Madhya Pradesh Tour

In the month of May 2010 we (Me Biswarup, Joydeep Da & Shambo) gone for a trek from Uttarey to Goecha La. But for our bad fortune & worst weather condition for continuous 4 days & some other non environmental hazards we have to decline from the trek.

However, most of it is on luck. But still I have time coz I got plenty of days in my hand from my applied leave from office. So me & Joydeep da decided to use it, & we are desperate. We decide to go to MP. So we back to home, drop the Rucksack & pack the Napsack , & at the same day we catch the Mumbai via Allahabad mail. We try for a Tatkal reservation but alas. So we grab the General compartment. Poooff.... is a big experience (the train journey). Some how, the Army guys allow us to seat with them. At around 2300 hours we reached Jabalpur station. Leaving the station we manage to grab an Auto-Rickshaw & take a hotel near Bus Stand for Rs: 300/- per day. We ware tired like anything, so we have some dinner & then flat.

Next morning we set a rough plan for the trip. We decide to cover Marvel rocks/Bhera Ghat, Kanha, Bandhabgarh & Khajuraho in 6 days. So on that day go for Dhuandhar falls & Marvel rocks/Bhera Ghat in Jabalpur. They are not so fur from each other. Dhuandhar is a big fall r by Narmada river. Smoke or Dhua is coming out of is cause of the huge water fall from the top. That's why it's called Dhuandhar. The local crowd gather there in the afternoon.The Marvel Rocks are really marvalous! Variety of colours of the rocks are really amaizing. All you have to do is grab a boat & seat on it. There will be a guide who will show you the rocks formations in some humorous way with his self made poems. Remember, the river Narmada is quite deep & there are crocks or Magar in the river. So keep it in mind & don't try to touch the water with your hands or feet. One more thing about Jabalpur. Always carry a wet towel or Gaamchha while you are travelling in & around Jabalpur. The Mid Day Sun is horrible. The 'Loo' or Heat wave could be a main reason for sunstroke. So keep your self cool & in shade. At evening we reserve 2 tickets for Kanha for the first morning bus.

Next morning at 7000 hours our bus starts from Jabalpur. The road was nice. Some part of the road ware hilly. By crossing urban villages & some really remote village areas we reached to Kanha near about 1200 hours. The bus stopped in front of Motel Chandan. We negotiate with the manager & drop the charge from 900/- to 400/-, (may be coz of the summer when there are less customer). The rooms ware quite good, with cooler, clean bathroom & beautiful decoration. You can get a better luxury at Mogli resort for 2500/- per day. May be the summer is a hard time for traveling, but in jungle Summer is the best time to watch wildlife from more closer
distance. Because the grasses became smaller in this time, so you can spot them easily. There are 2 safari times in the park in summer time. First one is at 4000 hours - 8000 hours and second one is at 1500 hours to 1800 hours. Morning time jeep fair Rs:2500/- & evening is Rs:1500/-. Rs: 260/- vehicle charge for entering inside national park is additional.

The jungle of Kanha, it's a plce that you can't stop yourself to fall in love with. The scent, the ambience, the sound, the greenery of this place is awesome. There are almost 30,000 spoted deer in Kanha National Park. That's why you will see them in a huge quantity.The Jungle span is almost 940 square km. MAximum trees are Shaal. A guide will go with your jeep from the entry check point. We are lucky to get Bablu, our driver from Motel Chandan. He knows about the jungle a lot. We did the evening safary which day we arive there. Next day we do the morning safari, & that is when we have the honour to see the majestic animal, a male Tiger. We have to ride on elephant to see him. At that day we walk through a path trail near the jungle.

The food quality of Motel Chandan was really awesome. Specially the Malai Kofta. Thank to God I did not loose my fingers :). However, after lunch we leave Kanha. We realise that Bandhabgarh is not possible within this time span. So we decided to go to Amarkantak. So, we came to Jabalpur & ride on a bus to Amarkantak. At the midnight we reached to Amarkantak, and alas.... we feel like in the middle of no where! The power is off, it was total darkness in the whole area.
Some how we manage to take shelter in a Gurdwara. Thanks to that old humble Punjabi guy. In the morning we took a auto-rickshow & saw some temple around the place. In the rainy season the rain water nurish the rivers, but in summer time they all are bone dry. The ancient temple of River Narmada was not so fur, nor the new temple of Narmada too. We spent the evening in the temple & then come to our Gurdwara. Now it's time to pack up our back pack & return to Kolkata.

* There is a handicraft store in front of Motel Chandan. If anybody want to buy some collectibles or souvenir, this shop could help them.

* I bought a jar of honey from a tribal from Amarkantak. The honey is really good & take it 1 spoon every morning throughout the winter.

*In Jabalpur if you give someone a currency note half departed & half newspaper cutting, he will take it gladly (you don't believe me!? then go & check it yourself).






Market near Dhuadhaar falls, Jabalpur.


Dhuadhaar falls, Jabalpur




Marvel Rocks/Bhedaghaat, Jabalpur, MP

Entry of Kanha National Park


Jungle entry gate of Kanha National Park


Gaur at Kanha National Park


Wild bore at Kanha National Park


Male spotted deer at Kanha National Park


Male tiger at Kanha National Park


Indian Roller at Kanha National Park


Pack of Jungle Dog or Dhaul at Kanha National Park


Termite nest in Kanha National Park


We stayed in Motel Chandan outside Kanha National Park


Old Narmada Temple at Amarkantak


Sun setting at Amarkantak

Trip to Mataburu - Purulia

Trip to Mataburu - Purulia

PURULIA-BARABHUM-MATABURU-CHORIDA-PAKHIPAHAR

Mataburu On Mataburu Mahua flower Mask industry of Chorida village

Horn bill Green Bee Eater Pakhi Pahar On 25th Jan 2009 we 3 (Biswarup, Amolendu, Indra) make a trip to Purulia. At 24th Jan we catch Chakradhar Pur Fast Passenger from Howrah at 2305 hour. It was huge delayed to reach Barabhum. From there we catch a trekker van & reached Mataburu forest office at almost 1030 hour. We preplanned to stay at Jagabandhu's hut. So, we drop our backpacks there & after having some food we went for a hike to Mataburu hill top.

Its a nice view from the hill top. Anyone can easily reach there. A temple is there on the hill top of Mataburu. After the hike, we came back to our shelter for fresh up & lunch. In the evening we gone for Chorida village. Its famous for making the masks of Chhou dance. After a long walk, we return to our shelter at 2000 hour.

Next mornig we move to the Pakhi Pahar. A flock of birds are painted on the Pakhi Pahar. We desided to hike around the hill & return to our shelter after crossing 2 hills whish was at the side of Pakhi pahar. By asking some local people for the rout we start our hike. Some told to not to go through the way, coz there is no any rout. But we go on. After crossing 2 hills we saw another one in front, & we were so thirsty that we deside to return from the same way that we came through. And so we came down to Pakhi pahar again. But it was a huge fun & a pinch of adventure was there.

However, on the way we saw a peacock. There you can see a plenty of beautiful birds. In a nutshel, its a good place to spend 2-3 holidays over there. We stayed at Jagabondhu's hut & it bills only 350/- for 3 of us including shelter, tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner everything. His bro Manasanta is a 18 year old boy & a great cook.

At 1630 hour we say goodbye to Mataburu & take a bus to Barabhum. From there we catch the train &at 27th Jan at around 0600 hour we reached to Kolkata.