After a long Covid-induced break, we finally decided to venture out again. We wanted to start nearby, and made our arrangements for a tour to Jhargram, Belpahari and Kankrajhor. As planned, we reached the Howrah station at the dawn of March 4, 2022, exactly 2 years after our last train journey from Hampi/ Badami to Hyderabad. Our train, Ispat Express, started from Howrah at 6.35 AM and took 2 hours and 15 minutes to reach Jhargram.
Our itinerary:
- Morning of Day 1: Jhargram Rajbari/ Palace, Sabitri Temple and Tribal museum
- Afternoon of Day 1 : Chilkigarh Rajbari, Kanak Durga Temple and Dulung River
- 2nd Day: Belpahari and Kankrajhor, which included the spots – Ghagra Waterfall, Tarafeni Dam, Khandarani Lake, Gadrasini Hill, Dhangi Kusum village, Ketki Lake
- 3rd Day: Jhargram Zoo and Khowabgaon
Day 1 morning: Jhargram Rajbari, Sabitri Temple and Tribal museum
We had made our booking for the next 2 days at the Jhargram Rajbari Tourist Complex. Once we came out of the railway station, we hired a Toto and reached within 15 minutes. Although the scheduled check-in time was 12 PM, we were lucky to check-in early.
Our first destination – the Jhargram Rajbari (Palace), was just across the entrance of the Tourist Complex. One part of the Rajbari has itself been converted to a heritage hotel.
The entry to the Raj Palace is not open to all the outside visitors. Only guests staying in Rajbari Tourist Complex can buy tickets for Rs. 15 and enter the premises. Then also, they have to confine their movement within the exterior garden area (and not allowed to enter the andar-mahal, or the inner parts of the palace). The palace buildings are quite well maintained and it is the perfect spot for photo enthusiasts.
We roamed around the palace gardens for some time and then headed to the Sabitri Temple, a short walk away. It was the royal temple of the erstwhile royals of Jhargram, and till this day the locals worship goddess Durga here in a grand manner.
Next we hired a Toto and went to the Tribal Interpretation Centre. It is located inside a Sal forest. The museum exhibits the artefacts used by the local tribes of Jungalmahal and also depicts stories of their everyday life, rituals and the oppression they faced in the past. Outside the entrance are life-size figures of tribal men and women dancing. The outside walls of the museum are also decorated beautifully by paintings depicting the tribal life and culture. The museum remain closed on Mondays. On the other days, the timing is 11 AM – 5 PM.
The Forest Department (WBFDC) has built a few cottages next door, where tourists can make booking for their stay. It would surely be a unique experience to spend a night among these huge Sal trees, with nothing but the chirping of crickets.
The Toto was waiting for us, and we came to the town-centre and had lunch at the Annapurna Restaurant. The food here was tasty and price very reasonable.
Day 1 afternoon: Chilkigarh Rajbari, Kanak Durga temple, Dulung River
Many tourists prefer a Toto ride to Chilkigarh, situated at a distance of around 15 KM, due to the cost advantage. But we thought that this Toto ride can be a torture to our backs, and decided to hire a car instead.
Surajit picked us from outside the restaurant and we reached Chilkigarh Rajbari around 2.30 PM. The buildings of the palace and temples have not at-all been maintained and they are in a dilapidated state. One of the buildings has now been converted into a Government office.
Next we moved to the Kanak Durga Mandir. From the car parking, we had to walk through a forest trail, fenced on both sides, to reach the temple. A new temple has now been constructed beside the old one, which is now in shambles. One can offer prayers in the temple only in the morning, so it was closed when we reached there. Also, beware of monkeys here.
By the side of the old temple, there is another trail that leads to the tranquil Dulung River. It was a hot sunny day, but the cool breeze here induced fresh energy. We spent some time sitting under a tree and rejuvenated ourselves.
There are a couple of more trails to different parts of the river, out of which we explored another one and then started back for Jhargram.
