Kaikhali ; A weekend trip (1)

Kaikhali is a small land adjoining the confluence where Matla and Nimaniya rivers flow in to the Bay of Bengal. This place has river banks full of mangroves like  Garan, Golappata, Hogla, Sundri, etc. The boat-ride on the Matla is sure a very refreshing experience. I would not miss the beauty of it on a moonlit night or twilight, the next time I visit. This place is practically within the Sunderban area. Some boats take tourists in the depth of the jungle where tigers are claimed to come out. I would not put too much faith in that though.

Season:  The best season to visit the Sunderbans is definitely the winter.


How to Reach : From anywhere in Kolkata first you have to reach Sealdah railway station. As far as I know there are no buses available which goes directly to Kaikhali. Reserved buses and cars are available though if you are going with a large group.

From Sealdah you have to go to Joynagar-Majilpur station by either Lakhsmikantapur local or Namkhana Local.
Word of advice , these trains can get crowded pretty nastily so if you are not confident enough to handle it , do opt for road journey. But the roads here are not buttery smooth either.


From Joynagar-Majilpur station you can either go to Kaikhali directly or make a break-journey.
Case 1: The only way to reach Kaikhali directly is apparently auto-rickshaw. You have to reserve an auto (short for auto-rickshaw). They will charge anything from Rs 250 to Rs 500 for one-way journey. If you do not plan to stay overnight make sure to book the auto for the return journey. The price mostly depends on the season and your bargaining skills.


In our case we booked two autos for a total sum of 1200 Rs in the condition that we will start our return journey by 3p.m.

Case 2: From Joynagar you can take bus or auto to get to Jamtala. This will not cost you much as this is the regular route for the locals. But the buses are crowded to the roof. From Jamtala you will have to reserve another auto to get to Kaikhali.

The total distance is 35 km and can take a toll when you are hanging from an auto-rickshaw.


Description: The entire bank of river Matla at Kaikhali has concrete embankment. We stroller leisurely on them and found a crowd at a distance. Curious, we went there and found that boats can be booked for 950 Rs. Each boat can hold upto 12 people ,not anymore. So it is wise to go in groups of at-least 10 people.

Boats for hire

We took a boat without further delay because the auto will charge extra for any delay after 3.30pm. The boat journey was truly spectacular. The river was so vast that the other bank appeared to be just a light mist. The water was gleaming like silver and it was really hard to keep our eyes open. I suggest you bring your sun-glasses.

The riverbank in sight were full of lush green mangrove trees. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold.

                          

The boat journey was to another small town called Jharkhali (jhar = storm in Bengali). It is a nice little place full of green trees and has the atmosphere of a village fair. People were buying and selling various food items.

There is a Butterfly Park with an entree fee of 10Rs. In it there is a children's park ,a watchtower and plants on which the butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on.

The monkeys here are quite handful. do not feed them and keep your valuables away from them.

The return journey had a soothing feel as the sun was a bit gentler and the sky revealed its blue colour.

Jharkhali

There is a small market near the boat-ghat. You can get lunch there for decent price. The food is quite good. On out way back we visited the Nimpith Ramkrishna Ashram. Do not miss it.

Nimpith Ashram

Then we returned back to Joynagar. As most Bengali will tell you " You Just DON'T " come back from Joynagar without tasting Joynagar's "MOA" , a sweet delicacy made of Kheer (condensed dried sweetened milk ),Khoi (puffed rice) and of-course the fragrant Nolen Gurh ( sweet sap tapped from Date palm trees ). There is a high probability that you will be deceived while buying these. So try avoiding small vendors or shops. Bunchki Babu's shop is near the station and sells good quality Moas.

This winter let Kaikhali be your destination.

More details are coming soon ....................