[Samba]

Junput, Bankiput, Dareapur, Khejuri

Drive duration and distance- 160 km from Dankuni. Its a 3 hours drive. The best place for food will be at Kolaghat, Sher e Punjab or Express food plaza. Round trip comes around 350km.

Route- Dankuni- Kolaghat- Nandakumar- Kathi bypass - take left from the end of Kathi bypass- drive for 1 km and take right for Junput beach.

For Bankiput/Gopalpur, Dareapur take the let from Junput market. Road is in bad condition for the 10km stretch but any car can do it.

For Khejuri drive till the end of the road which is 10km from Junput market. There one has to cross the Rasalpur river on a ferry just beside the mohana where it meets Bay of Bengal. After crossing the river take an E-rikshaw (Toto/tuktuk) to the beach of Khejuri.

Road condition is excellent to good.

Hotels- Junput resort at Junput.
Jhinuk residency for Bankiput/Gopalpur.
Both are very basic hotels.
One can visit these places on the way back from a Digha trip too.

Things to look out for-
Fishery at Junput beach.
Light house at Dareapur.
Kapalkundala temple.
The confluence of Rasalpur river to Bay of Bengal from Petua where Deshapran fisheries is located.
Hijli Majar a very famous Mosque at Khejuri.
The mangrove plantation at Khejuri beach.

The light house at Dareapur.


Rasalpur river meets Bay of Bengal.




At Khejuri.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Samba

Junput, Bankiput, Dareapur, Khejuri

Things to look out for-
Fishery at Junput beach.
Light house at Dareapur.
Kapalkundala temple.
The confluence of Rasalpur river to Bay of Bengal from Petua where Deshapran fisheries is located.
Hijli Majar a very famous Mosque at Khejuri.
The mangrove plantation at Khejuri beach.

The light house at Dareapur.
Attachment 1630342

Dear Samba,
I visited Dariapur lighthouse some four years earlier. But they then allowed us access to the top. For a small fee I could climb the circular stair inside the lighthouse and then had to clim a ladder to reach the top. View from the top was marvelous. Do not they allow it anymore?
Regards,
Rahul

[Samba]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Dear Samba,
Do not they allow it anymore?
Regards,
Rahul

I reached there at around 3pm. That time the entrance gate of the light house was closed. The office located at side was also closed, so am not sure whether i reached at the wrong time or its closed now.

[Blooming Flower]

Indeed, a very comprehensive list of places in West Bengal have already been described by Samba da with exquisite photography, a gem for all who want to explore West Bengal. Thanks to him along with other BHPians based in Kolkata who have already taken much toil (read ‘pleasure of travelling’) for compiling the vast repository of information and make it available for all and sundry. Moreover, they have taken their effort one step up by a joint discussion with senior officials of WBTDCL. I want to add a pinch of spice here in this thread adding some other destinations nearby Kolkata.

Tamluk, the district town of Purba Medinipur (a major sub-division of the then undivided Midnapore district) is rich in history and its treasure. Although ample amount of info available on the internet, I couldn’t hold my temptation to add something about it for being my native place.

It marks its origin from ancient city Tamralipta, which was the centre of the then Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It is considered as the exit point of the Mauryan trade route for the south and south-east with a major port situated on the banks of river Rupnarayana. It has been documented in the treatise of Chinese scholars as well as travellers Fa Hien and Xuanzang (pronounced Hiu-En-Tsang). Even the Mahabharata has prominent mention of this city. With the passage of time, Tamralipta does not exist anymore, nor exist its rich heritage and glory. But history always keeps some remnants to reckon with cherishing golden memories. During pre-independence era, Tamluk was the hub of militant nationalist movement and moreover that, the first ever National Govt. was formed here in name of ‘Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar’ (vide. link) A daily train from Kolkata to Digha, 'Tamralipta Express' is named after the heritage city.

