Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary (Narendrapur)
The closest green day out, inside the city limits really. Shaded walking paths, a lot of birds in winter, and a small entry fee. Cooking is not allowed, so carry packed food.
20 km from Kolkata
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Picnic spots near Kolkata where a group of twenty still fits
A picnic needs four things: open ground, water to look at, a place to cook or heat food, and parking that takes a bus. These seven have all four, and they are all inside 90 km, so the group is back the same night.
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The short version
- Best time to go
- Mid December to mid February is the season. Book the ground and the bus in November
- Suits
- Office picnics, school groups, para clubs, family of twenty or more
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The places, and what each one is like
Distances are road distances from central Kolkata, checked on road routing data.
Bawali
For a group that wants a picnic without doing any work: the restored mansion serves a full meal and you get the courtyards for the day. Booking needed, and this one is not for a crowd of forty.
31 km from Kolkata
Garchumuk
The picnic ground of Kolkata. Big open space by the 58 gate lock, a deer park, room for buses, and space to cook. On a January Sunday there will be fifty groups, so send someone early to hold a spot.
55 km from Kolkata
Piyali Island
A green riverside stop on the Sundarban road with a tourist lodge, boats and a lot of shade. Quieter than Garchumuk and better if your group has small children.
52 km from Kolkata
Deulti
Sarat Chandra house, the Rupnarayan bank and mustard fields, with hardly any crowd. There is no organised picnic ground, so this suits a group of eight or ten, not forty.
58 km from Kolkata
Taki
The Ichamati bank, boats by the hour, and picnic parties all along the river in winter. Only 68 km from Barrackpore, so for groups from our belt this is the shortest bus ride on the list.
70 km from Kolkata
Gadiara
Three rivers, a wide open bank and a tourist lodge that can feed a group if you book. The furthest on this list, so the bus should leave by 6.30am.
85 km from Kolkata
Which vehicle for how many people
Up to six with the cooking pots, an MUV. Nine to twelve, a Tempo Traveller. Twenty and above, a mini bus, and for a school or an office picnic of forty a larger bus with two drivers if we are starting before dawn. Tell us the head count and whether you are carrying gas cylinders and utensils, because that changes the luggage space we need, not the seats.
Book the spot before the bus
From late December to the end of January the picnic grounds at Garchumuk, Gadiara and Taki fill up, and some of them take a booking through the local panchayat or the lodge. Do that first, then fix the vehicle. We can send the bus on four days notice in that season, but nobody can make ground appear on a January Sunday.
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What we tell people before they go
Small things that decide whether the day is good or tiring.
Carry your own drinking water for the whole group. None of these grounds have a reliable tap.
Fires and cooking are not allowed at the bird sanctuary and are restricted at some river ghats. Ask before you carry a cylinder.
Take your rubbish back with you. At Garchumuk and Taki the mess left behind is the reason rules keep getting stricter.
Road distances and drive times here are checked on road routing data and then widened for real traffic. Timings, ferry hours and entry rules change with the season, so ask us the day before you go and we will tell you what the road is like that week.
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Cars for this trip
These are the trips on our list that match this guide. Pickup is from your gate.
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We pick up from these areas
A day trip works best when the car reaches you early, from your own side of town.
questions
Questions about Picnic spots near Kolkata where a group of twenty still fits
Which is the best picnic spot near Barrackpore?
Taki, at 68 km from Barrackpore, is the shortest run with a river and space for a group. Garchumuk at 68 km from our side has the biggest ground. Inside town, groups use the Gandhi Ghat and Mangal Pandey park side for a half day without a vehicle at all.
Do you give a bus for an office picnic with pickup from two places?
Yes. Two or three pickup points on the way out is normal for us, for example Barrackpore, then Sodepur, then Dunlop. Give us the list in order and we build the route so nobody waits an hour at the first stop.
not sure yet? send the date anyway. If we cannot do it, we will say so.
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want a car for it
Tell us the date and we plan the day
Send the date and how many people are going. We tell you which car fits, when the car should start, and the full price in writing before you decide.