Bay of Bengal
This sightseeing attraction is related to the countries:IndiaIndia , BangladeshIndia , Bangladesh , Sri LankaMyanmarBay of Bengal is a vast expanse of water in the northeastern Indian Ocean. India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the island states of Indonesia and Sri Lanka are located on the shores of the Bay, which arcs deep into continental Asia. These tropical countries attract tourists with their millennial history, peculiar culture and numerous ancient monuments. Cruise liners enter the harbors of the Bay of Bengal, on its shores are located major cities with international airports connected to all continents.
Video: Bay of Bengal
Contents- Highlights
- History
Geography - Flora and Fauna
- Climate
- Islands
Cruises - Beaches
- Resorts
- Places of Interest
Shopping - Cuisine
- Where to stay
- How to get there
Highlights
History
Since time immemorial, the waters of the Bay of Bengal have been plied by merchant sailing ships from India and Malaysia, the ancient coastal kingdoms of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In the 11th century, mariners of the Chinese emperors of the Song dynasty, who had no access to the overland Silk Road, made their way through the Bay. Thus came into existence the busy maritime Silk Road across the Bay of Bengal. The route linked China by trade and diplomatic relations with India, Ceylon, Arabia and Africa. Along with merchants, religious preachers and teachers of spiritual practices crossed the Bay. Buddhism penetrated from India to Indonesia along the sea lanes, and Islam came from Arabia to Hindustan.
.
In ancient Indian texts, the Bay of Bengal was called “Mahodadhi” (“Great Body of Water”), as well as “Vaggopasagara” (“Eastern Ocean”) or “Kalinga Sagar” (“Kalinga Sea”). From the time of Alexander the Great’s conquests that reached India, the gulf was known to ancient geographers. According to the legend recorded in the works of Plutarch, Diodorus and Ptolemy, on the way of the Greek conqueror was the kingdom of Gangaridai, located at the mouth of the Ganges. The war elephants of the royal army proved to be an insurmountable force, and Alexander’s troops retreated from India..
On medieval maps of European navigators, the Bay of Bengal was labeled as Gangeticus Sinus, meaning “Bay of Ganges”. The first European caravels under the command of Vasco da Gama sailed into the Bay of Bengal in 1498. Exactly two decades later, a Portuguese fort with a military garrison appeared at Chittagong – the first European colonial enclave on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. From then on, this part of the Indian Ocean became a battleground between European empires seeking to seize the resource- and spice-rich overseas regions. The Dutch came after the Portuguese, then the Bengal monsoons filled the sails of French and British flotillas.
.
Meanwhile, Arab military expansion into the territory of North Bengal began as early as the 13th century. The Sultanate of Bengal appeared here, and by the beginning of the 17th century the northern shores of the Bay of Bengal already belonged to the Muslim Mughal Empire. At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the colonial rule of the British Crown began in India.
.
After World War II, India gained independence. In 1956, Muslim Pakistan seceded from India. Soon Bengal too split into two parts. One of them, inhabited by Bengalis who converted to Muslimism, was proclaimed the state of Bangladesh with Dhaka as its capital. The other part with a Hindu majority remained under Indian jurisdiction as the state of West Bengal with Calcutta as its administrative center.
.
As early as the early Middle Ages, Bengali alchemists learned to produce a multi-component dry powder capable of burning brightly without exploding. Bamboo sticks smeared with such a mixture lit up the palaces of rulers and shrines in Hindu and Buddhist temples. It was from here that Bengal lights – miniature festive fireworks that scatter sheaves of cheerful sparks – spread around the world. Combinations of metal or mineral impurities give the flames different colors. There are Bengal torches that can burn brightly underwater. Such lighting is used by divers in underwater caves.
.
In 1997, the Bay of Bengal Initiative organization was established in Dhaka. It includes all countries in the region, including landlocked Nepal and Bhutan. Among the 14 priority areas of cooperation is the promotion of tourism and cultural contacts. Since 2022, member countries have been implementing an inland connectivity master plan to facilitate the wanderings of religious pilgrims and the educational journeys of foreign tourists.
