Things to do in Dakshineswar & Baranagar

Dakshineswar, at the northern end of the Blue Line, is known for the riverside Kali temple built by Rani Rashmoni in 1855, where Ramakrishna Paramahamsa served as priest. The temple complex, with its twelve Shiva shrines along the ghat, is crowded on Kali Puja night, Kalpataru Utsav on 1 January and most weekend mornings. A skywalk connects the metro and railway stations to the temple gate, and ferries cross the Hooghly to Belur Math, which makes the two an easy half-day pair. Baranagar, the next station south, has old riverside ghats and the Indian Statistical Institute campus. Go early in the morning to avoid the longest darshan queues.