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Calendar:Riders:
1) Milton Kumar Das with his RE Thunderbird 500
2) Debkumar Paul (Bubun) with his RE Thunderbird 350
3) Jayanta Majumdar with his RE Classic 350
4) Rajib Karmakar with his RE Classic 350
Pillion:
1) Debkumar Mondal (Debu) pillion to Milton
Places of stay:Route:
Kolkata -> Dhulagori/Dhulagarh Toll Plaza (NH 6) -> Kolaghat -> Kharagpur -> NH 60 then NH 5 -> Balasore -> Bhadrak -> turn right at Manguli Chowk (few Kilometres before Cuttack) to merge into NH 42 -> Angul town -> take the left fork to merge into SH 23 from Badakera -> turn right to continue at SH 23 at Hinsaloi -> Check point and entry gate to Tikarpada Forest Range at Pampasar -> continue on SH 23 till Tikarpada. (Total distance is approximately 580 KM)
About Satkosia Tiger Reserve:
Please refer to the link: Satkosia Tiger Reserve
About Dagara:
Dagara is a quaint sea beach at coastal Baliapal block of Balasore district. Although, there is not a single hotel here, there is an Inspection Bunglow with two rooms that can be booked in advance. The beach is relatively unexplored and attracts very few tourists.
The pre-ride story:
Milton and I were planning to make the best use of our holidays when Dol (Mar 23), Holi (Mar 24) and Good Friday (Mar 25) falls on the same week followed by a weekend. We discussed various options and finally thought to give Satkosia Tiger Reserve a try. The plan fit perfectly for a 5 day holiday and we started to get the plan into action. We found out some information from the website WELCOME TO SATKOSIA TIGER RESERVE | HOME PAGEThe Ride- Story
We planned to gather at Dhulagarh at 6:00 AM. All reach by 6.30AM and we started from Dhulagarh at around 6:40 AM. We had all agreed for a breakfast stop at Kolaghat. Upon arriving Kolaghat, we found it was very crowded with tourists going towards Digha. So we continued towards Kharagpur and shortly after that we found a roadside dhaba for our breakfast.
Our next stop for the day was planned for lunch at Baleswar. However, we rode non-stop and reached Baleswar much before our planned time. So we continued, leaving behind Baleswar, Bhadrak, and shortly after, we found a hotel with air conditioning and decided to halt for lunch. It was around 12 Noon. The hot weather was taking a toll on us and we decided to spent some time chilling in the AC. After a good lunch and some rest, we left the hotel at around 2:00 PM and moved on. On the way, we stopped to re-fuel our bikes. Riding under the merciless Sun, we arrived at Manguli Chowk from where we had to take a right turn and merge at NH 42 that leads to Angul. We took some rest and refreshments at Manguli Chowk and moved on.
We arrived at Angul just after the sunset. We had to collect permits from Mr. Sau from here. It took us some time to find his place and complete the formalities. Once the formalities were done, we checked in for the day at Hotel Prasanti located on NH 42. We took couple of AC rooms. The rest of the evening we had adda, food and then retired for the day.
The road conditions throughout the day was excellent.
24th March was Holi. We did some Holi rituals and went to have a good breakfast. In the meanwhile Jayanta da had called and informed us that he has arrived at Baleswar at around 8:30 AM. He started his journey at 4:00 AM.
We checked out of Hotel Prasanti at around 9:00 AM and continued westwards along NH 42 taking a left at Badakera to merge at SH 23. After around 20 KM, we arrived at Pampasar. There were a few stretches of the road between Badakera to Pampasar that was in very bad shape. However, we were glad to see some re-building of the road was in progress too. We took a halt here, only to discover, that, we had been cut off from the digital world. At Pampasar no cell phones had any signal.
Here, it would be worthwhile to mention, that, there is no cell phone connectivity almost in all of Satkosia Tiger Reserve Area. Some pockets in Tikarpada, Airtel connections work but the signal is very weak. Thus, it would be prudent to assume that there will be no cell phone connectivity during the stay at Satkosia.
After completing our formalities related to permit at Pampasar, we entered Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary (North side). Very soon we were riding through the jungles but on freshly built roads. We arrived at Tarava Nature Camp shortly after
Tarava Nature Camp has a few tents and is run by the local villagers. There are around 9 four bedded and two bedded tents. Considering the fact that these tents are local made and the weather in Odisa at this time of the year is too hot and humid, it is really challenging to stay inside them. During the day it is almost impossible to stay within the tents. So, we pulled out the beds and made an arrangement under a big mango tree. Here we felt a little better. The toilet and bathroom facilities are very basic. There was running water though. The villagers are nice and made their best efforts to make us feel comfortable. Around 2:00 PM, Jayanta da, after riding nonstop for 627 KM from his home in Kolkata, reached Tarava Nature Camp and joined us. He faced some difficulty contacting us since there was no phone connectivity here. We had the full team now which made us cheer!!
The weather got cooler after the sunset and made us feel comfortable. We took our bikes out and did some riding through the dark jungle roads. At Purnakote there is a road that leads left towards Chottakei and Tulka. There was limited illuminations as electricity, although available, has its limitations. The full moon compensated it all. Also, we were carrying powerful torches and darkness was no longer a concern. It was an experience of a lifetime to ride the jungle on a full moon night.. In that light we saw the spotted deers, barking deers, wild pigs, sambar and foxes. After riding for a while,realizing the potential risks of venturing further, we returned back to Tarava.
We managed to spend the night at Tarava.
