About the destination
Bakkhali - one of the remotest destinations of India, a seaside village is in the state of West Bengal. Bakkhali is famous for its beautiful beaches, most of them white sand! They are so remote that reaching from Kolkata takes around 5-6 hours and we used public transport. This involved interesting modes of travel including cab, train, autorickshaws, and totos. The list included boats while returning :-)
Trip Plan
Our main plan was to visit a wedding of a close friend in Kolkata (adjoining areas). The weekend was sandwiched in the process and a cool plan was laid out. The plan was to visit Gangasagar and Bakkhali. My friend, Sathish had already made it to Gangasagar for the Sagar Mela and was quite comfortable with the route and recommended taking public transport and I obliged.
Members : Karthik, Sathish Raja
Dates : 6, 7 March 2021
Trip route
Kolkata (Sealdah) - Namkhana - Bakkhali - Namkhana - Banuben Jetty - Gangasagar - Kakdwip - Kolkata (Ballygunge)
Day-1
The day started at 5:30 AM from Kalighat (Kolkata) from a hostel stay. We reached Sealdah around 6:15 AM, bought local train tickets to Namkhana - Rs.25 each. Namkhana is connected from Sealdah through the local trains and they operate with only 2 class sitting coaches. There are other options nor a fast train. The train started around 7 AM. We grabbed a couple of snacks (Ghugni and boiled egg) boarding the train. the journey to Namkhana would take around 3:30 hours. People going to Gangasagar shall get down at Kakdwip - which is around 45 mins before Namkhana. The train from Sealdah to Namkhana is the cheapest mode of transport for locals and hence the trains are expected to be crowded. If you opt for this route, do ensure that you are prepared for crowded trains and have taken a seat at Sealdah itself.
Reaching Bakkhali
Namkhana is the last station for local trains; everyone would get down. There are local buses and autorickshaws taking people to Bakkhali and any other small towns/villages en route. The bus stand is 200m from the station and you may take a toto or walk. We took a toto and then took a shared autorickshaw to Bhakkhali - RS.50 per person.
The ride is 27 kms and takes around 45 - 50 mins. We reached Bakkhali around noon and took an auto for looking around for rooms. Though it was a small town, it was quite sunny and, looked at 3-4 options before finalizing on Hotel Inodoy Nirala. We paid Rs.1500 for an AC room. The room was quite spacious and comfortable. Not a great place but still ok in the locality. We walked around and went for lunch pointed by a local driver to Hotel Poritosh. The simple restaurant seems to be very popular in locals and the food was definitely good. My friend, Sathish, enjoyed his seafood and said it was very good too!
The toto driver who helped us select the hotel, offered us a ride around for Rs.300 for 2-3 hours - covering all popular beaches and sunset views. We obliged and started the trip by 3:30 PM.
Sightseeing in Bakkhali
There are few beautiful beaches in and around Bakkhali.
- Bakkhali main Beach
- Henry Island and watchtower
- Lalganj Beach
- Fraserganj Beach
- Benfish Harbour
- Sunset point at Bakkhali
The Bakkhali main beach is easily approachable and one of the clean white sand beaches of Bakkhali. The water was quite a way inside and without waves. We spent few minutes and moved to the rest of the beaches. We saw this beach in the afternoon while we were looking for a resort/room.
Henry Island
Post lunch, our first point was the farthest to see - Henry Island. Henry Island takes around 35 mins for the 7 kms from Bakkhali. The cement roads are very narrow and only narrow vehicles like Totos can go. The Henry Island is a huge fishing community area - well-established and well maintained. There is an entry fee of Rs.50 for the persons and vehicle. There are no shops anywhere after you start from Bakkhali. So, do carry snacks and enough water with you.
The walk from the small parking area to the stunning beach is quite good too. We went through the mangroves, the muddy areas hosting red crabs, and then through to the stunning beach. The beach was absolutely lovely and a perfect place for a peaceful outing. We spend some time here clicking snaps and walking around randomly. The beach does have not have waves, however, the mild breeze and the vast views are exhilarating.
Lalganj Beach
Lalganj beach is further North in Henry Island and is around 3 km from Henry Island beach. The Lalganj beach was too a very secluded destination and said to be very popular for red crabs in seasons. The beach is quite vast and is a good location to see a remote point of Sunderbans. Seems to be open for tourists to go by boat during some times of the year. After spending some time walking around the scenic beach, our next point was Benfish harbour.
