On the last Sunday of February, 6 of us started our journey to Chabimura. From the busy and hectic city life to the soothing jungle, quiet river trek and archeological marvel of Devtamura range.
We took a bus at 6:30 am from Nagerjala bus stand (an interstate bus stand of Agartala) to Amarpur. The bus took us through the towns, villages, paddy fields, curving hilly roads and the jungles of Sipahijala, Bagma and Gomati wildlife sanctuary. It took us more or less 2:30 hours to cover 74 kilometers. Winter was waning and the weather was quite pleasant at that time of the year.
After arriving at Amarpur motorstand we had breakfast (roti sabji and rosogolla), booked a Maruti Eeco and were off to our destination. After some 5 to 10 minutes we crossed the town limits and entered the rural area. The state of the road was horrible, there was no asphalt in sight, broken bits of brick, dirt and dust covered the road. It seemed more of a trail than an actual road.
30 minutes and 8 kilometres later, suddenly the road opened up before us. There were small cottages (Government operated), a large open space, Gomati river, Devtamura range and noukaghat before us. We parked the car and stretched our cramped limbs. Thankfully the bathrooms were in good condition. There were two hotels just beside the 'nouka ghat' where we planned to have lunch. The only food available here are bengali thali and mouthwatering local tribal food. As it was quite early in the morning, there were no other tourists. So we got to book a 'nouka' just for us.
We were strolling lazily through the middle of Gomati. On both sides of the river, Devtamura stands high and proud. You could hear birds' chirping in the jungle above the buzz of the motor. Gentle breeze was blowing, reminding us about the receding winter. Some of the early morning fog still stuck to the upper branches of the jungle.
The 1st part of the rock carvings are on the right side of the river. These huge carvings of gods and goddesses towered above us to a hight of more than 10 feet. According to the archeologists these were carved in 15-16 th century. But these beautiful creations were upgraded as tourist spot in the late 2000's. Except the local tribal people whose livelihood depended on that part of the jungle very few people knew about this place.
The 2nd part was some 20 minutes down the river. This is the largest carving of Chabimura. The huge 'Durga' of about 20 feet height, looks over the highland and its people. Here the boat stops for a few minutes so that you can go up to the idol and click some photos if you want.
All along the way on both sides of the river you will be able to see waterfalls and crevices on the steep walls of Devtamura. On our way back we stopped in front of a relatively large crevice. We left our boat and the boatmen there and walked through the trail made of rocks, mud and bubbling water flowing towards the river. It was so quiet in there. But the silence was not oppressing. Quite the opposite actually. It was full of mystery and the sounds of jungle, wind and waterfalls.
In some places the crevice was so narrow that you have to walk sideways. There were caves that we couldn't go exploring as we were not properly equipped.
We walked through the crevice for quite a while, enjoying the cold water under our feet, calls of birds and other creatures of the jungle, murmuring of trees. We went to the end of the crevice where both sides of the hill met. There was a waterfall there, one of the bigger ones, at the end from where all the water was coming.
Then we went back. Back to the boat and back to the ghat. We had a lunch that was the combination of bengali food and tribal food. Whenever you visit Tripura do remember to ask for 'sutki'/'sidol' (dried fish) bharta or 'gudaak' if you wish to have a taste of local delicacies. After that we were off to our usual messy lives.
The river trek was one of the best I have ever had. Maybe it was because of the company or maybe I was so lucky that nature revealed itself so beautifully that day. Of course, having only a handful of fellow tourists didn't hurt. Either way, it was a trip worth cherishing my whole life.
