BEACHES Of ODISHA

And the Tide Rises. And the Tide Falls

The surf… the sand… the sunlight on the sea…the moonbeams dancing on the shoreline…the sunset setting the horizon ablaze—all the precious components of a beach holiday. Yet there are beaches. And there are beaches— Each one composing its special symphony of delights with these core ingredients. The beaches of Odisha are the place to be to savour those re-imagined experiences underpinned by the waters of the Bay of Bengal, which kiss the shores and whisper stories of times present and times past.

Puri Beach

Home to one of the world’s most visited pilgrim hubs the seaside resort of Puri is a huge draw for its iconic Jagannath Temple. Tens of thousands of devotees and visitors are pulled into the mighty extravaganza of its annual Rath (Chariot) Yatra, or the journey of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings in a monumental display of pageantry through the streets of the city. The mounting fervour that surrounds this intense spiritual event is an experience not to be missed.

The Rath Yatra Festival is one of the primary reasons for putting Puri Beach in the global spotlight. The 870m stretch between Digabareni Square and Mayfair Hotel, now also referred to as the ‘Golden Beach’ is a beautiful expanse of sea, surf, and sand.  Puri’s Golden Beach is now a Blue Flag Beach-acclaimed beach. Blue Flag certification is a prestigious international certification that is awarded by the Blue Flag Global organization headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. The certification is aimed at ensuring that visitors can visit a safe and clean beach.  It requires the involvement and sustained efforts of multiple stakeholders including the local communities to meet 33 stringent criteria that encompass quality, environmental information and education, safety, service, and facilities.

Golden Beach of Puri is one of the cleanest beaches among the eight Blue Flag-certified beaches in India. It offers a host of tourist-friendly amenities, which include beach huts, a jogging track, toilets, chairs, and a safe bathing area.

Devotees bathe in the waterline for the ritual purification before paying obeisance at the Jagannath Temple, families arrive in droves to cavort in the shallows, enjoy horse and camel rides, gorge on snacks from pop-up stalls, and shop for souvenirs from wandering hawkers. Photographers can’t get enough of the vignettes to be captured on their lens from the early hours when the fishermen return with their night catch. There’s nighttime magic here too, as the crowds thin and you can enjoy the quiet, which is broken only by the rhythmic rise and fall of the moon-tipped surf.

The 5-day Puri Beach Festival, held in November, is a great crowd-puller for its cultural offerings, culinary explorations, beach sports, and music concerts. Unmissable too is sand art— now a big trend since internationally renowned local sand sculpture artist Sudarshan Patnaik created his first masterpiece, the world’s largest sandcastle, here in 2017.

Konark Beach

Konark was once an important sea port on India’s northern coastal plain when sailing ships would come to shore laden with all manner of goods from South East Asia. The ‘Black Pagoda’, the massive Sun Temple with its 230ft high tower, which now lies in monumental ruins, used to serve as the guiding light that brought them safely into the harbour waters.

The 13th-century temple, designed in the shape of a colossal chariot, carrying Surya the sun god, is depicted with exquisitely stone carved seven horses pulling it across the heavens. The 24 giant wheels of the chariot symbolise the division of time. Today a UNESCO World Heritage Site the Sun Temple will blow you away with its scale and awesome splendour, ruins notwithstanding.

The Chandrabhaga Beach, just a short distance away from the legendary Sun Temple, is less busy than Puri Beach and offers a beautiful back-to-nature experience.

There’s a lovely legend attached to the beautiful spot. The story goes that a lovesick Lord Surya pursued the beautiful sea-maiden Chandrabhaga, all the way here; but the maiden, who refused his overtures, just vanished into the blue—of the sea, never to return, much to the despair of the god, left behind to cool his fiery ardour on shore.

People seeking less crowded spaces will enjoy the swims, sunbathing, and walks on the beach collecting sea shells abandoned on the shore by the restless sea. Lots of seafood pop-up snack shops cater to the beachcombers. Some of the small restaurants offer regional specialties of fish fry and pakhala, a special rice preparation.

A big attraction is the annual 5-day Konark Dance Festival, held against the backdrop of the venerable ruins of the Konark Temple. The International Sand Art Festival is also organised on Chandrabhaga Beach as part of the dance festival. The 13th edition of the International Sand Art Festival was held in December 2023. 

Ramachandi Beach

If you are looking for a tranquil, uncrowded beach experience head for the lovely Ramachandi Beach located along Marine Drive between Konark and Puri. It’s just 7km away from Konark.  Weekdays can be quiet here but on weekends it gets a bit busy with the more adventurous visitors arriving to enjoy some thrilling water sports like jet skiing, parasailing, water scooter riding, kayaking, ATV rides, speed boat rides, banana boat rides, and surfing. Less strenuous activities include viewings of installation art, yoga workshops, organic music concerts, tattooing, and gorging on seafood.

The temple, dedicated to Goddess Ramchandi which stands by the nearby mouth of Kushabhadra River, also attracts many devotees.

One can enjoy the delights of an upscale glamping experience at the Eco Retreat Konark operated on a quiet stretch on Ramachandi Beach  by the tourism department from mid-December to mid-March.

Gopalpur Beach

Once a lively trading port for the British East India Company, Gopalpur in Ganjam District, rose from a humble fishing village to become a key player in the trade with South East Asia.  It lost its importance due to the silting of the approach to the harbour and the rising competition from the other ports.

It was the brisk activities with Burma (Myanmar) that made Gopalpur a major hub for trading rice, resulting in the setting up of large warehouses, of which one still finds traces. A place of interest here also is the old lighthouse, originally set up in established in 1871, one of the important ones on the eastern seaboard. Back then a lighted wick lamp, hoisted atop the 8m high steel mast would guide the ships to safety. The one you now see was set up in 1967. In 2004 the lighting systemof the Gopalpur Lighthouse was upgraded further from what was done in 1892 and 1925.

Climb to the top of the Gopalpur Lighthouse for fabulous 360° panoramas of the beach town and restless waters of the Bay of Bengal. The hangout spot for visitors is the 2-km long promenade with its paved tiles, railings, and benches. One can now enjoy the simple pleasure of this quiet beach including camel rides, rowing, paddle boat rides, and water scooters. In the high season, the beach takes on a festive air.

Gopalpur is just 15 km away from Behrampur. Nearby beaches also worth exploring are Dhabaleshwar  Beach with its Shiva Temple and Aryapali Beach with its casuarina groves and nearby fishing hamlet which is great for photo ops.

Chandipur Beach
It’s only the locals who first learned to make the most of this secluded beach’s charming environs. Adventurous foreign guests having made this discovery kept it to themselves. But, quiet though it still is Chandipur, 16km away from Balasore, has made a niche for itself in India’s beautiful beach rankings. What makes Chandipur so unique an experience is that when the waters recede from the shorelines by 2-5km, one can walk and ride a horse on the seabed.