Tajhat Palace Rangpur

If you want to see Tajhat Zamindar Bari ( Tajhat Palace ), you have to go to Tajhat village of Mahiganj, about 6 km away from Rangpur divisional city. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, the gem merchant Mannalal settled in Mahiganj for business reasons and later founded the Tajhat Zamindari. After the death of zamindar Mannalal, his adopted son Gopal Lal Roy Bahadur started managing the zamindari. At the beginning of the 20th century, the present Tajhat Zamindar House was completed with the tireless work of about 2,000 masons. This zamindar house, which was completed in 1917, cost about one and a half crore rupees at that time.

The grounds of the Tajhat zamindar house have rows of trees, large grounds and two ponds on either side of the palace. And there are various flower and mahogany, kamini, mango and jackfruit gardens. The Zamindar house looks like Ahsan Manzil in Dhaka. The third and fourth floors of the four-storied Tajhat zamindar house, built of red brick, white and limestone, house various items used by zamindar Gopal. There are also living rooms, bathrooms and rooms for guests. About 210 feet wide, the Tajhat Zamindar house, built in imitation of ancient Mughal architecture, has 31 staircases made of Italian marble. At the back of the palace is the secret stairway, which is currently closed.

In 1995, the Bangladesh Department of Archeology registered the Tajhat Zamindar Bari as a protected structure and in 2005, the Rangpur Museum was shifted to the second floor of the Tajhat Zamindar Bari. Several terracotta artefacts from the 10th and 11th centuries are housed in the museum's exhibition rooms. Also preserved in the museum are several ancient manuscripts written in Arabic and Sanskrit, including the Quran, Mahabharata and Ramayana of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's time. Apart from the Kal stone portrait of Vishnu, the museum has about 300 valuable artifacts.

During the summer season i.e. from April to September, Rangpur Museum and Tajhat Zamindar House are open from 10 am to 6 pm. And during winter i.e. from October to March it is open for inspection from 9 am to 5 pm. Rangpur Museum is closed for midday break from 1 pm to 1.30 pm.

The museum is closed every week for full day on Sunday, half day on Monday. The museum is also closed on all public holidays.

All adult Bangladeshi citizens have to pay Tk 20 to enter Rangpur Museum. Secondary level students have to collect a ticket of 5 rupees to enter the Tajhat Zamindar House, but no ticket is required to enter children below 5 years of age. Apart from this, the entry ticket for visitors from SAARC countries is Tk 100 and the entry ticket for any other foreigners is Tk 200.

Various transport buses leave for Rangpur regularly from Kalyanpur, Gabtali and Mohakhali bus terminals in the capital Dhaka. Going to Rangpur on these buses costs 750 to 1500 taka per person. A rickshaw ride from Rangpur bus stand to Tajhat Zamindar house costs only 20 rupees. However, if you take the bus from Dhaka to Kurigram, you can get off directly in front of Tajhat Zamindar's house.

If necessary, you can contact: Greenline Transport: 88-02-9112287 , 88-02-9133145 , 01730060006 Alhamra Travels: 88-02-9005612 , 01721802031 Meem Transport – 01911-013694 , 01734422971 SR Travel S: Kalyanpur – 01711394801 , 88-02 -9033793 , Gabtali – 88-02-9031226 , Mahakhali – 01552-315831 , Uttara – 01711-394804 Kurigram Transport 01924469437 , 01914856826

Rangpur city has several hotels/motels of varying quality to stay. With a little research, you can easily spend the night in the hotel of your choice. Notable hotels in Rangpur include Hotel Northview: 0521-55405 , 0521-55406 , Tourist Motel: 0521-62111 The Park Hotel: 0521-65920 Hotel Golden Tower: 0521-65920

Hotel Tilottama: 0521-63482 , 01718938424 , Hotel Kashpia: 0521-61111 , 01977-227742

In the divisional city of Rangpur, you can fill your stomach from various quality hotels/restaurants, but if you visit Rangpur during mango season, don't miss Rangpur's famous Haribhanga mango.