When I start writing Ghatshila travelogue, I am getting nostalgic.
My alltime favourite movie is Pather Panchali, one of the masterpieces of all time in Indian cinema.
Do you know the director and writer combination?
The director is the legend Satyajit Ray who got Honorary Award (lifetime achievement) and the author is the great Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.
As I grown up reading books, among many authors, the great Bibutibhushan Bandyopadhyay is the first one whom I admired the most since then.
“Human lifespan is a false measure of human life. He enjoyed ten years of life in a year and a half.” – (The Mountain of the Moon) Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.
I blown away by his famous characters Shankar, Dieogo Alverage, Attelio Gatti (Chander Pahar), Satyacharan (Aranyak) and many.
The list is huge. Every bookworms definitely familiar with the great Bibhutibhushan’s creativity.
So, when I come to know that a travel agency is planning to explore Ghatshila, I immediately booked my seat.
My Ghatshila Travelogue Started by Bus
I am a wanderlust so I want to explore various places. I have explored beautiful offbeat Darjeeling few days ago.
It was the 10th of February, saturday. I started my journey to Ghatshila by bus.
It was a 1 day trip. The trip is organized by a local travel agency. As per their tour itinerary, they would provide breakfast, lunch and dinner on 11th.
So I had my dinner at home with my family. At about 10 pm, I started my journey. The seats are very narrow to sit comfortably.
The main problem was the leg space, though I am not a tall guy.
Whatever, the bust started at about 10:15 pm.
The bus was very average. There is less space. In a word, the bus journey was not comfortable.
However, after 8 hours (approx) of bus journey, I reached Ghatshila, a popular tourist destination.
We had pre-booking at Adhikari lodge which was 5 minutes away from the main road.
After reaching the lodge, I took a little rest.
I had finished my breakfast at about 9 and then went out for sightseeing.
As the trip is organised by a travel agency, they arranged a shared cab for sightseeing.
For sightseeing, the cab rent was 250/head.
In the first half (before lunch) our destinations were Dharagiri, Burudi and Fuldungri hills (tilla).
The temperature was getting higher. At about 30 minutes from our lodge, I reached Dharagiri.
Dharagiri: Heartthrob of Ghatshila
Ghatshila travelogue is incomplete without Dharagiri. The natural beauty is the prime attraction here.
From the car parking to Dharagiri hills the distance is around 30 minutes. The road to reach Dharagiri is stony.
After around 20 minutes of trekking, I reached Dharagiri top.
Due to winter, the waterfall was very thin.
If you want to explore the beauty of the waterfall, visit Dharagiri in monsoon.
After experiencing the beauty of Dharagiri hills along with little waterfalls, I felt nostalgic again.
Because the great Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay wrote many immortal literary pieces here.
The atmosphere was awesome, the shadowy trekking route and the semi-dense forest of Sal, Segun, Mahua and other unknown trees made my trekking experience beautiful.
The scenic beauty and the plateau is the prime attraction of Dharagiri.
Let’s share some information about Dharagiri.
Dharagiri is a plateau. So the road is uneven. Even the trekking route is stony and slippery. If you have any problem with your feet, be careful.
Burudi: Scenic Beauty
Burudi was our next destination. Burudi is a dam. Burudi is located in east Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
It was around 12.30 pm. The atmosphere was hot. I reached the beautiful Burudi.
You can experience the beauty of boating at Burudi lake. For that, you have to pay INR 100 per person.
I enjoyed the reflection of hills into the Burudi dam. I stayed there for about 30 minutes
I suggest you to visit that place in the afternoon.
Sunset at Burudi Dam is splendid, though I could not experience that.
Let’s share some information about Burudi.
Ideally, Burudi is best for evening and morning.
Anyone can enjoy boating there. Life jacket is available. You can enjoy watching fishing at lake in a different style.
Fuldungri Tilla: Nostalgia with Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
I read that the great Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay wrote Aranyak, Chander Pahar and many other famous literary pieces there.
The stony Fuldungri tilla is one of the most famous places among the tourists. I spent around 40 minutes enjoying the hilltop beauty.
The height is not so high. So anyone can easily reach the top.
