DIGHA:- A Romantic Holiday Beach

Digha is a seaside resort place in the state of West Bengal, India. It situated in East Midnapore district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It is a popular sea resort in the West Bengal.  Renowned for its beaches, Digha is visited by thousands of tourists in every year. It is the nearest and most popular sea resort of West Bengal. Digha is mostly famous as a weekend destination for kolkatans.

It is located 183 kilometer from Kolkata/Howrah via Mecheda and 234 kilometer via Kharagpur.

Originally, there was a place, called Beerkul, where Digha lies today. This name was referred in Hastings's letters as Brighton of the East.

An English tourist J F Smith started living here in 1923 and his writings provided a good exposure to this place. He convinced West Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan C Roy to develop this place to be a beach resort

There are mainly 3 seasons in Digha, namely Summer, Monsoon and Winter. Summer starts in April and end in June with an maximum temperature of 37°C. Although cold wind from sea sides keeps the weather pleasant in this time. Next comes monsoon in July and last the end of September. Digha generally experiences rainfall with high humidity in the monsoon season. Winter sets in October to l February with a temperature range from 24-30°C. July to March is the best time to visit Digha as weather stays most pleasant in those times.

Bus Services

There are frequent bus services to Digha from Dharmatala bus stand of Kolkata and many other parts of West Bengal. It is about a 5 hour journey from Kolkata. Bus services are also available from towns across West Bengal such as Midnapore, Bardhaman, Bankura, Asansol,  Howrah, and, also from Orissa via Cuttack and Balasore. Please note this Digha to kolkata last bus service (day) 4.00pm. from old Digha. and 3.30 pm. from new digha.

Train Services

In 2004, train services have started for Digha railway station(DGHA). There is one DMU service from Santragachi station and there are three new trains from Howrah Station too.

Howrah - Digha Superfast Tamralipta Express  departs from Howrah at 06:40 hrs and arrives at Digha station at 10:00 hrs. Return train Digha station at 10:35 hrs to arrive Howrah at 13:50 hrs. Check current actual timings with railways

Howrah - Digha Kandari Express departs from Howrah at 14:10 hrs and arrives at Digha station at 17:50 hrs. Return train Digha station at 18:20 hrs to arrive Howrah at 21:50 hrs.

New Jalpaiguri - Digha Paharia Express departs from New Jalpaiguri station at 21:00 hrs and reaches at 12:00 hrs. The train runs from New Japlaiguri on Friday. Return train which runs on Saturday only starts from Digha station at 16:20 hrs & reaches New Jalpaiguri at 08:45 hrs.

Santragachhi - Digha Passenger departs from Santragachhi at 18:15 hrs and arrives at Digha at 22:15 hrs. Return train Digha at 5.30 hrs to arrive Santragachhi station (8 km from Howrah) at 9:45 hrs.

Howrah - Digha Duronto Express - An AC special train for tourists has been introduced. It departs from Howrah at 11:15 hrs and reaches Digha at 14:15 hrs without any stoppage in between.

Visakhapatnam - Digha Superfast Express was introduced on 17th Feb 2012. It departs Visakhapatnam Station at 17:30 hrs and reches Digha at 9:30 hrs with halts at Vizianagaram, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road Jn, Bhubaneswar, , Bhadrak, Balasore, Jaleswar, Cuttack, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Kharagpur Junction, Panskura Junction, Tamkuk and Kanthi.

Areas

Junput beach is a quiet place  with fishermen going about their daily work unnoticed.

Digha's old beach is not as wide as it used to be due to heavy soil erosion. Big stones and concrete steps are used to hold tightly the beach. Another problem is the huge number of tidal waves that caused many of the smaller hotels and unplanned shacks to succumb to the sea. Since it is a popular beach in West Bengal, it gets gathered, especially during the cooler winter break.

A new beach has been developed named New Digha which is about two km from the old beach. This new beach is bigger than the old one, and it is considered a better one. It is clean and well-maintained &  is not surrounded by a congested locality like the older one. There are many hotels within a walking distance from the beach here. The locality itself seems to be better planned.

The entire Digha seaface from Old Digha to New Digha is filled with casuarina plantations, which looks very nice. Tourist comes here and bath in the sea, stroll by the beach along the casuarina trees and enjoy the sights and sceneries offered by this magnificent stretch of sea.

There is also another sea resort at Shankarpur which is situated 14 km from Digha along the coast. Another important spot near Digha is the Shiva temple at Chandaneshwar(odisha) which is about  6 km west of Digha. During the months of march -april, a popular annual fair is organised here.

Nearby places of interest:

Udaipur:-

This is a spectacular beach, 2 km west of Digha, in West Bengal & Odisha Border. One part of this beach is in West Bengal and the other in Odisha. One enters to this beach just walking or driving along Bengal-Odisha border.The vegetation, the great Casuarina atmosphere, typical of slopes in Eastern Ghats and, makes this beach, an excellent experience. The nearby delta, where the mighty Subarnarekha river merges into the Bay of Bengal. It is an additional attraction.

Marine Aquarium and Research Centre:-

MARC was established in 1989 during the 7^th  Five Year Plan. The major object of the Centre is to display the marine biodiversity of the region and impart its values to the common people and to carry out the research activities.
MARC is the largest inbuilt marine aquarium in the country and equipped with sea water circulation system. The aquarium has 24 big sized marine tanks and 8 fresh water tanks which are equipped with compressed air supply, light and regulated supply of inflow & outflow of water.
Hundreds of visitors make it a point to view the Aquarium every day. The aquarium is opened to public from 9.3 0 A.M. to 6 P. M  everyday.

Junput:-

JUNPUT is 40 km away from Digha; famous for fishing. It has a fine-looking sea coast. The place offer beautiful sea-view and casuarina trees. Sea water fish nurturing and examine are done here by the WB State Government Fisheries Department. Unlike Digha beach, during low-tide Junput becomes very wide and long. Sunrise in Junput is a treat to the eyes of visitors. There is lighthouse and a famous old temple of Kapalkundala.

Shankarpur:-

It is also known as virgin beach, only 14 km  east of Digha. It is a regular fishing harbour. This beach is almost empty except on weekends. The mornings are cool, when fishermen hauling their huge nets out of the sea. The morning sun reflecting on the sea waves in the east, and the local fish-boats on the sea offer excellent photographic opportunities.

Talsari:-

It is a small delta on Bay of Bengal, only 6 km away from Digha, located on Bengal-Odisha border. A quiet place, close to both sea and river subarnarekha.

Mandarmani:-

Mandarmani is a small beach on Bay of Bengal, a few km from Digha. It is a small fishing harbour and a fast developing tourist resort.

Chirulia:-

Chirulia  is a small village, 40km away from Digha ,where the ancient temple of Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman, temple of Sri Krishna, the Gouriya Math & Mission and the temple of lord Shiva known as Jora Mandi situated in this peaceful, green village.

Invitation for all of you & your family.