Photo: Satdeep Gill, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fort ruins
Ruins of the Panchkot rajas' old capital beneath forested Panchet Hill.
Overview
Fort ruins
Garh Panchkot, the 'fort of the five clans', was for centuries the capital of the Panchkot rajas, until Maratha raiders laid it waste in the 18th century and the family moved to Kashipur. Gateways, temples and palace walls lie scattered through scrub and forest at the foot of Panchet Hill, near the Panchet reservoir on the Damodar. It suits an unhurried day of history, birdsong and walks.
The ruins lie in Neturia block, in the north-eastern corner of Purulia district near the Jharkhand border, at the eastern end of Panchet (Panchakot) Hill. In 1911 the district gazetteer described the hill as a long, crescent-shaped ridge rising highest at its eastern end, covered in dense jungle, with the ruins of the old palace and fort of the Panchet rajas at the foot of its eastern face.
The hill is still thickly wooded, largely with sal. The Forest Development Corporation describes it as home to grey wolf, striped hyena and Indian pangolin, and a 2025 study recorded sloth bear, fishing cat, Indian rock python and the white-rumped vulture around it. District and state tourism pages single out the valley for its birdsong.
Garh Panchkot draws many visitors every year; the area around the ruins has been developed as a tourist centre run by the Neturia panchayat samiti, and several resorts have opened around the hill.
Past & present
History & stories
The Panchkot Raj is among the oldest ruling families of the region, but its early history is uncertain and the dates given vary widely. Family tradition places its founding by Damodar Sekhar in the first century CE. According to the West Bengal Heritage Commission, Garh Panchkot became the dynasty's capital in 940 CE and remained so until about 1750; the district administration dates the surviving fort ruins to around 1600.
Around 1600 the kingdom seems to have come for a time under the Malla kings of Bishnupur. Visiting in 1872, the archaeologist J. D. Beglar described four gateways and found the name of the Malla king Bir Hambir inscribed on two of them. A moat ringed the defences, and stone walls enclosed the main fort.
The fort was sacked in the 18th century by the Bargis, the Maratha cavalry of Raghoji I Bhonsle of Nagpur. Around 1750 the family moved its seat to Kashipur, where the later palace, the Kashipur Rajbari, still stands.
The rajas remained at Kashipur into the 20th century; the poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt worked briefly for them in 1872. In 2010 the West Bengal Heritage Commission declared the Pancharatna temple at Garh Panchkot a heritage site.
When you're there
See & do
The best-known monument is a brick temple in the five-spired pancharatna style, once known as the Rasmela or Ras temple. It has triple-arched, multi-cusped entrances on all four sides, a large central spire, ornate false doors and terracotta panels of flowers and of dancers and musicians playing the khol and cymbals.
To the north-west stands the shell of a second terracotta pancharatna temple, which has lost four of its five spires; only the central tower survives.
West of the fort is the broken stone temple of Kankali, family deity of the rajas, now without an image. Nearby lie a ruined Kalyaneshwari temple, two jor-bangla temples, and the palace and staff quarters.
Higher up the hill, among sal and bamboo, are ruins with a stone temple of Rama, and a small waterfall runs down the slope.
A forest road climbs towards the top, which looks out over the Panchet dam and reservoir. In January 2025 the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences opened eastern India's first astronomical observatory on the hill.
The WBFDC resort at the foot of the hill offers nature-trail walks and has a butterfly garden beside it.
Gallery
Photos
Photos coming soon
We're putting together our own photographs of Garh Panchkot. Been there with us? We'd love to see yours.
Getting there
From Rangamati
Garh Panchkot is 110 km by road from the resort, to the north-east. A local guide, sightseeing cab or driver can be arranged on request.
Before you go
Through the year
Seasons & festivals
October – February
Oct-Feb: part of the recommended October-to-March season. The WBFDC resort is in demand throughout, and camping and trekking are popular winter activities.
Good to know
Questions
About 110 km by road, by way of Purulia and Raghunathpur. The resort can arrange a sightseeing cab, a driver or a guide on request.
It was the seat of the Panchkot Raj, the Singh Deo family. Dates differ: the Heritage Commission says it became their capital in 940 CE, and the district administration dates the fort ruins to around 1600.
No entry fee for the ruins is reported. As of 2026 the panchayat samiti charges for vehicle parking at the site.
The West Bengal Forest Development Corporation runs the Garh Panchkot Prakriti Bhraman Kendra at Bagmara, at the foot of the hill, and there are private resorts nearby.
Yes. Baranti lies a short drive away, Joy Chandi Pahar is near Raghunathpur on the way, and the Panchet dam is close by.
Make a day of it
Close by
Other places close to this one, so you can see a few in a single trip.
From our travel journal
Places to see
Trip planning
Travel tipsSources: en.wikipedia.org · bn.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · purulia.gov.in · purulia.gov.in · wbtourism.gov.in · wbhc.in · wikidata.org · en.wikivoyage.org · en.wikivoyage.org · outlookindia.com · thestatesman.com · thestatesman.com · wbfdc.net · threatenedtaxa.org · bartamanpatrika.com · etvbharat.com · kolkataonwheels.com · router.project-osrm.org
Rangamati is your base for the Ajodhya hills — tell us your dates and we'll plan the drive.
