We woke up at 5that day with a wake-up call from our client, it was her VIdaai. I'm a wedding photographer by profession, me and my partner were at Jeypore in Koraput Odisha for this wedding shoot.
Morning Bliss
We were done with the shoot and instead of cuddling the bed for some rest we decided to go Duduma waterfalls which is around 70kms from Jeypore. Luckily,this time, I had decided to take my Thunderbird for the shoot for convivence, plus it was Thursday morning, just a few Kms from Duduma waterfalls there is a place called Onkudelli, where you can find Bonda tribes especially females in their traditional attire on Thursday mornings. apart from weddings, I'm inclined towards travel photography, a thing which I enjoy a lot apart from my wedding shoots.
There are two roads leading to Duduma waterfalls one can be accessed from Jeypore and the other from Semlliguda via Nandpur with meeting point at Lamptaput, I suggest the later route for a pleasant journey as this road is under construction accompanied by loads of dust and bad roads. We started around 6am to avoid the darkness and the desolate ghat that falls in between. I have been to these place before so finding the roads wasn't difficult . for newcomers, take the road straight from Gandhi Chakk at the entrance of Jeypore towards Gupteswar, upon reaching the Kota Junction take the left. There is an old iron bridge at Kota junction built by the British's so finding it won't be a problem, at the crossroads one should take the right following the signboards towards Lamptaput. People from Semliguda can take the road near bus stand towards Bheja Chak, from there take right following the countryside to reach Lamptaput, don't hesitate to ask for directions, the people are always helpful.
Dusty Roads
Back to the tour, we stopped for tea before leaving the city limits, as it was still winters, the morning ride was a bit chilly, the new jacket was particularly helpful :D. Even if you are riding in a hot sun, don't forget to wear a windcheater at least, this shall protect you from Sun and breeze, plus don't forget your helmet. Safety is a must. We stopped again at the iron bridge of Kota Junction just after Patraput, Jeypore City limits to take some photos. The bad roads were about to begin
Breakfast
Stop here for Directions
It took us 1hr to reach Lamptaput through the bad roads, where we stopped for some breakfast. Duduma is around 25kms from there thankfully was a better road.
Countryside
You won't find many options in the Breakfast but the place is decent. From there we headed towards Onukudelli to click some Bonda tribes. You can also find many foreign tourists in this place for the same but they are not allowed to click the tribals anymore. Many foreigners used to pay before clicking images of these tribes, so don't be puzzled when someone asks you for some when you click them.And yes I paid Rs50 for two pics and rest 10 for none and my partner 50 for 1, it all about the way you deal with them. Caution never argue with any locals.
Iron Bridge of Patraput
Beautiful Drive from Lamptaput to Duduma
After that, we went to see Duduma waterfalls, which we had glimpses of while we were moving to Onukudelli.The Duduma Waterfall which is about 175 metres (574 ft) high is formed by the Machkund River. Duduma waterfalls is one the third highest waterfalls in Odisha after Bareihipani and Khandadhar waterfalls. Here comes the best part , here you can find three waterfalls from 3sides of the gorge. one from Odisha side and the other from Andhra, the third one is an artificial waterfall formed due to drainage of excess water from Machkund Hydroelectricity Power Project, now how good is that ? Check the images below. few images are from archives from my previous visits to this place.
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The Artificial Waterfall
View of three waterfalls is not visible from the viewpoint, one has to trek down for the better view. There are stairs that lead halfway, I won't advise you to venture unless you are physically fit or alone. I wish to see sunset at this point or may be a starry night, but it's not advisable for tourists to be in this place because of Maoist threat and Black Cats combing operations. Saying this, the place is perfectly safe from morning till 5Pm :D.
Panaroma of the Machkund Resrvoir
View of the Gorge
River Machkund
Duduma Waterfalls
The sun was too harsh when we reached Duduma, not at all suitable for photography, so we headed back after clicking some selfies :P. Alas, I would be back here in Monsoon, that's when the clouds play orchestra on these mountains.
Wannabe Daredevil
Best time to visit - Winters and Monsoon. Mode of Transportation- Best option is to hire taxi from Jeypore else from Semliguda.
Where to Stay in Jeypore - Hotel 180Degrees ( Budget hotel but good service) Hotel Hello Jeypore, Hotel Apsara
Where to eat in Jeypore- MG road has a variety of local street foods especially south Indian for Breakfast. Flavors Resturant in Bell Road is a new hit in town.
Where to stay in Semliguda- Hotel Lemon Castle, Hotel Apple Villa
Bonda Woman
Where to Eat in Duduma- Take the roads towards Nandpur from Lamptaput, the Dhabas provide excellent meals.
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 wasfilled 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 hundredodd 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.
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