Searching for offbeat locations for weekend trip, one of my friend came up with the idea of making a trip to Jhargram & all of us agreed instantly. The place is coming up very fast and is constantly being featured in lots of travel groups but as yet it stays a little offbeat & less crowded. Jhargarm in itself has an illustrious history & is quite developed, thanks to Raja Narasingha Malla Deb who really had a big hand in the development of Jhargram. The moment our car found its way to the outskirts of Jhargram, a wave of green, complimented by the rainy season greeted us. The empty roads across the jungle in itself has a big calming effect. By the time we reached our stay, we were hungry for more of that!! We stayed at Kaushalya Heritage(9830634541), which is located just outside the hustle bustle of the Jhargram town & surrounded by forest.The hotel is very well built. I totally loved the wooden furniture's which gives it an old-school charm. But as is,it is a bit ill maintained.The bed-sheets were tainted & the blankets were so dusty,it almost gave me an allergy. But, the food was pretty nice though the service was a bit slow. I guess the staff is not accustomed yet to handle large groups of people. We booked 4 double bedrooms and fortunately one of us were upgraded to a suite because they dint have another double bed room. The suite was pretty big enough for all 9 of us to sit together & dance around!! Also, it came with a attached small room with another bed & dresser. This would be perfect as family room.
As soon as we finished our sumptuous lunch, we set out for soaking in more of Jhargram and its lush greenery. Our driver Sanjay Mahato(9547729095) is nice young guy with extremely reasonable rate. He directly took us to the Kanaka Durga Temple. It looks like a clearing in the forest,there are 2 temples in the premise & a little research told us that the old, almost at the verge of ruin temple building is the original one built in 1348 while the newer version of the temple was built in 1994 by a local activist. Unfortunately, we could not see the deity as the temple was closed, apparently it houses a golden durga idol hence the name "Kanak Durga". A little walk from the temple took us to this dulung river which gushed powered by the incessant rains we presumed. Surrounded by green,the place has its own charm and mysticism. All of us, really really liked the place and were happy to click a few selfies along the way. Oh almost forgot, the place is densely inhabited by monkeys who were ogling at us like we were trespassing on their territory.
Next we headed for the Jhargram Palace. Jhargram Palace is one of the prime attractions of that area.Wikipedia tells us, the dynasty of Jhargram Rajas' dated back to Mughal era. The most influential raja being Raja Narasinga Malla Deb who commissioned the building of the new palace,which dates back to 1931. We weren't allowed to enter the premises but the place looked very interesting & well maintained from the gates. Interestingly, WBTDC in collaboration with the present Raja has built an ecotourism resort right outside the main gates of the Palace. Apparently, a stay in this resorts can get you the permission to enter the palace premises.
Distraught, we decided to have some snacks and tea at the eco-resort's cafeteria. Although the servings were pretty good, the serving time left us disappointed. They took close to 1 hour to serve a simple order of tea and chicken pakoras.
Last place for the day was
Medicinal Plants Garden in Kalaboni. It housed hundred of plants with medicinal properties, each with board listing its benefits. It was nice seeing some unfmiliar plants about which we have mostly read & surprising to see some of the plants we see and hear about everyday to have such heavy duty medicinal benefits. Its sad that they don't sell saplings of these plants which might bring in some revenue that can be used for the up-keep of the place. One thing which was noteworthy was, the cleanliness of the place. Minimalist but clean & well maintained is USP of the place.
After a night of fun adda dancing and debauchery, we set out early next morning,with a long list of places to visit. We started with,
Gurrasini. It houses a small temple and small trek uphills takes you to a view point from where you can see Tarafeni river & an amazing snapshot of the surrounding hills. The trek, a tiny graveled trail with jungle on both side, took a toll on our city lungs & we were left panting & dehydrated by the time we reached the peak but the view refreshed our souls nonetheless. If you are running short of time then you can skip Gurrasini all together.Visiting gurrasini & not taking the trek will make it meaningless.
Next on the list was Ghagra Waterfalls. Located on the tarafeni river & surrounded by jungle on all sides, its a small hilly waterfall with a drop of few feets. On a pleasant cloudy day, you can just sit on the rocks & spend the entire day dipping your legs in the flowing waterfall or take a bath if you're feeling too hot and adventurous.
Next up was a trip to the local zoo. Housing a few emus, monkeys, bears, deer and snakes, its seems more like a private collection than a govt maintained zoo. Though there has been fresh paint all over the place but the security measures didn't look promising & the place can really use a make-over.
The last one for the day was Chilikagarh Palace. The premise open to the public, houses a few temples which were closed when we reached but looked like they were maintained and in use, along with a "bar-mahal" or outside house complimented with numerous small barrack inside the wall. The "bar-mahal" though is presently office of PWD doesn't seem to be well maintained. The smaller part of the palace which is still resided by the Raj family of Chilikagarh is well guarded by high walls is inaccessible to the outsiders.
Came back to our stay, had a nice adda session followed by a sumptuous dinner and a good night's sleep. Next morning we set out for Kolkata with our heart and soul more than content. Though the weekend tour ended too soon but Jhargram did leave its mark on all of us & we plan to go over there again some time. If the political disturbances that kept Jhargram & Jongolmahal aloof for all these years can be solved, Jhargram has the potential to become a major tourist attraction for weekend trips, given its proximity from Kolkata (2hrs by train). We boarded Ispat Express from Howrah to Jhargarm & Steel Express on our way home.
For any other help, do let me know...I'll be more than happy to share any further information I have!!
Happy Journey !! :)
