for the herbal trade, giving one area the nickname of the “medicinal plant village”.
- Durga Puja and the Rajbari temples bring the old palace grounds to life in autumn.
History
Natore rose in the early 18th century with the Natore Raj, a zamindari that grew into one of the largest estates in Bengal. Its most famous ruler, Rani Bhabani, managed it for decades and is still remembered for the temples, roads and ponds she endowed across the region. The palace complex of Natore Rajbari stands in the town.
The Dighapatia Raj, founded by the Natore estate’s dewan Dayaram Roy, built its own palace just outside town. In the 1960s it became the governor’s residence for the then East Pakistan, and after independence it was renamed Uttara Gonobhaban, the official residence of the head of government in the north.
For a time Natore was the headquarters of the old Rajshahi district, before it moved to Rajshahi town in the 1820s. Natore became a district in 1984. Readers of Bangla poetry know the name from Jibanananda Das’s Banalata Sen — “Natorer Banalata Sen”.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
October to February for the palaces; August–October to see Chalan Beel full of water
How to get there
- From Dhaka: buses take about 4–5 hours via the Jamuna bridge; Natore is on the Dhaka–Rajshahi highway, so many Rajshahi buses stop here.
- From Rajshahi: about 1–1.5 hours by bus.
- From Bogura: about 2 hours by bus.
- By train: Natore station and Abdulpur junction (in Lalpur upazila) are on the railway; check current schedules for Dhaka services.
Getting around
- Rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws cover the town, Natore Rajbari and Uttara Gonobhaban.
- For Chalan Beel, take a bus or CNG to Singra, then a boat in the monsoon or an auto-rickshaw along the embankment roads in the dry season.
- Puthia’s temples (in Rajshahi district) are a short bus ride west on the highway.