Rangpur
A white marble-stepped zamindar palace of the early twentieth century on the edge of Rangpur, now home to the Rangpur Museum.
Tajhat Palace was built in the early twentieth century by Maharaja Kumar Gopal Lal Roy of the Tajhat zamindar family. With its broad marble staircase, central dome and long colonnaded front facing a lawn and ponds, it is one of the finest zamindar houses in northern Bangladesh.
After the zamindari era the palace served various public uses, including, in the 1980s, a bench of the High Court. Today it is a protected monument run by the Department of Archaeology, and its upper floor holds the Rangpur Museum, with terracotta plaques, sculpture, coins and old manuscripts from the region.
Arrive when it opens and walk the lawn and the ponds in front of the palace.
Climb the marble staircase to the galleries of terracotta, sculpture and manuscripts.
Ride across to the college to see its domed main building.
Finish with rice and curry around Jahaj Company crossing.
October to March; mornings and late afternoons are pleasant for the grounds
On the south-eastern side of Rangpur city: a short rickshaw or battery auto-rickshaw ride from the centre.
