[Samba]

The plan was to go for a laid-back road trip & enjoy the rain. We were quite sure, we won't be heading towards the Himalaya this time.
Our plan was to explore the lush green forests, ghats, meadows & the gushing waterfalls during the monsoon. Out of the 2,500 km, more than 1,000 km were on single lane highways through the scenic ghats and forests.
The best time to head for these trips are between July to September.

The travel partners-
Yours truly, Bhpian DogNDamsel12 aka Sukanya, & our trusted Duster Awd.



The Itinerary-

Day 1- Kolkata to Taptapani & explore Jeerang
Day 2- Taptapani to Koraput
Day 3- Explore Deomali hills & Rani Duduma waterfall from Koraput
Day 4- Koraput to Tirathgarh waterfall and Chitrakote waterfall
Day 5- Chitrakote waterfall to Sambalpur via Raipur
Day 6- Sambalpur to Kolkata via Keonjhar

Few teaser pics-





















And a teaser video-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SbbYpjhHlg&t=20s

Before starting the travelogue, I want to thank Bhpian DriveTrain, Bhpian Travelmania, Bhpian SayakC & Mr.Soumitro Bhattacharjee for their invaluable inputs.

Index

Taptapani & Jeerang

Taptapani to Koraput

Deomali Hills

Rani Duduma waterfall

Tiratgarh waterfall

Chitrakote waterfall

[Samba]

Day 1 (Kolkata to Taptapani, 701 km, 10 hours-15 mins & explore Jeerang in afternoon, 72 km, 3 hours)

We started from Kolkata at 3-45 am. The city was sleeping, and the traffic was sparse. We crossed the Nivedita setu toll by 4 am and were cruising on the NH.
I was driving between 90-110 km/hr, and our progress was more than decent.

We crossed Kharagpur around 5-15 am, and took left for Balasore. Kharagpur to Balsore is still not in a great shape, but it has improved since my last visit in December 2022. Now the diversions are lesser, and one can maintain a decent speed.
We took our first break at the Jio-bp petrol pump just after crossing Balasore. It was 7 in the morning. We took a 30 mins break to refuel ourselves, and our Duster! This filling station has a nice cafeteria with clean restrooms.

The speed-limit in Odisha is 80 km/hr. So the progress was slower than expected. I set the cruise control in our Duster at 80 km/hr. By 10 am we reached Bhubaneswar, and was caught up right in the middle of morning office hours traffic. It took us an hour to cross the city limits.

By 11-45 am we reached Barkul, and our plan was to have our lunch at Chilika Dhaba. But when we reached the Dhaba, they were yet to open! We left the place and spent around 15-20 mins beside the Chilika lake, which falls right beside the highway.

Reached Brahmapur by 1 pm. A beautiful temple at Brahmapur town.



We took right, crossed the city, and drove for another 59 km to reach our stay at Taptapani, (Taptapani Spring Resorts) by 2 pm.

This resort is located at a super scenic location, and arguably this is the best, and only stay at Taptapani.

We stayed in the wooden cottage amidst nature, and it was a beautiful stay.
Regarding the resort, the rooms were comfortable and clean, the food was average, and the service was subpar. Plenty of parking space available, and one can have lots of space to walk and enjoy inside the resort itself. Plus the Hot Spring of Taptapani is just a 10 mins walk from this resort.

Few pics inside the resort-





View from our cottage balcony





Duster enjoyed a scenic parking too.



After having our lunch we decided to visit Jeerang. This place is around 35 km from Taptapani & it is called the Tibet of Odisha. For a long time I wanted to visit Jeerang, & this was one of the main reason I chose the route to Koraput Via Taptapani, & not via Srikakulam through AndhraPradesh. Plus this route is the more scenic one, but the road through Srikakulam will have a longer stretch of 4/6 lane highways.

The Tibetan people living in Jeerang are very friendly, and they were more than eager to show us the place.
The main Monastery closes at 5pm, & we reached just on time!

Pics from the main Jeerang Monastery.

[Samba]

Day 1 continued-

On the opposite side of the main monastery, there were the Stupas. This place is very peaceful, scenic and has it's own vibe. We enjoyed thoroughly.





































By 6 pm we left Jeerang, and before entering our resort, we visited the Taptapani hot spring. After a tiring day, standing in knee deep warm water of the hot spring just felt heavenly! It was so comforting. The muscle aches just vanished like a magic, and I felt energetic!

[Samba]

Day 2 (Taptapani to Koraput, 270 km, 5.5 hours)

On a laid-back trip the rule is to sleep in till late and start late! So we slept in till 9 am, and started for Koraput by 10-30 in the morning!

This was among one of the most scenic drives. The road was through forests & ghats and on top of it, it was constantly raining.