.Geography
The Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean extends over 2,173,000 square kilometers. The outline of the Bay is bounded by the shores of India to the west, Bangladesh to the north, Myanmar, also known as Burma, to the east, and the archipelagos of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which belong to India as a Union Territory. The southern cordon of the Bay of Bengal runs along an imaginary 2,100-kilometer line between the island of Sri Lanka and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The depths of the bay reach 4,694 meters.
On the shores of the Bay of Bengal are the estuaries of major rivers. Among them are the Ganges (2,525 km) and the Brahmaputra (3,969 km) and the Irrawaddy (2,288 km). These great rivers originate in the Himalayas. The Hindu sacred rivers Krishna (1,400 km), Mahanadi (900 km), Brahmani (480 km) and others flow into the gulf.
.
.
The topography of the mainland shores of the Bay of Bengal is mostly flat and gentle. The coastline, overgrown with tropical forests, has almost no harbor-friendly bays, so seaports are located at the mouths of large rivers. At the same time, wide river beds serve as a continuation of sea routes, through which goods are delivered inland. The main port cities of India located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal are Kolkata, Chennai, Haldia, Vishakhapatnam and Cuddalore. The main port of Bangladesh is Chittagong, and in the Andaman Islands, the harbor of the city of Port Blair receives ships.
.
Flora and fauna
The western and northern shores of the Bay of Bengal are covered with dense tropical forests cut through by the beds of numerous rivers. National parks, nature reserves, where Indian elephants and rhinos, deer, leopards, monkeys, pangolins, varanas and many other exotic animals live. The river deltas are home to giant boa constrictors and saltwater crocodiles, large dolphins and turtles, and mangrove crabs.
.
The humid jungle is full of venomous reptiles. Among the most dangerous snakes are king cobras, Indian striped krait, green vipers. The coastal waters of the bay are home to sea snakes, which play a prominent role in Bengali mythology.
.
Climate
The Bay of Bengal lies in the tropical monsoon climate zone. During the year, the average air temperature here is almost constant: + 26-28 °C. In April-June there are hot days, up to + 36 in the northeast and up to + 48 ° C in the southwest, humidity reaches 80%.
.
The region is rainy, often with heavy downpours causing violent flooding in the rivers flowing into the bay. Monsoons form over the Indian Ocean in the spring and deep fall. The most powerful storms that whip up huge waves in the bay occur in November-December.
.The Bay of Bengal is infamous for destructive cyclones that cover the land accompanied by intense tropical downpours. During the rainy season, strong winds in the region are not uncommon, and locals are used to storms and rain. But at intervals of 5-7 years, nature goes wild, as if releasing excessive energy accumulated during the years of relative calm.
.
The deadliest hurricane in the recent history of the Bay of Bengal was storm cyclone Bhola, which emerged in November 1970 and hit West Bengal, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and the Andaman Islands. Half a million people died then. Most of those who drowned in the flood waves were islanders in the deltas.
.
In the last days of October 1999, megacyclone Odisha struck India’s coastal states from the southeast and raged for 10 days. Powerful wind gusts literally blew houses off the face of the earth and threw ships ashore. The storm caused $4.45 billion dollars worth of damage.
.
.
Even more expensive was the spring tropical cyclone Amphan, which raged in May 2020. The hurricane originated near the island of Sri Lanka and hit the shores of Bengal. The wind speed reached 250 kilometers per hour. Indian authorities estimated the cost of destroyed infrastructure at $13 billion.
