Highway to Phulbani

Day-2

An impromptu plan, and we were off to Phulbani. We called up a contact in Phulbani who promised us there's lot more than Daringbadi to see in Phulbani, 4 waterfalls to be precise 😀. Being a crab 🦀 ( Cancerian) water attracts me more than anything else and with nothing more to see in Daringbadi( Hill view and nature park to be visited next time) the course was set.

We started for Phulbani around 12:30 Pm, on a road which was best part of this journey SH-1, with huge trees 🌲 on both sides of the road, pitch black roads with painted white stripes, autumn 🍂 leaves on the black canvas each turn was no less than a scenery. There was a stupid grin on my face while I was riding most of the time, and I fell in love with Odisha again, this time the roads, a 100kms full of beauty. I seriously forgot to take my camera out and click some pics of this road😑☹️.

We reached around 3pm in Phulbani and were prompted by google to try a restaurant nearby called Cooks. Phulbani is relatively  a better town, with good wide roads, cleanliness and almost every important thing can be found on the main road. All we needed after a good ride was some good food 🥘 and Cooks didn't disappointed us in that. He also gave suggestions about Hotels, places to visit and also about an android app called "Kandhamal", which contains all the info you need.

Rice, Dal, Roti, Panner and Mushroom

Dessert 🍨, you lovely sweet poison

We called up our contact who also suggested to stay at Hotel Dreamland. It has parking area like a cave with an animated plane on top of the building. The rooms were cheap and decent too, plus who gives unlimited wifi on ₹500 per day 😆.

Before Google Maps 

We met our contact Mr. Akhil Senapati, owner of Aakash Photo studio to plan further. He advised us to visit Maa Barala Devi temple along with  Pilasalunki Dam which round about 15kms from the town.These were starting of the bumpy roads ☹️, we got a bit late in reaching and it was almost sunset 🌅, , this Dam reminded me of Pitamahal Dam in Rourkela, with similar mountains surrounding this Dam.

Pilasalunki Dam

Bad images jinx started 😟

On the way to phulbani we stopped for some snacks " Vada" in particular as they say " Bara pratek odia ra durbalata 😆" ( Vada, weakness of every odia) add guguni too 😋 to this list.

Dinner time was pretty much relaxing with some music 🎶 and online research about the places nearby. I would have slept early but I can't sleep immediately when I hit the bed unlike Udipt, added his snores are no less than sound of a Bass trumpets 🎺, I heard from people that I snore too but this is brutal, I should Sleep first 😩.


Day- 3

Woke up around 5 in the morning but decided it was still early to go out. How does one start and day without a cup of Tea ☕️ ? Plus we needed a bit of confirmation on the routes. We tried the old fashioned way of asking peoples for directions instead of googling, thing is I wanted to hear the cliched dialog every odia says when you ask for directions " hmm... apana gote kama karantu.... ) 😆"( hmm.. do one thing... ).

Putudi waterfalls is around 15kms from Phulbani you take a right turn after 9kms from the main city   , do watch out for sign boards. From this turn our DANGAL with the roads started, if you hum a tune it shall come out in classical voice for sure but we were not complaining, for I knew there would absolutely be no crowd there in waterfalls. The view to the falls was great with River Salunki flowing by, sun rising up on that side, riding a bull up the ghats, I was expecting something good again.

Entry gates to Putudi were in poor state, picnic had taken a toll on this place, the Stairs, the view point, many broken Alcohol bottles with plastics can be seen all over, but the view was awesome from there. We heard many stories before, a word of caution actually from the locals before coming that one should be disrespectful towards this place, avoid intoxication if planning to go near the falls or better don't go at all. There has been many cases of people being killed in this waterfalls, a word of caution for everyone who loves to explore these kind of new places, don't mess with forces of Nature,  calculating risk is fine which we did when we did a small trek to the falls below but I wouldn't have done so during monsoon season which would have been plain idiotic.

Small trek video

Lighting was not proper, I did took some shots but not worth it, wasn't happy at all. The sun ☀️ was away and dull lighting conditions weren't making a merry of a scene for Photography. I did sat down for a while, listening to the sound of water gushing, the lush green surrounding and river salunki was offering some amazing peace ✌️ of mind.

I have uploaded 360deg images on google
360 Deg view of Putudi Waterfalls 

Udipt was pretty much against the idea of coming down, but I literally dragged him along, I didn't wanted to die alone 😆 🤞.  Another word of caution, please wear a good pair of boots, and if the rocks are wet don't put your feets on them last but not the least, don't litter 😡.

