Purulia, locally known as “Manbhum City” is a census town in Southern part of West Bengal. This city in West Bengal covers the glorious history from the time of Gupta Empire in India. Purulia or Puruliya was constituted in 1876.

Location of Purulia
Purulia is located in district headquarters of Purulia district. Purulia is located on the north of the Kasai River and is a major road and railway junction. It has an area of 6,259 square km. It is famous for the Chhau dance in South Western part of Bengal. From the time immemorial, Purulia or Puruliya is defined for its rich cultural heritage. Purulia is located at 23.33 degree north to 86.37 degree east. It has an average elevation of 228 metres.

Climate of Purulia
The summers of Purulia or Puruliya are hot and dry with temperatures ranging from lows of 23 degree Celsius to highs above 45 degree Celsius. The temperature reached the highest level in the country on June 18, 2005 at 51.1 degree Celsius. The winters are dry and cool with daily temperatures ranging from 5 degree Celsius to 20 degree Celsius. Most of the rainfall occurs during the wet monsoons.

Geography of Purulia
Purulia or Puruliya has many major rivers such as the Damodar River, Subernarekha River, Kangsabati River, and Kumari River along with many dams including Kangsabati dam, Panchet dam, Maithon dam, Murguma dam, and Baghmundi dam. It has varied natural green scenery consisting of plains, plateaus and hills. Most of the major land forms can be found here. The soil of Purilia or Puruliya is red and it is said that the soil has the most iron in it compared to other soil in India. The portion of the Ayodhaya Hill Range located in Purulia is the starting point of the Chotanagpur plateau.

Demography of Purulia
In 2011, Puruliya or Purulia had population of 2,927,965 of which male and female were 1,497,656 and 1,430,309 respectively. The average literacy rate of Purulia in 2011 was 65.38 percent compared to 55.57 percent of 2001. If things are looked at gender wise, male and female literacy were 78.85 percent and 51.29 percent respectively, compared to 73.72 percent and 36.50 percent in 2001. The total literate in Purulia was 1,656,940 of which male and female were 1,021,455 and 635,485 respectively. In 2001, Puruliya had 1,182,284 in its total region.

Education of Purulia
The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith is a residential school for boys with the calm environment of the ancient gurukul system which was the ideology of Swami Vivekananda. Sainik School is on Ranchi Road. GRK DAV is a residential school based on the ideologies of Arya Samaj, founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati. The Assembly of God Church School has a morning batch and a day batch (Ranchi Road). The oldest of the schools is Purulia Zilla which was established in 1853.

Culture of Purulia
The festivals of Purulia are celebrated here with full of joy and happiness. The major festivals are like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Manasa Puja, Saraswati Puja and Makar Parab. The major tribal festival is Bandna or Bandana, which is celebrated in the Bengali month of "Kartika" or "Poush" month. In this festival they play music, dance together and eat meat based special dishes like "Manser Pitha". They also take local liquor as a part of their culture named "Hadia". Bhadu Festival is another festival which was started by Panchakot Raj of Kashipur after the death of King`s daughter named Bhadrabati and nowadays it is enjoyed by the local mass of entire Purulia. Karma Festival is a tribal festival in Purulia where tribal people worship the tree whose local name is `Karam` in Poila Baisakh, is also observed in Purulia with full fervour by the local populace with Chhau dance.

Tourism in Purulia
Purulia or Puruliya, as it is located in the heart of Purulia district; it has many natural beauties and the picnic spots. Some of the famous are the regional deer park near Kangsabati dam, Ayodhaya hills, Joychandi Pahar, Garpanchakot. It has many waterfalls also. The Pakhi pahar or the bird hill is very beautiful. In this hill birds are drawn on the rocks of the hill. The district has two big reservoirs, the Kangsabati reservoir and the Panchet reservoir. There are also tiger reserves, elephant reserves, and deer reserves. Besides these there are many tourist spots and picnic spot in the southern part of the Purulia named as "Jangalmahal" (House of Forests). Duarsini is one of the homes of deciduous forest. It is nearer to village Kunchia 10 kilometers from Bandwan town pf Purulia. The area is very beautiful surrounded by hills and waterfalls. Kunchia is also a nice place to visit in winter. There is also Subhas Park and an educational park called District Science Centre. It has a small island in the centre of it where many beautiful migratory birds come during the year from different parts of the world. Garhpanchakot is also worth visiting for its natural beauty to a weekender.