It recounts the stories starting from the innumerable martyrdom of freedom fighters down to the latest and well-known Nandigram (35 km from Tamluk) massacre which happened just 10 years ago. With due course of time, the geographical topology and landscape have changed a lot. Now it stands as a small town 42 km from Haldia (city of IOCL refinery, the industrial hub of East Midnapore) and 80km from Kolkata. It is famous for its thousand-year-old Bargabhima temple which is deemed as one of the 51 Sati Peeth according to Hindu Mythology. ‘Bibhas’ is the mythological name of this place. Keeping aside the religious value, it has some wonderful substances to discover. The temple construction has a blend of Terracotta of Bishnupur, Oriya and Buddhist architecture. In fact, more than a thousand years before it was constructed on a Buddhist Stupa. It is declared as a heritage site by West Bengal govt. Apart from this, one Vaishnav temple more than 500 years old, ruins of Raj Palace (photographers’ ecstasy) and a city museum herald a worthy visit to this place.

From Kolkata, anyone who heads to Mandarmoni, Tajpur or the most common Digha beach needs to take the exit to NH-41 from Haldia Junction after Kolaghat and must pass through either Tamluk town or its suburb Nimtouri situated on the highway. Smriti Soudha building at Nimtouri just beside NH-41 (translated: In Memoriam of the freedom fighters and revolutionaries) hosts a beautiful collection of paintings depicting phases of Indian national movement and they do talk to you silently with the language of art!

Within, 28km from Tamluk one can pay a short visit to Geonkhali (widespread confluence of the rivers Hooghly, Rupnarayan and Haldi) riverside water project, Mahishadal and Haldia. With special permission, Haldia dock complex can be visited to experience port operation know-hows and an evening walk along the beautifully decorated Haldi riverside pavement with a plethora of street foods and relishing the cool breeze even in hot summer may be a memory to recall forever.

Mahishadal has a well-maintained Phoolbagh King’s Palace (like Narajole King’s Palace situated at Keshpur-Midnapore road from Ghatal), a museum with good antique collections and age-old temples rooted in history. Covering all the places may be well accommodated in a one day visit.

Here are some random pictures of the aforesaid destinations.

Bargabhima Teample





Tamralipta Raj Palace Ruins



Bheema Temple (25 feet tall idol)


Smriti Soudha @Nimtouri, NH-41



A random evening click near city electricity sub-station.


A scene on NH-41


Geonkhali Water Project


Mahishadal Raj Palace


Me in front of the ruined temple of King's family @Mahishadal


Haldia Entry Gate on NH-41, @Brajalalchowk


Haldia Administrative Building


Hadia river side landscape

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

You could have driven from Pashupati to Dhulabari, and entered India there!

Dear Sutriptada,
I am not sure if this is the correct and suitable thread to discuss anything about Nepal travel but I did just that. Last week I was in Darjeeling for four days. The weather was nice and I decided to enter Nepal via Pashupatinagar and come out from there by Kankravitta (near Naxalbari, Siliguri). I was accompanied by my wife and daughter. After entering Nepal I had to pay three hundred Indian rupees for the “Bhansar” document, which was essential for car travel inside Nepal. I was given three papers and a number plate, though it was just a small drive. I had to surrender one paper and my number plate while coming out from Nepal.

I hope I shall be excused for showing few pictures with my post, though most of the pictures were taken outside West Bengal.

The road towards Pashupatinagar border from Darjeeling. This is in West Bengal.


My car travel documents.






My newly acquired number plate.


Few picture of the road taken by me. Must say that the road condition was good, if not better than our roads.















A Nepalese petrol pump. However, a resident of Darjeeling town advised me not to buy petrol from Nepal, as the fuel quality may be compromised.


The residents on the other side of the border possibly loved a different horse power.





Do not know the name of this place but we stopped here for lunch. This place is 18-20 KM ahead of Charali town (in Nepal).


The road with typical Darjeeling climate, while I was returning back to Darjeeling after completing my trip. This is Hill Cart Road somewhere near Sonada.


Thanks for reading,
Regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Cossipore, North Calcutta.

[Blooming Flower]

Hi, Dear Mr. Rahul,
It's a quite inspiring for me to see your Indigo doing great in hills. I came across your TL of Rajgir long back in 2011, when I was not a direct member here. Good pictures and info. Thanks.

[Samba]

Visit to MORAM. A resort near Santiniketan with good food and cosy stay away from the crowd.

