Bakkhali

Bakkhali is a seaside resort located in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. It is a Ganges delta island on the fringes of Bay of Bengal, forming a part of Sunderbans. Frasergunj and Bakkhali are the twin towns forming a single locality. A seven kilometre long beach joins Frasergunj with Bakkhali. The beach is suitable for driving or cycling.
    
Frasergunj is named after Andrew Fraser, an early 20th century Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, who is credited for discovering this place. Some local tales say that Andrew had landed here after some ship wreckage and he was helped to stay alive by locals. After regaining his health, Fraser started visiting this place regularly and converted it into a seaside resort.  

Apart from its long beach, Bakkhali has many attractions - the windmills of Frasergunj is a sightseeing spot and so are the fishing harbours, local temples and mangrove forests. The only form of local transport is rickshaw van, but tourists can hire trekkers to move out of Bakkhali. Fishing is the primary occupation of the local population and there are fishing harbours at Frasergunj where tourists can buy local catch at cheap rates.

Bakkhali offers many places of attraction like the crocodile breeding centre, the Banabibi temple and nearby mangroves at Henry’s Island. The beach of Bakkhali is inhabited by millions of harmless red crabs which disappear in their holes as soon as they see someone near.

The nearest railhead to Bakkhali is Namkhana, which can be reached from Kolkata by rail. After reaching Namkhana, tourists would then need to cross the Hatania Doania River on a barge and reach the other side of the river to drive another 25 km to reach Bakkhali. Cycles, motorbikes, cars, buses and people are carried on these barges and it hardly takes five minutes to cross the river.

The most popular destinations near Bakkhali are Henry’s Island and Jambu Dwip. Henry’s Island can be reached within 20 mins from Bakkhali on a van rickshaw. It has a 100 metre long mud path through a dense mangrove forest opening up on a deserted beach. Jambu Dwip is a deserted island on the Bay of Bengal that can be reached by local ferry boats.