[ABHI_1512]

Holi is best celebrated with friends and family. I am sure most people who celebrate the festival of colour concurs with that very thought. More than often, at least in my case, Holi enjoyment gets intertwined with friends. This year, my holi episode got even better since it coincided with our sudden inclusion into a planned trip to Netarhat by some fellow BHPians. Now, a drive through some of the most pristine and picturesque roads and celebration of the festival of colour amidst the nature, there is no better combination than that. Of course, I am excluding Mutton Biryani and Chicken Chaap or Galouti Kebab and Lucknowee parantha, the better combination part that is.

So it happened that I was almost on the verge of planning the Holi rendezvous when suddenly this call for joining the drive to Netarhat came by, a few days before Holi. The plan was to spend some days in Netarhat during Holi and I gleefully jumped on the bandwagon.

Netarhat- the place is known as the Queen of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. It’s a small and lesser known hill station not very far from Ranchi. The place is known for stunning sunrises and sunsets, specially during the summers and is surrounded by forests with varied flora and fauna. Netarhat also houses one of the few Gurukul themed school left in India. More about Naterhat later.

Let me first introducé the whole BHPian group:

1. Cr4nkshaft with his better half- Polo
2. Mi2n with his family- Tuv 300
3. Dip27in with his family- Pajero SFX
4. Reshnaguha with her knight- Creta
5. DJR- Accompanied Creta

We were finally a team of eleven adults and two little kids. The plan was to start late in the night after finishing the office commitments. Accordingly, the meeting point was decided at Azad Hind Dhaba, Uluberia and that we will all assemble around 9 PM. Now, what’s the fun of everything goes according to the plan in a road trip !! More on that later, let’s have some pictures first up:

[ABHI_1512]

So, as per our initial plan, we all were supposed to be at Azad Hind Dhaba Uluberia around 9, just in time for the dinner. Since, it was a working day, almost everyone started little late. Folks were coming from different parts of Calcutta and unfortunately we all got sucked into a massive gridlock after crossing the Dhulagarh toll

Netarhat was a leisurely drive of around 11 hours from Calcutta. There was no hurry to reach the destination as such but then it becomes very frustrating when you are greeted by a traffic jam, bang at the start of any trip !!

First to reach the venue was Cr4nkshaft with his Polo and we all followed one after another. Finally when all of us reached the Dhaba, the feeling was like we have won some crazy war of attrition, at least I felt that way.



After a hearty meal of usual Dhaba culprits like Chicken bharta, Dal Tarka, Kadhai Murg, Tandoori Naans over usual chit chats, we finally made a move towards Netarhat around midnight. Traffic was sparse from then onwards and we crossed Kolaghat in no time and were soon cruising towards Kharagpur.







The roads were fantastic and provided ample photo opportunities through out the journey. We all were soaking in the wonderful roads and our first chai break came just outside Jamshedpur. The lone shop which was open in the unearthly hours, made some wonderful chai.

The roads after Jamshedpur and till Ranchi is pure driving bliss. This is also the phase of the journey, which passes by the side of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. There is a stretch where the roads were provided with over passes for elephant crossings and are also sound proof. Speed limits are mentioned with prominent road signs and markers.







Spirited driving made me wander off the prescribed road as soon as I entered Ranchi. Somehow, I missed taking a left turn and entered the city. It was the call from Cr4nkshaft which forced me to make a U turn and connect with rest of the convoy through some real narrow roads. Anyways, by that time, sun was slowly coming out.

























The road becomes absolute bliss once you cross Chatakpur. It is also the place, where there is a police picket and one needs to enter the car details and a random car check is subjected by the police. It’s hardly a two minute exercise. I don’t know whether it’s a permanent check point or was specifically for the holiday period. The area had some issues earlier but is now free of any worries at all. Jharkhand government is actively promoting the part and the efforts can be seen clearly.

Screen grab of the Police Picket


From here on, it was sheer driving pleasure through the beautiful roads as we slowly started to gain altitude. After some more photo shots en route, we finally reached the hotel run by the Jharkhand Government.

