Kolkata is known as the City of Joy and it is cultural capital of India. However, along with these attractions, it is also a great place for sightseeing. The historical monuments of Calcutta, as the city was once known still stand proudly and there are a number of sites for vacation in and around the city. Perhaps the best things about the city are the close proximity of beaches. The city stands on the bank of the River Hooghly, the name that the River Ganga takes when she enters this part of the country. The city is strewn with several ghats along the river, and finally when it drains into the Bay of Bengal, there are several beaches there as well. Some of the beaches can be reached merely in a couple of hours by train and they make for a great place for weekenders.
Digha is a seaside resort town that is the principal destination for weekenders from Kolkata and other parts of Bengal. It is about 177 km away by road. The Digha Beach has a shallow and low gradient and it is a very popular beach for swimming. The beach is a great place to spend the day and the weather here is almost always pleasant. The sand beach is where the people head straight to once they have reached the place. The Digha region has now been divided into regions- the Old Digha and the New Digha. While the facilities are much better and the town has been modernized to an extent in the new part of the town, the old part still retains some of the charms from earlier times. Casuarinas were found in plenty in this region before but now most of them have been cut down. The children especially have a wonderful time here, with pony rides, electric cars on the beach. A very good seating arrangement has been made along the banks and a huge, low wall, capped with marble, runs along the beach, which makes it a splendid place to sit on and enjoy the sea. Come evening, all the weekenders come out to sit here and enjoy the view of the sea and the spray on their faces. The Duronto Express from Kolkata, is the best way to reach the place. Do not forget to visit the government approved stalls along the beach where you can find bags and knickknacks made from sea shells and adorned with hand embroidery.
The distance between Tajpur and Kolkata is about 103 km by road and it falls en route to Digha. A little less crowded than Digha, Tajpur is still a very popular destination among weekenders who want to enjoy a little peace and quiet and simply relax. The beaches of Tajpur are very clear with clear, golden sand, and it is a great place to go for a swim. A number of high end resorts have now come up in Tajpur and people from Kolkata drive there in huge numbers whenever there is an extended holiday. The spa resorts here are especially popular and almost always booked. The best thing about this region is that food is cooked catching the fresh produce of the sea and there are a number of mouthwatering food items to be tasted here. Being an east facing beach, like all beaches in Kolkata, as it is located on the east coast of India, the sunrise views are especially stunning and so are the sunsets. If you are here in the winters, there is hardly anything more inviting that looking at the sunset with a steaming cup of coffee in hand and some nuggets to go with it. Tajpur attracts college goers from Kolkata in huge numbers because it is near and safe and beach side jamming can be seen by quite a few of them.
Another very popular beach resort destination from Kolkata, Mandamani is also located about 163 km from Kolkata and takes about three to four hours to reach. Trains are also available from Kolkata quite frequently. The beach is considered very clean and just like Tajpur above, it is a great place for swimming. A little way off the beach, one can find some fishing villages and the morning rituals of the fishermen as they go out to catch the fish for the day is a sight to watch. They bring out their boats and clean the nets and stitch them where the fish from the earlier day had tried to make a hole! Then they push their boats out into the sea and return a couple of hours later with the catch of the day. However, such sights are not to be seen during the heavy monsoons or when there are cyclone warnings in the Bay of Bengal. There are also some high end resorts and hotels here. Some even offer individual, cottage like rooms where one can have a quiet time with the family and have the surroundings all to themselves.
Bakkhali is located in Namkhana and is a very interesting beach to be in. It is about 135 km away from Kolkata and is frequented by weekenders in huge numbers, and yet, it is one of the more secluded beaches in Kolkata, which is why it is so beautiful and so pristine. The 7 km coastline here will give you ample opportunity to walk and simply get lost in the beauty of nature. One of the best places to visit here is the Henry’s Island, so named in memory of the Englishman who once came to explore this place. The Jambu Dweep here is a great place to explore but it is located 8 km off the main coast and can be accessed only with the help of a boat. But what is perhaps the most interesting thing about this place is the presence of the Crocodile Breeding center and reservation park. It is in fact, one of the few of its kind in the entire world. Other places of interest nearby are Fraserganj, so named because of an Englishman named Fraser, who decided to live here because of the beauty of the region. If you are looking for picnic spots in Kolkata or a place for a day trip, look no further.
The confluence of the River Ganga with the Bay of Bengal is considered an extremely holy spot and every year during Sankranti, which happens somewhere around the end of January, a huge fair and gathering is organized at this location. People of all over the country throng here and the gathering are as large as the Kumbh Melas. The main site of worship is the River Ganga’s confluence and the ashram of the sage Kapil, is also located here. The Government of West Bengal makes all kinds of arrangements to ensure that the people here have no problem, with food stalls and public toilets being set up. People start to arrive here well before Sankranti and it can be quite overwhelming to see such humanity at one place, all drawn with the single belief that taking a dip at the holy waters at the hours of Sankranti will absolve all sins and will clear the path to heaven. It seems like a small town descends here and it is a quite an experience to be a part of it. It is a very popular beach near Kolkata for this reason.
The Sunderbans happens to be on the biggest delta of the planet and is a great mangrove plantation. The delta where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal is home to the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. While there are no conventional beaches here, for obvious reasons, it is quite an adventure to explore the various tributaries and estuaries that crisscross Sunderbans. If you are lucky you will catch crocodiles idling in the sun, and of course, Mr. Stripes himself. The Sunderbans present a wonderful ecology and it is a great way to explore the diverse flora and fauna first hand. There are forest bungalows here along with a few other guest houses. The Raimangal tributary is one of the most popular waterways through which launches, the larger electric boats, take people to give them a sight of this beautiful forest. It is amazing to thing that there are people living inside the jungle, with very close proximity to the tigers themselves.
Although located out of Kolkata, in the state of Orissa, Puri is almost a second home to the Bengali community of the city. This temple town sees a huge number of Bengalis come here throughout the year to pay their respects to the idol of Lord Jagannath. The Rathyatra of Puri is famous all over the world, and close to ten million people come here during the occasion, and a huge chunk of that number is made from the people of Kolkata. The Puri sea beach is known for its wonderful waves and great views. In fact, the waves here are so huge that swimming is often considered dangerous here, unless one is a seasoned swimmer. There a number of sea facing hotels that offer a great view. The Swargadwar, or the Gateway to Heaven, is the most popular spot here.
So if you are in Kolkata, and you want to experience the sea, then you will have a number of options to explore.
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