.In this part of the world is turbulent and in the bowels of the planet, hidden under the waters of the Bay of Bengal. On December 26, 2004, an underwater earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 occurred off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The cataclysm caused a powerful tsunami. The 10-meter wave raced along the Bay of Bengal and crashed on the shores of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nicobar Islands. About 1,000 square kilometers of the Andaman Islands were permanently submerged in the depths of the sea. The tsunami spread over much of the Indian Ocean, reaching the eastern coast of the African continent. Beach resorts were completely destroyed, thousands of tourists died. Millions of hectares of luxurious tropical forests were damaged by the salt water, which was destructive for plants. But local nature quickly regained its rights, and the jungle has long since sheltered the destruction.
.’
Islands
A chain of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, sheltered by tropical forests, stretches across the eastern Bay of Bengal. The archipelagos are separated by the 150-kilometer-long Strait of the Tenth Degree (it is located exactly 10°00′ north latitude from the equator). This deep water passage (up to 1,280 meters) connects the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman (Burma) Sea.
.
There are 572 islands in both archipelagos totaling 8,249 square kilometers, of which less than a hundred are inhabited. The capital and only city of this island region of India, the city of Port Blair, is located in South Andaman. There is a harbor in a convenient bay that receives cruise ships, and a regional airport operates on the island.
.
Several islands are closed to visitors. There live the remnants of aboriginal tribes, avoiding communication with the outside world and very aggressively defending their territories. Researchers found out that the ancestors of these dark-skinned people settled on the islands of the Bay of Bengal about 30,000 years ago. Their culture and way of life have not changed since the Neolithic era. The natives speak dialects of the archaic Andaman language, which is unrelated to any language in the world..
Cruises
Sea cruises are popular among tourists, departing weekly to the Andaman Islands from the West Bengal ports of Kolkata, Chennai, and Vishakhapatnam. The cruise liners, taking 750 to 1,500 passengers on board, cross the Bay of Bengal in 60-66 hours and arrive at Port Blair harbor after traveling about 1,200 km.
.To travel in a deluxe cabin, one has to pay from $125, a Class I cabin will cost $100. Class II cabins for $82 are no worse, but are placed on the middle decks, where the view from the portholes is limited. On the lower decks of the ships are tiny class III cabins with bunk beds. A seat costs $32.
.The most comfortable weather for sailing on the Bay of Bengal holds from January to April. Taking a sea voyage in other months, you are bound to be caught in a tropical storm with torrential rain. For many passengers who are prone to “seasickness”, such a voyage will be remembered for the grueling rocking of the ship on huge waves.
.
Beaches
Despite the jungle-covered Indian shores of the Bay of Bengal, you can find excellent sandy beaches reclaimed by sea waves and river runoff. For example, the port city of Chennai is home to the multi-kilometer long Marina Beach, where locals and tourists alike enjoy relaxing.
.
In Bangladesh, near the city of Chittagong, is Cox’s Bazar beach, which claims to be the longest beach in the world. The sandy strip of coastline stretches for 120 kilometers.
The city of Baleshwar is famous for its marvelous beach where red crabs are scurrying in the sand. Tourists are well known for the beach at Vishakhapatnam port, from where they can watch the incoming ocean-going ships and romantic sailing boats.
.
For the full experience, it’s worth lounging by the surf line at Chadinpur Beach, which means “hide and seek”. After a little nap in the sun, you’ll find that the sea has disappeared. At low tide in the shallow waters here, the sea water moves away from the shore for 3-5 km, exposing the bottom, and then returns.
.
All these beaches are absolutely virgin and are equipped only in a few locations, where temporary campsites and tents with grill bars are arranged. It is pointless to build any capital structures on the low-lying coast due to high tides and seasonal hurricane storms.
.Resorts
The best beach resorts in the Bay of Bengal are located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. About 600 spa hotels, luxury villas and budget campgrounds await guests here. The range of prices provides for any preferences of vacationers. For example, in the romantic hotel Thai Ehotica Resort & Spa Andamans 5 * that on Havelock Island, rooms are offered for 388-511 $ per night, and young people have the opportunity to rent a room in the guest house Andaman Ocean Breeze for only 11-19 $, the price includes breakfast.
