01
Baliara
The seaward edge. Open beach, casuarina, and the wind that never quite stops.
The island · South 24 Parganas
Mousuni Island Travel guide: Baliara beach, four villages and the delta, mapped
An island at the edge of the bay, where the Muri Ganga and the Chinai let go of the mainland.
- Villages
- 4
- Open beach
- 4.5 km
- From Kolkata
- 120 km
At a glance
Nine square kilometres of silt, salt and paddy. Two rivers let go of the mainland here, and what is left of them runs straight into the Bay of Bengal.
- 01of island
- 9km²
- 02villages
- 4
- 03of open beach
- 4.5km
- 04rivers, one bay
- 2
The island, from above
Kolkata to the bay
The delta
South of Kolkata the land breaks into islands, creeks and tide-flats. Mousuni is very nearly the last of them before the open sea.
Map: Natural Earth · village positions approximate
The island
Four villages,
one long beach
Mousuni sits where the Muri Ganga and the Chinai let go of the mainland. It is nine square kilometres of silt, salt and paddy, and it empties straight into the Bay of Bengal.
02
Kusumtala
Paddy, betel groves and brick paths. The island's quiet middle, where we are.
03
Bagdanga
The river side. Country boats come and go with the tide, and the whole village knows before you do.
04
Kakramarir Chor
A sandbar an hour out by boat, populated entirely by birds.
A day here
The island keeps its own time
The tide, the boats and the light set the hours on Mousuni. Four of the moments the day turns on.
Twice a day01
Low tide
The bay pulls back and leaves the beach wide, wet and mirrored. You can walk out further than seems sensible.
First light02
The boats
The river side wakes first. Fishing boats push off in the half-light while the island is still the colour of ash and rose.
Evening03
The sun going down
No buildings in the way, just the bay. Most evenings everyone on the beach simply stops and watches.
After the bonfire04
The dark
No town glow for miles. Once the fire has burned down, the stars come out properly.
SiltSaltPaddyTideCasuarinaWindBoatsBirds
SiltSaltPaddyTideCasuarinaWindBoatsBirds
Come and see it