[Sudipto-S-Team]

Nice to find that a five-year old thread is still alive and kicking . I want to point out one thing about Bishnupur that is wrongly mentioned in my first paragraph. Bishnupur, apart from its temples and sarees, is also famous in the Indian classical music map. The Bishnupur gharana (school of music) is pretty well known.

Jhapan (snake festival) is another festival that Bishnupur is famous for. It happens on the last day of the current Bengali month of Bhadra. The precise date I think is 17th August. Snake charmers from all over come here and perform shows.

If you are going now please watch out for it. Such rural festivals may not last for too long.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by saket77

Forget weekend...I am off to Puri tomorrow This will be my first trip to Puri. If I like the place, will write about it too. Thanks!

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Great! Best wishes from my side. Do visit the chilka lake in monsoon.

If possible, please drive to Satpada from Puri, to have a glimpse of Chilka lake. I guess you will like to take a ride in boat there. And if it does not inconvenience you much, please find out whether the Satpada-Krishnaprasad ferry service is working.

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Nice to find that a five-year old thread is still alive and kicking . I want to point out one thing about Bishnupur that is wrongly mentioned in my first paragraph. Bishnupur, apart from its temples and sarees, is also famous in the Indian classical music map. The Bishnupur gharana (school of music) is pretty well known.

Jhapan (snake festival) is another festival that Bishnupur is famous for. It happens on the last day of the current Bengali month of Bhadra. The precise date I think is 17th August. Snake charmers from all over come here and perform shows.

If you are going now please watch out for it. Such rural festivals may not last for too long.

Great Sudipto da!
A small correction though : It would be the last day of Bengali Month of "Shravana", not "Bhadra". 17th August it is.
It matches the last day of my trip. Let's see if I can accommodate.
One question - Any precise timing when the "snake show" starts?

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Thanks. Absolutely correct. Last day of Shravan (just before Bhadra).

[saket77]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

If possible, please drive to Satpada from Puri, to have a glimpse of Chilka lake. I guess you will like to take a ride in boat there. And if it does not inconvenience you much, please find out whether the Satpada-Krishnaprasad ferry service is working.

Rahul Da, I came back yesterday fully drained from the trip. Unfortunately, I did not check your message while on the run, hence I could not inquire about the ferry service, but I was told that the only boat service running currently is to the dolphin park and sea mouth. We did drive to Satpada from Puri. Also took the boat ride to the dolphin park, some island (whose name I have forgotten conveniently) and to the sea mouth (from a distance though). The boat rides are exorbitantly priced at Rs. 2220/- per boat. The saving grace was little glimpses of dolphins that we got to see.

Guess it would be better to talk more about it in the relevant thread, as this thread is for Bishnupur. Would like to hear from Gearhead Mait about his trip to Bishnupur.

Regards,
Saket

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Nice to find that a five-year old thread is still alive and kicking .

Indeed!

I want to point out one thing about Bishnupur that is wrongly mentioned in my first paragraph. Bishnupur, apart from its temples and sarees, is also famous in the Indian classical music map. The Bishnupur gharana (school of music) is pretty well known.

Jhapan (snake festival) is another festival that Bishnupur is famous for. It happens on the last day of the current Bengali month of Bhadra. The precise date I think is 17th August. Snake charmers from all over come here and perform shows. If you are going now please watch out for it. Such rural festivals may not last for too long.

Couldn't resist attaching the picture of the "Dalmadal Canon" originally belonging to the Malla dynasty - as it's also something Bishnupur is famous for.
Clicked on June 15, 2014 when we toured this area and stopped by at Bishnupur to view the terracotta work and help the missus in the quest for super cheap Bishnupur sarees!
The rather simple Bengali fare (machh bhaat , dal, torkari) at the local WBTDC was simply fabulous! Simple food but finger licking good!

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by saket77

Would like to hear from Gearhead Mait about his trip to Bishnupur.