.
A 3-hour group walking tour of Port Blair costs $10-$12 per person. A guided sightseeing tour of local attractions by car will cost $53.
Diving is popular in the Andaman resorts, and the big waves attract surfers. To visit the nearby islands of the archipelago on your own, you need to get a special permit from the Andaman Port Chief’s office.
.
Interesting places
In the Ganges Delta, near Calcutta, is the Sundarban National Park, named after the Sundari tree, a type of mangrove. The largest mangrove forest in the world grows here. The park has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its vast territory of 1,330 square kilometers is included in the world network of biosphere reserves. Sundarban is located on 53 swampy islands of the delta, twice a day most of the reserve is flooded by the tides of the Bay of Bengal with a height of 3 to 8 meters. It is home to Bengal tigers, almost exterminated elsewhere in India.
.
On the west coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian state of Odisha, near the city of Puri is the ancient Jagannatha temple, deeply revered by Hindus. This complex is built in honor of the almighty Brahma. According to legend, during the full moon the deity descends from heaven and performs ablutions in the sea water here. One of the most desirable places for Hindus to pass to the next world was built on the beach near the surf line many thousands of years ago. Nearby stands the sanctuary of the inexorable Kali, the embodiment of time and the inevitable end of man’s earthly journey. This location is called “Swargadwara”, which means “Gate of Paradise”. Here cremations of the dead are performed. Tourists, among other curious onlookers, are allowed to watch these fiery ceremonies from remote terraces.
.
Shopping
A creative gift from the shores of the Bay of Bengal is flavored black Indian tea in beautiful packages. These can be carved wooden boxes, brightly colored tin containers, embroidered cloth bags. Tea with fruity flavors is sold in ceramic vessels shaped like fruits corresponding to the flavor – lemon, mango, banana, pineapple. The best teas are cultivated in the foothills of the island of Sri Lanka.
.Women will love traditional Bengali saris – light and stylish clothes. These outfits were created by Indian designers thousands of years ago, but even today they can emphasize the beauty of a girl or elegantly hide the shape of the figure of a mature lady.
The city bazaars of Kolkata sell woven, carved, wrought and pottery products of skilled artisans inspired by many generations of ancestors. It is worth paying attention to colorful panels with scenes from ancient epics, Buddhist talismans, amazing animal figures created from strong wood. Good products carved from large sea shells. To surprise your guests, bring real Bengal lights, just be careful when displaying fireworks.
.Cuisine
Bengali cuisine has evolved from regional products, historical, cultural and religious traditions of the local population, and the climatic conditions of the subtropics. The main components of the recipes are fish and poultry, vegetables, and, less often, animal meat. Bengali cooks favor fried potatoes, boiled rice and various legumes, in particular, lentils. A wide variety of curry sauces and spicy mustard gravies are characteristic.
In West Bengal they also prepare dishes from pork, sea turtle meat. And in neighboring Bangladesh, where Islam is widespread, pork is replaced by lamb or beef. There, on the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, the influence of Arabic and Persian cuisine is great, with a bright spectrum of spices contrasting with Indian spices. Here you can try the popular rezala, lamb ribs marinated in yogurt and chili peppers and then simmered over low heat in a thick, spicy sauce, as well as a delicious variety of pilaf called ahni.”
Once upon a time in Bengal, certain dishes, ritualized serving and a set order of meals served as markers of social status, a tradition that has now eroded. But on special occasions, ceremonial table settings are observed, such as at wedding feasts, housewarmings, and wakes.
>
Bengalis eat a lot of fish, both marine and freshwater, with river catch being favored. Popular fish curries are made from catfish fillets (boal), carp (rohu) or ocean herring (hilsa).
.
Vegetarian recipes, common in Bengal, draw on the religious traditions of the Vaishnava (Krishna) movement. Adherents of Krishna do not accept meat, fish, milk, eggs and many other foods. Nevertheless, there are quite a few delicious rice, chickpea and vegetable based dishes in Vaishnava cuisine.
