Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Log Approved.

Keep it flowing.
Cheers!
VJ

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Thanks for the quick approval sir. As mentioned earlier, this is not about a very long trip but a rather 'small' one. Approx. 130 km.s one side. But, I'm sure this
place is literally unexplored in this forum. In fact there are very few travologues about west Bengal. It's a place called Hemnagar in Sunderbans(West Bengal).
This place is not a very talked about tourist destination but is rather a very calm feel about itself. This is also the last human inhibited place after which the
Sunderbans Tiger Reserve(World Heritage Site) starts. As I had a leave for three days, I decided to go for a short outing. I had several rides to Hingalganj
where my in-laws stay. So, I decided to go a little further. In fact this was the farthest you could go on a bike. My journey started at 7:00 in the morning 26th
October. Had planned to leave early but if you have a lady as your travel companion, you are bound to be late. I also had to tie up one bag full of luggage
apart from stuffing in things in my saddle bag. All these made up for a good 15-16 kgs. Oh, I forgot to mention that I did this ride on 'My Little Tourer' - my
SS125. My trusted friend for the last two years. The pictures were taken from my Xperia L and Sony HX10V.



Though the total distance is around 130 km.s, one needs anything between 4-4.5 hours to get there. This route includes 2 ferries. The frequency of the ferries
depends on a number of factors like tide, number of cars to be ferried, weather to name a few. There are two routes one can reach Hemnagar. I took the one
shown in the map. Being a Sunday morning, it took us around 2.5 hr.s to reach Hasnabad via Barasat(Taki Road - SH 2). A few shots from the SH 2 ferry connecting Hasnabad to the other side of the river. You can also take the help of boats but I choose the ferry as I found it safer. Note the condition of the approach road to the ferry!

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

I loved the pic with the net..... proper timing.. was trying to click that kind for a long time..

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

There are literally no threads dealing with that area on the forum. This is special, bring it on..

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Excellent !!! Let's ride together sometime

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Surely. In fact I'm planning for another ride with few of my colleagues.

Thanks friends for the encouragement.
Hasnabad is a border town(with Bangladesh) and also the last significant town in the area. Vigil is very high. Anyone traveling to that area is advised to keep at least one photo ID proof so that that can be showed to the BSF. After crossing the Ichhamati river, it's a 15 odd km.s ride to Hingalganj - a small sleepy place of around 5 sq. km.s. Road is not wide but save 1 km., is a pleasure to ride.
Right at the intersection of the Hasnabad-Hingalganj road and Hingalganj-Lebukhali road, there is small shop that sells sweets, puri etc. Whenever
I manage to go there, I eat in the same shop due to the quality. From Hingalganj to Lebukhali, it's a 14 km. butter-smooth road. Apart from a few shanties or a few village markets you are surrounded by lush green paddy or mustard(during winter) fields. Both these roads run almost parallel to India-Bangladesh border. One doesn't expect such good roads at that remote place. Trust me, as a biker, you can't ask for more!
Lebukhali is the last place till where Bus services are available. After that, you have to take another ferry to go to Hemnagar. The ferry services are available only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday(Rs. 50). Boat services are available on all days of the week(Rs. 10).



I took off the helmet only while taking clicks or on the ferry. I'd not suggest anyone to ride without a helmet in an unfamiliar territory.

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

good pics..
Keep riding ... (Y)

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

After crossing the river, there is Dulduli-Hemnagar road(21.2 km.s) at the end of which was our destination - Hemnagar. This is the farthest you can go on any wheeled vehicle in this part of India. The road ends exactly by the bank of river Raymangal. On the other side of the river, the World Heritage Site of Sunderbans started. It was also declared a Biosphere Reserve in the year 1989.
If you expect too much here, you'll be disappointed. Not much to see except the Mangrove forest. But, if you want to be in nature's lap, far from the mad city, this calm place gives you time and scope to explore your inner being. During my visit, it was high tide and the tress were submerged in water. I could see the other side of the river from distance but due to time crunch, a visit was not possible (yes,the local fishermen take tourists on country boats to have a feel of the forest). But not to the interiors. They go inside to collect honey,wood,fish etc. and sometimes have to bear with the loss of one of the companions - due to tiger/crocodile attacks. Life is really tough here. You realize how lucky we are as compared to the people living here. These people spend their entire life struggling - still they have to depend on fate to survive.
There are only two guest houses. I got the phone number for the government one. Anyone who wants to visit and stay there, can PM me for the number.
After staying there foe some time, it was time to return and that was the toughest part of our journey. Return journey was uneventful. Had to push my bike to around 85 kmph for a few minutes as rain was catching up!
Reached my in-laws home within an hour and stayed there for one more day.
Last part to be concluded. A few shots .......

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Thanks a lot!

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Nice pictures and a congrats on your first T-log sir.

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Thanks a ton Parth!

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Thanks Sandeep..

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Thanks a lot!

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Here's a link to a short video at Hemnagar Jetty.

Re: My ride to Hemngar, Sunderbans - Where Forest Meets The Rivers.

Some words about how my bike performed. Yamaha is a little low on FE - it's a proven fact. I got around 45 kmpl during the entire journey. As I've earlier mentioned, me and my wife travelled together. Also, there were luggages weighing around 15-16 kgs. And I had to ride in 1st gear in higher RPMs while boarding or deboarding a ferry. Some streches made me change gears frequently. That might be the reason. But, never ever did the engine overheat or the bike complain about anything else. The ride felt smooth and comfortable. The shock absorbers did a fantastic job. Neither of us had any complaints about back pain/sore body. The seat and suspension are real gems in SS125.
A word or two about the biking demography. Almost 60% of all the two wheelers after Hasnabad is from Hero. Some are from Bajaj. Then TVS. Honda,Yamaha and Suzuki has surprisingly low presence there. As far as I could judge, the top 5 two-wheelers were(in numbers),
1. Super Splendor
2. Glamour
3. Discover(100/125)
4. P135/150
5. Apache 160
There are small garages and puncture repairing shops every 3-4 km.s. But, still, I'd advice anyone who wants to ride at that part to take small repairing kits. Specially a portable foot pump and one spare tube.
That's all. Hope I have given you some insights about that place. Anyone interested in going there can PM me and I'll be more than happy to help with whatever I know. But, one thing is sure - you'l not repent going there. It's worth the effort.
Thanks again for reading!