The Fuldungri tilla is a perfect example of a plateau. You can find a rounded and plain hilltop there.
From Fuldungri tilla, you can witness the Ghatshila beauty in 360 degree.
Let’s share some information that may help you while you plan to explore Ghatshila.
You can reach there anytime, but winter is ideal according to me.
You can easily reach from Ghatshila station. All the places are very close to stations. So you can return on the same day just exploring Fuldungri tilla.
River Subarnarekha: The Beauty of Bengal
In my Ghatshila travelogue, river Subarnerekha is one of the most attractive places to me.
According to local people, the gold is found in the sand of this beautiful river. Many women adn men collect gold particles from the sand of the same river.
The crystal clear water enables the beauty of underwater. You can spend a couple of hours enjoying the beauty of this river.
Evening and morning (mainly dusk and dawn) are most beautiful time to stay here. You can see local people fishing here. Sometime you find yourself lonely here in this beautiful river.
The river Subarnarekha started started its journey fron Piska or Nagri near Ranchi, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations and it flows around 2000 kms to Bay of Bengal.
Rat Mohana: The Place of Pather Panchali
Have you seen Pather Panchali, one of the alltime great movies in Indian Cinema? According to a myth, the great author Bibhutibhushan has written Pather Panchali here at Rat Mohana.
You’ll be amazed when you watch the great Pather Panchali and can feel how this great novel was written!
Not only this, but also the beautiful waterfall is another attraction to people. The small hill and a waterfall is the main attraction. In monsoon, the waterfall becomes more attractive. People enjoy the melody of the waterfall then.
Though as I went in winter (though the temperature was around 39 degree cencious), I didnot enjoy the monsoon beauty.
The water of Rat Mohana mixes to the river Subarnarekha. In a word this beautiful place is ideal to spend a couple of hours here.
Gourikunja: The House of Bibhutibhushan
Gourikunja is now a museum and it opens from 9 am to 1 pm in the morning and from 3 pm to 5.30 pm in the afternoon.
Gourikunja is named after Bibhutibhushan’s late wife Gouridevi who passed away just after one year of marriage.
Bibhutibhushan lived here for long. If you visit Ghatshila, you must visit this beautiful place once.
Here a little museum shows some of great Bibhutibhushan’s used things, his valuable manuscripts, many images and more.
You can see some valuable incidents painted on the walls of the house. In a word this place is very attractive to those who love Bengali Literature. Being a huge fan of Bibhutibhushan, I feel nostalgic remmebering some beautiful incidents of “Pather Panchali”, “Chander Pahar”, “Aparajito” and more.
Ramkrishna Math and Rumkini Devi Temple
Ramkrishna Math is one of the most devine places and a attraction of Ghatshila. Spending a couple of hours here in this pious place is really attractive.
The whole ambiance and the atmosphere is really impressive. You can stay here and for that you need to book earlier.
Not only Ramkrishna Mandir, and Monk Quarters, but also a beautiful garden and a medical center is attraction of this place.
If you want to explore the beauty of Ramkrishna Math, you must visit Belur Math once.
After Ramkrishna Math, we went to Rumkini Devi Temple. Though it is not the old temple. If you want to explore the old Rumkini Devi Temple, you may visit Jadugora.
The temple is nice and you can spend a couple of hours here.
Chitrakut Hill: 360 View from Hiltop
The last destination of our destination is the Chitrakut Hill. Like other hills in Ghatshila, this is the same.
At the hilltop you can find beautiful temple. I witnessed the beautiful Ghatshila from the hilltop.
It was dusk, and the surrounding was getting dark. I enjoyed the beautiful sunset from the hilltop.
In a word, my Ghatshila travelogue will be in my heart forever.
My Final Thought
Ghatshila is an ideal destination for weekend tourism. You can plan a 2 day trip to Ghatshila anytime. Though due to a plateau and located in Jharkhand, the ideal time to visit is winter and monsoon. You can explore all popular Ghatshila places by hiring an auto rickshaw or cab from the Ghatshila station. Here in my Ghatshila travelogue part 1, I shared my little experience.