Day 2: Belpahari and Kankrajhor trip
An average tourist visits only the 4 spots in this region – Ghagra Waterfalls, Tarafeni Dam, Khandarani Lake and Gadrasini Hill. But we had planned for a few more and wanted to travel till Kankrajhor. So we started early, around 8.30 AM. The ride through the State Highway was very smooth and it took us around 1 hour to reach Belpahari’s Indira Chowk.
Our first stop was at the Ghagra Waterfall. It has a picturesque landscape, where a small stream of water flows along a rocky surface. It is much more beautiful during the monsoon when the stream is in its full might. We climbed up the boulders and clicked some nice photos against the backdrop of the rocks.
A short drive from Ghagra took us to the serene Tarafeni River Barrage. The dam serves as the source of water for the neighbouring villages. We spent some time here, before going back towards Indira Chowk.
Once on the State Highway, we headed towards the Khandarani Lake. The last few minutes of the ride was a bit bumpy through the village roads. The placid water of the vast lake, bordered by forests on both sides, made us spellbound. We took a stroll along the path bordering the lake and sat down on the banks as time flew by. During the winter months, you can even spot many species of migratory birds here.
Our last stop before lunch was Gadrasini Hill. It has a steep trek and should be avoided by elderly and persons with ailments with knees and legs. The first part of the climb is over loose stones and gravels. We had to be very much cautious so that we don’t slip and fall. After about 10 minutes of trek we came to the Basudev temple, where we took rest under the cool shade. After that, it was another 20 minutes of journey, but this time the rocks were steeper and bigger.
At the top of the hill is another temple – this time of Lord Shiva. I was expecting a spectacular view from the top, but it was nothing extraordinary. There was no 360 degree view also, partly due to the obstruction by the trees and partly due to the temple. So I would suggest that you can skip climbing the hill if you are not very interested in hiking and trekking. The entry to the hill is permitted till 4 PM.
There are a couple of eateries near the base of Gadrasini Hill. One of them is the Pabitra Homestay (Contact: 81165-77330). Here the food is made-to-order and so you need to call them in advance to place your order for lunch. Many tourists go back to Belpahari Indira Chowk for lunch, but that would be wastage of time if you are planning to explore further till Kankrajhor.
After a simple lunch consisting of rice, pulses, fried potato, vegetables and egg curry, we headed for the Dhangi Kusum village. On the way, we saw villagers making ropes from Babui grass.
Near the car parking of the Dhangi Kusum village, we saw local villagers creating crafts out of stones. The price was also reasonable and we purchased a few. The attraction here is the Hudhudi Falls, which is a short walk through a rocky terrain with jungle on both sides. But the waterfall was a disappointment, as it was just a very narrow stream of water flowing over the rocks.
The Ketki Lake, a short drive away, is not a very popular destination and we were the only visitors there. But I was mesmerized by the tranquility of the place. You can spend hours here, gazing at the calm and still blue water, with lush greenery on its banks.
The landscape gradually started changing as we moved towards Kankrajhor. This road, along the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand, is undulating with small hillocks at a distance on the left and a forest on the right. From where we parked our car in Kankrajhor, we could see the burnt remnants of the forest bungalow, which bears testimony of the bloody Maoist uprising in Bengal.
That was our last stop of the day, and it was time to go back. From Kankrajhor, there are 2 routes to go back to Belpahari/ Jhargram. One is the road that we have mostly taken from Belpahari. The other one is via Chakadoba, where the road meets the State Highway. This second route is longer by around 12 KM, but we chose it due to its own natural beauty. Especially the undulating and zig-zag road till Chakadoba, with tall trees on both sides, was really fascinating.
Day 3: Jhargram Zoo and Khowabgaon
Today was our last day in Jhargram, and the train to Kolkata was in the afternoon at 3.25 PM. So we had plans to visit the Zoo and Khowabgaon in the morning. We hired a Toto for this short trip.
