Contai

Contai, also spelt Kanthi, is a town in the southwest region of West Bengal.

Get in

By train

• 1 Kanthi railway station. (updated Dec 2022)

By bus

You can also take a bus from Kolkata to Contai (air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned are available).

By car

From the Kolkata side of the Hooghly River, you have to drive via NH 16 (formerly NH 6), Mecheda, Nandakumar and Henria to Contai.

See and do

• 1 Bankiput Sea Beach (near Gopalpur). It is fairly long beach, starting around 2-3 km from the resort. What is shown on the map is roughly the centre of the beach. This is a good sandy beach. 
• 2 Dariapur Lighthouse (96 feet high) (on the Dariapur-Petuaghat Road). Open for visitors from 3PM. It is fully operational. Visitors can climb to the top and have a good view of the area  
• 3 Jagannath Temple. A rekha-deul temple. It was believed that Bhimsen Mahapatra, King of Odisha, built this temple. (updated Dec 2022)
• 4 Junput Beach. If you go there having the sea in your mind then you will be quite disappointed. The water has shifted far off from there and the only thing left is white muddy sand. The sand too is only visible at either Gopalpur (not the one in Odisha, this one is about 2 km from Junput) or Haripur. At Gopalpur, one could find a beautiful beach with fir trees and red crabs along the beach. Be sure to go during the high tide. The fir trees provide a wonderful place for picnics. The beach is really deserted and is very tranquil. (updated Dec 2022)
• 5 Kapalkundala Mandir (off the Dariapur-Petuaghat Road). Made famous by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's classic novel Kapalkundala. (1866). It is a story of a forest-dwelling girl named Kapalkundala, who fell in love with and married a young man from the city, but eventually found that she was unable to adjust herself to city life. There's also a memorial to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Of course, don't expect a Dakshineswar here! (updated Dec 2022)

Sleep

• Bankiput Guest House. It has 6 double-bedded rooms and serves Bengali cuisine (updated Mar 2019)
• 1 Junput Resort, ☏ +91 33 6944 3695. This is the only accommodation available there, 1 km from Junput Bazar. There is no spot booking facility so it is better to book a room before reaching there. ₹350-450. 

Nearby

Egra

• 1 Hatnagar Shiva Deul. An ekratna (one-pinnacled) temple with deul architecture. (updated Dec 2022)

Go next

• Beach spots: Digha, Khejuri, Mandarmani
• Tamluk (Tamralipta)