Digha (Bengali: দীঘা) is a small but the most popular seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in East Midnapore district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. The British (more specifically Warren Hastings) referred to Digha as the Brighton of the East. It is located just 183 km from Kolkata/Howrah via Mecheda and 234 km via Kharagpur; this proximity to the metropolis has made this small hamlet a popular weekend getaway. Digha is connected to Kolkata/Howrah by a highway and a rail-link via Contai. Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit. ... West Bengal   (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, Poshchimbôŋgo) is a state in eastern India. ... Midnapore East is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. ... A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal. ... Warren Hastings (December 6, 1732 - August 22, 1818) was the first governor-general of British India, from 1773 to 1786. ... For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ...   (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Howrah (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India. ... Kharagpur is a town in India. ...   (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Howrah (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India. ... Location of Contai in Purba Medinipur district Contai (also known as Kanthi) ((Bengali: কাঁথি) is a Subdivisional town in the District of East Midnapore, West Bengal, India. ...

Beachfront congestion and a record number of tidal waves are some of the problems plaguing Old Digha

Digha's old wide sea beach doesn't sport a wide beach now due to heavy soil erosion. The beach is held together with big stones and concrete steps. Another problem is the record number of tidal waves that have caused many of the unplanned shacks and smaller hotels to succumb to the sea. Since it is one of very few popular beaches in West Bengal, overcrowding, especially during the cooler winter break, is another problem. A new beach has been developed at New Digha which is about 2 km from the old beach. This new beach is not only bigger than the old one, but might be considered a better one. It is clean and well-maintained and is not surrounded by a congested locality like the older beach. There are new and better hotels a walking distance from the beach at New Digha and the locality itself seems to be better planned. The entire stretch of the Digha seaface from Old Digha to New Digha is filled with casuarina plantations, which looks beautiful. Tourists come here and bath in the sea, stroll by the beach along the casuarina trees and enjoy the sights and scenes offered by this magnificent stretch of sea. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 750 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 1024 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) author is uploading I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 750 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 1024 pixel, file size: 322 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) author is uploading I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Selected species Casuarina cunninghamiana Casuarina equisetifolia Casuarina glauca Casuarina is a genus of shrubs and trees in the Family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia and islands of the Pacific. ...

Apart from the sea, there is Asia's largest marine aquarium, a science museum and a beautiful park all on the main road from Old Digha to New Digha. There's also another upcoming sea resort at Shankarpur which is located 10 km from Digha along the coast. Another important spot near Digha is the Shiva temple at Chandaneshwar which is 6 km west of Digha. During the Bengali month of Chaitra, an annual fair is organised here which is attended by people from near and far. Nilakantha redirects here. ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in the Bengali language, is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Chaitra (Hindi: चैत cait or चैत्र caitr) is a month of the Hindu calendar. ...

Shankarpur beach is a popular attraction for those seeking to avoid the crowds

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Getting There

By bus

• There is frequent bus service to Digha from Dharamtala bus stand of Kolkata and many other parts of West Bengal. It is almost a 5 hour journey from Kolkata.
• Bus service is also available from all major places like Midnapore, Bankura, Asansol, Howrah.
• Bus service is also available from different parts of Orissa.

  (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Midnapore (also written as Medinipur and Midnapur. ... Bankura is a city and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. ... Asansol is an important industrial city in the state of West Bengal, India and the third largest city in West Bengal, after Kolkata and Howrah. ... Howrah (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India. ... Orissa   (Devanagari: उड़ीसा) is a state situated in the east coast of India. ...

By train

• Very recently (in 2004) train service have started for Digha. There are daily trains from Shalimar railway station and there are a few trains from Howrah too.
• Shalimar-Digha Express
• Starting April 2006, there are two trains on Sundays to come back to Kolkata from Digha.

Shalimar Gardens is the name of several royal gardens built by the nobility (Mian) of the Mughal Empire during the rule of various emperors, such as Jahangir and Shah Jahan. ... Howrah (also spelled Haora) is an industrial city in West Bengal, India. ...

Local Transport

Auto-rickshaws, and rickshaws are easily available for local transport.

Places Around Digha

• Junput: It is 40 km away from Digha; famous for fishing.
• Shankarpur: Also known as virgin beach, only 14 km east of Digha. It is also a regular fishing harbour. This beach is covered with casuarina plantations.
• Subarnarekha river:The sweet place where Subarnarekha river draining into Bay of Bengal, Only 12 KM far from Digha, located in Orissa-Bengal border. This is new destination of Digha tourist.
• Talsari: A small delta on Bay of Bengal, Only 6 KM far from Digha, located in Bengal-Orissa border.

Wikitravel Digha Guide

DIGHA GUIDE

External links

• A complete travel guide on Digha, Digha hotel, Digha map,Nearby place
• West Bengal Tourism site on Digha
• Another site on Digha
• Digha travel guide from Wikitravel

Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ...

See also

Cities and towns in Purba Medinipur district
| Bahirgram | Contai | Dakshin Baguan | Digha | Egra | Goasafat | Haldia | Kakdihi | Kolaghat | Kukrahati | Mecheda | Nandigram | Panskura | Ramnagar | Tamluk