[sghosh2019]

Though am based in-between Bengaluru & Gurgaon, I have been holed up in Kolkata since March 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. Have been working from home. And now since my long drive from Gurgaon to Kolkata back in March 2020 (via 7 States) which was an awesomely fun drive, its now time to plan for the next one.

We decided going to Deoghar, a quaint town in the state of Jharkhand. Dec 31 2020 - 3 Jan 2021, a quick 3-night stay in Deoghar. Deoghar is one of my favorite places which I have been visiting with my family since I was a kid; and our family and extended families from my mum's side have had been visiting since past 4 Generations. My great-grandpa had a palatial Villa there, and in nearby Madhupur, and used to travel there with entire entourage of about 50+ people during the Summers, and during Durga Pujas before Independence of India.

All that remains is now us re-visiting the place every Durga Pujas, since we attend Durga pujas at the Sri Sri Balananda Brahmachari Ashram Near Karnibad, Deoghar.

The place is quintessentially a quaint place still... with awesome food, milk, water, weather, people and essentially balushahi gaja, milk pedas and other delicacies. Also, not to forget the Baidyanath Dham which is one of the most important Jyotirlingas in India and visited by over 80-90 Lakhs devotees of Lord Shiva during Shravan time.

Finally, as the day approached my parents decided NOT traveling owing to old age, and bitter winter cold in Deoghar, and I decided doing the drive and back all alone (my fiancée is visiting her parents), so there was no one else to travel with.

There are multiple routes one can take from Kolkata; in fact Google Map shows 3 routes. I took the one via:
- South Kolkata - Bardhaman - Durgapur - Asansol - Nirsa - Pandaria - Jagdishpur - Tiljori - Satsang Nagar - Deoghar



Distance: 370 Kms
Round trip: 740 Kms
Took me around: 6.5 hours each side.

On 31 Dec, got up by 4:30am, got ready, got hot coffee in flask. And hit the road by 6:00am. Was around 7:00am when I finally exited Howrah and hit the Kona Expressway.

Status of road:
- Once you hit AH1, the road is amazing. I took my Honda City ZX, was cruising at/below 100 Kms/hr most times.
- Once you leave AH1 off Nirsa and then move towards Deoghar up North via NH114A, the road has been newly laid out. It was beautiful with absolutely NO (I repeat: Zero) potholes OR cracks; at most times, my car was cruising at 40 Kms/hr. You cannot go above this since its a well winding road; and cuts through villages.

CAUTION:
- There's a few times you will see cattle, cows, and innocent lambs standing in the middle of the road. At least not more than 4 times, I came to a complete halt cause the lamb(s) did not budge and I had to wait till they cleared off. So one has to be extra careful.

- At one location, a lorry had overturned, so the road was all blocked. After the lorry was pulled to a side, we resumed.

- Also, I took quick shots of the locations in the Map wherein I encountered "unmarked" sudden speed breakers. At least 3 of them along this journey. Please find the sections below in red.


A few photos along the way (couldn't take many since was driving alone):
- Lorry over-turned which was being pulled away from the road.



- I stopped just outside Madhupur to have coffee that I was carrying in my flask.



A few photos from Deoghar:

- Hotel wherein I stayed was Mahadev Palace, Castair's Town.
Its of the most well known hotels in Deoghar; been there for ages.


- Some shots from Sri Sri Balananda Brahmachari Ashram, Karnibad
Notice the pure blue sky in the morning (the pic has not been touched!)






- Now comes one of my favorite shots of this tour.
Took this shot of my Honda City ZX against the height of the Neem Tree in the ashram. The tree is around 150-175+ years old; been there since my great-grandfather when the Ashram was established by current Guruji's guruji's guruji. I hope Honda, as a company can take some learning from this Neem tree... which has weathered so many storms, yet stands tall and provides shelter, shade to the scorched and solace to the Soul. The Tree is never angry & upset on the branches and leaves growing in all directions; they all return to the root when they fall. It was a bitter cold winter morning but the Neem leaves were still green, fresh, smiling & welcoming. May I wish everyone on Team-BHP a very very happy, prosperous New Year 2021, and may you become a "Tree of Life".


- Complimentary Breakfast of Alloo parathas & dahi at Hotel.
Food was yummy!
If you plan traveling with family & kids, you can always enjoy their amazing Restaurant inside the hotel premises.