After an hour of drive from Taptapni, we came across this beautiful reservoir. Got off from the highway, and we spent half an hour beside this water body.











Rayagada is the only major town, one will cross in this route. So this will be the best place to have lunch.

A photo-break on this scenic route.



After a scenic rain drive by crossing 4-5 small ghats, we reached Koraput by 4 pm.

We chose Ekayani farms to stay at Koraput. This place is not like a regular hotel/resort or home-stay. Mr.Subrat Das (the owner) has made this up very tastefully. He stays with his family inside the same premise. They serve tasty home made food (pure veg).
There are few very basic rules which needs to be followed. He will share that while booking the stay. He loves guests who are true nature lovers, and he is pretty much passionate about the place. This place is on a 35 acre land, and most of it is used for coffee plantation. Mr.Das, happily gave us a guided tour of his farm. We were pretty much impressed by his and his wife's hospitality.
This place is highly recommend for pure nature lovers. Not a place for tourists who enjoy holidays with loud music and alcohol!
This place is a bit away from the main Koraput town, and offers excellent view of it's surroundings.















A small video from today's drive-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_FkEF4NhI

[Samba]

Day 3 (Koraput sightseeing- Deomali hills & Rani Duduma waterfall, 166 km, 8 hours)



It was raining incessantly since early morning, and the weather outside looked awesome.

After a heavy breakfast, our first destination was Deomali top. It's 58 km from Koraput, and at an altitude of 5,500 feet. Deomali peak is the highest point in Odisha, & one can drive till here. If anyone wants to reach the summit, it will be another 1 hour of scenic walk from the parking.

The ascent to the top was a proper hill drive, and Sukanya enjoyed the driving to the core. Fomo kicked in, so I took back the steering during the return leg.

On the way



There are multiple view points from where once can have a good view of the valley.





















The road ahead looked beautiful

















On the way we crossed multiple such streams and small waterfalls.









Deomali hills in monsoon just looks like a picturesque location. We just enjoyed the cool breeze and the greenery all around. The vistas were so soothing to our eyes. We felt like staying there for a more longer period of time, but we had to leave.
Our next destination was Rani Duduma waterfall.

[Samba]

Day 3 continued

Rani Duduma waterfall is 48 km from Deomali top. The route is again through beautiful country roads. The ecstasy can't be expressed or captured, this will be stored securely in our memory.

We reached Rani Duduma waterfall by 4 pm. From the parking till the waterfall it's a 700 meter scenic walk.





























This dog accompanied us from the parking till the waterfall, he waited for us, & then he again accompanied us till the parking. In return he obviously got his much deserved treat!



The beautiful vistas all around.





On the return leg we had a late lunch or early dinner (5-30 pm) at Hotel Imperial Inn at Semiliguda.



The evening drive back to our resort.



A small video from the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SbbYpjhHlg

[Samba]

Day 4 (Koraput to Tiratgarh Waterfall & Chitrakote waterfall, 204 km, 6 hours)

We left Koraput around 10 in the morning. Google maps took us through Jeypore bypass, going through Borigumma. This route was again a very scenic one.
We entered Chhattisgarh just few kilometer before Jagdalpur.

Our plan was to visit Tiratgarh waterfall, and then check-in to our resort beside Chitrakote waterfall.

In less than 3 hours we reached Tiratgarh waterfall. The last 10 km passes through the Jungle of Kanger valley national park. The jungle is dense, the road is narrow and the drive was a memorable one.

By 1 pm we reached the parking of Tiratgarh waterfall. To reach the base of the waterfall, we had to go 300 feet down through stairs. It was fairly an easy trek, but not recommended for the senior citizens.

The magnificent Tiratgarh waterfall.























We left Tiratgarh waterfall by 2-30 pm.
On the way back we stopped and clicked several pics inside the Kanger valley national park.

[Samba]

Day 4 continued

By 4 pm we reached Dandami Resort beside Chitrakote waterfall. This is the best place to stay while visiting Chitrakote waterfall. We opted for the wooden cottages. The rooms were comfortable and big. On the flip side the rooms were lacking maintenance. Though this was not a deal breaker, but it could have been better!
For booking this resort, one has to plan the dates really early. This resort has a huge rush, and one must book the room 2-3 months prior to their travel date. The booking can be done through Chhattisgarh tourism website.

The evening was spent taking a walk around the resort and by clicking few long exposure night shots of this vast waterfall.

The cottages where we stayed.



Clicked from the balcony of our cottage.





These were clicked from the view point of our resort.





Day 5 (Chitrakote waterfall to Sambalpur, 542 km, 8 hours)

Not everyday we get a chance to have our morning tea with this kind of a view!