[ABHI_1512]

So, driving through the wonderful roads amidst the beautiful trees and despite stopping for many photo ops, we finally reached our destination- Hotel Prabhat Vihar run by Jharkhand Tourism. It was a fabulous drive with so many BHPians who all are equally passionate about driving. Your journey through a road trip becomes a cake walk and joyful if you happen to be with those kind of people. Don’t believe me, just have a look at few of the dashcam videos.

https://youtu.be/iaFheoAviTM

The above dash cam footage was from the Kharagpur- Ranchi section of the highway. After the road widening work, this section is now one of the best stretches to drive. The criss crossing of the vehicles in the convoy was in perfect sync and it continued this way with each of us taking turns in going past each other every once in a while. I am sure other BHPians will have some even better dashcam footages

https://youtu.be/0Jth8VcCHJI

Netarhat is a quaint little place in the hills but it gets awfully hot during the summers. Thankfully, the peak summer was yet to start. The hotel is situated just at the designated sunrise point of Netarhat and so it remains busy, almost through the day.







The part of hotel we were booked, is a recent addition and is the DELUXE edition of the same hotel. The rooms were nice and big, with standard facilities. After fresh freshening up, we all gathered for lunch at the designated restaurant of the hotel. Nothing fancy but good old home style food was served for the lunch, post which we all decided to visit the Netarhat Sunset Point or the more famous name- Magnolia Sunset Point. One can find some interesting details of Magnolia sunset point and the story behind the naming of the spot on the internet.





The sunset point as it turned out, was teeming with people. Notice the number of cars behind the board and one gets a fair idea. The parking place was full of cars. The road towards the sunset point is one of the most picturesque roads with pine trees adorning half of the route. Since, it was already late, we decided to visit the pine forest, the following day. By the time, we reached, all the vantage points were already taken. Nevertheless, managed to take some pictures which quite rudimentary. BHPian Dip27in though shot some real exquisite pictures, I hope he shares those here.











We spent sometime here as the crowd thinned after the sunset. Some photo sessions over, we searched for some chai but then the only so called café was shut for good !!

BHPian Dip27in with his lovely family


Netarhat is all about Sunrises and sunsets, the place has a certain charm about the daily chores of this universe and that’s why may be, the famous writers from Bengal often found solace in those areas during the winter's.



Our evening was spent chit chatting over some delightful snacks and songs. It was an evening where everyone came up with some brilliant songs and the best for the evening was kept for the last where we all sang that good old song- Yaaron by KK. Sometimes, friends are all it is needed for some good time, nothing else matters.

[ABHI_1512]

The famous Netarhat sunrise was a bummer first thing in the next morning. Since the hotel is also the designated Sunrise point, folks start to assemble almost from the dark. Blaring of horns, many number of cars entering the hotel at odd hours, the place soon resembles a market place. Even before the alarm rings for the residents of the hotel, they are bound to wake up, simply by all the noise around the property !!

The sky was not exactly clear for that jaw dropping sunrise that Netarhat is usually known for. The constant chattering around the place at those early hours of the day can indeed be a nuisance.







Usual sunrise shenanigans over, BHPian Cr4nkshaft went for his morning run. It was refreshing to see someone not giving up on a healthy habit while on a holiday. It was the Holi day and the arrangement for Gulal was made possible by BHPian Dip27in. He was carrying ample amount of Gulal in various hues which was enough for the next two years to come !! Kids were excited and hence playing of Holi started in the lawn area.

It was quite a sight since we were the only ones in the area who were playing Holi with all those Gulal or Abir as we call it in Bangla. The hotel guys felt enthusiastic enough to bring a Boombox/Soundbox to the lawn area where we were playing. And soon, the box was blaring with some peppy numbers as we all took part in the festivities. BHPian DJR stayed out and he became the designated photographer. Here are some pictures where some pictures are clicked by me and the rest of them were clicked by DJR.



The start of the holi festivities and Devanshi- made a beautiful rangoli with an equally beautiful motif wishing everyone a happy holi.