Finally on 3rd Jan morning, got ready by 6:00 am and left Deoghar. At 6:30 am after leaving Madhupur behind, I decided to stop for a while... the Sun was rising (official time on 3rd Jan was 6:28am) and captured this shot. Breathtakingly amazing it was. Cold, yet the Sun peeking to say a good morning to Earthlings!


Reached Kolkata the same way back in 6.5 hours. Stopped in between at a chai stall on the way to grab some refreshing chai.

Tour Expenses:
- Hotel: Rs. 7808/-
- Food: Rs. 1416/- (Breakfast: Complimentary)
- Petrol: 2500 + 2500 = Rs. 5,000/-
- Toll Fees: Rs. 640/-

Total: Rs. 14,864/- for 1 person
For 2 or more, food expenses would be more.

Overall, it was a wonderful drive and get away from the hustle and bustle of City Life. If you're based in Kolkata and looking for a good place to retreat - have peace, enjoy time with family, awesome sweets and good food and weather for a week or so, Deoghar definitely is one of the best places you could choose.

As for myself, I will be making a long long journey home (Bengaluru) soon - planned in Feb some time from Kolkata to Bhubaneshwar, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada and eventually to Bengaluru. Will definitely post about the journey as well. Till then, wishing everyone an awesome & prosperous New Year 2021.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues from Assembly Line section. Thanks for sharing.

[arindambasu13]

Lovely, these quick getaways are among the best things to happen to driving enthusiasts. Incidentally, I drive a City iVTEC as well and can imagine how much fun the smooth and newly laid out roads would have been. The iVTEC would have been an absolute screamer on these highways

I have heard so many things about Deoghar (just like you, ancestors from a couple of generations back used to regularly visit Deoghar for family vacations from Kolkata, back in the day), but I myself have never had the chance to visit it. Looks like I need to put this on my list of places to travel to from Kolkata. This time, we drove down to Shantiniketan during the Christmas week. Perhaps, Deoghar would be on the agenda in the coming couple of years.

[sghosh2019]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Lovely, these quick getaways are among the best things to happen to driving enthusiasts. Incidentally, I drive a City iVTEC as well and can imagine how much fun the smooth and newly laid out roads would have been. The iVTEC would have been an absolute screamer on these highways

I have heard so many things about Deoghar (just like you, ancestors from a couple of generations back used to regularly visit Deoghar for family vacations from Kolkata, back in the day), but I myself have never had the chance to visit it. Looks like I need to put this on my list of places to travel to from Kolkata. This time, we drove down to Shantiniketan during the Christmas week. Perhaps, Deoghar would be on the agenda in the coming couple of years.

Absolutely spot-on. I had to "force" myself and say nooooooo.... and not go over 100. Lolz.
The roads were so awesome!!!!!

Yes, you must visit this place. Especially during Winter its amazing!

[lejhoom]

Originally Posted by sghosh2019

There are multiple routes one can take from Kolkata; in fact Google Map shows 3 routes. I took the one via:
- South Kolkata - Bardhaman - Durgapur - Asansol - Nirsa - Pandaria - Jagdishpur - Tiljori - Satsang Nagar - Deoghar

Thank you very much for this write-up. I am planning a road trip to Deoghar from Hyderabad in September. The plan is Hyderabad-Nagpur-Jabalpur-Varanasi-Gaya-Deoghar-Bhubaneswar-Puri-Vizag-Vijaywada-Hyderabad.

Till I saw your thread, I was assuming that the road from Deoghar to Asansol is via Jamtara. That's what Google shows. Do you have any suggestion regarding this?

Except for this section, information for all other sections are easily available on Team-Bhp.

Thank you for your valuable time.

[scorched_earth]

The last time I went to Deogarh was in the late seventies around spring (over the long weekend of Good Friday and Easter Monday). It was a road trip with my father in his ambassador.
That time quite a few bengalis had houses there like Benaras. My memories of Deogarh are forests, forests and forests. The house belonged to one of my father's friend (sort of bagan-baari), it was a huge mansion with tall iron gates, a long drive-in and finally the palatial house. There was so trees around and as children we used to go for long walks on the road in front of my house. Chasing butterflies, collecting pebbles, bathing outdoors next to the well and climbing trees were some activities we children did.
Your travelogue brought back those memories. Thank you.