Trip to Bawali Farmhouse | Budge Budge | Kolkata Weekend Tours | Weekend Spot near Kolkata
Barely one and a half hours away from the city and a mere 45 to 60 minutes drive from Joka would take you to the Bawali Farmhouse – an ideal getaway spot for picnic or weekends. The Farmhouse is surrounded with thirteen premium cottages, all being distinct from each other. Their Tree House and Mud House are the most popular of the lot!
Their website describes the property as
Spread across 12 bighas of land, Bawali Farmhouse is graced by a pond, a lush green field, too many gardens, a play area, a nursery, a school, rooms for night stay, three tree-house accommodation, a meeting space and lots of greenery.
We started off at around 9 in the morning and after a brief pause at the Princep Ghaat, we finally checked in Bawali Farmhouse at around 11 in the morning. Upon reaching there, we checked in to the Mud House Premium Rooms on the first floor, which we had booked beforehand. Our room was named as Abhisar. Each room had a different name engraved on the wooden key-ring, which gave it a royal specialised touch!
These rooms are described on their website as
Our two premium mud house rooms (Abhisar, Tapo Bhanga) are uniquely designed to give you a feel of traditional Bengalee houses of the last century. Surrounded by trees and with balcony overlooking the garden, these two rooms have four-poster beds, bunk bed, period furniture and modern facilities that are most suited for families who love to stay like the Zamindars.
Facilities
AC family-room (3 beds), reading area, attic seating area, Mini fridge, attached Western Bathroom with bathtub, Geysers, Television, private balcony, Intercom.
Tariff (with complimentary breakfast): Rs. 2900 per night
After checking in, we took a mini tour of the property. It was very quiet and serene, and one must come here to experience nature, away from the hustle-bustle of city life. There are two ponds (where you can go for fishing, catch and release them back in the pond;), a huge playground/field (where we played badminton; you can also get rackets and bats from them), a swimming pool (only night stay guests can use the swimming pool), khela ghor (where children can be occupied with board games and toys; and adults can indulge in carrom board and table tennis), a nursery (where you can buy their saplings and plants), garden and a separate dining area, which serves freshly cooked meals. Meals have to be ordered before-hand, so that they may prepare on-order basis. However, they are coming up with Restaurant pretty soon (we saw it being constructed). We also noticed a small temple in the Farmhouse. Daab(Coconut Water)/narkel (coconut) is also available at Rs.25/- to Rs.30/- per piece.
Lunch was served on banana leafs. Lunch consisted of rice, daal, fries, fish kalia, chicken curry, chutney, papad, mishti, paan. We opted for the “Gharoa Khabar”, where the Fish kalia and Chicken Curry was served in limited portions in earthern bowls, while the rest was unlimited! Chatni consisted of Jalpai er Chatni and the Mishti served was Roshogolla. You can find their complete Menu Here
Review: The rice was a little undercooked as per my liking. At this price, they could have served Basmati rice. Daal and fries were okay, though they were served cold, which ruined the taste! I did not taste Fish kalia, so would not comment on it. The chicken curry/murgir jhol had a potato, which was my saviour. The chicken smelt a little, so I did not like it. I am not a fan of chatni-papad. Mishti was good, so was the paan.
In the evening, we opted for the barbecue by paying some extra money, where we had freshly grilled chicken kebabs by the poolside. We then settled down for our dinner, which consisted of Roti, Chicken Kasha and Salad for Rs.250/-. Again the chicken was just okay-okay. Not the typical jhaal-jhaal-kosha (if you know what I mean). On a short note, food was average, though their hospitality covered the average taste.
They even arranged a bonfire for us on payment of additional charges, which kept us warm and the adda alive upto 2 a.m. It was a full moon night, and the ambiance was splendid!
Breakfast was complimentary the next morning, and we had luchi-alurdom-mishti (again very average for my liking). Tea/Coffee was also served along with the breakfast (which we skipped, since the tea looked watery).
Food served was of moderate quality and was certainly not value for money! The staff was also helpful, but the rooms lack inter-com services. Hence, you need to personally go up to them. They are not very efficient in managing a large crowd, so their services get a tad bit slow.
In case you do not opt for staying there at night, you may also avail Day Picnic at Bawali Farmhouse. The details can be found HERE
Despite their slow services and moderate quality food, I will definitely highlight the best part of visiting the Bawali Farmhouse. The owner runs a charitable society within the campus by imparting education to almost 40 children who are Below Poverty Line. They run on profits that the owner makes from the farmhouse. They are also open for receiving donations in the form of pen, pencil, colouring books, crayons, sketchpens, stationery. We also took clothes/winter wear with us that we wanted to donate, and they happily accepted them. They have a common space where the clothes are kept, and the villagers from the vicinity take them according to their needs.
Overall, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, only since it was an office picnic, and we were a group of 20 people who had fun and made merry! If you want a short break on a weekend, you too can seek refuge here over your books and tea. It was very cold, specially at the night and early in the morning in December, so make sure you are armed accordingly (I carried my thermal wear and socks). For monsoons, make sure you are prepared to stay indoors.
Check IN: 10:30am
Check OUT: 09:30am
Address: Bawali, Village: Khejurtala, District: 24 Pgs (South), Police Station: Nodakhali, West Bengal.
Nearest Railway Station : Budge Budge
Booking: +91 9007035895 (11am to 6pm, Mon – Sat).
Contact Number of Mr. Amitava Bhattacharya : 91327 68985.
Do follow me on Instagram for my Travel Updates. I look forward to hear from you.
Love, Sanandita.
You know already you have convinced me to go there. Such a beautiful place. Can’t wait to go there already.
I love your review. I would like to visit the place. The mud house has really attracted me. 🙂
Love
krishna
You must Krishna di. Even your little man will enjoy the peaceful surroundings and will be closer to nature!
Simplified writing. Loved reading it.
Thank you so much!