A view point, just in front of our cottage



Post breakfast we checked out from the resort at 10-45 in the morning, and we visited the view point outside the resort. From there one can see the waterfall just from a stone's throwaway distance & it was amazing. Thanks to Sukanya for pointing out this view point, else I would have completely missed it.















After spending about half an hour, we finally started for Sambalpur with a heavy heart. We wanted to extend our stay, but our work schedule didn't permit us to do so.

We left Chitrakote waterfall at 11-30 am. There are two routes, one is via Balangir, and the other one was via Raipur. The route via Balangir is 80 km shorter than the route via Raipur, but Gmaps showed same timing for both the routes. So we decided to take the one via Raipur.

The initial 100 km was single lane, but it was a wide highway through forests, followed by a small ghat road, and we were enjoying the scenic drive with constant drizzles.

Around 1-50 pm, we crossed a hotel with a proper restaurant & it looked good. So we again turned back and decided to have our lunch there. Though the name is Makri Hotel, Punjabi Dhaba, it's pure veg. But the food was really tasty.

Choosing the parking for me was easy! How can I miss to park my car beside a red Avventura!



After a heavy lunch, we refueled our car, and we crossed Raipur around 4-30 pm.

Raipur cricket Stadium



One and a half hour after crossing Raipur, we again entered Odisha & reached Sambalpur at 7-30 pm. Our stay was booked at 'Hotel Royal Retreat' in Sambalpur. This hotel is located right beside the highway. One do not have to enter the city. It's a comfortable hotel with clean rooms and nice food. There is ample of parking space too.



Day 6 (Sambalpur to Kolkata, 589 km, 10 hours)

This was the last day of our trip. It's always sad when a superb trip comes to an end.
We were in no mood to head back to Kolkata, but we had to! Had a late breakfast & by the time we started from Sambalpur, it was already 11 am.

There are two routes to choose from, one is via Saranda forest, and the other one is via Keonjhar. The route through Keonjhar is in great shape and is 100 km shorter. Both the routes are very scenic. This time we decided to take the route was Keonjhar which is the default Kolkata - Bombay highway.

Rain god was with us, and the wipers were constantly doing their job. After crossing a small ghat, we were driving on the superbly laid 4/6 lane highway. We crossed Keonjhar around 2 pm. Our initial plan was to have lunch at Keonjhar OTDC. But Google maps took us through the road which bypasses the Keonjhar town.
By 3 pm we reached Jashipur & had our lunch at Kanak Residency. The food was good, but the hygiene they maintain is questionable! Sukanya was skeptical, but I ate all the food, as it was served hot and tasty!

Post lunch we were driving through the ghat roads of Simlipal forest and Bangriposi. Around 4-50 pm, we crossed Odisha and entered Jharkhand. Took a small 30 mins break, and we entered Bengal by 5-30 pm.
Reached Kolkata aroun 8-45 pm.

A small video from today's drive-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unaY46oYZC0

2545 km of memories added!

[BlackPearl]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sayata]

Again Samba Magic!!
What a beautiful travelogue dear. I really feel bad for not being a part of this trip, but you know very well that due to my 4year old son Pocha 's ( AAHAN) school admission I could not join this time. But this trip will be difinately in my bucket list for future.

[AviC93]

The pictures are once again surreal . It must have been an impeccable journey which I missed out due to personal reasons. However, me and my wife were able to enjoy the rains in another part of Orissa somewhat at same time.

[GhostRider28]

Excellent travelogue. There aren't too many places for road trips during the monsoons - this itinerary is a superbly curated one. Thanks for sharing. Rated a well deserved 5 stars.
(It was also heartening to see that the trusty old dusty didn't complain about the fuel quality this time!)

[DriveTrain]

Another fantastic travelogue with your usual hallmarks rated 5 stars . You made the most out of your available time , I wish that you had paid a visit to the other bank of Indravati , would have loved to drool on your captures of Chitrakote from a different angle !

I personally missed out on Jeerang , seeing the beauty of the place - I will probably plan a visit again

There are some absolutely stunning places in Odisha and Chhattisgarh with great infrastructure to boot - makes for great road trips .

[NomadicLife]

Chitrakote & Tirathgarh Waterfalls are a treat to watch during the rainy seasons. We did this trip during the Independence weekend in 2009. During that time Chhattisgarh Tourism was promoting the newly build 6 cottages beside the Chitrakote Falls. Your photos reminded me of our trip. Excellent photography and an equally good write-up






enjoying the Tirathgarh Waterfall

[sayakc]

Awesome - In one word!!

and what a way to celebrate the monsoon. As is wont for you, Samba, you have woven an epic with your photography and words.

Chitrakoot has been on my radar for a long time -but your travelogue is just the right impetus for me to undertake that trip.

Btw, finding my name mentioned in the list, was a matter of high honour for me

Cheers!
Sayak