The boombox which was brought by the hotel guys and was put to good use by us







And now the brilliant sequence of pictures featuring the Gulal spattering BHPian Dip27in. I jokingly told him that going by his highly sophisticated action, our country could have won some medals in Olympics had he concentrated on playing Discuss throw !!









I tried to match his action but failed miserably in the adventure. Some things are just not meant to be, phew !!



It was refreshing to play holi outside of your city after all these years. Simple pleasures of life often gets neglected in the humdrum of busy city life.

[ABHI_1512]

Wonderful and colourful playing of holi over, it was time to visit the places of interest around Netarhat. First up was the beautiful Pine forest which was en route to the Magnolia sunset point. The fun part about the sunset point- no one visits that part until it’s sunset time

So, the whole route becomes one empty road and one can actually spend hours on the roads itself surrounded by Pine forests after parking the cars and which we did gleefully. Walking through the Pine forest was a delightful experience with photo opportunities galore and the place resulted in some glorious pictures. Here are some pictures clicked by BHPian DJR and the pictures indulges BHPian Mi2n. Those who know him will understand what I am talking about





The same road becomes a busy thoroughfare during the evening while it was such a bliss spending time alongside the pine trees before noon.



BHPian Cr4nkshaft was in his elements while posing on that turf. The colours were
popping out like anything on that sunny day.





BHPian Reshnaguha is an avid driver along with her better half Anirban. Soon it was their turn to pose for the pictures.

The pine forests presented itself in all its glory. Random pictures were clicked and we all spent some good time over here.


















That’s BHPian Dip27in in his quest to click the best possible pictures. It’s remarkable to see him go about his way of clicking pictures which often result in some extraordinary results.

[ABHI_1512]

Next up was the Upper Ghagri water falls. The road meanders through the small villages after one takes the route to the falls. There is small ground for parking where the cars can be parked before one has to walk for around 100 metres to reach the water falls since apparently, the road is boulder laden unpaved road and it slopes downwards. Now, when the mighty Pajero is on the prowl, no road is an obstacle. The Pajero decided to take things into its own hands and made the climb down without any fuss.


The upper Ghagri falls didn’t have much water per say but it was still a pretty sight. Some pictures :







Anirban posing royally near the falls.


And now for the Pajero showtime. The mighty Pajero carried a majority of us in one swift motion and trudged back royally to the upper grounds. Those who stayed back, could only click pictures and see the fun unfolding in front









The upper ghagri falls was an underwhelming experience. May be during the monsoons, the water level is satisfactory enough to pay a visit to this place. To make up for it, I decided to take Baahon for a photo shoot down below at the same place from where the Pajero made its move. BHPian Mi2n graciously agreed to click pictures and the results were simply wonderful







The Creta was having it’s share of fun as well and there were some real good pictures clicked. Here are two which are clicked by BHPian Mi2n :





Some absolutely drool worthy pictures were clicked of the Creta and I hope my fellow co travellers can share those in this thread.

Here is BHPian DJR in all his glory, clicked by Anirban.


And here is BHPian Mi2n with his better half and wonder girl Mithi.



After the experience of the Upper Ghagri falls, we decided to visit the Netarhat Residential school and the British era Chalet House. Netarhat School is still one of the few schools in India which still runs on the Gurukul school of thought. The school was open for visitors upto a certain mark but somehow we didn’t exactly feel the urge to look around. May be, some other day, I would go back to see the school running in it’s full steam.





Chalet House is an extraordinary piece of history. Chalet is the French equivalent of a wooden house and is very close to the Netarhat School. True to its name, even to this day, along with entire building, even the flooring of the Chalet house is made of wood and nobody is allowed to enter with shoes. It’s a great piece of history from about a time when the British officers used the place as their summer retreat. The place is now maintained by Jharkhand Tourism and is in impeccable condition. I hope it stays this way in the years to come.

















The inside of the Chalet House brings to light about the glory days gone by. That the house is still very well maintained even after so many years bears the testimony about the quality back in those days. While some renovation might have been carried out, one can’t deny the royalty back in the days.



