Simlipal once again

Simlipal had its spell on me. So when Gudduda and Dipanjan showed interest to go there, I had to go them. On the auspisous dawn of Mahalaya, we three started our journey on one bike and a scooty towards Simlipal. We didnt do any advance hotel bookings as it was off season for Simlipal Forest.

At around 3am we started our journey from Tamluk. The weather prediction was very bad. There was high chance of rain on that day. We were prepared with raincoat and raincover, rain would not be able to stop us from reaching our destination. The road was lovely. We were progressing at a steady pace and at Debra we stopped to have our morning tea. Mahalaya songs were playing in loud speakers in a nearby pandel. It was really giving the feel of durga puja. From Debra I took the lead.

I had not decided which route to take at Kharagpur as the highway was very bad. But I thought it might have been repaired by now. So I went for the highway. It was the worst decision of the whole trip. Road from Chowrangi to Nimpura was pure mud and slush. Previous 2-3 days rain had only worsen the situation. It was much tougher for Dipanja with his scooty and Gudduda as his pilion. Somehow we both managed to cross the section. Both the machines were painted red with a layer of laterite. After that the road was a breeze. Only a few diversion was there. We had planned to go by the Gopiballabhpur Hatibari road.

Just before taking the left turn from highway to Gopiballabhpur road, we stopped on the bridge of Dulung river. The river was full of roaring water and the sky was darkened with clouds. It was really a sight to behold. After a few photos we were on our way. And that black cloud which we were enjoying over over the river got over us and dreanched us in rain. It was just a short spell. And before Gopi we stopped again on the bridge of river Subarnarekha. The dry river bed and wide river banks were filled with Kash flower. An endless amount of Kash flowers were swaying in wind like white waves. We had our breakfast at Gopiballabhpur.

Then we headed straight towards Simlipal. After Hatibari we reached the NH again. Road was bad in many places. But in due time we reached Baripada town. We had a contact of a homestay inside Simlipal forest, but we could not reach them by phone. So we headed towards Lulung to try our luck. In Baripadda I got separated from the other two. But as I was riding in the Simlipal road, they came from behind me. And we went straight to the homestay inside Lulung checkpost only to find out that the homestay was prebooked for the day. The only other option was Aranya Nibas which was out of our budget.

Anyway we went inside and beside the Lulung river we started to think what to do. A group of boys were making preparation for picnic with light music and drinks. Discarded plastic and glass bottles were everywhere along with thermocol plates just at the border of jungle core area. Once we decided to negotiate with Aranya Nibas staff, if the price comes down, we will stay there. We went inside. It was really a lovely resort they have made. But we were more interested in natural wild beauty than carefully created landscape. The manager really tried hard and gave us a discount of 20%. But that was also way over our shoe string budget. Now our only option was to stay at Baripada town which was 23km away. And as we were busy dreaming about hot chicken currry and rice at the home stay we had planned to stay, we didn’t bring any food with us.

Anyway we thought to hell with eating. We took out our cameras, picked our spots and indulged ourselves in the rich insect fauna of Simlipal Tiger Reserve for which we have come this far. The whole forest floor was seeping water. Small and medium streams were everywhere. The forest ambient noise was filled with the soothing sound of water flowing. The dry river beds, dry nullahs all were filled with gushing water. It was a dreamland for Macrophotographers. We picked a spot near a small water stream and started to scan the area for subjects. The more time we spent more the jungle started to open up before us. The jungle made us forget about food and all that. At around 4’ o clock we finally decided to head back as the light inside jungle was becoming darker for our photography.

As we were heading back to Baripada town we stopped at a shop to eat something. We asked for ghugni and muri but we got muri with desi chicken curry. It was too delicious. May be partly because the chicken was desi and partly because we had last eaten in Gopi in the morning. As we were heading back, the low horizon sun draped the landscape with a beautiful light. Blue sky, green paddy fields, red soil and bright golden light transformed the place into a dreamland. We stopped in a few places to enjoy the ambient. Then went to Baripada and stayed at the same hotel that I had stayed the previoous time.

Next day morning we headed towards Simlipal again. But this day was different. Previous day rain had not created any problem for us, but this day from the morning the sky was very dark and light was very low inside the jungle. Also the locations we choose to do our macro work turns out to be unfruitful. A particular butterfly that I was searching which I had seen a few times last time but couldn’t photograph as I didn’t bought camera that time had not shown itself this time. Most of our searching went in vein. Then we went to visit Sitakunda Falls. As we reached the area many different butterflies were seen flying. Then we reached the spot and voila! There it was. The butterfly that I was searching from last day was flying seductively there to be photographed. Then within half an hour we photographed many different butterflies there. It seemed to us as if all the butterflies of Lulung area had decided to have a feast at Sitakunda.

It was time for us to leave. We had kept our luggage in the hotel itself. So we went to our hotel, packed our luggage, checked out and headed home. As we hit the road, the sky had cleared and it turned into a bright sunny day with blue sky adorned with beautiful clouds. We were surprised by the dramatic transformation. Anyway it made our journey beautiful. We had our lunch in a roadside dhaba. We reached home in the evening according to plan. This time we bypassed the bypass road of Kharagpur town by taking diversion from highway at Nimpura to Chourangi then took the highway again. It was really a good decision.

People who want to stay in Lulung, as I have said earlier have only two options as of now. Who are like us with shoe string budget, will love the farmhouse. Give them a sms. They will contact later as there is no stable mobile network in the area. And who can afford to spend much fatter amount will love the Aranya Nibas resort. It is really a beautiful place to stay. I am giving both there contacts.

Farmhouse-8480809239
Aranya Nibas- 8480276951, info@simlipalforestresort.com, gm@simlipalforestresost.com

When we finally calculated the whole expenditure we found that total cost of the trip including everything (food, drinks, hotel, petrol) was still less than the discounted rate we were offered by Aranya Nibas. :-D but we enjoyed trip 200%.

Some more photos of the trip for your enjoyment.