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Calcutta also has shrines and sites of worship belonging to all faiths. The Armenian Church (1650), at Brabourne Road, is one of the oldest churches in the city. The massive Nakhoda Mosque or Rabindra Sarani, modelled after Akbar's mausoleum in Sikandra, is said to accomodate 10,000 people at a time. 10 kms from the city is Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission which propagates the neo-Vedantic movement. It has been built to resemble a temple, a church and mosque.
Located 8 kms from Calcutta on the west bank of Ganga are the famous Botanical Gardens. The highlight of the Gardens is the 200 year old banyan tree, said to be the largest in the world.The tree is 26 metres high with a circumference of approximately 900 feet. The world's largest estuarine forest in the world, the Sunderbans, the habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger, which also houses the estuarine crocodile, wild boar and several varieties of birds and snakes, is within easy reach of Calcutta. This famous Project Tiger Reserve can be approached only via the waterways.
185 km south east of Calcutta is Digha, a popular beach resort with a 6 km long beach, said to be one of the widest in the world. The other popular beach resort of West Bengal, Bakkhali, lies 132 km from the city. 48 km south of Calcutta is the beautiful Diamond Harbour, at the mouth of the Hooghly, an ideal picnic spot. 12 km from the city centre, on the banks of the Ganga, is the magnificent Dakshineswar Temple, dedicated to Goddess Kali . 136 km from the city is the one - of - its - kind university of Shantiniketan, the brainchild of the revered Rabindranath Tagore. Started as an experimental open air classroom, this university has emerged as a universal centre of knowledge and academic excellence, for students and scholars alike.
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