This above example of the fire place bears the remnants of the bygone era. The visit to the Chalet House was like a cherry on top of the cake, so much of history is attached to this place.

[ABHI_1512]

Chalet House was a wonderful experience for us but for the rest of the team, not so. Turned out, they left it little too late and by the time they went to visit the Chalet house after our lunch, it was closed for the day. Since it was already evening, we all went to Naterhat lake. We have seen better lakes in our lives but the sunset views over the lake was something to behold.

Meanwhile, before going to the lake, I quickly made a dash for the Palamu Dak Bungalow which is just beside the hotel. The Dak bungalow is a heritage property and can be booked online. It has four rooms but one room is kept under lock and key for the VIP’s. The rooms were decent and are always in high demand. Should be good option for many.







Just outside the gate of Palamu Dak Bungalow, a new forest bungalow is under construction and should be up and running in few months time. The structure mainly consists of wood and should be a good option for tourists going forward.



The Natarhat lake is being beautified these days and going by the construction work, it seems that some kind of accommodation facilities along with amphitheater are coming up.



The lake itself glows during the sunset time and the shadows mark a distinct character to the whole picture. Just my thoughts





After spending some time over the lake, we moved onto Koel View Point which was nearby the lake only. It was already dark when we reached the place. But somehow, this darkness under the clear skies were a sight to behold. The tripods were out and star gazing and pictures followed. Some random pictures from my side, some of the more brilliant ones were clicked by BHPian Dip27in and Anirban, I hope they adorn this thread by their superlative pictures.







There was this lone shop at Koel view point which was selling tea and Maggi was available too. Now, who wouldn’t want Maggi in such a setting, hunger or no hunger !!



Surprisingly, a board announcing Netarhat was put up at this very point. We all sat through the cliff and soaked in the atmosphere.







After spending some time here, it was time to go back. The most wonderful two day holiday with friends was about to end in some time. Time to head back to the hotel amidst the darkness.



We returned back to the hotel for our final night and after spending some time chit-chatting, got together at the dinner table. It was here Cr4nkshaft and DJR along with Anirban and Reshnaguha decided to leave very early in the morning, so as to enter Calcutta by early evening. Me along with Mi2n and Dip27in decided to leave leisurely by 8.30 in the morning. We all at the dining table, just before the dinner was served.

[ABHI_1512]

Next morning, as per the decided chart, Cr4nkshaft, DJR and Anirban along with BHPian Reshnaguha left early. The whole experience of enjoying with friends was coming to an end and it was time to head back home. Netarhat was a beautiful experience and it would be my endeavour to come back to this place along with same set of people in some other season. I have heard that winters are pretty interesting and so is the monsoon season for folks who love rains.

We started at around the decided time, and ambled along nicely along the same beautiful route before reaching Lohardaga. Oh by the way, the entire Ranchi to Dalma route was dotted with Palash flowers in full bloom. It was a sight to behold while driving through them. Some pictures to brighten up our return journey.





























We stopped for our lunch at 10th Milestone resort and restaurant. The lunch took long time coming but it was a hearty meal. Mi2n suggested for Gulab Jamun and we all ended on a pretty sweet note



Netarhat was a wonderful experience, I suppose winters should be the best time visit the place. Also, Netarhat can be clubbed with a drive to Betla and Patratu valley can be done also. Roads are fantastic and are pure bliss to drive. The numerous water falls that dot these parts are also full of water after the rains. This side of Jharkhand is a traveller’s delight and with the improvement in the facilities and the pro activeness shown by the tourism department is indeed praiseworthy.

Let’s hope that the dreaded pandemic is on its way out now as restrictions go away and we start to get back to normalcy. Thanks to my fellow BHPians who made this journey possible, it was fabulous two days we spent over the weekend in Netarhat. And to all those, who went through the travelogue, thanks for reading it through



Until next time, stay safe and stay well.

