My trip to New Digha

It was very hot during summer time in Kolkata. So we decided to go to Digha to get some relief from the extreme temperature of Kolkata and enjoy the sea breeze. I booked a ticket from the railway passenger reservation centre.

New Digha Sea Beach

On the day of journey we boarded the Tamralipta Express from Howrah Station which departed at 6:40 am. The journey by train was especially beautiful when it crossed Mecheda and branched off the main line. There were lush green fields everywhere while the train was passing through Tamluk. The train reached Digha Flag Station at around 10 o' clock. The station was situated in between Old Digha and New Digha. We reserved a van rickshaw to search for hotels. It could carry 6 people at a time. In Kolkata I have seen hand-pulled rickshaw and cycle rickshaw. Both are able to carry  2 persons. So it was interesting as this was my first time ride on van rickshaw. There were many hotels and we booked a room in a hotel which was located near the sea. After entering the room I felt glad as cool sea breeze was blowing into the room. We went for a sea bath. After spending an hour there we came back to our hotel. We changed clothes and went to the restaurant and had lunch. Although there were many restaurants, the quality of the food served was not good. A variety of fishes are available in the restaurants of Digha such as hilsa, rohu, pabda, prawn and many others. In the evening we had a look at the shops in Kshanika market selling various items like cashew nuts, ornaments, items made from sea shell etc. We went to the sea shore. There we had some snacks when it suddenly started raining. In the evening the sky was clear so I had not brought the umbrella. So, we had no choice but rush to the hotel. The rain poured for about 45 minutes

Amravati Park (New Digha)

The next day we went to the station by motor van which was yet another vehicle plying in New Digha. From there I booked a car for sight seeing. It took us to Chandaneshwar Temple. On the way we saw a cashew nut garden. Chandaneshwar Temple is situated in Orissa. It is a temple of Lord Shiva. On reaching the temple, we saw that there were many pilgrims. We prayed there at the temple after that the car took us to Talsari where we saw the Subarnarekha river. There is a fish market too. One could see many boats and steamers. Also there is facility to go to the mouth of the river by motorbike. Then we went to Udaipur Sea Beach. This new, virgin sea beach was discovered recently and is a new attraction for tourists. It is a beautiful beach dotted with casuarina groves. After the sight seeing we came back to New Digha. That day too we did not miss the chance to go to the New Digha beach again. In the evening we did a little shopping from the market place.

Amravati Park (New Digha)

The following day we went to Amravati Park. It was a beautiful garden with a lake in the middle. There is facility for paddle boating too. We hired a paddle boat. While we were boating, I saw some swans swimming in the lakes. They looked very beautiful and graceful. I think that they really contributed to the beauty and charm of the lake. That day evening we boarded the Kandari Express from the station and reached Kolkata at the night.

How to reach :

From Howrah station, 12857 Howrah-Digha Tamralipta Express departs at 06:40 hrs and reaches Digha Flag Station at 10:00 hrs. Another train, 18001 Howrah-Digha Kandari Express leaves Howrah at 14:15 hrs and reaches Digha at 17:50 hrs.Yet another train, 12847 Howrah-Digha Duronto Express  leaves Howrah at 11:15 hrs and arrives Digha at 14:15 hrs.

Nearest Airport - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata

Where to stay :

There are many hotels and holiday homes in Digha, both private and government. Here are some of the hotels and their accommodation charges:
Hotel Sagar Priya - Rs 750-2000
Hotel Sea Hawk - Rs 250-1800
Hotel Dolphin - Rs 400-3000
Hotel Bidisha- Rs 550-1200
Hotel Amrita - Rs 600-1200
Digha Tourist Lodge - Rs 700-1500

Places of interest :

You can visit Amravati Park, Asia's largest marine aquarium, Digha Science Park. There are many interesting activities you can do like starting a bicycle race with a skeleton or you can enter the planetarium or even the Jurassic Park. Other places of interest are Chandaneshwar Mandir, Talseri beach, Udaipur sea beach, Toy Train, Lakshmi Narayan Mandir and Iscon mandir.

For more information, please contact :

West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation
Tourism Centre, 3/2, B.B.D. Bag (East)
Kolkata - 700001, West Bengal
India