A Day by the Ganges in Raichak

I have lived in Kolkata for more than half my life but I barely ever took trips to nearby places of interest. There’s so much to see and do in and around Kolkata! In these uncertain times, all we can afford – safely – right now in terms of travel are day trips. Taking all necessary precautions for Covid (details below), we were able to have an enjoyable day at the scenic location of Raichak.

Raichak (or Roychak) is located on the banks of the river Ganga or, as it’s known in Bengal, river Hoogly and is an ideal place for a weekend vacation. Pleasant stay, fabulous views and self-pampering – from what I read and saw. However, due to the situation being what it is, we decided to do a short day trip instead to relax our exhausted minds and jaded lives.

Getting There

We drove to Raichak from Kolkata (northern part) on a bright and sunny Saturday morning. The road to take is via Behala-Alipore-Diamond Harbour Road-Noorpur Road. There are signs on the Diamond Harbour Road to guide you so it should not be too complicated. The journey should take around 2 – 2.5 hours depending on road traffic.

Tip: The main chunk of the journey is via the Diamond Harbour road which is a 2-lane road with a lot of traffic. The Noorpur road isn’t in a very good condition. Do account for these when you plan your travel timings.

Precaution: We had rented a self-drive car from Revv for our month-long stay in Kolkata for the ease of getting around and to avoid availing public transport. Upon receipt of the car, we quarantined it for 2 days before starting to use it.

The F fort

Formerly the Fort of Raichak, this has now been converted into a 5 star hotel/resort by the Radisson group. The fort had been built during the British times to keep watch on the water traffic of the Hoogly river. Later, the fort fell into ruins due to dis-use. Whatever remained of the fort was lovingly restored and refurbished and now conserved as an ode to bygone times. One can see the crenellated walls and the towers of the fort which were used a guiding structure and foundation for the current hotel.

We looked around at the colonial themed interiors and the very interesting décor of the F fort hotel. We then strolled around the well-maintained grounds enjoying the breeze and the greenery. There isn’t however a view of the river from the grounds; but we could tell that anyone having rooms at the higher floors of the hotel would be offered a superb view.

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As we were leaving, we chanced upon my very best part of the hotel visit – an almost life sized chess board! The chess pieces were black for Indians and white for the British. Each piece was sculpted as realistic figures having an English and an Indian counterpart. E.g. Indian rani vs. English queen, Indian kazi vs English Bishop. It was fun to discover this and examine the pieces. (We ignored the racist tones of this find.)

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Lunch

Lunch was an amusing affair. While there are quite a few restaurants at the resort with varied cuisines, we didn’t want to take a risk and so packed a lunch from our home. Problem was, where to sit and eat? There didn’t seem to be anyplace around – the resorts weren’t going to allow outside food. So, we parked at a side road and had our picnic right there in the car. Serving up four plates in that tiny space wasn’t easy but we managed it; it included a lot of yelling, instructions and balancing work! But, it was worth it. Homemade fried rice and chilli chicken had never tasted better!

Tip: For future reference, F fort and its adjacent resorts have multiple restaurants which you can try out when we get back to our “old” normal.

Walk by the River

The whole area has now actually been converted into a “hotel conglomerate” meaning: it houses several boutique hotels / resorts called Raichak on the Ganges. The resorts are Ganga Kutir, Anaya, Ffort Hotel and Ffort Suites. There are spas, golf course, lounges, pools, sports paraphernalia on hire etc.

After lunch, we drove the short distance to the Ganga Kutir resort. This one is situated right on the banks of the river and consists of separate cottages with a common lawn. We took a walk on the open lawn sloping down to the river. The actual water edge is cordoned off by wire barrier for safety purposes.

The view before us was magnificent. The wide bountiful river with its calm waters ruffling in the evening breeze was such a beautiful sight to behold! The setting sun created a perfect backdrop to this postcard-ready vista. Boats and launches travelled up and down the river and completed the typical river “scene”. The holy Ganga in all its beauty mesmerized me. This was the essence of our trip.

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Tea to end the day

We turned homewards with the last rays of the sun. On the way home, we had tea and cake in the car to cap off our wonderful day by the river. The tea was also prepared at home and carried in a thermos flask. By evening, it wasn’t so much as steaming but more of a mildly warm cup of tea which still tasted like heaven because of the wonderful day we had just had!

Precautions: We had our masks on at most times (took it off when people wern’t within 6 feet of us) and had pocket sanitizers to clean our hands as soon as we touched anything (which was only a couple of times). As mentioned before, food, water, snacks and tea were all made and carried from home as well as plates, cups, and cutlery.