This came as a surprise when two of my colleagues asked me to join them on a weekend ( 2 days and 2 nights) bike trip, to the districts of Ganjam and Gajapati. It was a great opportunity as I was eagerly waiting for such trip to explore the places which are divine and are mostly unheard of.
And The journey Begins...
Day 1:
Nirmaljhar:
We started early in the morning (6 AM) . The one-way broad highway road from Bhubaneswar to Brahmapur is always a delight for bike driving. After driving almost about 120 km s, we took a detour towards this place called “Nirmaljhar”. Though it was never on the list, but then again, what’s the benefit of being on a bike trip?
Nirmaljhar (Nirmal = Pure, Jhar = Stream) is a transparent, natural, perennial stream that flows through the Badaghati Mountain of the eastern Ghat. There is a picnic spot near by along with many temples(Jagannath, Vimala, Radhakrishna, Nilakantheswar, Surya Narayan and Ganesh) around it. These temples were built by Balunkeswara Maharaja, the king of khallokote estate in 1700A.D.
It was a quiet
place .We spent some quality time at the
temple where my friends took some snaps around the premises.
TaratariniAdi Shakti Pitha:
The prime destination of our trip on Day 1 was TaratariniAdi Shakti Pitha. To reach
this you need to take a right turn at about 30 KMs before Brahmapur. Located on the Kumari hills at the bank of the
River Rushikulya in Ganjam District, it is worshiped as the Breast Shrine
(SthanaPitha). The road condition was good and the cloudy climate added up to
our delight when we drove uphill towards the temple along with eye-catching
view of river Rushikulya along our
side.
[The Rushikulya
River]
Shakti Pithas are holy abode of Shakti which are
believed to be the places where the body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi fell,
when Shiva carried it and wandered. There are more than 50 Shakti
Pithas in India (some are even there in Pakistan and Bangladesh
too). Out of these, 4 are "Adi Shakti Pithas". Two
of the Adi Shakti Pithas are in Odisha [The other being Maa Bimala(
PadaPitha) at Puri, Odisha].
It was much of our luck that the day we reached,
there was a strike in Odisha for which, the place was not crowded but the
temple was open.
Gopalpur
sea beach:
The journey of the day ended at Brahmapur. We quickly checked in at a hotel in the city and rushed to the Gopalpur sea beach, which is about 15 KMs from the main city. The beach used to be a commercial port once. There is also a lighthouse nearby.We witnessed the magnificent view of the Bay of Bengal and spent the evening there as it marked the end of Day – 1 for us.
Day 2:
Taptapani:
We got up early and started for our next destination. After 56 Kilometers drive from Brahmapur we came across Taptapani, which is a famous hot sulfur water spring. It is situated at the eastern slope of the eastern ghat. After a drive about 8 KMs uphill, we reached here. With green trees on both sides of the roads and chirping sounds of the birds that could be clearly heard in that silence, it made the whole drive really worth. We missed the deer park that is maintained by the forest department as we were short of time for that day as one of my friends had spent ample time, taking photographs.
N.B: When we reached there, we found only reliance
mobile network working at the top.
Chandragiri/Jirang: [Tibet of Odisha]
One place for which I was really excited, and in a way the prime reason for which I decided to come on this trip, was “Chandragiri/Jirang”.
One place for which I was really excited, and in a way the prime reason for which I decided to come on this trip, was “Chandragiri/Jirang”.
It was a shame that being in Odisha, I came to
know about this place 1 year back, when I was not in India and when my brother
had done a bike trip here. That day itself I had decided to visit this place
whenever I will be back.
Jirang is a Tibetan refugee colony present
at south-western hills of Gajapati district, where immigrants from Tibet have
been rehabilitated since their migration in 1963.
I was driving along many small villages, and was
exploring the greenery, cattle on the roads, small kids coming out of the
schools for mid-day meal, as it was lunch time.
Reaching there was like opening a gift, wrapped in many layers. With
each kilometer we travelled we felt the existence of the Tibetan Colony. On our
way we found their prayer flags, rocks with messages on them, written in Tibetan
language, and the glimpse of the huge Monastery and Stupas visible from a distance.
The feeling was something else.
Finally we reached there. I was really amazed by
seeing the way they have made the place heaven. They were given a land by the Govt. and they
have converted it into a really beautiful place. They grow all sorts of vegetables there .We
saw monks on the field, with their cattle. It was like suddenly getting into a
completely different country after travelling across many small Indian villages.
There is a big monastery built where the monks live.
After spending much time at the Monastery taking
photographs, we felt really hungry and realized that we had not planned for our
lunch and it seemed hard to get anything to eat. But to our surprise the
canteen inside the Monastery was open and they served us with hot veg Chow mein.
They were really humble and welcoming.
It is indeed the Tibet
of Odisha.
It was almost
the end of our trip and we had to return to Brahmapur the same evening. Still
we took another detour to a small river and waterfall nearby at Khasada.
We travelled
about 650 KMs (Round trip) to explore these beautiful places. It was the
longest road trip I had and will cherish it for life.
How to Reach:
·
Brahmapur is located at a distance of 171 KMs from Bhubaneswar and well connected via NH-5.
·
Gopalpur is at 15
KMs distance from Brahmapur by road.
·
The
distance of Taptapani is 56 KMs from the city and for rest of
the destinations ahead (Chandragiri/Jirang), it would be good if you have GPS.
Take my
suggestion, don’t use the GPS. Ask the people you meet on the road and enjoy
the Road trip as it should be.
