Gauḍa, Archaeological site in Malda District, India and Bangladesh

Gauda, also called Gaur and Lakhnauti, lies on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border, mostly in Malda district, West Bengal. Its surviving monuments date mainly from the Bengal Sultanate, which held the city as capital from 1453 to 1565. The Kotwali Gate, once part of the citadel, now stands at the border checkpoint. The Dakhil Darwaza, about 60 feet high and 73 feet wide, was the main entrance to the fort, built of small bricks and stone, probably by Sultan Ruknuddin Barbak Shah.

The city was founded by Buddhist kings and grew into a power center under Sena rulers in the 12th century. Muslim sultans took over Gaur in the 13th century and developed it into the capital of Bengal until the 16th century, before the city was abandoned after epidemics.

The name Gaur was used during the Bengal Sultanate, when the city was also called Jannatabad, meaning "heavenly city," after the Mughal emperor Humayun renamed it. The Sena dynasty had earlier called it Lakhnauti after King Lakshman Sena. Sultan Alauddin Hussain Shah began the Baro Sona Mosque, completed by his son Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah in 1526; its name refers to the gilded domes that once topped it.

Gauḍa's ruins lie on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border: most are in Malda district, West Bengal, while a few stand in Chapai Nawabganj district, Bangladesh. The Kotwali Gate, once part of the citadel, now marks the border checkpoint, so carry your passport and check visa or permit rules before crossing. Ruins are scattered across fields and villages, and sturdy footwear helps.

The Chika Mosque, a single-domed building dated to 1450, is said to have served Sultan Husain Shah as a prison. Its interior walls carry figures of Hindu deities, and the name comes from the bats (chamchika) that later infested it.