Who does not want to find a getaway that can refresh you but still quite close to the city, that can transfer you from the overly crowded city chaos to peaceful natural surroundings? Let me take you away from the metro city of Kolkata to a nearby getaway which has become a popular tourists’ destination lately. It is the Diamond Harbor. It is located approximately fifty kilometers from Kolkata city on the banks of River Hooghly in the southern suburbs of city in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal state.The Diamond Harbour is quite close to the point where the river meets the Bay of Bengal. It is a small town previously called Hajipur with a population of 37,238 only. It is a real hot spot with the scenic view of River before it goes to meet Bay of Bengal. The name of this place is given by British who selected this spot for resting of ships that goes to ocean. Hugli River is joined by Rupnarayan River and then it turns towards south with a wider path of water expansion and then Haldi River meets it towards down. The expanse of water creates a spectacular view.The places of interest here includes River cruises, Sharisha Ramkrishna Ashram, Portuguese Fort, old Light house, old manuscripts, stone images, South Bengal Museum at Noongola near Diamond Harbor Girl’s High School, Naval camp, Swiss Gate, etc. The river cruises here are the most popular attractions among the tourist as they get to enjoy the magnificent view of the river and its surroundings. If you are slightly religious and spiritual then you should not miss the famous pilgrimage Sharisha Ramakrishna Mission Ashram where you can get some knowledge about the mission activities.Another attraction here is the fort that is set to be built by the Portuguese but is now in ruins. This fort was used by the Portuguese pirates to reside in or dwell in while on the harbour as it was a stronghold of Portuguese pirates. This fort is known as Chingrikhali. Some people say that this fort was built by British even before they established their feet in the city of Kolkata. No one actually knows the creator of the fort but most of the votes go to Portuguese for obvious reasons. Light houses are always centre of attractions and connected to horror stories. There is an old light house situated here that attracts quite a good number of visitors. Light houses usually built on all the harbors in order to show the ocean ships where the harbor is in the night. This small town people sell various handicrafts like stone carved artefacts, clay dolls, pottery, shell crafts, etc. local people here speak Bengali and English languages.In the neighborhood town Joynagar also fetches good crowd of visitors specially those who love history as this place has several centuries old manuscripts along with the stone statues of lord Buddha, Lord Mahavir (Jain God) and lord Vishnu (Hindu God) that reminds of presence of religion in the region centuries back. This harbor is also important because it is the launch pad for the popular Sagar Island which is the venue for Ganga Sagar Fair. Ganga Sagar is a famous pilgrim centre. It is believed that by taking bath in here people can wash out their sins. Other such destinations nearby are Kakdwip, Namkhana, Bakkhali. Bakkhali is a beach resort and attracts good number of tourists.AccessibilityDiamond Harbor can be reached by road or railways as it is well connected by both ways to Kolkata city.AccommodationSagarika tourists lodge located on the river bank is favorite choice of many. Apart from this there are many private hotels are there to stay in.Distance from KolkataDiamond Harbor is 50 kilometers from city and one can easily reach here in maximum two hours journey. It can be a one day getaway for local people of Kolkata.Best time to visit Diamond HarborNovember to January is the best time to visit here.Temperature during this timeMinimum temperature -120cMaximum temperature- 270cRUCHI MAHAJAN