Tamluk (Bengali pronunciation: [tɔmluk]), is a town and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and the headquarters of the Purba Medinipur district. Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present-day Tamluk is the site of the ancient city variously known as Tamralipta or Tamralipti, where Hiuen Tsang, a Chinese traveller, visited the town, is now located on the banks of Rupnarayan River, close to the Bay of Bengal.