Tlog coming soon.
It was more than Bishnupur. Details later, now just the clues:

1) Bishnupur (Obvious)
2) A hill
3) A forest
4) A dam

[saket77]

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Tlog coming soon.
It was more than Bishnupur. Details later, now just the clues:

1) Bishnupur (Obvious)
2) A hill
3) A forest
4) A dam

Fantastic!
Let me take a few guesses.
Hills could be Susunia hills and the Dam has to be Maithan. Scratching my head for the forest though. Come up with the TL soon!

Regards,
Saket

[satrab]

Hi Sorry to bother on a fairly old thread. Plan to be in Kolkata at the end of December and since I've heard so much about Bishnupur was hoping to drive there for a day or so. While I've driven fairly extensively in West, Central and North India, don't have clue about roads in West Bengal. Google Maps say that the distances aren't significant, but would like to get an idea about road conditions and safety. I normally drive a Yeti, but here I guess I would be driving my in-laws' Ritz. Would have my wife and two daughters with me. Will start from Birati.

Would really appreciate suggestions.

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by satrab

Hi Sorry to bother on a fairly old thread. Plan to be in Kolkata at the end of December and since I've heard so much about Bishnupur was hoping to drive there for a day or so. While I've driven fairly extensively in West, Central and North India, don't have clue about roads in West Bengal. Google Maps say that the distances aren't significant, but would like to get an idea about road conditions and safety. I normally drive a Yeti, but here I guess I would be driving my in-laws' Ritz. Would have my wife and two daughters with me. Will start from Birati.

Would really appreciate suggestions.

Shorter route would be through:

Birati-Durgapur Expressway(via Belghoria Expressway)-Singur-Tarakeshwar-Harinkhola-Arambagh-Kotulpur-Joypur Forest-Bishnupur.

But the road from Arambagh to Kotulpur is bad. Apart from that stretch, rest is good to average.

I would suggest this route (although a detour):

Birati-Durgapur Expressway(via Belghoria Expressway)-Ranigunj-Mejia (NH60)-Bankura-Bishnupur.

Road condition is very good here.
Don't miss Joypur Forest. In my opinion, stay in Joypur Forest (Banalata Resort) rather than Bishnupur (merely 11 kms apart)

In case of more info, please follow my thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...kura-more.html

Have a safe trip.
Thanks,
Soumyajit

[satrab]

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Shorter route would be through:

Birati-Durgapur Expressway(via Belghoria Expressway)-Singur-Tarakeshwar-Harinkhola-Arambagh-Kotulpur-Joypur Forest-Bishnupur.

But the road from Arambagh to Kotulpur is bad. Apart from that stretch, rest is good to average.

I would suggest this route (although a detour):

Birati-Durgapur Expressway(via Belghoria Expressway)-Ranigunj-Mejia (NH60)-Bankura-Bishnupur.

Road condition is very good here.
Don't miss Joypur Forest. In my opinion, stay in Joypur Forest (Banalata Resort) rather than Bishnupur (merely 11 kms apart)

In case of more info, please follow my thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...kura-more.html

Have a safe trip.
Thanks,
Soumyajit

Thanks for the suggestions, but according to Google Maps, its nearly twice as long. Is the bad stretch so bad that one should drive an extra 150 kilometres each way?

[Babuda]

Originally Posted by satrab

Thanks for the suggestions, but according to Google Maps, its nearly twice as long. Is the bad stretch so bad that one should drive an extra 150 kilometres each way?

I did the stretch via Arambagh while going to Bishnupur earlier this year during the monsoons - in many parts, the road was in shambles! We returned via Durgapur and believe me the detour was well worth it.

[satrab]

Originally Posted by Babuda

I did the stretch via Arambagh while going to Bishnupur earlier this year during the monsoons - in many parts, the road was in shambles! We returned via Durgapur and believe me the detour was well worth it.

Thanks. I think I will just take a train. Very boring, but guess thats the best option for a day-night trip