You can't always get desired lighting conditions on first visit to a place, I realised that one needs to spend a whole day to get some good shots, alas would be doing it next time. On our way back we say some good lights actually.

Back to main roads we took a right turn and went straight ahead to Katringa the T- Junction where right leads to Urumagada Waterfalls and left to Katramal Waterfalls.
After having breakfast 🍳 we went right to Urumagada, time was ticking, roads were no good either, but only thing bad was the sun overhead, but sky was like a blue ocean.

Upon reaching Urumagada Waterfalls, we strained our ears 👂 for sound of waterfalls which was absent, on reaching the falls it was absent too 😑 I mean the water,  yes yes do blame it on us, we went in the wrong season. But the view was amazing, I'm sure it looks lovely in prime seasons.

Click on link to View Urumagad 360 deg View


From there we headed back to Katringa junction, exhausted and dehydrated we took some rest, enquired about the route to Katramala Waterfalls and started off again. We also got to know fishes in those waterfalls are believed to be sacred and tourists often feed them with biscuits, the story was exciting enough for us to buy some biscuits for them. Now the best way to go from here is to hire a vehicle which charges around 1200 for 5-6 people's, also there are auto rickshaw plying in this routes, dunno how comfortable the journey shall be with that.

We reached the spot but due to absence of signboard we were unable to find the way to Katramala waterfalls, what we found was a incomplete foot bridge.

We returned back to one of the streams flowing by and I started shooting the little fishes ( Rasbora deniconius) underwater, I swear my heart was in my mouth pounding like a drum 🥁 when I dipped in my iPhone 7. I did many videos and clicked many pics, the biscuit we got for fishes were being shared among us 😆 Coz it was already way past the lunch time.

 

 

Now it didn't gave a good feeling to go away without watching the waterfalls, near yet to far, luckily some tourists were on the way to the falls and upon following them they lead us to the waterfalls, one has to take a right turn after the foot bridge while going by the rocky river bed and not on the bridge as it's incomplete.

Here there was no water either, but there were fishes, bigger versions of the Rasbora, luckily we still had some biscuits left for them.

Water Ledu

Translation - Do not litter

Click to View 360deg view of Katramala

On the way return We stopped again at Katringa, had a Cutting chai and retired to our rooms.

Pakrajhar waterfalls were shifted to day 4

Day-3_ On the Top of Eastern Ghats

Discovering Secrets of Nagas- Nageswar Caves

It was a chilly morning when we went out, People looking at us as usual; we had our breakfast in Semiliguda itself and proceeded towards the Nageswar Caves near Nandapur.

The Journey was pleasant, with the fields covered with yellow Niger flowers, distant Blue Mountains, blue sky and pleasant wind blowing, you feel as if the nature is singing lullaby to you.

This day of course I had the camera in my hand and we took all possible time by clicking the photos.

Partha on the Top Left , Roads to Nandapur on the right top corner , Niger Flower fields at the bottom

It’s about 40kms from Semiliguda including the twists and turns scenic roads via Nandapur.

We reached the footsteps of Naga Caves around 10:30am and started the ascend . Naga Caves were about 4000ft , where one can see the mystical caves and a plateau like surface above the mountains . Exploring this was our main motive along with the view from 4k feet above.  The road was rocky but we expected to be better roads ahead, what we got is more bad roads, there was literally no road. There was a grin when we were riding up through these. We were enjoying the off road biking till it started to get worse and it got even worse up ahead. We stopped at a point, giving rest to our bullet, kissing it and taking pride in being a bullet owner. Any other city bikes would have died a long ago in these hills but here we are deciding to go on further.  After the engines cooled off a bit we started again, this time the road was even worse, we were driving on a walkway made my walking over these hills where the stones were all drunk and came down when the tires hit them. It was scary at a moment when my bike started skidding, with the both the brakes applied, one leg on the ground and the bike in first gear, it kept on skid till I got my leg on a solid rock, though I was laughing but yes I was scared to not about me, but about my camera and bike in case I lose balance and fall. There was visible tension in the face of Partha when he saw me , it grew even bigger when I said my clutch wire seems loose a little after .That was it , Suddenly the environment seemed pretty hot for both of us , we decided to stop as moving further is like inviting more danger  .

