ALSphere Foundation
India is the largest peninsula in Indian Ocean. It has a long coastline of 6100 km in mainland stretching from West Bengal to Gujarat. Beautiful beaches attract tourists throughout the year. Digha in West Bengal is known for beautiful sea beaches, which are visited by tourists from all over India.
Where It Is Located
Located in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, it has a distance of 185 km from Kolkata, 130 km from Kharagpur, and 290 km from Bhubaneswar.
How To Reach There
Kolkata is the nearest airport and Digha has a railway station. Trains run from big cities like Kolkata, Kharagpur and Bhubaneswar. Tourists from South India can get down at Jaleswar railway station and take a taxi to Digha.
Which Is The Best Season
October to February is the best time to visit. Tourists come here in summer holidays also to get relief from heat.
Where To Stay
A good number of premium and budget hotels exist in Old and New Digha. New Digha is better planned with hotels in each lane. Accommodation tariff ranges from INR 500 for a non-AC standard single room in a budget hotel to INR 12000 for an AC suite in a premium hotel. Several budget hotels have restaurant and swimming pool facilities too. Old Digha is 2 km away from New Digha. A 2N/3D stay is sufficient for a tourist.
Places to Visit:
Important places to visit in and around Digha are:
1) New Digha Beach
2) Old Digha Beach
3) Oceana Beach
4) Mohana Beach
5) Udayapur Beach
6) Talasari Beach
7) Dheu Sagar
8) Amaravati Park
9) Biswa Bangla Park
10) Digha Science Center
11) Marine Aquarium
12) Chandaneshwar temple
Our Journey:
We planned in February, 2024 to visit Digha in mid-March, and accordingly booked train tickets for a 2N/3D visit to Digha. At 6:00 AM, we boarded train from Bhubaneswar station to Jaleswar. We reached Jaleswar station at 9:40 AM and travelled to Digha in a pre-booked taxi. It was a 1.25 hour enjoyable road journey through villages, markets, and green fields. We reached at 11:00 AM.
Our Stay:
We stayed in a pre-booked AC Double room of a budget hotel in New Digha. Nearer to beach, it had a restaurant and a swimming pool. Few visiting places were at walking distance. Summer had already started, but weather was cloudy on all days.
Where Did We Visit?
Day 1:
After lunch at hotel, we visited Science Center, Amaravati Park, New Digha Beach and Dheu Sagar – all were at walking distance. We returned to hotel at 9:00 PM, had our dinner and went to bed.
Dheu Sagar beach
Day 2:
Early in the morning, we walked to a nearby beach to view sunrise, but it was not visible due to cloudy sky. Tourists were crowding the beach to enjoy the morning.
At 8:00 AM, a pre-booked E-Rickshaw took us for forenoon visit. We saw old, famous Chandaneswar temple, Talasari beach, Udayapur beach and Oceana beach. At 12:30 PM, we returned to hotel, finished our lunch and took rest.
At 4:00 PM, same E-rickshaw took us to Marine Aquarium on the way to Old Digha. From there, we visited Mohana beach, where river Champa meets Bay of Bengal. After sunset, we came back to see Biswa Bangla park and nearby market place in Old Digha. We returned to New Digha beach and visited market for shopping. We returned to hotel at 9:00 PM. We finished dinner and went to bed.
Digha beach
Day 3:
After a morning walk on beach and daily routine, we finished our breakfast at 9:00 AM, checked out of the hotel, took a taxi to Jaleswar railway station. At 11:50 AM, we boarded the train and reached Bhubaneswar at 4:00 PM.
Concluding Words:
Digha is a small planned tourist destination with beautiful beaches. It is a peaceful place and people are tourist-friendly. E-rickshaws are the cheapest and best means for local communication. It can be a weekend gateway for tourists of nearby states. Other tourists can choose this place as a destination depending on their journey time. One can enjoy local Bengali delicious dishes and tasty sea foods. I am sure that a visit to this place will be memorable.
Kishor Kumar Mishra
