[//M]

Some recent pics of Hundru Falls.

[//M]

The mighty Dassam Falls at its best.

[sauravdc]

Originally Posted by //M

Place: Maithon Dam

Distance Covered: 550 kms

Route taken: Ranchi-Gola-Bokaro-Dhanbad-Maithon Dam-Dumri-Bagodar-Hazaribagh-Ranchi

Maithon (a.k.a. "ma-er sthan" in Bengali meaning mother's abode) is home to Maa Kalyaneshwari, formed from the body parts of Sati that fell here in mythological ages.

Being just 40 kms from my hometown Dhanbad, it used to be one of the most common picnic destinations for us during the winter months. My first visit was possibly in 1978, a black and white photo bearing the testimony, and my most recent visit was in Jan 2009. In between, there have been numerous visits, count of which, has been lost in the maze of time.

Visit to Maithon dam remain incomplete without a visit to Kalyaneshwari temple close by. Maithon is on the WB-JH border. DVC side is in JH as the loop road emanating from NH2 travels over the dam into WB and rejoins NH2 after crossing the temple.

In fact Kalyaneshwari temple itself is a destination for many. I remember in October 2010, while driving back from Dhanbad to Kolkata, I just hopped into the temple to pray that my left rear tyre survives another 260 kms. Incidentally, all the tyres of my car were asking for a change and I was running on poor tyres. The 3rd best (!!) tyre suffered a death punch (RIP) in Panagarh on the way to Dhanbad two days back, and I reached Dhanbad driving on the spare (a non radial) in the boot. At Dhanbad, I scouted for the best tyre amongst the ones discarded from my father's M800 couple of months back. It was the weakest link in my car and was fitted in the left rear wheel. I refrained from purchasing new sets of tyres in Dhanbad, as prices in Kolkata were a good 300 INR less per tyre !!

Another destination close to Maithon is Panchet dam. Deriving its name from "Garh Panchakot", fort built by ancestors of the Singh Deo family of Purulia.
Read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchet_Dam, http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Garh_Panchakot

Best time to visit Panchet is during the monsoons, when the nature is cloudy and it is not raining heavily. One may be lucky enough to see the peak of Panchet hill enshrined by clouds, a spectacle to watch. (Infact there is a folk song to that effect).

My last visit to Panchet was in Aug 2010. I had driven down to Dhanbad as usual, and my mother wanted to go saree shopping at Raghunathpur. We traveled from Dhanbad through Chirkunda to Panchet dam, adjoining areas and finally to Raghunathpur. For the saree enthusiasts: one can buy sarees directly from the weavers' homes and sales outlets in Raghunathpur and it is a good 30-40% cheaper than Kolkata. We spent the entire afternoon hopping from one weaver to the other and landed up with sarees for my mother. My wife also profited a saree courtesy her M-I-L. A late lunch of fish and rice near the bus stand and we drove back via Barakar - Chirkunda to Dhanbad (possibly the last, the Govt allowed 4 wheelers on the old Barakar road bridge).

Note: There are good places to stay in Maithon. DVC guest house in JH side and WBTDC lodge in the WB side. Details of the same are available over the net. Panchet is poor cousin in this respect. Only DVC guest house is available.

[//M]

Originally Posted by sauravdc

Maithon (a.k.a. "ma-er sthan" in Bengali meaning mother's abode) is home to Maa Kalyaneshwari, formed from the body parts of Sati that fell here in mythological ages.

Being just 40 kms from my hometown Dhanbad, it used to be one of the most common picnic destinations for us during the winter months. My first visit was possibly in 1978, a black and white photo bearing the testimony, and my most recent visit was in Jan 2009. In between, there have been numerous visits, count of which, has been lost in the maze of time.

Visit to Maithon dam remain incomplete without a visit to Kalyaneshwari temple close by. Maithon is on the WB-JH border. DVC side is in JH as the loop road emanating from NH2 travels over the dam into WB and rejoins NH2 after crossing the temple.

In fact Kalyaneshwari temple itself is a destination for many. I remember in October 2010, while driving back from Dhanbad to Kolkata, I just hopped into the temple to pray that my left rear tyre survives another 260 kms. Incidentally, all the tyres of my car were asking for a change and I was running on poor tyres. The 3rd best (!!) tyre suffered a death punch (RIP) in Panagarh on the way to Dhanbad two days back, and I reached Dhanbad driving on the spare (a non radial) in the boot. At Dhanbad, I scouted for the best tyre amongst the ones discarded from my father's M800 couple of months back. It was the weakest link in my car and was fitted in the left rear wheel. I refrained from purchasing new sets of tyres in Dhanbad, as prices in Kolkata were a good 300 INR less per tyre !!

