Planning a Gangasagar Tour From Howrah/Kolkata? Gangasagar (Ganga Sagar) Island, is an island in the Ganges delta, lying about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata. Although Sagar Island is a part of Sundarbans, it does not have any tiger habitation or mangrove forests or small river tributaries as is characteristic of the overall Sundarban delta. This island, also known as Sagardwip, is a
place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers (puja) in the Kapil Muni Temple. The Gangasagar fair and pilgrimage is held annually on Sagar Island's southern tip, where the Ganges enters the Bay of Bengal. This confluence is also called Ganga sagar or Gangasagara. Near the confluence is the Kapil Muni Temple. The Ganga sagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of Kumbha Mela. According to reports on 14 January 2018, 18-20 lakh people had visited Ganga Sagar in 2018, against 15 lakh in 2017. How To Travel For Gangasagar Tour From Kolkata, Airport or Howrah/Sealdah. Gangasagar Tour From Kolkata, is to be approached by Diamond Harbour Road (NH-12) which runs south around 90 km to Harwood Point, near Kakdwip, where a ferry runs to Kachuberia at the north end of the island. The Panchyat Samity maintains a parking area near the ferry landing. The ferry travels about 3.5 km across a tributary of the Ganges river (also known as Hooghly River or Muriganga river locally) to reach Kachuberia. Small boats also cross from Harwood Point to Kachuberia. Private cars and buses travel the roughly 32 km to the pilgrimage site at Sagardwip. From the pilgrimage parking area the Kapil Muni Temple is about 200 meters and the Gangasagar confluence is about 700 meters. Gangasagar by Train and ferry- Trains run on the Sealdah South lines from Kolkata through Kakdwip to Namkhana where at Bakkhali there is a ferry across the Muriganga distributary (Channel Creek) to Sagar Island (Gangasagar). There after you have to take a local transportation to reach the confluence.
N.B. Weather you are planning a Gangasagar Tour From Kolkata/Howrah by car or by train you need to keep some important points in mind. You need to start as early as possible in the morning for your Gangasagar tour from Kolkata. If you are planning a Gangasagar trip from Howrah only take the chance if your train is arriving very early. Reason is that the river crossing by ferry is highly dependent on the tides in the river. We have bad experience that our tourist going for Gangasagar tour from Kolkata gets stuck on the island side for several hours as the ferry services got suspended due to low tide. So to have a comfortable and hassle free Gangasagar tour from Kolkata/Howrah you need to plan to start early. In case you want to go for Gangasagar tour from Howrah, you need to arrive at Howrah Station as soon as possible.
