This wonderful Beach resort which is 45 kms from Chilika Lake and 171 kms from Bhubaneshwar, Gopalpur-on-Sea is a quiet and charming sea resort along the Bay of Bengal. It offers secluded environment and magnificent sun, surf and sand for most of the year. This serene beach must once have been a bustling port as the ruins of j jetty and fort shows present in Gopalpur.
This is one beach resort that has been turned a whole circle. It was once a very small fishing village, but with the advent of the British Raj, it became an important maritime trade centre for the trading between India and Burma. Soon the British started decorating the village thus making it in to a township. Many wealthy families started settling here and made this place a famous summer resort. Gopalpur soon became a bustling trading centre. But after the war there was no revival of business ties with Burma and Gopalpur once again went back to square one, becoming a fishing village.
As the name suggests Gopalpur on sea has an ancient temple of the same name and hence the name of Gopalpur on sea came into being. Slowly after independence the serenity and the beauty of the resort started beckoning the tourists from far and wide, thus giving it a shape of one of the best resorts of India today.
Visiting a fishing village nearby and watching the daily chores of the fisher men and women is as exciting as watching the sunrise from the sea shore. The British have definitely left their impression and walking down the streets give an impression of walking through the old colonial streets. The old light house and the Kalinga beauties, selling the fish, the picturesque sun rise transforming the silver waters into the shades of Golden and having the tasty delicacies of the fish with typical Oriyan curries leaves only the best memories of Gopalpur on Sea.
The only place for excursion from Gopalpur on sea is Taptapani. Taptapani as the name suggests has hot water springs which contain some amount of Sulphur and supposed to have curative prowess. It is situated around 67 kms from the sea town and many devotees throng the place to take a dip considering the waters to be holy.