Benfish harbour
The Benfish harbour is a fishing harbour and also shipbuilding and repairing yard. We were fortunate to see a great sunset view here before going to the sunset point of Bakkhali.
Sunset point of Bakkhali - Kargil Beach
Kargil beach is said to be the sunset point of Bakkhali. The beach is visible on a steep ramp put across to stop the sea from taking away land. The locals said that the water has been raising recently and especially during the cyclone Amphan, the beach had devastating effects. The beauty of nature is an example of how great the Kargil beach is and the sunset is a jewel on top of it!
Fraserganj beach
Once we witnessed the sunset, we went to the final point of the evening - Fraserganj beach. The Fraserganj Beach is walkable from the main beach at Bakkhali in a single stretch. This beach has a watchtower, though dilapidated because of erosion and the cyclone in recent years still is quite usable. The views from the top are very nice and that too by dusk!
We then came to the Bakkhali market area (few eateries), bought some local snacks, and reached back the room. We were quite tired from the long travel across the day, relaxed for some time, and hit the bed.
Day-2
Having enquired about the transportation all the way back to Kolkata via Gangasagar the previous night from the reception of the hotel, we had an almost clear plan unless exceptions. We started the day around 5:30 AM and took the first bus out of Bakkhali. It was a cloudy start and reached Namkhana jetty by 6:45 AM. There are two ways to reach Gangasagar.
Ways to reach Gangasagar
- From Kakdwip, take a share auto, reach Harwood point for a boat. Take a boat from Harwood point, reach Kochuberia in 20 mins. Then, take a bus from Kochuberia to Gangasagar - 35 kms - 1-hour journey.
- From Namkhana bus stand - take a share auto to Namkhana jetty - 1-hour boat ride to Banuben Jetty - Can get a share auto to Gangasagar only if there is crowd, else, need to do some spending for a private vehicle - definitely a costly affair.
The first option is what 95% of the people opt for cost as well as the most frequently operated boats and buses. The train journey from Kakdwip to Namkhana takes 45-60 mins hour too. Since we started from Bakkhali, we decided to take option 2 to cut down 1 hour of our journey time.
The boat jetty had not started the operations when we reached because of heavy fog around 7 AM. The visibility was almost 7m-10m. We waited for some time, one boat came and encouraged our boat to start boat. The journey was quite scary given the fact that the visibility was too low and at one point, there was another boat that came at a good speed perpendicular to our boat, and tactically both of them managed to avoid a clash. Since that moment, the driver reduced the speed and steered along with another boat, and reached the destination quite well.
Gangasagar
To our surprise, hardly only 5 of us were there to go to Gangasagar and were exploited by the local operators - rickshaws/autos/cars. After spending some time bargaining ineffectively, with no alternate options, we paid Rs.300 per person and managed to reach the temple in 25 mins.
We first walked down the road and reached the Gangasagar beach. The beach had fewer waves and no great crowd. The water was not so encourageable to take a bath, though a holy dip is the norm of the divine destination. We did sprinkle water on the head, did prayers, and walked to the temple - the Kapilamuni ashram. The sun was burning bright and we made fast moves, visited the temple, and had breakfast at a local shop.
The food was fresh and delicious, however, robbed for money - Rs.230 per person for 2-3 rotis, dal, and sabji we had. We took a bus to Kochuberia - 1-hour drive and reached Kochuberia jetty. Rs.10 is the ticket to reach the other side in the boat and takes 15 mins. Then, reached the Kakdwip railway station by a share auto, train to Ballygunge, and reached Kolkata by 4 PM.
Definitely, a welcome break from the 4 walls during COVID situations and, glad to be visiting such remote places in India and evidenced the diversity and beauty of nature. A great weekend trip from Kolkata, if you are visiting Kolkata and looking for an offbeat timeout!
Distances
- Kali ghat – Bhakkali – 118 kms
- Kali ghat – Kakdwip – 80 kms
- Namkhana – Bhakkali – 27 kms
- Kakdwip – Gangasagar – 35 kms
- Bhakkali – Henry Island – 7 kms
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