Chandipur – A week end break from Kolkata

Chandipur under the shadows of the Keya-cashew nut and tamarisk trees is very pleasant for a small weekend-tour from Kolkata. The calm and quiet sea beach at Chandipur enchants tourists. The specialty of this beach 5 km wide from the coast is that it is motorable after an ebbing tide, which is very typical of Chandipur. The high tide submerges the beach and comes up to the border-lines. The Panthanivas keeps a board indicating the times for ebb and tide. You too can set adrift along the ebbing sea and may reach the confluence of the Buribalam or even further. At Chandipur tourists enjoy collecting shells like as they do at Puri. All throughout the beach hermit crabs play hide and seek. Both sunrise and moonrise at Chandipur are charming. Besides the beach, Balaramgari, i.e., the confluence of the Buribalam and the sea 3 km from here, makes a fine surrounding. Close by in the cantonment area is the Interim Training Centre, i.e., a Missile throwing Centre. Space-research works are carried on. Chandipur has been on the newspaper-headlines time and again because of the launching of spaceships like Agni, Prithvi etc.

How to reach Chandipur on sea:
Each and every Bhadrak/ Bhubaneswar bound train from Howrah via Kharagpur has to pass by Balasore the railway station connecting to Chandipur. Leaving Howrah by the Dhauli Exp at 6-00, Falaknuma Exp at 6-50, East Coast at 10-45 reach Balasore (232 km) at 9-40, 10-27 and 15-05 respectively.
From Balasore Jaipur is 105 km, Cuttack 177 km , Bhubhaneswar 205 km, and Puri is 267 km.
Reach Balasore by the Dhauli/Falaknuma/ East Coast £xp. From there you can reach Chandipur (13 km) by rickshaw, auto or, taxi.

Another way is to go up to Kharagpur by any local train from Howrah and then reach Balasore in 2 ½ hrs by the 6-55/15-30/18-10 Passenger trains. These trains return to Kharagpur at 6-18.7-55 and 17-20 from Balasore.
Bus journey to Talsari/ Digha via Chandaneswar you can also chose. CSTC buses from the Sahid Minar at Kolkata and ORT buses from Babughat in Kolkata ply along the NH 5 via Balasore to Bhadrak/ Cuttack/ Puri. From Balasore there are several buses to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Baripada. The distance between the bus stand and the railway stattion at Balasore is only 1 km.

Sightseeing from Chandipur:
The OTDC, Panthanivas, Chandipur. Ph: (+91 6782) 2370051 arranges for a sightseeing tour to Balasore, Nilagiri, Panchaiingeswar, Sajangarh, Mitrapur and Remuna covering 120 km from 7- 00 am 1-00 pm.

Special tours are also arranged by the OTDC, when there are more than 10 tourists. Besides this there are Packages for Similipal & Digha-Talasari-Chandaneswar.

Accommodation options at Chandipur:

For accommodation at Chandipur, STD 06782

On the beach— OTDCs Panthanivas Ph: 2370051 Advance Booking : Manager, OTDC, 41 Lenin Sarani, Kolkata-13. Ph: 22164556; Delhi Ph: 23364580;

Forest Rest House-Casurina, Advance Booking : DFO, Baripada, Mayurbhanj;

Adjacent to the Panthanivas there are with pretty gardens, under private ownership Hotel Shuvam Ph: 270025, Advance Booking : Smt Dasgupta, Flat-9, D-l, 1873 Gariahai Rd, Kolkata 19. Ph:24407178; Mukhcrjee P-64B. CIT Scheme 6M Ph: 23340251, Mukhcrjee 124 Arabinda Sarani, Ph: 25434251; Ghosh, 8E Dacres Lane Ph: 22439256;
Hotel Chandipur Ph: 2370030, Advance Booking: Orissa Saw Mill, 187 Maharshi Debendra Rd, Nimtala-6, Ph: 22399489;

Muktangan Guest House Ph: 2370027,

Hotel Santi Niwas Ph: 2370018, with own beach shadowed with coconut groves, Advance Booking: N N Das, 26/1 Gariahat Rd (South)-31 Ph: 24733505

Hotel Apsara: Advance Booking Ph: 22485052/22402174

Anandamayee Hotel Ph: 2370012; Advance Booking : 47/4 Becharam Chatterjee Rd, Behala, Kolkata -34, Ph: 24680427/ 23541436/Travel Tips Ph: 25772203; Holiday Managers Ph:22485829;

Larika Yatri Nivas Ph: 2370045, Advance Booking : Larika, 74 Park Street Kolkata-17 Ph: 22403583

Pacific Holiday Inn Ph: 2370083, Advance Booking : Ph: 23509199/Linkage Ph: 22466973;

Hotel Golden Ph: 2370021. Arrangements for cooking are also available there at Hotel Golden.

The UCO Bank Officers' Congress, 16-A Brabourne Road, Kolkata-700001 Ph: 22251778 have set up a Holiday Home at Chandipur.

Behind the Panthanivas, the Torrento Resort as well as the economic Hotel Yatrinivas are there.

Panthanivas, Anandamayee, Shuvam and the Santi Niwas are convenient location wise, the Forest Rest House is quite charming. All the hotels have provisions for Indian and Continental dishes.

This article is originally published in Travel India and India Study Channel