Digha is West Bengal's most popular sea resort. Originally known as Beerkul, it is mentioned as the "Brighton of the East" in one of Warren Hasting's letters (1780 AD) to his wife. - In 1923, an English tourist John Frank Smith was charmed by the beauty of Digha and started living here. His writings about Digha slowly gave exposure to this place. After independence, he convinced West Bengal's chief minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy to develop Digha as a beach resort. A small town, Digha is crowded with hotels generally around one main road. Its proximity to Calcutta (187 kms) attracts tourists throughout the year. Digha is a hard beach where one can drive during low tide. The beach is however facing the problem of sea erosion. Bathing is advisable only during the low tide. One can view both sunrise and sunset at Digha sea beach. Digha is one of the most popular tourist sports in West Bengal.The beauty of this place was discovered as early as the days of Warren Hastings. Today’s Digha was known as Beercool at that time. The sea at Digha is calm and shallow for about a mile from the beach making it quite safe for swimming.
New Digha: New Digha is an extension of Digha. It too has several hotels. There is a small park with a lake here.