Re: Off to the less travelled

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Re: Off to the less travelled

After the railway crossing, the road goes through a forest. In these areas, there are a number of small reserved forests occupying a few sq kms. These forests are known to give shelters to the Dalma Elephants who, in search of food, occasionally attack on the nearby villages. News of elephant attacks during the harvest season is common in these areas.

We headed towards the forest with full throttle. The road was smooth with minimum to no traffic.

Just when we were about let ourselves loose in the forest road, a small gathering was noticed. The ongoing 2 wheelers were being stopped for some reason. At first it appeared like a regular police checking, but then we found there were no uniformed officers!! My friend asked me if they were the notorious Maoists collecting some money! I too was thinking in the same line, but decided to see what it was all about. But what we found was a beautiful thing.

A club from a nearby village was organising a blood donation camp, and they were providing Glucose water to the people on two wheelers. Although the weather was not too hot, but the humidity was very high. In such a situation, cool Glucose water was like the elixir from heaven.

They asked us our whereabouts and where we were going, to which we didn't have any concrete answer. One of them suggested us to visit Biharinath Temple. He gladly explained us about the route and what to expect there. We both agreed and decision was taken. An unexpectedly nice hospitality on a day not like any other. Memories are built on such small but beautiful feelings.

Now, the destination was selected, the route was inquired, only the journey was to perform. We gladly moved towards Biharinath.

The Biharinath Temple is situated at the base of the Biharinath hill. It is the highest peak of Bankura District. We were told that we would instantly recognize when we see that. We were not so sure about it though.

When we were approaching Saltora, the hill came into our view. It was clear where we needed to go, but not sure which road was to be taken. We asked for direction, and were shown a road sneaking through a forest. It would be better not to call it a road. It gave us a rare opportunity of Off-roading.

As we were off to the unknown, it was a blessing in disguise. Only I was worried about my tyre. But the thrill to venture in the forest overcame the doubt. So we proceeded towards the Biharinath.

It was the road and the stiff suspension of my ride made me regret for the first time for buying the Duke. Every pothole, every rough sent the impact directly to the spine. It was well understood that Duke was not suited for Off-roading specially with me on its back. My friend on his Fazer was feeling better.

The Off-roading continued for another 5 kms and we found a somewhat better road winding through the forest and hills. The road gave us some thrill as it was the first time we were riding on a hilly road with curves here and there and green forest alongside. It was a surreal experience!

We reached Biharinath in no time.

It was learnt Biharinath Temple is popular among the locals as they offer their pujas and prayer to the god. People kept coming and going in small numbers while we were resting just outside the temple. The temple was a very simple one, but unlike other hindu temples clean and quite. A few locals asked us to shoot photos so that more people became aware of the temple which in turn would increase the number of visitors. We felt honoured by such request.

Re: Off to the less travelled



@itsmridul ji

Re: Off to the less travelled


My Ride Udaan with the Biharinath Hill at the backdrop

Photos at Biharinath Temple
Entrance to the temple




Hill at the back









The temple compound was surprisingly clean





Ancient idol


A rock naturally formed as an Ox.



Can you find your's truely here?


​Fun time!!

Re: Off to the less travelled

It hadn't rained since morning, and the sun was dissipating the clouds. The weather was getting hotter. We were resting under a tree outside the temple and searching for nearby attractions in the google map. Then a small reservoir caught my attention. Baranti Reservoir.

Google maps showed the distance to be around 25 kms, but we found traces of some ridable way leading towards the reservoir. It was going through a small forest on the side if some unknown hill, connecting a village to the reservoir.



We asked a local shopkeeper, he confirmed our guess. He informed us that the road is used by the villagers and it was in good condition for a bike ride. But we needed to be careful in the jungle part. We agreed and moved.

The road to Baranti was more or less in good shape with occasional patch of rough patches. But the jungle part was thrilling. Although the road could be easily identified, few sharp turns and blind angles along with sandy surface made it a tricky ride. (Un)fortunately no trace of elephant horde was visible.



Baranti is an artificially constructed reservoir under the Baranti hill on the river Baranti. It was built to supply water to a large portion of this area where scarcity of water is common. Although the river Damodar crosses the area nearby, due to uneven landscape and higher altitude it was impossible to bring the water of Damodar river through DVC canal. Hence the need to construct a local reservoir. There is a guest house near the reservoir. People looking to spend a day in serenity amidst the forest, hill and water body would surely like this place.