The first stop was at the Zoo, located on the other side of the railway tracks. This is actually a miniature version of the zoological gardens that you would have visited in larger cities. The biggest enclosure was that of deer, due to which the zoo is popularly known as “Deer Park” among the localites. Our kids enjoyed a lot feeding leaves to the deer, and got excited to see the leopards, hyenas and jackals roaming around.
The zoo has a dense population of Sal trees, and their shade was a nice relief from the hot weather outside. We spent some time lazing around. The road outside the zoo, with the Sal trees dotted on both sides is a perfect place for clicking a portrait.
The Zoo is open on all days, except on Thursdays. Timings are 9 AM – 5 PM (November – February) / 9 AM – 6 PM (March – October).
The last spot of our trip was Khowabgaon (The village of dreams – Khowab means dream, and gaon is village). The original name of the village is Lalbazar, a small dwelling of 13 families of the Lodha tribe.
May be the best was kept aside for the end of our journey. First of all, the journey to the village itself was mind blowing, with the path flanked by Cashew trees, and a dense forest of towering Sonajhuri, Eucalyptus trees on both sides.
In Khowabgaon, every mud-house is an open canvas. The villagers have been inspired and trained by Kolkata-based Chalchitra Academy and its founder Mrinal Mandal. They painted their walls to depict their everyday life – wedding rituals, social ceremonies, children playing, women cooking, cattle grazing and many more. One of the walls depicted film-maker Satyajit Ray shooting for his epic Pather Panchali.
The villagers apply fresh mud on their huts every year during Kali Puja. After that, they decorate and paint the walls afresh. So, if you are planning to visit Jhargram, please avoid the time of Kali Puja, as the place would become lifeless that time.
Although there is an instruction for visitors to pay Rs. 500 for photography, it is not a stringent rule. You would first be guided to the village office, where the office bearer would request you to donate as per your wish. The money is used to buy the painting material and also for maintaining the village. The villagers have also setup a shop where they sell paintings and handicrafts.
From Khowabgaon, we came back to the Tourist Complex, where we had kept our luggage. We had lunch there and then headed to the railway station for our return journey.
Useful Information and Tips:
Best time to visit Jhargram:
It is better to avoid Jhargram during summer, as it gets very hot. Winter is a good time to visit, but the landscape can get barren with the trees shedding their leaves. Monsoon should be the better time, with the lush green vegetation everywhere around. Also, the rains boost the might of the waterfalls and rivers, which become more alluring that time.
Details of the Car and Toto:
We travelled with Surajit (+91- 91630-46202) in his Swift Dzire car. For the trip to Chilkigarh Rajbari and Kanak Durga Mandir, he charged us Rs. 1000. And the cost of the Belpahari-Kankrajhor trip was Rs. 3000.
For our trip to Jhargram Zoo and Khowabgaon, we travelled in Rabi Mukherjee’s (+91- 99325-41004) Toto, for which we paid him Rs. 400. For other local travel (like Tribal Interpretation Centre, Railway station etc.), we availed the Toto service of Anjan (+91-90643-71058), and his rates were also very much reasonable.
All of them were decent and well mannered, and I would surely recommend them.
Review of Jhargram Rajbari Tourist Complex:
West Bengal Tourist Development Corporation (WBTDC) has developed this tourist complex, and it consists of two halves (on either side of the road) – the Main complex and the Annex part. The Main complex houses the Reception, the Dining Hall, and a few cottages and rooms. The cottages encircle a nicely maintained pond. The sprawling complex also contains nicely manicured gardens, children’s play area and an enclosure for turkey, goose and duck.
The Annex part also has a few cottages built around a pond. But this part is open to outsiders. The pond here is used by locals for bathing and washing purposes and the play area used by local children.
We stayed in a cottage in the Main complex, which had cost us Rs. 3000 (plus GST). The room was clean and spacious. The breakfast (Poori-sabzi or bread-omelette) was complementary. The food in general was tasty, although the price was on a higher side.
You can book the rooms online from the website of WBTDCL: https://wbtdcl.wbtourismgov.in/home
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Nice and useful post author. Thank you.