.
Bengali pastry chefs are famous for a variety of sweets flavored with saffron, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Many desserts are made with rice paste, clarified butter, sugar from the sap of date palm or cane. The festive table is not without pantua – sweet balls of semolina and melted butter, deep-fried. Rasgulla cheese rolls filled with thick fruit syrup are served for tea. By the way, in Bengal, it is worth trying the famous masala tea, made from tea leaves and whipped milk with various sets of spices (karkha). Ground ginger, fennel, aniseed, cloves, etc. are added to masala.
.
Not so long ago, Bangladesh invented a unique recipe for seven-colored tea. Gourmets are served a tall transparent glass in which seven different colored layers of the drink, made from several varieties of black and green tea, are clearly visible. Each layer is flavored with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and others. The middle layer contains condensed milk, the bottom layer is flavored with sweet and sour citrus syrup. Each sip of this tea fills the taste buds with new sensations. A cup of this magical drink costs $2.4.
.For a portion of street food in Bengal, vendors ask from 60 Indian rupees ($0.73). However, if you are not familiar with the snacks on offer, it is better to refrain from a quick bite: tasting can end up upsetting a stomach unaccustomed to Indian food. In addition, street food is often prepared in questionable sanitary conditions. Buying bottled water is also not recommended. In local stores, a bottle of mineral water costs an average of 13-18 rupees ($0.16-$0.22).
.In an inexpensive cafe, a modest lunch will cost from 120 to 500 rupees ($1.46-6.10). In a decent restaurant, the bill for lunch for two will be around Rp 1,100-2,500 ($13.42-30.50). Usually in restaurants, food is served buffet style – on large trays that are placed in the center of the table. Guests fill their own plates, choosing what they like.
.In the resorts of the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands, regional cuisine is famous for its delicate seafood. Restaurants offer lobster, crab, shrimp, prawns, cuttlefish, and tuna dishes. There are many cafes with Indian and Chinese food on the beaches, meat grill bars. Average prices in resort restaurants of the islands are comparable to the rates of continental culinary institutions, the cost of main courses – from 2 to 24 $.
.Where to stay
In cities along the shores of the Bay of Bengal, travelers will have no trouble finding shelter and a table. In the huge Kolkata alone, more than 1,000 hotels of various classes await travelers.
Among the best hotels in the city is the luxurious ITC Royal Bengal 5*. The ancient building, built in the business district in the Art Deco style, has 456 rooms, 5 restaurants, swimming pools, saunas, fitness center. Room rates range from $142-214/night, breakfast included.
.Impeccable guest service and comfortable apartments are offered by JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata 5* (157-216 $/day), The Oberoi Grand 5* (125-173 $/day), Hyatt Regency Kolkata 5* (92-131 $/day).
.
Among the mid-priced Calcutta hotels, tourists recommend Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata 3* ($43-83/night), The Senator Hotel 3* ($35-47/night), Ibis Kolkata Rajarhat 3* ($38-48/night), Lynq Aero Boutique Hotel ($44-61/night). At Kolkata Airport, arriving guests are welcomed by Holiday Inn Kolkata Airport 4* ($63-80/day).
.In Kolkata you can find cheaper hotels, for example, Hotel Esteem 3* (25-28 $/day). In the city hostels ask from $17 for a night’s stay.
.
How to get there
Typically, European tourists to the shores of the Bay of Bengal begin their journey from bustling Kolkata, where the international airport is located. Airports in London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt am Main are connected to Kolkata by air. However, passengers have to make a connection in Delhi or Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The flight with waiting for connecting flights will take 13-14 hours, the cost of the ticket – from $ 693.
.
From Kolkata airport, regional jets operate 33 weekly flights to the resorts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The flight over the waters of the gulf lasts 2 hours and 20 minutes and
