Found the Hidden Diamonds from Coal

Generally most of the people who loves to travel think of travelling high budget, distant places irrespective of their specialities. They consider that travelling to those places means getting full satisfaction and making their dream come true. In other words I want to say that they consider big things only provide full satisfaction and small things are of no use. It means far away and high budget places are superior to those of nearer, low cost places. But if you love to travel by Heart then you will get satisfaction from all types of places. Generally people consider traveling to Kashmir in India or foreign places are worth than travelling to nearer places which may also provide scenic beauties similar to those places. For instance, Gurudongmar lake in Sikkim is alternate to Ladakh in Kashmir. But both of these places have something unique things to offer which are not comparable at all.In nutshell,every places around the world have something unique to offer which are not comparable at all.

So in this story I would like to introduce a well known city in a new way & that city is Dhanbad in the state of Jharkhand which is known as Coal capital of India. Here I would like to introduce some beautiful places about which hardly any people knows about and forms Golden triangle of Dhanbad. Recently I saw a travel vlog from youtube which inspired me to visit this places and it canbe completed in 1 day if you live in Kolkata,Hooghly,Bardhaman stretch. So my journey started on 20th July 2024, I boarded Shatabdi Express(Howrah-Dhanbad) at 06:05 AM & reaches Dhanbad at 9:30 AM same day. But I stayed for that day in my relative’s house and came back to Kolkata(Hometown) the very next day by Coalfield express which departs from Dhanbad at 05:50 AM and reaches Howrah at 10:30 AM same day. I would like to discuss tour details later in this story but before that I would like to introduce some of the beautiful places in and around Dhanbad.

Which places to visit

1. Bhatinda waterfalls- this place consists of cascading waterfalls which looks beautiful during monsoon season. This is a 3 tier waterfall. It is located at around 20 KM from Dhanbad railway station. The roads are very narrow. But here I got to see the waterfall in good force due to monsoon season. The falls are surrounded by enormous boulders of rock. It is formed from Damodar river which comes from the east. Here the rocks are inclined at an angle of 12 degrees to the river current.It is a good place for people who enjoy scenic beauty and interested in photography.

Bhatinda waterfalls

2. Topchachi lake- It is a lake surrounded by Parasnath mountains. The mountains are green in colors and beauty cannot be described in words. The lake was very small and on one side dam is constructed to regulate the flow of water.

Topchachi Lake

3. Usri waterfalls- This place also consists of beautiful waterfall, it falls under Giridh district. The place is surrounded by huge rocks, and anyone can fall down and get injured. It is also surrounded by dense forests. It a tributary of the Barakar River.

Usri waterfalls

Thus all the places are unique and beautiful in their own ways. I suggest to those who visit Dhanbad must visit all these places to experience scenic beauty. In short, these places are considered as Golden Triangle of Dhanbad. These places are also known as Hidden gems in the coal city. You can cover waterfalls, mountains and rivers in one day.

I really loved the places and like to visit again. As I have my relative’s house in Dhanbad, so I stayed there for one night and travelled by their car.

Best time to visit

This place should be visited during peak monsoon and that is from the month of July to September to experience the beauty of waterfall in full force.

How to visit

If you live in Kolkata/Hooghly/Bardhhaman you can board Howrah Ranchi Shatabdi express at 6 AM from Howrah. It stops in Durgapur, Asansol before stopping at Dhanbad. So those living outside Kolkata may board from their nearest stoppage. It reaches Dhanbad by 9:30 AM.

After getting down at railway station, you will get plenty of cars(both 4 & 3 whellers). You have to bargain with drivers as they charge high prices initially. The greatest disadvantage is that here you will not get shared vehicles ,you have to book the whole vehicle even if you travel alone. If you want to reduce cost you have to go with a person having own income/capacity to pay then cost can be shared. I mean you cannot share the vehicle with any unknown party, and thus increases the cost unnecessarily.

The booked vehicle will take you to all the 3 places mentioned above. If you want you can come back to your destination on same day, then board Ranchi to Howrah Shatabdi express which leaves from Dhanbad at 05:40 PM and reaches Howrah at 09:30 PM of same day.

Greatest advantage of this trip is that you can complete the whole trip in 1 day if you live in Kolkata,Bardhaman,Hoogly stretch. This will help to save your hotel cost,office leaves & time.

For both up and down journey, Howrah Ranchi Shatabdi express is preferable if you prefer 1 day trip. If you stay for 2 days then you can visit Maithon dam by the same vehicle. You cannot cover Maithon dam with above mentioned places in 1 day as it lies in totally opposite direction.

If you have your relative’s house then you are enjoying a great advantage of visiting the place in low cost like me.

Memory