Scenic and Dangerous - Road to Naga Caves

 Naga caves were more 5kms to go in the uphill , we could have trekked the distance but we dint wanted to be late on our schedule too i.e. go to Deomali a plan which can't be jeopardized with  .  So we agreed mutually to return back. We took a shed nearby and found a Lil stream too to quench our thirst. The road was never made of asphalt but was a Kachha Road and thanks to the recent rains it was washed up to the core left with the bare essential mountain road.   We heard some weird sounds of the jungle, a Raptor up high in the air and what we dint wanted is to run into a Bear. It took both of us to turn each bike towards our decent. Though we both had different techniques for our descent i.e. I kept my engines off, ND Partha didn’t, we tip topped with the bike till the end of the Ghats. A video on how we rode down .

P.S doesn't try this until you are riding a Jcb. Btw we plan to trek the caves the next time we both are in Koraput.

Partha Spent 6yrs of his childhood in a place nearby called Padua. We went in there to make him Nostalgic about the place and relive his childhood memories. He showed me the place where he lived, where he studied, played, hang out and even attend the social gathering parties (an oil British bungalow now in almost ruins). Yes also saw the Yellow billed Babbler (a bird endemic to the southern India only) which has such a sweet voice. 

Anyways were back from Nandapur soon. We reached Semiliguda around 2. We were actually late for deomali. Initially Partha had called his friends to accompany us to the mountains but none came up. We waited for Siddu (Partha’s younger brother) but he was late, waiting for him would have made us more lately which we dint wanted.  

Yellow Billed Babbler @top left , Scenery Surrounding the British Bungalow (Bottom) 

"After all it’s you and me buddy -let's go." I said.

Koraput Long Haul _The Dangerous Ghats _Day2

Flash Back
 
I won't eat anything, I won't be vomiting in an empty stomach right?
I won't be staying empty stomach, that would make me vomit!
Where are my medicines? I want two of them, that won't make me vomit .
It's handy, keep two-three poly-bags in case one feels sick .

The above lines are pretty gross I know but these were the sort of conversations that used to happen when people were about to travel the Sunki and Salur ghats. Don't know if it was because of the altitude or the driving that made the people vomit .

During the monsoon , the view of the distant mountains. 

But the scenery's from these ghats are breathtaking. One should visit them in the monsoon time; the clouds, the fogs the road and the drizzles making the road look painted as black. The distant mountains, the greenery and the streams flowing one can enjoy a lot more if he could cope up with his fears. The risks in the ghat roads are numerous; shooting stones, landslides, blind turns. If you don't pay attention while driving, well you can very well reach the bottom of the mountains very soon .

An old Record shot during the monsoon :D 

Day 2

The alarm went blaring when it was 6 AM . I dint care to snooze, I switched it off instead. After all we are on a holiday. Don't know about Partha but after he silenced his phone he reverted back to his snoring. We planned to leave Brahmapur as soon as possible around 6, but we managed to get our body moving at 8. We searched near the bus stand to relish local South Indian tiffin. Idli , Poori , Upma with tasty Sambhar (don't know why even the costliest restaurants in Bhubaneswar fail to provide the taste and quality in this department) followed by a hot tea . I was searching for cobbler to do a stitch work on my woodland shoe. This shoe of mine has been my trip partner since 7 yrs and no I'm not a miser to buy a new shoe but I am not comfortable in any other shoes than this. Plus it matches with my leather brown jacket which I wore in the trip :D. The stitch work was done And we headed back to our lodge. After checking out, we tied our bags with the bungee cords tied hard into nooks and corners of the bullet back seat. It's wasn't an easy job to tie those cords, and one has to be absolutely sure that they won't fall up in the ride, because if it does the consequences could be devastating. Anyways we did make sure they won't fall off by punching hard into the bags, checking their stability.
The lodge owner came out to bid us farewell, asking questions out of curiosity, where are you going this and that and finally concluded that we were in search of adventures or sort. We were out of Brahmapur town soon and stopped at the nearest Petrol pump to fill the tanks .

