| Holy Sagar Island |
Kolkata Tour || Darjeeling Tour || Durga Puja || West Bengal Cuisine || Sagar Island ||
Sunderbans Wildlife || West Bengal Map
Sunderbans Wildlife || West Bengal Map
The Ganges River holds a great religious significance for the Hindus throughout the world. It flows down into the ocean after traversing a long distance from its source of origin. There's an island called Sagar Island which is located at the mouth of the Ganges (called Hooghly in West Bengal). Sagar Island, also called Ganga Sagar and Ganga Sagar Teerth, is located in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The island is a huge mass of land with a total area of 300sq km.
Sagar Island is the place where the ashes of the ancestors of Bhagiratha were purified by the waters of the Ganges. No wonder, the place is regarded a famous religious spot of India and attracts the religiously inclined Hindus from all over the world. The pilgrims to Sagar Island seek mukti (salvation) by taking a bath at the river confluence.
At the Sagar Island, sometime in mid January, a three-day Bathing Festival is celebrated on the occasion of Makar Sakranti. The festival and the accompanying fair attract the second largest congregation of mankind in India after the Kumbh. The Bathing Festival marks the occasion of sun entering Capricorn and celebrates the release of man’s souls.
There’s a beautiful lighthouse and the Temple of Kapil Muni at the place that much add to the tourist appeal of the Sagar Island.
Reaching There
Sagar Island is situated at distance of 150 km away from Kolkata--the state capital. This sacred spot can be reached by boats and ferries that regularly ply between the mainland and the island.
