The Visvabharti University is at Shantiniketan, three km from Bolpur. The brilliant and prolific poet, writer and nationalist Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) founded a school here in 1901. It later developed into a university with emphasis on humanity's relationship with nature-many classes are conducted in the open air. There are colleges of science, teacher training, Hindi, Sino-Indian studies, arts and crafts, and music and dance. Tagore called the place 'the cargo of my life's best treasure'. There's a museum and art gallery within the Uttarayan complex where Tagore lived. The university is open to visitors in the afternoons but closed on Wednesday, the day the university was founded.

Sakthi Peetas are the most sacred sites of the Saktha religion. Temples dedicated to MAA are situated in these places. Though mythologically these peetas are associated with the Sati legend, these sites seem to be places where some extraordinary forces of nature are existing.

Three km from Shantiniketan is Sriniketan, a centre for traditional handicrafts like batik, pottery, weaving, kantha embroidery and dokra tribal handicrafts. Sriniketan, represents all that is serene, culturally rich qnd artistically advanced in modern India. It was conceived by the poet-philosopher as a spiritual meeting ground for the best of what both East and West had to offer and in that it has been a great success.