Howrah Bridge

Kolkata (Calcutta)


Howrah Bridge is a 705m-long abstraction of shiny steel cantilevers and rivets, which serves as a carriageway of nonstop human and motorised traffic across the Hooghly River. Built during WWII, it’s one of the world’s busiest bridges and a Kolkatan architectural icon. Photography of the bridge is prohibited, but you might sneak a discreet shot while passing through in a taxi, or from one of the various ferries that ply across the river to the vast 1906 Howrah train station.

To lessen traffic load on the bridge and provide easy access to the city's southern districts from Howrah, the newer Vidyasagar Setu bridge was inaugurated in 1992. It can be seen about 3km downstream, cutting a Golden Gate Bridge–like profile across the river, if you look south from Howrah Bridge.