[aah78]

Note from Support: Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[dip27in]

This trip was one of the most cherished moments of my life! Like minded friends, little bit of driving, some photo opportunities, food and loads of fun, what else do you want from life.

Abhi has already captured everything about the trip, hence I am left with nothing else to share from an otherwise uneventful trip. There was no drama, bad roads or anything that can add spices to a trip!

[Samba]

Wow, this looks like a super fun trip. Awesome narration with beautiful pics!
Am sure you had a hard time to find out those two sane video clips from the night drive which you can share in Team-Bhp.
On the way to Purulia, I drove till Chandil a week before your drive, but we couldn't find enough Palash bloom around Dalma. It was sporadic, though Purulia was filled with Palash.

Kolkata to Netarhat is always an excellent alternative drive to NorthBengal. This route is predictable with superb roads.

I was at Netarhat exactly a year back.
Was thinking, should I photo-bomb on your travelogue or should I refrain from doing it, & then better sense prevailed.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...uster-awd.html (Kolkata -> Ranchi -> Patratu -> Netarhat -> Rajrappa -> Purulia in a Duster AWD)

[RoadAtlas]

Thanks for the wonderful travelogue!

May I just ask, are they still asking for RTPCR test results to enter Jharkhand? Any E-pass neded? We are planning a trip next month.

[Mile_Breaker]

Picture perfect travelogue Abhi ! Super like ! Surely you all had loads of fun ! Holi must be enjoyed like this, with friends and families and nothing else to bother. But come on, the only food photo that made it here is that of the humble maggi ! I am surprised.

[haisaikat]

Belated happy holi to all of you. A beautiful and colorful photologue of the holi festival culminated in one of the most desired places to visit, Netarhat. Like minded souls enjoying each other's company and a beautiful drive, what more do you need.

Wonderfully captured and narrated. Keep travelling and sharing.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by dip27in

This trip was one of the most cherished moments of my life! Like minded friends, little bit of driving, some photo opportunities, food and loads of fun, what else do you want from life.

One couldn’t have summed up better DD and thanks for sharing the superlative pictures. It was wonderful spending few days with all.

Originally Posted by Samba

Wow, this looks like a super fun trip. Awesome narration with beautiful pics!
Am sure you had a hard time to find out those two sane video clips from the night drive which you can share in Team-Bhp.
On the way to Purulia, I drove till Chandil a week before your drive, but we couldn't find enough Palash bloom around Dalma. It was sporadic, though Purulia was filled with Palash.

Kolkata to Netarhat is always an excellent alternative drive to NorthBengal. This route is predictable with superb roads.

Thanks Samba, No travelogue can be said to be complete unless your photobombing trait is at play . As you rightly said, Netarhat is an alternative for sure but not at the cost of North Bengal, that’s something else.

You might have missed the Palash bloom few days back. This time though, Palash was blooming all through. So much so that the entire Ranchi to Dalma stretch is filled with popping colours on both side of the highway. That road is a bliss for sure. Your travelogue was anyways brilliant.

Originally Posted by RoadAtlas

May I just ask, are they still asking for RTPCR test results to enter Jharkhand? Any E-pass neded? We are planning a trip next month.

Thanks RoadAtlas, all the Covid related restrictions regarding travel have been withdrawn. There is no requirement of any E- Pass now. All the best for your trip.

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

Picture perfect travelogue Abhi ! Super like ! Surely you all had loads of fun ! Holi must be enjoyed like this, with friends and families and nothing else to bother. But come on, the only food photo that made it here is that of the humble maggi ! I am surprised.

Thanks Mile_Breaker, yes, Holi was well celebrated for sure. And about the food part, when you are having some good time with friends, taking food pictures becomes a rarity since they tend to vanish out even before the camera is placed

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Belated happy holi to all of you. A beautiful and colorful photologue of the holi festival culminated in one of the most desired places to visit, Netarhat. Like minded souls enjoying each other's company and a beautiful drive, what more do you need.

Thanks Saikat for the good words, I hope you had a fabulous Holi as well. We indeed had a great time with like minded friends and good food. Netarhat awaits your presence.