This was the short trip we have been planning for a long time, and by long I literally mean for years. Sounds odd but thats true. I'm from Kolkata and I'll start my long awaiting journey to Purulia. We went there by train people can also use car to reach there but its a long way so I personally would prefer train. It was a howrah puri special train at 12:50pm from HWH junction. We reached there at around 6:00pm. If you're planning to go by train make sure to buy ticket prior to journey date. That day we reached Purulia and went to Baghmundi via car it wasnt a long way but that was just for that night as it was already late. We reached the hotel at around 7:30 then we went out for local sightseeing. The main attraction of Baghmundi is mask making for the Chhau Dance. Lots of mask and little mask shops were there. It was a great experience while Interacting with them we got to know a lot about there culture and all about the mask making.
Today we will leave for Baranti. But before that we went for Ajodhya hill. There were so many places to see and the weather was bright and the sun looked so beautiful. We started our journey that day with Turga dam. It was a big dam and was empty but with a crystal clear water. It was so beautiful there we spend few minutes there and then went to our next spot that is Bamni falls. It was a long way down to the falls. We had to trek for more than 600 stairs up and down to reach there but it was so worth it. You'll feel the joy once you reach there. It was a great experience in that bright sunny day but make sure you're healthy or else there's a chance for getting sick due to the weather. After that we went to see the Marble Lake it was again very beautiful and the breeze was so cool and enjoyed ourselves there for a while and then we went to see the Upper and Lower dam. There was really a great difference we could feel in upper and lower dam. Upper dam was very large while lower dam was offlimits and relatively smaller than upper dam. We then went for Mayur Pahar ("Peacock hill"). This hill is named like that because of its shape. We then went to Durga Mandir. Guys there are so many small places to see and if you guys wanna see everything I would suggest you guys to start your journey as early as possible. We started our Ajodhya hill trip at around 8 in the morning and we finished it at 6 during the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset we saw from Baranti. After visiting Ajodhya hill we went to Baranti. We stayed at the most famous and first resort there, Lake View Resort. Okay I'm saying this again guys this is a trip you need to prepare beforehand because trust me rooms there are not very easy to get we were lucky enough that we got it but you have to book atleast a month before the trip. That day after watching sunset we called it a day and then we went in the resort and had dinner and we were off to bed.
Okay to begin with this day was a mess. We started our journey without knowning anything like from where we will start and where are we gonna end. Anyways we started our Baranti day with Garhpanchkot. Its a very famous place to begin with because of its history and the temple. "Garh" means Fort, "Panch" means Five, "Kot" means Living Together. This place has got an history of Five tribal clans who lived together under one ruler before the war. After that we went to JayChandi Pahar, this place is famous for again the trek. We had to climb up the mountain using stairs as there was no other option, there were 510 + 510 stairs up and down and was quite inclined. But once you start and make your mind set that you gonna make it, it'll be easy and fun. We went there gave puja and then sat there for a while and came down and went to a Shiv temple. After that we went back to the resort to had lunch and took few minutes rest to start the second part of our day.
After having lunch we again started our journey and went to Kalyaneshwari Temple in Asansol. That was quite an off the route plan and sudden as well, thanks to our driver who cooperated with us. It was a very old and peaceful place. But that day it was relatively crowded as there was a marriage going on. We went in again gave our offerings and then went to Maithon to see the Maithon dam again quite an off the route plan its obviously optional but it'll be so much fun if you go there. There was nothing much to see but it was fun as the weather in Maithon was so good completely different from what we were experiencing in Baranti. After that we stopped to have some tea from those local tea shops and called it a day.
Next day we were just killing time by going here and there locally, we also went for morning walk on that bridge in front of our resort. Our returning train was on that day at 3:40pm from Purulia Junction. It was short but a great experience. To be honest march is not the month for Purulia as its killing hot there also with very less humidity. If you wanna go to Purulia the best time would be December or January. This trip is the best to clear your mind and brain from daily life and schedule. We had our detour after that year long Covid situation. We saw the sunrise and the sunset and then we rested a lot that day after that we had lunch and went out from our resort at around 1:00pm to reach the station. Then we reached howrah at around 9:15pm. Train was at right time so it wasn't a problem and then we came home and that was all.
Thank you.
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Xoxo.
