A short trip to Gopalpur and Rambha

We some friends from Kharagpur visited Gopalpur, on sea and Rambla in January 2017. We want to spend a couple of days relaxing in nature. We traveled by train from Kharagpur to Brahmapur, Odisha and from there we took an autorickshaw to reach Gopalpur. Our accomodation was previously booked at OTDC, Panthanivas Gopalpur. The facilities served is very good and the food is also tasty.

 Beach is only 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from Panthnivas. Gopalpur sea beach is one of the best beaches in the eastern coastline. The remoteness, peace, offbeat crowd, sparkling gold sand, azure water of the bay of Bengal, the delicious sea foods provide a perfect place to immerse yourself in nature.

From Gopalpur, we went to Rambha, an offbeat destination on Chilka lake. The only accommodation there is the Rambha OTDC Panthanivas. The Chilka lake is just in front of the cottage and the view is stunning but one thing to inform is that this Panthnivas is very ill-maintained. It should be maintained in a far better way as it is located in such an exotic location. A walkway from the Panthanivas leads to the rear of the complex from where a trail leads to the jetty in the lake. The calm and serene environment of the entire place is mesmerising. It is ideal for the soul looking for relaxation from the hustle and bustle of the daily life. Motorboats and speedboats of OTDC are available there in the jetty and also some private boats are there to explore the Chilka lake and islands on it. We took the private boats for exploring the islands like Breakfast island, Dinosaur island, Honeymoon island, and Shiva Temple.

Here I would like to thank a very nice and humble person Upendra Bhai (Manjhi of the Boat), although he was our boat person for the trip but he behaved as a tour guide and even offered food to us at his home nearby.

Next day I got up early in the morning and went to the jetty. It was a bit chilly and the sun was yet to come out in the sky. Local fishermen were leaving for the lake in their country motor boats for their catch. I could see big stretches of the lake lined with fishing nets. The sun peeped out from behind the hill and the waters shimmered in gold under the gentle breeze that was blowing. It was a lovely sight.

Immense beauty of Chilka lake, greenery, boat ride, local people, magnificent sunrise can all together give you a memorable weekend. This place which is a heaven for bird lovers is a budget destination to relax all your tensions in the lap of mother nature.