Mandarmani
Encyclopedia
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It lies in East Midnapore district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. Mandarmani is connected to Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
/Howrah by a highway. It is argued to be the longest driveable beach in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Geomorphologically, this area has relatively low waves than nearer tourist beach of Digha. However still this beach is deposition with formation of neo dunes in several areas specially around Dadanpatrabar.
From Contai
Contai
Contai is head quarters of Contai subdivision in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. There are three community development blocks in Contai.- History :...
this can be travelled through a place called Chaulkhola.
Mandarmani boasts of a 13 km long motorable beach, probably the longest motorable beach road in India. This is a drive-in beach. The beach is characterized by hard sand which makes it very appropriate for driving. People have been known to travel to Mandarmani from Digha, using the beachway. The main attraction of Mandarmani lies in the fact that it is still not as popularized and publicized as the other prominent beaches along the Bay of Bengal, and therefore is very serene and desolate. Even on common holidays, it seems as if you are the only one enjoying the view. It is an ideal place to relax, far away from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. The sunrise and sunset are a treat to the eyes. The peaceful atmosphere brings a sense of relief to one's soul. Although this phenomenon was not that evident around 2 years ago, the sea has started encroaching on Mandarmani like it has done all along the Bay of Bengal coastline.In the evening, during the high tide, water moves forward more than 50 meters inland, effectively banging the concrete bases of the resorts that populate the otherwise empty shoreline. While the shores had to be reinforced with concrete along the Digha coastline due to the damage sea water was doing to the town, Mandarmani had to suddenly start tackling this issue due to water encroachment. As the place is still underdeveloped and doesn't have a dedicated electricity connection, the resorts usually work on generators making the place a bit more expensive than other favorite haunts near Kolkata.
The best way of reaching Mandarmani is to take any bus from the Esplanade or the Howrah bus depot, that is going towards Digha. On the way, after crossing Contai, there is a stoppage named Chaulkhola. Once there, the tourist must avail a motored van to take him to Mandarmani. The place is also approchable by train through Contai, but the journey must be breaked as the only way to enter Mandarmani is through Chaulkhola.