Near the Petrol Pump_ Clicked by a random smoker near the shop :P

Probably Spot Billed Pelicans

Finally we started our journey towards Koraput around 10 AM IST running 4 hrs late from our scheduled departure no more than 300 kms away from our destination , after all its Indian Stretchable time :D. On the second day journey we were more confident. The level of anxiety had come down and was  filled with eagerness to reach our destination as soon as possible. We tested the very name of The Royal Enfield, Made like guns, goes like Bullet. The road was almost as straight as an arrow, with no traffic, clear weather with perfect temperature what else does one need to enjoy the highway? Cruising went along and we tried to make our individual landmark records on the RE, 100 was the average speed this time and we barely came low on the acceleration. After a hundred  odd kilometers we decided to rest our bikes and have some water (which we weren't carrying), the place was somewhere in Andhra Pradesh. This was the place where Partha spotted Pelicans (probably spot billed). And it was his idea to swap the bikes up to till we reach Srikakulam which was about 100 odd km from there. We rested for about 20 mins there and started the journey again after we exchanged the bike. We reached Srikakulam toll gate around 12 noon. If anyone is taking a road trip to Koraput via Andhra, then remember to continue straight on the highway from Srikakulam (without taking left to enter the city) towards the next toll gate you find, where you have to take the right to enter the Rajam Road. It was quite an individual felt that we covered so much in so less time, but this part of the journey was painful for the four of us , that's me Partha and our both RE. Both Partha and I felt pain in our back and waist due to the driving. We sat on our respective bikes and  came to a conclusion that swapping is never a good idea be its the bike or wives :D.  My bike refused to Self start and I kept on apologizing that I won't repeat this again but no avail. The battery was down and I couldn't figure out why it happened. After all the battery recharges itself in a long run but here it was low as zero watt bulb. Kick made the job and the bike started and Partha said we can do a check up at Jeypore. We were 70 kms away from Rambhadrapuram the junction where we had planned to have our lunch.

It was around 1:30 pm when we reached Rambhadrapurm. Stomachs growling like the engines, we parked our rides in front of the hotel and every eye was looking at us. We grabbed the window seats to keep a look at our luggage. Partha fulfilled his last night wish to eat Biryani, I was more interested in slurping a plain meal with Sambhar and Rasam (unlimited :D). I asked Partha to eat the Biryani with Sambhar. Initially he was skeptical but liked the taste I guess in the last. We eat till our neck and were in no mood for driving. We searched and found a perfect place under a tree with cemented slabs, birds chirping around, the perfect place to lie down. Partha wanted to rest for 5 mins but it was another 30 mins after which we started again.

We Reached Salur Soon and it was time for us to face the ghats. With music bud plucked in my ears, I was enjoying the scenery and the songs. I asked for the blessing from the deity at the start of the ghats. In India almost before every ghat road there is a temple where people seek blessings for their safety. It's basically a matter of belief and depends purely on an individual basis and faith though. Partha was far ahead of me. He took out his camera for clicks. Mine was dug deep in the dungeons of my bag, plus its very uncomfortable to hold an SLR while driving where the lens manages to get banged to the tank of the vehicle. The sun was at its ease and was gradually painting the surrounding golden. The song in my playlist came up "Kesharia Balaam .. Aao Padharo Maare Desh .." Was just perfect to boost up my good feeling.

View of the Ghats , click By Partha

After all I was driving all alone up to these ghats in a bike, a wish that I had since my childhood and no I didn't vomit at all. Partha was my man, he clicked with many photos, including me and yes I returned the favor too with a video of his  riding in the ghats. Would share the link soon :) ***** .  My Mom asked me to stay careful and yet I was here driving the ghats in one hand. I know it was kinda stupid but who cares, I'm safe after all .

Partha and the Bandana

Partha's love with the camera and the scenery's continued till it was dark and we stopped for a tea at Pottangi, which is about 35 kms from Semiliguda our destination for day 2.  The tea had a peculiar flavor don't know if it was the cow's milk or others, but I dint enjoyed it. Anyways, the gates were over and as we moved towards semiliguda. We were greeted by the cold waves that we were missing for long.

Reached Semiliguda around 6 pm , and searched for a hotel. I used to live in Sunabeda which is about 3 kms from there and had a bit knowledge about Semiliguda. If one is looking for a good hotel with good food then Hotel Lemon Castle would be the perfect choice for you . If you are on budget , hotel CnC is just fine in which we stayed .
After throwing our bags in the room, I took Partha for a city ride of Sunabeda and some evening snacks. We both agreed Sunabeda should be seen in the daylight. We saw a bird that was very uncommon there. Black, glossy, with long beaks. Before we could identify it flew away. We searched our field books later on but couldn't get to a conclusion. I also took Partha to the HAL museum, where one Flying Coffin (MIG-21) was resting in peace, with the museum contained historical picture's of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited factory Photos.
We went back to Semiliguda. I demanded to have some soup to enjoy the cold weather. Sadly the restaurant in CnC was crowded like a trade fair with family's were dining like the serials of Ekta Kapoor. The decibel level was high and no we didn't enjoyed this time. After we gulped down the soup we decided to have our dinner in our room only, for we dint had the patience and ears to hear those loud laughs. The room service delivered the food within 30 mins. We ate our food happily with the sweets old songs going on in the TV and slept off.

SleePy 

DAY-3
To be continued ..