Chuka Beach
Yes, it turns out that all these days, Uttar Pradesh had a beach and being a quite, non-touristy spot, it has been in the hiding. We’re talking about the Chuka beach which is located in the Philbit tiger reserve area between the Sharda canal and the Sharda sagar dam.
This, however, is not your regular beach where you can soak up the sun and lay on the sands. It does not have the regular beach sands and a lengthy shore except for a beautiful spread of trees and the recently constructed tree houses from which you can savor the beautiful spread of thick trees around here and spot some animals too if you are lucky. This area, being a tiger reserve, is known for jackals, foxes and some from the big cat lot as well who happen to be regular visitors to the area.
A couple of kilometers of a drive through the rather thick and uninhabited forest leads us to the Chuka beach. It has only recently been turned into a tourist destination with food stalls, tree houses and some temples built around to draw in people and it sure seems to be working well as the number of visitors to this serene and scenic beach has definitely gone up in the last few months.
Where is the Chuka beach?
In the Pilibhit tiger reserve which is located on the outskirts of the town Pilibhit, Chuka beach dwells away quietly. This town is about an hour's drive away from Bareilly and is on the Indo-Nepalese border which makes the weather and the nature here extremely pleasant and beautiful.
Things to do when you are here and around here:
If soaking up all the nature’s untouched beauty is not enough to do, there’s plenty to do around here. Thatched huts (often called as tree houses) have been built by the tourism department and it costs from Rs.1500 to Rs.4000 for a stay in one of these(
here's where you can book them before you get here). While overnight stay may not really be preferred here you can rent them out and spend some time, especially if you are here with a group.
You can also boat in these waters in the recently introduced paddle boats for visitors here by the tourism department. There’s also a canteen around here which you can pay a visit to.
Apart from that, the area being a popular forest reserve, you can go exploring (with the necessary guides) for the spotting of some wild animals including tigers as well at times.
Cuisine on offer:
The food around the area (in many of the small restaurants that are around Pilibhit) is mostly a mix of Indian, Chinese and Indo-western cuisine with the area lying on the border of Nepal.
When to go:
The weather here could get hot in the summers and the monsoons may have some rainfall sometimes, so to have a pleasant visit, the best time to come here is during the months of October through March when the weather is moderate.
Getting there :
Pilibhit is a town that is connected well by trains and buses and one can reach here from many of the surrounding major cities. Once you reach here, a drive down into the beach by a hired cab or your car is the easiest means to getting there.
By air : The nearest airport that connects to the place is New Delhi. This is 8 hours away from the town of Pilibhit by road.
By Train : You can take a train to Pilibhit and get off at the railway station of the town. It is connected to most of the major cities and towns around it including Bareilly, Rampur, New Delhi and Lucknow.
By Road : You can drive to the town of Pilibhit as it happens to be well-connected with reasonably good roads from many of the surrounding cities and towns. You can also take a bus to this town.
Getting around :
You can hire a cab or drive down to the Chuka beach which is located a little into the Pilibhit tiger reserve/forest. Once you are here, walking around gets you to all the places around here that you want to explore.
Where to stay :
A reasonable place to stay in Pilibhit is the Hotel Grand Sharda for which you can book
here. You can also stay in Bareilly, which is just an hour’s drive away from Pilibhit.
Hotel LA and
Krishna Residency are two good places in which you can stay.