Golden Beach Puri -- Blue Flag Certified

Blue Flag Certification? What does it mean? Where can we find a Blue Flag Certified beach? How many certified beaches does India have?

Blue Flag Certification is a prestigious eco-label, awarded by Denmark's Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It signifies beaches that meet strict criteria in areas like water quality, environmental management, safety, and environmental education, promoting sustainable coastal tourism.   Blue Flag Certification is given to beaches, marinas, boats and sustainable boating tourism operators worldwide. Ghumakkad recently visited the blue flag certified Golden Beach in Puri, on the east coast of India. 

Worldwide there are more than 5000 blue flag certified beaches with Spain leading the tally with 700+ beaches. India has 12 blue flag certified baches. See the map below.

Sharing below a short picture story of the Golden Beach in Puri. Enjoy the pictures, videos and do plan a trip to Puri. Don't miss the morning magic at the beach.

Here is a short video clip showing the pre-dawn panoramic view of the beach with the surf breaking close by.

Ghumakkad was part of the College Reunion in Puri. See another short video capturing the surf and few batchmates who were early risers at the beach.

Although approaching 75, the winter chill did not deter the 'young' batchmates from plunging into the sea. Short video clip shot by VK for you. Please pardon the camera shake.

Coming out of the sea, cold wind was biting. The teeth started to chatter while I shot the video below. Feel the chill and enjoy.

Beaches tell us to take a pause in life. Pause to reflect, pause to admire Nature. Pause to hear your inner voice.

Cleanliness

Entry to the beach is ticketed and visitors are fined for littering etc. It ensures cleanliness and upkeep of the beach.

Sustainable Coastal Ecosystem

Golden Beach at Puri meets the criteria of sustainable ecosystem. A two-km long walkway along the beach is a treat. With casuarinas to arrest the coastal winds and sand erosion, the walkway has been well conceived and maintained by a Beach Management Committee (BMC). The workers take pride in donning the BMC uniform.

The video below shows the sustaiable ecosystem including the amphitheatre. Whole beach is neat and clean. It can be done in India. Go Puri go!

Environmental Education

The beach has signages which bring out the words of advice from marine environment very imaginatively. See the pictures below.

Safety and First Aid

The beach caters for all safety aspects. There are life guards both male and female on the beach. In fact after kashi and I entered the water and were swimming afar, we heard a whistle. Someone was asking us not to swim. We ignored. This time two people blew their whistles. They were the life guards. We had entered the sea in a non-safe zone unknowingly. We later came to know that the safe zones are marked with a pair of yellow flags. Thankfully they did not fine us for the default. The beach has a proper first aid post.

The deadwood which gets washed ashore on a clean beach is left undisturbed. One such piece looked like a giant crab. See the picture below.

The Golden Beach is not very far from Jagannath temple in Puri. See the map below. We also visited Satapada for dolphin sighting in Chilka lake, which will be another story.

Our earlier story of two Blue flag certified beaches, can be accessed through the links below: Although Ghumakkad has been to four other certified beaches in Lakshadweep, Vizag and Kerala, I did not have digital camera then for posting the corresponding picture stories.

Radhanagar Beach - In Andamans, where the voice of the sea speaks to your soul.

Chandrabhaga Beach  - Picture story with video clips of a Blue Flag awarded beach in India.

Visit to a beach is so rejuvenating. If alone, you can speak to your self and hear your inner voice. If in a group, the whole group gets recharged. So, go ahead and plan a vacation at a beach. If it is blue flag certified, you are assured of the cleanliness and safety.

We end with a quotation by Martin Buber who said 'Solitude is the place of purification'. See the PQ of the beach at Surya Lanka near Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh below.

 Thanks for browsing and stay connected. Do leave a comment, even a word or two will encourage us.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 30th Jan 2026

#BlueFlagCertification #FEEDenmark #Beaches #BlueFlag #SeaBeach #Solitude #Reunion #Odisha #GoldenBeach #Puri #BeachManagementCommittee #GhumakkadHarsh #Ghumakkadhb #environmentaleducation #BITSPilani #196873Batch #Batchmates 

Chandrabhaga Beach - Blue Flag Award

What is Blue Flag Award? Is it for icy mountains or beaches? Who awards the Blue Flag?

Ghumakkad recently visited a Blue Flag certified beach. In fact Asia's first blue flag certified beach in India, it is located in Odisha, 3 kms east of  world famous Konark temple. Called Chandrabhaga Beach, it is indeed a clean beach. Even the cow on the beach seems to follow the discipline as you will notice in the picture story.

What is a Blue Flag?

The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world's most recognized voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. To qualify for the Blue Flag, stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained. Readers may refer to the Foundation for Environmental Education for more details. So far more than 5000 beaches, marinas and tourism boats have received the blue flag award across 50 countries.

We are sharing few pictures and videos taken at Chandrabhaga recently.

Our ace photographer K Gopu is seen walking past the beach. The map below shows the location of the beach in the Bay of Bengal.

The veterans and the spouses surf the net while waiting for the coach.

Here is a short video of the scenic Puri-Konark Marine Drive.

Puri and adjoining areas are dotted with numerous temples some very old and some not so old like the one in the picture below.

As we approach Chandrabhaga, our guide narrates the story of Bali-Sugreeva Yudh in the moving coach captured in the video below.

Chandrabhaga beach is neat and clean with facilities for the visitors. It also has various water sports for the adventurous. See the pictures below.

The beach had strong breeze and those who did not venture into the sea, enjoyed the view like the cow in the frame below. 

Here is a 45-sec video of the beach and the panorama.

Remember the advertisement of a chocolate brand 'Never too old for a chocolate'? Another version of the same tag line below!

One of the qualifications to get the Blue Flag for a beach is sustainability of the cleanliness, accessibility etc. Chandrabhaga has harnessed solar power for lighting not only the street lights but also the toilets and kiosks. And the solar system has been installed by a company in Hyderabad! See the picture below.

Happy Veterans posing for a group shot on a windy beach before moving on to Konark Temple.

Those who love water sports, should keep an hour or two for the beach. They will not be disappointed.

The above visit was part of the Golden Jubilee of Navy Veterans of their Commissioning into the Indian Navy (1972-2022). Other stories of the Golden Jubilee Reunion and associated travel can be browsed by clicking the links below:

Sunset Years to Sunrise - Friends Make the Difference

Meet the Navy Veterans- Intro and pandemic positivity video

Veterans' Choice at Puri Odisha

Trees by A Railway Line 

Next time you are planning a beach holiday, look for the Blue Flag. Is the beach blue flag certified?

More stories of our Reunion will follow. Thanks for browsing and stay connected.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with K Gopu/ Secunderabad/ 29th Nov 2022

#BlueFlag #CleanBeaches #Marinas #ChandrabhagaBeach #Konark #Odisha #Finesand #Surfing #NavyVeterans #Reunion #GoldenJubilee #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #solarpoweredbeachlights