Maithan - Maithan Dam OR temple of Durga OR Maithan Lake

The three beautiful tourist places of Maithan, Panchetgarh and Masanjore are much visited by the nature enthusiasts who just love the scenic beauty of these off-beat tourist destinations.

Maithan

Literally meaning 'Holy Mother's Abode', Maithan is a lovely place to spend one’s holidays in naturally beautiful surroundings. A much loved getaway for the locals, especially on the weekends, Maithan draws its name from the 500-year-old Kalyaneshwari Temple. This shrine is situated in the neighborhood and dedicated to a form of Mata Kali. A tour to this holy place proves to be pretty fruitful, especially for barren women, longing for a child.

Located nearly 22 km from Asansol, on the border of West Bengal and Bihar, Maithan also houses the largest reservoir of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). This dam is a lovely tourist place. Aside the dam, the unique power project in Southeast Asia, inside the hills, is the most famous attraction of Maithan. The amazing beauty of the Maithan Lake further adds to the appeal of the region from the tourism viewpoint. There’s also a nice deer park and a bird sanctuary here which boost the crowd of visitors to Maithan, especially during the weekends.

Panchetgarh

Situated near the town of Egra, near the border of Orissa State, Panchetgarh is a village, in Midnapur District, West Bengal. The most famous landmark of the place is the Panchet Dam, which was the last of the four multi-purpose dams covered in the first phase of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

The former kings of the area were much inspired by Sri Chaitanya. They introduced the Dole Festival which is an attraction of the place. Earlier, only the members of the royal family celebrated this festival -- that too only within the boundary of the palace. However, now the festival is celebrated outside also, by all the people. On this occasion, a lively fair, attended by several people who come from far off places, takes place and continues for seven days.

Masanjore

Picturesquely located nearly 31 km from Dumka in Jharkhand and close to 45 km from Siuri in West Bengal, Masanjore is one of the wonderful tourist places of West Bengal. The Tilpara Barrage on Mayurakshi is built here. The reservoir is so huge that one almost fails to see the bank on the other side of the barrage. Low green hills around the Massanjore Barrage join the Birbhum's santhal, or tribal belt. Also called Canada Dam or the Pearson Dam, this dam at Masanjore is enclosed by mount and wood.