If you are in the Indian city of palaces and the former British capital, you are living in the city of joy. But living in the city of joy, sometimes we feel bored due to the chaos of crowds, air pollution and workload. If you want to fresh yourself from this chaos, there are a lot of tourist places near Kolkata where you can escape for a few days.
All Tourists do not find the same travel destination. Different kinds of travelers find different kinds of travel places. If you want to make your tips from Kolkata, you have a multifaceted option to choose places to visit near Kolkata according to your age, creed, group, family, and desire. You may be a family vacationer, honeymooner, solo traveler, you may seek trill, romance, natural beauty or spiritual shrine, and you can get all kinds of destinations near Kolkata without going too far. From the peaceful and spiritual destinations like Puri, Bodh Gaya, Mayapur, Nabadwip to the picturesque and serene destinations like Sunderbans, Darjeeling, Digha and Ajodhya, you can visit many other places periphery of Kolkata.
1. Jhargram:
If you are looking for tourist places to visit near Kolkata, I would like to suggest you to visit Jhargram because you can get chance to visit different kind of green and natural beauty, hillock, verdant villages, waterfall and river near Jhargram and also easy to reach jhargram by both buses and train. It is distanced around 175 km from Kolkata.
You can visit here:
Gopiballavpur Eco Tourism Park: situated on the bank of Subarnarekh river. This park is 38 km from Jhargram city. On the way you can enjoy scenic beauty of Subarnarekh river and Jhilli lake and hatibari forest.
Jhargram Zoological Park: it is about 2 km distance from the Jhargram town. This is a small zoological park developed by state forest department. Here you can sight varieties of animals like crocodiles, Deers, black rabbit, snakes, wolf, bears peacocks and different type of monkeys and several types of trees.
Kodopal Agro Tourism Park: is an agro tourist park which covers 75 acres of land surrounded by the rivers Subarnarekh and Dulung. This agro tourist park is developed for tourism and afforestation and different kind of fruits and medicinal plants are grown here. One can reach the place by enjoy boating. Two watch towers, 95 solar street lights and 8 cottages are there for tourists. The forest is frequented by nocturnal animals like heard of Elephant, Hyenas, and jackals.
Tapavan: This place is surrounded by dense jungle and a small river flowing within the forest. Tapavan has a temple of Ram, Hunaman, SitaValmiki, Luv& Kush.
Hatibari: It is located on the boarder of the state of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa. The serene environment is created by the rows of Shalbon dotting the area. There is an elephant corridor which is spread out from Jhargram to Dumla range. Very recently a forest bungalow is developed to promote tourism of Hatibari.
Also, you can enjoy the place of Chilkigarh Raj Palace, Bandarvula Tribal Interpretation Centre, Rameswar Temple, Jhilli Lake, Kanak Durga Temple, Jhargram Raj Palace, Khandarani Dam.
2. Ajodhya Hills:
Ajodhya hills are the part of eastern of Chhotanagpur plateau and it is extended part of Eastern Ghats range. Hilly surrounding small plateau of Ajodhya is located in Purulia district of Indian state West Bengal. It is distanced from Kolkata around 290 km and highest peak of Ajodhya is Champtaburu 699 m. it is very popular place among the youth mountaineers who want to learn how to ride on mountains.
You can reach Ajodhya hills by any of the three routes, via Baghmundi, via Jhalda, and Sirkabad. Here you can see Hydel power project of Upper Dam and its one side stunning view of lake and other side deep serene greenery valley. Bamni falls is the heart of the Ajodhya and most attractive tourist of place to visit near Kolkata. To enjoy the full view of the Bamni falls you have to come down to the foot of the hill where you can see, take a shower under the waterfall and capture beautiful pictures for memories that never die. Also, there are a lot of places to visit like marble lake, Gajaburu Hills, beautiful temple on the top of the Joychandi Pahar, Mayur Pahar, Pardi Lake, Khairabera Lake, Pakhi Pahar and many more.
