Chandipur

Chandipur is a popular beach town situated in the Balasore District of Orissa. It lies near the Bay of Bengal at a distance of 16 km from the Balasore Railway Station. It has an elevation of 3 m above sea level. The popular seafood, Horseshoe crab is also found on this beach towards Mirzapur.

The speciality of this beach is that the water tides here recede from 1 to 5 km during the ebb, and return only when high tides return to the beach. This phenomenon is visible here twice a day after which, a trail of shells and driftwood are left behind.

This beach also supports bio-diversity due to this speciality. Chandipur-on-sea is also the site of the Indian Army’s Integrated Test Range. Several missiles including the nuclear capable Akash, Agni, Shaurya, and Prithvi ballistic missiles have been launched from here.

Fishing is the major occupation in Chandipur and a flourishing fishing community and market reside near this beach at the concourse of Budhabalanga River. Chandipur town lies in close proximity with the nearby tourist attractions like Remuna, Panchalingeswar, Aradi and Chandaneswar.

Panchalingeshwar lies 45 km from Chandipur and is popular for the Shrine of five Shiva Lingams. These five Lingams are washed regularly by the natural springs flowing over them. This entire area is surrounded by the Nilgiri Hills and herds of elephants can be spotted moving down the hill.

Remuna is 25 km from Balasore and is popular for the Shrine of Khirchora Gopinath. It is believed that Madhavendrapuri, Sri Chaitanya and Jeevaswami Goswami also visited the place to worship Lord Krishna. It is also a popular Vaishnavite pilgrim spot. Images of the childhood activities of Lord Krishna are present here.  

Nilagiri Nalagiri, which is an erstwhile princely state capital, is 40 km from Chandipur and is known for the Jagannath Temple and the Kuldiha Sanctuary. There is also a 400-year-old king’s palace present amongst these hills. Many archaeological remains from the past are present at Sajangarh that lies 5 km from Chandipur.

The Bhudara Chandi Shrine at Sajangarh is also another tourist attraction of the place.  The Simlipal National Park and Tiger Reserve, around 100 km from the place and the Shakti Shrine are other attractions.