1) Milton Kumar Das with his RE Thunderbird 500
2) Debkumar Paul (Bubun) with his RE Thunderbird 350
3) Jayanta Majumdar with his RE Classic 350
4) Rajib Karmakar with his RE Classic 350
Pillion:
1) Debkumar Mondal (Debu) pillion to Milton
Places of stay:Route:
Kolkata -> Dhulagori/Dhulagarh Toll Plaza (NH 6) -> Kolaghat -> Kharagpur -> NH 60 then NH 5 -> Balasore -> Bhadrak -> turn right at Manguli Chowk (few Kilometres before Cuttack) to merge into NH 42 -> Angul town -> take the left fork to merge into SH 23 from Badakera -> turn right to continue at SH 23 at Hinsaloi -> Check point and entry gate to Tikarpada Forest Range at Pampasar -> continue on SH 23 till Tikarpada. (Total distance is approximately 580 KM)
About Satkosia Tiger Reserve:
Please refer to the link: Satkosia Tiger Reserve
About Dagara:
Dagara is a quaint sea beach at coastal Baliapal block of Balasore district. Although, there is not a single hotel here, there is an Inspection Bunglow with two rooms that can be booked in advance. The beach is relatively unexplored and attracts very few tourists.
The pre-ride story:
Milton and I were planning to make the best use of our holidays when Dol (Mar 23), Holi (Mar 24) and Good Friday (Mar 25) falls on the same week followed by a weekend. We discussed various options and finally thought to give Satkosia Tiger Reserve a try. The plan fit perfectly for a 5 day holiday and we started to get the plan into action. We found out some information from the website WELCOME TO SATKOSIA TIGER RESERVE | HOME PAGEThe Ride- Story
We planned to gather at Dhulagarh at 6:00 AM. All reach by 6.30AM and we started from Dhulagarh at around 6:40 AM. We had all agreed for a breakfast stop at Kolaghat. Upon arriving Kolaghat, we found it was very crowded with tourists going towards Digha. So we continued towards Kharagpur and shortly after that we found a roadside dhaba for our breakfast.
Our next stop for the day was planned for lunch at Baleswar. However, we rode non-stop and reached Baleswar much before our planned time. So we continued, leaving behind Baleswar, Bhadrak, and shortly after, we found a hotel with air conditioning and decided to halt for lunch. It was around 12 Noon. The hot weather was taking a toll on us and we decided to spent some time chilling in the AC. After a good lunch and some rest, we left the hotel at around 2:00 PM and moved on. On the way, we stopped to re-fuel our bikes. Riding under the merciless Sun, we arrived at Manguli Chowk from where we had to take a right turn and merge at NH 42 that leads to Angul. We took some rest and refreshments at Manguli Chowk and moved on.
We arrived at Angul just after the sunset. We had to collect permits from Mr. Sau from here. It took us some time to find his place and complete the formalities. Once the formalities were done, we checked in for the day at Hotel Prasanti located on NH 42. We took couple of AC rooms. The rest of the evening we had adda, food and then retired for the day.
The road conditions throughout the day was excellent.
24th March was Holi. We did some Holi rituals and went to have a good breakfast. In the meanwhile Jayanta da had called and informed us that he has arrived at Baleswar at around 8:30 AM. He started his journey at 4:00 AM.
We checked out of Hotel Prasanti at around 9:00 AM and continued westwards along NH 42 taking a left at Badakera to merge at SH 23. After around 20 KM, we arrived at Pampasar. There were a few stretches of the road between Badakera to Pampasar that was in very bad shape. However, we were glad to see some re-building of the road was in progress too. We took a halt here, only to discover, that, we had been cut off from the digital world. At Pampasar no cell phones had any signal.
Here, it would be worthwhile to mention, that, there is no cell phone connectivity almost in all of Satkosia Tiger Reserve Area. Some pockets in Tikarpada, Airtel connections work but the signal is very weak. Thus, it would be prudent to assume that there will be no cell phone connectivity during the stay at Satkosia.
After completing our formalities related to permit at Pampasar, we entered Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary (North side). Very soon we were riding through the jungles but on freshly built roads. We arrived at Tarava Nature Camp shortly after
Tarava Nature Camp has a few tents and is run by the local villagers. There are around 9 four bedded and two bedded tents. Considering the fact that these tents are local made and the weather in Odisa at this time of the year is too hot and humid, it is really challenging to stay inside them. During the day it is almost impossible to stay within the tents. So, we pulled out the beds and made an arrangement under a big mango tree. Here we felt a little better. The toilet and bathroom facilities are very basic. There was running water though. The villagers are nice and made their best efforts to make us feel comfortable. Around 2:00 PM, Jayanta da, after riding nonstop for 627 KM from his home in Kolkata, reached Tarava Nature Camp and joined us. He faced some difficulty contacting us since there was no phone connectivity here. We had the full team now which made us cheer!!
The weather got cooler after the sunset and made us feel comfortable. We took our bikes out and did some riding through the dark jungle roads. At Purnakote there is a road that leads left towards Chottakei and Tulka. There was limited illuminations as electricity, although available, has its limitations. The full moon compensated it all. Also, we were carrying powerful torches and darkness was no longer a concern. It was an experience of a lifetime to ride the jungle on a full moon night.. In that light we saw the spotted deers, barking deers, wild pigs, sambar and foxes. After riding for a while,realizing the potential risks of venturing further, we returned back to Tarava.
We managed to spend the night at Tarava.
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