For few days we were contemplating to have a family outing and have lunch in a restaurant backed up with a small drive. Monsoon has hit Bengal so we decided that the drive can be a bit longish one too. Mom told why not try out 'MORAM' a new resort with great food at Birbhum. She has read about it in a Bengali travel magazine. Me, dad and wife promptly agreed to her suggestion.
Moram is located 8kms from Santiniketan at a place called Debanandapur. Its well marked in GPS too.
We planned for a day trip. Started lazily around 10-30am in our Figo and reached there around 1pm for lunch. It was raining all through out the way.
By 1pm we were hungry and promptly ordered our lunch.
The food was typical Bengali food. We ordered 4 veg thali with fried eggs. The food was yummy and not at all expensive.



Post lunch we checked the rooms. They were nice & cosy. This can be a nice week end destination near Santiniketan too at reasonable rates. The staffs were very well mannered and courteous.

From there roamed around Santiniketan and Bolpur a bit, mom and wife indulged themselve in some shopping and by 6pm we started our return journey and reached home by 8-30pm with 407kms on the tripmeter.

The bonus of driving in monsoons.

[Sayata]

After reading this post , yesterday I visited MORAM " Return To Nature and Tradition " at Debanandapur Village, Birbhum, and I was really overwhelmed with their hospitality and sumptuous food.
This newly built resort is really serene for spending couple of days amidst of greenery and natural beauty of rural Bengal. Some pictures of Moram :

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Sayata

After reading this post , yesterday I visited MORAM " Return To Nature and Tradition " at Debanandapur Village, Birbhum, and I was really overwhelmed with their hospitality and sumptuous food. This newly built resort is really serene for spending couple of days amidst of greenery and natural beauty of rural Bengal. Some pictures of Moram :

In case you have stayed there overnight, please mention the facilities and room charges. Did you find the food expensive?

[Sayata]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

In case you have stayed there overnight, please mention the facilities and room charges. Did you find the food expensive?

No sir, I did not get the oppurtunity to stay at Moram as it was a day trip from kolkata to bolpur and back. So I do not have any idea about tariff of the rooms. But food quality was realy good and the thali shown in my picture was around Rs. 200/-( meal system) which was a value for money.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Sayata

After reading this post , yesterday I visited MORAM " Return To Nature and Tradition " at Debanandapur Village, Birbhum, and I was really overwhelmed with their hospitality and sumptuous food.
This newly built resort is really serene for spending couple of days amidst of greenery and natural beauty of rural Bengal. Some pictures of Moram :

Hello Sayata,
Your post & the accompanying photos are a pleasant reminder that West Bengal has so much natural beauty to offer. I am filing the place away and adding it to my list of trips to undertake.
Regards,
Shashanka

[frequentflyer]

Hello members

I am planning a road trip in early January 2018 from Kolkata to Plassey to Mushidabad and return via Santi Niketan and Bishnupur temples...anybody who has done this route fully or partly and can guide? I also plan on a side diversion to Dainhat to see the Kisore-Kisori temple.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by frequentflyer

Hello members

I am planning a road trip in early January 2018 from Kolkata to Plassey to Mushidabad and return via Santi Niketan and Bishnupur temples...anybody who has done this route fully or partly and can guide? I also plan on a side diversion to Dainhat to see the Kisore-Kisori temple.

I have not been to Dainhat.

For the rest, the best route will be- Kolkata- Krishnanagar- Plassey- Murshidabad- Moregram- Rampurhat- Suri -Take left for santiniketan- Panagarh- Burdwan - Patrosayo- Bishnupur- Joypur- Arambagh - Kolkata.

The road condition is good through out. Expect a lot of single lane highway driving.

Last week i drove to Santiniketan and Tarapith. Mostly i got good roads.

My route was- Kolkata- Burdwan- Panagarh- Santiniketan - Suri- Rampurhat- Tarapith while going.

On the return leg it was a Taraith- Panagarh- Burdwan- Kolkata.

The level crossing near suri on Panagarh - Moregram highway was in a mess. So if you take left to Santiniketan from Suri you can avoid this mess.

A pic from my drive near Mollarpur jungle.

[saket77]

Anyone recently travelled to Sillery Gaon? Wanted to check the road conditions after one takes left from the Alagarah- Pedong road. I have been to Pedong last year and the road upto Pedong is fine.

Old reports suggest bad road conditions after leaving the Alagarah-Pedong road to Sillery Gaon. Is that last stretch doable in a small hatchback?

Thanks!

[rahul4640]

May I put this picture taken at Tiger Hill (Darjeeling) with my car?



Thanks,
Rahul Biswas,
Calcutta