almost all projects.

These approaches of route tourism, sustainability and inclusiveness for promoting lesser
known scattered heritage resources in the Study Area, primarily a rural hinterland, are explored in this article.

The Study Area

The study area is a region located in the eastern part of India - East and West Medinipur Districts of West
Bengal.

Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality International Conference 2017, Pori, Finland

Figure 1. The Study Region (East and West Medinipur Districts) and its locations in India and the State of
West Bengal. Courtesy: midnapore.in. Source: http://www.midnapore.in/home-images/midnapore-district-
map.jpg

Due to its locational attributes, it became a frontier region in the historical time. Its eventful and turbulent
history intertwined with its geographical profile and cultural history contributed to a multilayered and
multidimensional character as reflected in the varied and rich archeological and historical heritage of the
region. In the process of documenting heritage structures of this region (Basu, 2015) and understanding their
heritage and cultural significance, a need was felt to contextualize the lesser known heritage
structures/sites/artefacts with multilayered history of the place through ages, from prehistory to modern
time.
The study area – Districts of Medinipur in West Bengal, a State in the eastern part of India, always served as
a frontier region. Its vast coastal stretch along Bay of Bengal saw emergence of several maritime trade centres
and number of navigational routes. A major historical route to the ancient port of Tamralipta, pilgrimage
routes of Jain monks as well as road to Puri (a pilgrimage centre located in Orissa, on the coast) passed
through this region. The route was and still continues to be the major connector from Eastern India to South,