Written by: Atreyee Chowdhury
Digha
Digha, located in West Bengal is one of the most popular vacation destinations near Kolkata. It’s located in Purba Medinipur district of the state. An English tourist John Frank Smith, who fell for the beauty of Digha in 1923, began to dwell in this place and his descriptive writing gave this place its due fame.
After India’s independence a beach resort was made here complimenting the exquisite beach. This place even has been referred to as the ‘Brighton of the east’, in one of Warren Hastings letter to his wife back in 1780A.D. The heavenly beauty Digha was called ‘Beerkul’ initially.
Orientation
Digha is a beach place and the beach waves hit hard here. The fact that Digha is just 187 Km’s away from Kolkata (one of the metros of India) results in more number of people thronging on to this haven.
Weather
Digha’s weather has the coastal feel to it. The rainy season undoubtedly has heavy rainfall (it can be to the extent of very bad sometimes)! Summers are sunny and make for a good sunbathing venture. Winters are cool as usual. Rainy season lasts from May to September/October and winter follows immediately from November to February. Nights are comparatively cooler and freezes during winters!
Best Times to visit
It’s actually ideal for perennial visit (depending on personal tastes). However, avoiding the main rainy season (June-July-August) would be better (Soil erosion and Tsunami instances in 2004 intimidated few tourists during the rainy season).
Getting there / Route information
Distance from Kolkata – 187 KM.
By Bus
There are daily buses to Digha from Kolkata. It makes for a short 5 hour journey. These buses can be easily accessed in various bus stands of Kolkata like Dharamtala, Kudghat bus stand (this may be ideal for those coming from the South Kolkata region of Tollygunge, garia etc). There are two buses from Kudghat bus stand at 6.30 A.M and 8.30 A.M morning.
By Train
The Shalimar-Digha express departing at 7.55 A.M from Shalimar reaches in a time span of 4-5 hours and it furthers leaves Digha at 1.30P.M back to Shalimar. The fares are reasonably Rs.56 for the general compartment and Rs.70 for the first class one. Some trains also commute from the famous Howrah station. There are two special trains during Sundays from Digha to Howrah at 1.30pm and 6pm. reserving seats for weekend trips and trips during holidays is advisable.
By Air
Kolkata being one of the metropolitans of India has good air access from many cities of India and the world.
Road Quality
The roads are fine. Not the best in India but not among the worst ones either.
Pictures of Digha
Major attractions
New Digha beach
It’s one of the classic beaches of the Bay of Bengal. The sea is shallow and calm up to certain miles. Don’t forget to swim in the beautiful waters. The sea is clean and isn’t flicked by many swimmers either. Beat the heat with sunbathing. You can have a warm sunbathing spree here as this place is less inhabited by prying eyes compared to other beaches!
The boat rides in the Amravati Lake nearby can be taken too.
Talasari beach
Talasari located around 8 to 10 KM from Digha houses this lovely beach.
Marine station or aquarium
An aquarium that is perhaps India’s most equipped one. It lacks to display varied aquatic fauna, nevertheless its worth- the entry’s free!
Science Centre
It’s the latest attraction in Digha. Informative and refreshing, it takes a sneak peek into the Jurassic age too.
Vital Tourist Information
Things to Carry
Mosquito repellants and emergency lamps can prove to be handy.
Hotel availability
Several hotels are available near one main road. Like the Digha Tourist lodge (091-33-2243-7260). Resorts too can be seen with ‘The Palm resort’ being the best among the lot. Cottage crafts near Digha beaches can make for a good dwelling too.
Taxi availability
You can hire a taxi from Kolkata to Digha. Digha too has few taxis; note it’s ‘few’.
Contact details in case of emergency
| Hospital: | Tamluk district hospital. Tel: 03228 – 266059 |
| Police: | Sub inspector of Police, Purba Mednipur. Tel: 03228-269580 |
gud informations about Digha …it will definately help us to come
nice pics bravo