Bakiput is nothing but waste of time and energy

We had huge expectations on Bakiput after we went through some positive reviews on Blogs and sites one can find on internet. It was actually a trip to Tajpur by bike and we decided to make a visit to Bakiput from Tajpur on a day trip. As usual like every other year we used the Independence Day leaves to set off on our bikes and this time the destination was Tajpur. We set off for Tajpur from Nimta (our place) on 13^th of Aug and planned to visit Bakiput via Contai and Junput on 14^th of Aug, 17.

As planned, on the morning of 14^th Aug, we woke up early, done with our breakfast at Tajour resort to set off for Bakiput. We knew that the route is via Contai-Junput and so decided to reach Junput without any halt in between. It is approx. 25 KMs from Tajpur beach to Contai via NH 116 B which is a 2 lane highway without any barrier or divider. This road connects Nandakumar to Digha and places for tourists attractions like Mandarmani, Tajpur and Shankarpur and other beach destination from Kolkata are reachable by this route only. From Tajpur beach road one needs to reach the NH 116 B and take a right turn. Digha is on left. We could do 60-70 per hour maximum with our bikes and so reached Contai by 30 minutes. From Contai it is approx. 9 KMs to Junput market place from where one needs to take a left turn towards Bakiput. The 9 KMs stretch is in good shape but goes through congested market places. It is better you drive safely and do around 50-60 maximum even though the road is good. Once we reached Junput market place more, we took a left turn and then the hell of road started.

It wasn’t exactly a road but a stretch with mud and potholes one after another. Being a biker one needs to play like a video game. Jokes apart we had to drive cautiously along that road. It is just around 3 KMs from Junput to Bakiput (as said by locals) which we thought to cover within 10 minutes max but it actually took us around 30-40 minutes to reach Bakiput. The pain was not about time but about the road conditions. We could understand that the condition of road was such due to rain in monsoon. I neglected the road conditions and was in fact enjoying the drive through the greenery all around and passing by the big water bodies which people use for fish farming.

I was more excited to reach Bakiput as we read so much of positive things on the place and was expected the place to be a dream place where we could relax for hours, have our lunch at Jhinuk Residency (only hotel at Bakiput) and then leave for Tajpur.

Finally after asking local people quite a few times, we managed to reach Jhinuk Residency which is the only property at Bakiput. We found few pictures of the property on internet with a signboard at the entrance and so we were sure to spot the signboard or the property while driving along the road but unfortunately there was no signboard at the entrance and so we missed the property and drove past further. It is only after realizing that we were on wrong way, we asked some locals who showed us a narrow road that leads to Jhinuk Residency at Bakiput. One needs to enter the hotel to go to the beach across the property. We asked a person from the hotel if they would allow us to enter the property as we didn’t have any booking there. The person was humble enough and said that we can use the narrow path of the property that leads to the backside of the hotel and then to the beach. We hurriedly parked our bikes and ran for the beach and what we found was actually a shock to us.

We were so disappointed on finding the sea to be approximately 1 KM away from the shore. We could hardly see any wave in the sea. More prominent were some local people busy in agriculture lands we found by the shore. One needs to walk through the muddy sand to reach up to the sea water. We all were really shocked on finding our dream place to turn into a disappointment in reality. There were green grasses across the muddy sand to a certain extent towards the sea and we could easily figure out that sea water reached the shore long time ago. Grasses would not have grown there if there was salty water of sea. That means sea usually remains far away from the shore at Bakiput and one needs to walk across muddy sand around 1 KM to touch the sea water. There was no one at the beach other than those few (3-4 persons) engaged in agriculture. Tajpur is said to be an offbeat beach destination but I found it to be not worth visiting. Compared to Bakiput, Bakkhali beach is a much better place as weekend destination from Kolkata.

We looked back to the Jhinuk Residency hotel and thought how they would feel who stayed there for 2-3 nights on their much waited vacation. There must be tourist in the hotel who booked the same after going through some positive reviews on web and at spot they must be disappointed too after seeing such a horrific surrounding at Bakiput. There was not even a coconut seller or a shack we could buy some food or drink from. The Jhinuk Residency was a small 2 storied building with no place for children to play and people to sit outside. Not aware of services at the property and conditions there because we didn’t stay there. We just interacted with some staff and they tried their best convert us in future.

We just took few snaps of ourselves and decided to leave. We couldn’t even take any snap of the sea with our mobile cameras because it was so far away. On a lighter note I must say that one needs high-end digital cameras to shoot the moves of the sea. We hardly spent around 10-15 minutes there by the shore at the back of Jhinuk Residency and then left for Tajpur. This time we were in hurry to reach Tajpur as early as possible to enjoy the rest of the day because we had already wasted the morning and half noon for this Bakiput.

My observation and suggestion on Bakiput as a traveler:

If you are planning to stay there at Bakiput the only option is staying at Jhinuk Residency. If you are with family and kids, you must avoid this place because there is nothing at Bakiput. The only property at Bakiput which is Jhinuk Residency is not spacious. Kids can’t play around and there is no space to sit outside. I am not sure about facilities provided inside and the services provided there by the property. We didn’t stay there.

If you are in a group with friends, you can stay 1 night here, explore it and go for a better destination like Mnadarmani, Tajpur, Dhankarpur, etc.

If you are planning a day trip from Tajpur or Mandarmani or Shankarpur, think of it only if you have your own car/bike. You must carry water bottles and food because there are no shacks or stalls at Bakiput beach. Only option for lunch would be hotel Jhinuk Residency. I can’t share further details on lunch at Jhinuk Residency because we didn’t try.

There is no public transport from Contai (Kanthi) to Bakiput via Junput. One must reserve an auto rickshaw or TOTO or a car from Contai to visit Bakiput. Tourists travelling from Kolkata or other places with their own cars/bikes would have advantage or benefit to travel to the place on their own. The road from Junput to Bakiput is not in good shape as of 15^th Aug, 17.

From Tajpur to Contai Bypass crossing, it is approx. 25 KMs. From Contain Bypass more, one needs to take right turn (Keeping the road to Kolkata on your left) to reach Contai Bazar more and from there again a right turn towards Junput. It is approx. 9 KMs from Contai Bazar more to Junput market place. It is a straight road till the Junput market place and from there one must take a left turn towards Bakiput. From Junput to Bakiput (Jhinuk Residency) is around 3 KMs.

Finally I don’t suggest a trip to Bakiput and I would like to stick to the title of my write-up which is “Bakiput is nothing but waste of time and energy”. Let me know if you need any further information or detail on Bakiput. Stay tuned to TravelDias Blog and Facebook Page. Keep travelling.

Declaration: Some of the photos used in this write-up are taken from the blog of Mr. Krishnandu Sarkar (krishnandusarkar[dot]com) and weekenddestinations[dot]info.