The plan was simple – after a long time without any leave,
we wanted to spend some quality time away from the hustle and bustle of the
city life. There were multiple options. Planning to start our trip from
Kolkata, we could’ve gone almost anywhere – to North Bengal and Dooars, Sikkim,
the Sunderbans, and a lot more. We don’t know why we chose unexplored Jharkhand. We wanted to visit a few relatively unknown destinations in Jharkhand – probably
because we expected the Jharkhand travel to be an offbeat trip – but I’m glad that we did. We booked the tickets and reserved the Jharkhand hotels and homestays months before we started. And this Jharkhand road trip turned out to be an amazing one.
It would be an offence not to give due credits to Mr.Rajesh of
LittleWings, who had planned the
Jharkhand travel for us. He had become almost like a
Jharkhand travel guide for me. Whenever he called me up before the trip, he described the Jharkhand travel destinations with amazing details to make me look forward to the journey. And he planned every detail of the trip to perfection.
Our trip started on a Friday night. We boarded the
KriyaYoga Express, formerly known as the Ranchi-Hatia Express, at 10:10 PM and reached Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, at 7:10 AM the next morning. The car was waiting for us outside the station. We had our breakfast at a dhaba close to Ranchi Railway Station and started on our way from
Ranchi to Netarhat.
Netarhat - the Queen of Chhotanagpur
A number of hairpin bends, a sudden dip in the temperature, a few barrel of monkeys and langurs by the roadside, some gushing streams - and we reached
Netarhat. On our
Netarhat travel, the gate to Netarhat welcomed us to this amazing hamlet - often dubbed as
Queen of Chhotanagpur.
We had booked our rooms at
Hotel Prabhat Vihar, Netarhat. This Netarhat hotel is one of the oldest and most renowned lodging options in Netarhat, from the
Jharkhand tourism website.
After taking a bit of rest, we started Netarhat sightseeing with the
Koel View Point, which is located beside the hotel, and its adjacent
Netarhat Pine Forests. We visited the
Netarhat Residential School, also popular as the
Netarhat Awasiya Vidyalaya, and moved forward to the
Magnolia Sunset Point. Netarhat can undoubtedly boast of one of the best sunset views in India.
A Day on the Road - Toward Maromar
The next morning, we started from Netarhat at around 9. Our next destination was
Maromar, a small village deep inside the forests. We had plans of visiting the Lodh Falls on the way. Our driver Sonu warned us that although the Naxalite movements in Jharkhand had faded away significantly over the last few years, the area around
Lodh Falls is still known for insurgent activities. However, we still decided to have look at this amazing waterfall, which is the highest in the state of Jharkhand. Although the amount of water in the falls had dipped during winter, the view was still scintillating. We also visited the
Suga Bandh, where we spent some time listening to the amazing sound of the flowing water.
After having lunch at Mahuadanr and collecting our ration for the night from there (as nothing was supposed to be available at Maromar), we moved forward. The
Maromar Forest Treehouse welcomed us amid the chirping of the birds, with the setting sun spreading its magical rays in the backdrop.
It's a cozy treehouse in the midst of a forest that still retains its virginity. We spent the night there doing almost nothing - just listening to the sounds of the Maromar forest and experiencing nature from close proximity.
Early Morning Journey - Maromar to Betla
Starting early enough next morning, we visited a small waterfall, the
Mirchaiya Falls, and reached Betla with enough time in hand to have our breakfast at
Van Vihar Betla. We had tried to book the Betla Forest Resort and the Betla Treehouse, but couldn't book any room there. So, we were staying at Van Vihar. After around an hour, we started for the
Palamau Forts. Of the two
Palamau Forts, we chose to visit only the Old Palamau Fort, as we were short of time. Besides, the other fort is too dilapidated to visit and is being claimed back by nature. We listened to the history of the place from our guide and then went to the
Kamaldah Talab, a pond filled with lotus flowers where the queen used to bathe.
We returned to the main town to enter the
Betla National Park.
Well, in terms of catching a glimpse of the wild animals, the safari was almost a disaster. We just saw a number of monkeys and gray langurs, herds of deer, a wild cat, and a herd of Indian Gaurs. However, the ambiance at the Betla forest was amazing, as we experienced the nightfall at the forest and our jeep navigated its way through the shadows of the trees.
On Road Again - to McCluskieganj
The next morning, we started for
McCluskieganj. We didn't have the plan of staying at any McCluskieganj hotel. Instead, we had our stay booked at
Rana's Country Cottage McCluskieganj. On the way, we visited
Kechki Sangam, where the rivers Koel and Orga meet.
We reached McCluskieganj, Jharkhand at around 1:30 PM where we received a warm welcome from the owners of Rana's Country Cottage, Mr.Deepak Rana and his wife, Mrs.Rana. By the time we had refreshed ourselves, the delicious lunch in the form of Pulao and vegetable curry was ready.
We had planned to take some rest at McCluskieganj before returning to our daily routine. We spent the whole afternoon roaming around inside the premises of Rana's Country Cottage, McCluskieganj watching the colorful butterflies that thronged the flowers there. The McCluskieganj road just outside the Cottage was great to have a stroll during the afternoon.
The next morning, we went to see the McCluskieganj tourist attractions - the
Dugadugi River,
St.John's Cathedral, and the amazing place where a temple and a mosque stand inside the same compound.
We had the opportunity to spend a quality time with Mr.Rana's mother, the nonagenarian young lady, Smt. KanchanPrabha Devi, who hails from the Royal Family of Agartala, Tripura. She told us about the history of McCluskieganj, its early inhibitors, and about its fading glory.
Back Home
For us, the roads from McCluskieganj led to home. So, we boarded the Shaktipoonj Express from the McCluskieganj Station at around 4 PM and returned to Kolkata the next morning with sweet memories and loads of pictures.