3. Mousuni Island:
Nowadays, the Mousuni Island has become one of the most popular sea beaches of South Bengal. It is located in the south 24 Parganas district of west Bengal, India. The Island is around 140 km from Kolkata and you can reach it by both train and bus. The nearest bus stop or railway station is Namkhana from where you can take Toto to reach bank of Hatani Roania River and have to cross by boat and again you have to ride on magic van or Toto to reach Bagdanga kheya ghat and cross the Bagdanga Kheya Ghat by boat and again ride on Toto to reach your destination at mousuni Island. This Island is mostly suitable for the young boys who want to play on the sea beach and to spend the night in a cottage and tent beside the beach and enjoy the fresh breeze. Here you can see bushes and green coconut trees and a glimpse of mangrove forest, sandy beach, blue sky connecting with the serene sea waters, stunning sun rising at dawn and sunset with the reddest sky. If you are a seafood lover, it is your paradise. You can easily get any kind of crabs and sea fish to eat which are very delicious.
4. Digha:
Digha is the most popular and oldest developed seaside resort town in Purba (East) Medinipur district of west Bengal, India. It is around 185 km from Kolkata and you can reach there by both bus and train. Digha is a very popular and common holiday destination for all kinds of tourists because here you can get a room at a cheap price, it is well organized, and a safe seaside resort compared to other resorts of west Bengal. Digha has 7 km length extended low slope shallow sand beach with gentle waves where anyone can enjoy in water or on beach. The most attractive thing here is the stunning sun rising which seems to emerge from sea water and sun set in the blue sky connecting with the serene sea waters. Here you can visit the estuary where you can see different kinds of fishes. Digha is also very rich in seafood; here fish curry, tiger prawns, Pomfret, Bhetki, Rohu, and Parshe are very famous dishes. Also you can get some expensive Bengali cuisine, continental cuisine. Digha is open all time but October to February is considered as the best time to visit Digha.
5. Sundarbans:
Sundarbans is a delta formed by the estuaries of the Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra in the Bay of Bengal. Sundarbans National Park is the biggest mangrove forest in the World lying around 110 km south of our city Kolkata in West Bengal, India but most of the part of this mangrove forest lies in Bangladesh. This forest is famous for a Royal Bengal Tiger Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve. It is also famous for its beautiful confluence and roaring rivers. Sundarbans National Park has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1984.
This National Park is a habitat of a large variety of birds, reptiles like salt-water crocodile, giant lizards and animal species. Here you can see different type of species in this biosphere like spotted deer, King Crabs, Turtles, Batagur baska, Olive Ridley, jungle fowls, wild boar, giant lizards and crocodiles. Beside these species, you can find in these forests around 64 kinds of mangrove trees such as Sundari, Dhundal, Goran, Genwa, Dhundal, Garjan, Kankra, Genwa, and Passur.
Things to do in Sundarbans National Park:
Boating tour in mangrove forests: boating through creeks and canals is the only way to enter the deep mangrove forests here. If you go out the first morning to ride on a boat in deep forests, you have chances to watch different kinds of animals like the Royal Bengal tiger and birds.
Enjoy spectacular view from the WatchTowers: There are many tall watchtowers like Sudhanyakhali, Sajnekhali Watch Tower from where you can enjoy the spectacular view of the forests with different kinds of animals and birds.
Also, you can visit Sajnekhali bird’s sanctuary located in Sundarbans National Park. Here you can see many kinds of bird’s species. River Boat Cruise, visit Turtles at Kanak Island, Marichjhanpi and Ghoramara Island.
6. Mayapur monastery:
Mayapur monastery is a holy place for Hindu pilgrims. It is the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the headquarter of ISKCON which is colloquially known across the world as the Hare Krishna. Mayapur Dham is situated at the junction of two rivers the Bhagirathi and the Jalangi, in Nadia district of west Bengal and it is around 130 km north of Kolkata. The nearest railway station of Mayapur Dham is Krishnanagar junction station. It is around 20 km from Krishnanagar and you can go there by bus or Toto very easily.