Another destination close to Maithon is Panchet dam. Deriving its name from "Garh Panchakot", fort built by ancestors of the Singh Deo family of Purulia.
Read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchet_Dam, http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Garh_Panchakot

Best time to visit Panchet is during the monsoons, when the nature is cloudy and it is not raining heavily. One may be lucky enough to see the peak of Panchet hill enshrined by clouds, a spectacle to watch. (Infact there is a folk song to that effect).

My last visit to Panchet was in Aug 2010. I had driven down to Dhanbad as usual, and my mother wanted to go saree shopping at Raghunathpur. We traveled from Dhanbad through Chirkunda to Panchet dam, adjoining areas and finally to Raghunathpur. For the saree enthusiasts: one can buy sarees directly from the weavers' homes and sales outlets in Raghunathpur and it is a good 30-40% cheaper than Kolkata. We spent the entire afternoon hopping from one weaver to the other and landed up with sarees for my mother. My wife also profited a saree courtesy her M-I-L. A late lunch of fish and rice near the bus stand and we drove back via Barakar - Chirkunda to Dhanbad (possibly the last, the Govt allowed 4 wheelers on the old Barakar road bridge).

Note: There are good places to stay in Maithon. DVC guest house in JH side and WBTDC lodge in the WB side. Details of the same are available over the net. Panchet is poor cousin in this respect. Only DVC guest house is available.

Wow !! Thank You for all the valuable information Saurav sir.

Due to limited time I could not visit the Maa Kalyaneshwari Temple and the Panchet Dam but I will surely visit these two places as well as the Topchanchi Lake (near Dumri) on my next visit. Please do post some early pics of Maithon Dam if possible. I would love to see all such pics.

[//M]

Some recent pics of Chandil Dam.

[//M]

Some recent pictures of Hirni Falls.

[//M]

Few more pictures of Dassam Falls.

[//M]

Some more pics of Dassam Falls.

[swsumit]

Hii..
excellent pics and i am amazed at the quality of the roads and the beautiful vistas .I have been to Ranchi a couple of times but never knew of such places that exist so close

Thanks

[Sutripta]

OT
Can someone fill me in on the road condition (physical and safety) of Purulia Rd (Ranchi - Muri - Purulia).

Regards
Sutripta

[//M]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

OT
Can someone fill me in on the road condition (physical and safety) of Purulia Rd (Ranchi - Muri - Purulia).

Regards
Sutripta

I have done the Ranchi-Muri stretch a few times. Road is good and it sees minimal traffic too. The road is safe if you travelling in the day, however after dark this route sees almost zero traffic so it is better to avoid it after dark. However the surface is good in most parts so driving is fun during the day.

Not sure about Muri-Purulia stretch though.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by //M

Not sure about Muri-Purulia stretch though.

Next time you visit Muri, could you please ask at the bus and taxi stands?

Regards
Sutripta

[//M]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Next time you visit Muri, could you please ask at the bus and taxi stands?

Regards
Sutripta

Sure Sutripta Da. Will let you know soon.

[sauravdc]

Don't think the reply is very relevant today.

Once upon a time (in the 80's) it used to be our regular route to Ranchi (from Dhanbad).
We purposely avoided the Bokaro, Ramgarh, Ranchi route because of bus traffic and bad roads. We used to take Chas, Purulia Morh, Jhaldah, Muri, Ranchi route. In those days, the Muri-Ranchi road was safe. We never traveled after dark though. There used to be no traffic on Purulia road between Muri and Namkom. You could be the lone driver for the entire stretch.

I have done this stretch a few times on my Bajaj Chetak between 1999-2001.
It was glide between Namkom & Muri. Occasional cyclists, few goats, hens, naked kids, would give you company. The road passes through picturesque landscape and was quite a drive to enjoy. It is majorly through hilly terrain and twists and curves are very sharp esp in the area near Jonha. You always have hills and valleys for company.

The stretch between Muri and Purulia passes through Bengal. The roads were quite deserted, with occasional buses that ply between Jhaldah and Purulia. Slight more traffic than Muri - Namokm stretch. The road meanders through the plains instead of the hills. It criss-crosses the Muri-Purulia/Bokaro railway line which you have for company.

In the 80's I used to love watching the steam engines from the car. We used to "race" ...
(alas now: no steam, only electrics)

The entire road used to be a single carriageway, and a dream to drive at gliding pace.

Regards,
Saurav

[saket77]

Originally Posted by sauravdc

Don't think the reply is very relevant today.

Very nostalgic. Reminds us of what Ranchi used to be few years ago.

However, when in January '13 before visiting Shantiniketan, I enquired about the road conditions from Ranchi to Bolpur from my bengali colleagues. They told that the road surface is fine and safe during the day. One of them had travelled to & from Bankura through this road and gave a nod to this route too. However, I have not travelled through this road after Muri, I cannot comment on my personal experience, but I think there is a good possibility that the road is very much doable. Will try to gather some more information from other sources too.

Regards,
Saket