Re: Off to the less travelled

Liked the picturesque...very calm and quite indeed.

Awaiting more, bring it on

ATGATT !!!

Cheers,
WindPacer

Re: Off to the less travelled

Glad that you liked.[emoji2]

Re: Off to the less travelled

The hour hand on the clock had crossed 1 pm and we were yet to take any serious food. Baranti, with all its beauty and calmness was not a place to have some lunch. So we had to find some decent place to keep the burning stomach in control.

From our location it was clear that the famous Garhpanchkot Hill was nearby, so was the Panchet Dam. Since, Garhpanchkot was a popular tourist spot, and few hotels were set up, we were hopeful of getting some tasty food. Though the month of May was not the best time to visit, we kept our fingers crossed and headed towards Garhpanchkot.

The road to Garhpanchkot from Baranti was an uneventful one. The road passed through some villages and finally met with the Asansol Raghunathpur highway. After 1-2 kms, a right turn would lead to the popular spot named Garhpanchkot.

Garhpanchkot was once a thriving capital of the local king. There were a number of temples situated here and there and also in the nearby villages. The demise of the kingdom started when the Maratha Army attacked Bengal. They invaded from the west and attacked this region several times. They set fire on the castle and also on the temples. It was also told that all the seven Queens of the king committed suicide by jumping in a deep well to avoid the invading Maratha Army. All there left was the ruins and the legacy of the people.







Now only one temple is still standing there, at the base of the Garhpanchkot hill. The Indian Archaeology department had started to renovate the sole signature of the once thriving kingdom. The temple with the hill at the backdrop is a major tourist attraction in this area.







We reached there with the hope of some tasty and good food, but only found a snacks shop. They informed us that the nearby hotels offer food on prior order basis. We took some snacks and a bottle of cold drinks. That kept the hunger at bay for some time, till we found some place to take the lunch.

We shot some pictures and moved on.

Re: Off to the less travelled

Thank you. Your valuable motivation and suggestions would help me further in writing travelogues.

Re: Off to the less travelled

Another one from you!
I like the way you bring up the history of Bengal!

Re: Off to the less travelled

Thank you.
Actually I like historical monuments a little bit more than the natural beauty.

Re: Off to the less travelled

Now that the hunger was in control, we decided to go to Panchet Dam. There were two reasons behind it: first, the dam was very near, so it would be stupidity if we didn't visit it. Second, we decided to take a different and direct route to back.

But true to our riding spirit for the day, we decided not to take the highway, rather another road almost touching the base of the hill and through the forest. This road too was less travelled, with minimum traffic. It took us 15-20 minutes to reach Panchet Dam. But it was past 3:30pm with no food, so we were in a hurry.

Panchet Dam is an earthen dam conatructed on the Damodar river. One side of the dam falls in the district of Purulia, the other side the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. In terms of natural beauty or popularity Panchet Dam always stayed second the nearby Maithan Dam. Panchet almost always remain isolated.



Photography was prohibited, so we could not shot as many photos as we would have liked.







After that we came directly to Chirkunda, found a restaurant and ordered some food. My friend was so hungry that he started eating salad as soon as it arrived.

The food was delicious.

Then we started from Chirkunda and rode towards Burdwan through NH2. We just took a 5 min butt break near Panagarh and reached home by 6:30pm. Total odo for the day was 375 kms.



It was a day well spent. Visited some remote temple, rode on some hilly curves, found a reservoir in a jungle surrounded by hills , witnessed some lost glory of a thriving kingdom, sat on a dam that was unique and most of all, felt some unexpected nobility by some unknown villagers. It was a day worth remembering.

I can definitely say it was a day not wasted!!

Well doing the travelling is very important for all the people and wants to refresh the mind once a year's everyone has to do this. When I was studying at the yoohoo academy accreditation they have taken us on the trip once a year but our friends are doing the road trip also spent a good time while ride a bike on wide roads.

Traveling is highly necessary for everyone who wants to renew their minds once a year, and everyone should do it. When I was a student at the Yoohoo Academy of Accreditation, they took us on a vacation once a year, but our friends who were also on the road trip had a great time riding their bikes on broad roads. slope game