The Believers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu believe that he was the incarnation of Lord Krishna and taught the world mass singing and chanting of the Hare Krishna Mantra and he was the first incarnation who started the Hare Krishna movement. Mayapur is famous for a lot of beautiful temples like Chandrodaya Temple – the first temple established by ISKCON, Shree Chaitanyamath – it is the birth place of Sri chaitanya mahaprabhu, Samadhi of Prabhupada, Goswami Maharaj Temple and many. You also can see Goshala Mayapur where you can see different kinds of Cow. Here a pilgrim comes to take bath in the holy water of the Ganga.
If you are intending to visit a Hindu monastery, the Mayapur Madh will be the best place to visit near Kolkata. Mayapur will thrill you with a lot of religious culture and you won’t be disappointed but you will get mentally peace.
7. Shantiniketan:
Shantiniketan is an educational cultural neighborhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in west Bengal. It is approximately 152 km north of Kolkata city. The name Shantiniketan was given by the father of Rabindranath Ragore; Debendranath Tagore which means the abode of peace. Nowadays, the town Shantiniketa has become famous tourist destinations because of the popularity of Visva Bhariti University.
The attractive place to visit in Bolpur Town are – Tagore’s Ashram was established my has father Devendranath Tagore in 1863 as guest house and known as Rabindranath Tagore abode, Poush Mela, Amar Kutir, Rabindra Bhaban Museum, Chattimtala, Khoai Mela, Prayer Hall Upasna Ghar, Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan Deer park, Kankalitala, Uttrayan Complex, Chana Bhavan, Sangeet Bhavan, Nippon Bhavan etc.
8. Jaldapara National park:
Jaldapra National Park is an Indian famous one horn rhinoceros reserve national park of west Bengal. It is located at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in Alipurdual District of north Bengal on the banks of river Torsa. It was declared as a national sanctuary in the year of 1941 to protect its great varieties of flora and fauna. Jaldapara National Park spread out of 216.51 square km at an altitude of 61 m with vast grassland and patches of riverine forests.
In the national park, you can enjoy and experience different species of Flora and fauna. The majority of flora is tall elephant grass and fauna is one horn famous rhinoceros which is main attraction of the park. Others animals are Indian elephant, leopard, barking deer, sambar, chital, hog dear, gaur and wild boar.
According to the floristic investigation of 2016-2018, there are a total of 294 species of trees which belong 189 genera and 64 families, including 4 species of gymnosperms were recorded.
Jaldapara is a paradise for the bird lovers. Here different kind of colorful birds are sighted like Bengal florican. Other birds are crested eagle, shikra, fish eagle, partridge, jungle fowl, finn’s weavers, and lesser pied hornbill. Also, you can found here monitor lizards, pythons, cobras, kraits, geckos and about 8 species of fresh water turtles.
9. Massanjore Dam:
Massanjore dam is a famous hydropower generating dam in the Dumka district of Indian state Jharkhand. It is located on across the Mayurakshi river near dumka. This dam was built with the aid of Canada and it is also called Canada or Pearson dam. It was inaugurated in the year of 1956 by the foreign minister of Canada Pearson.
The view of the dam is very stunning and tourists enjoy it scenic view of the dam. The adventurous tourists swim and ride on broad in reservoir and climb on hill which are located near the Massanjore dam.
10. Bishnupur:
Bishnupur is a temple town in the Bankura district of West Bengal. It is around 139 km from Kolkata and you can reach there by both of buses and train. It is a town of lavish heritage, rich cultural, tales of terracotta and brilliant architecture. You might know the Adi Malla established the Malla dynasty and Jagat Malla shifted his kingdom to Bishnupur.
Here you can visit many oldest terracotta temple like Rasmancha, Mrinmoyee temple, Jorbangla Temple, Shyam Rai temple, Madanmohan Temple, Jore Shreni Temple / Poramatir Haat Area, Sareswar and Saileswar Temple and Gar Darja fort, Archeological Museum and also, seven lakes named Pokabandh, Kalindibandh, Jamunabandh,Shyambandh, Gantatbandh, Lalbandh, Krishnabandh.
There are also many places to visit near Kolkata. I hope this article has given you a clear idea to getaway for your next tips and provides knowledge about the nearest tourist places of Kolkata. So, enjoy your tips and be happy.