Having a Monday off meant having an extended weekend after a long time, and after being closeted at home for months due to the second wave of Covid, there was no way my better half and I were going to let go of this opportunity to take a weekend break.
This time we chose the hills of Ajodhya in the northwestern part of Bengal, which are known for their lush landscapes and serene waterbodies. We had never been to this part of Bengal before - the closest places in the vicinity that we had been to were Garhpanchkot and Mukut Manipur which were also good in their own way. Hence this trip promised to be a welcome change from the usual DiPuDa circuit which is so beloved of Calcuttans for their weekend trips.
Once we firmed up the plan, I checked on available stay options and was helped a lot in this by fellow BHPian
ABHI_1512. He suggested Kushal Palli and Bon Polashi Eco Hut and while we found Kushal Palli to be outside our budget, Bon Polashi ticked all the boxes and we immediately got the booking done.
Thereafter a friend also wanted to join us with his family once he got to know of our trip, and as luck would have it, the resort did have another room available, so we booked that too and were all set for our trip.
We started from Calcutta early on Saturday morning with a plan to reach our destination Bon Polashi Eco Resort at Muruguma Lake by lunch time
Since our friends who accompanied us on this trip were a three member family this meant that the car was fully loaded. It was a struggle to fit all the luggage in the limited boot space of my hatchback but we managed somehow.
Google maps suggested this route which is through Durgapur, Raniganj, Saltora and Raghunathpur. Approx distance was 320 kms and ETA was 7.5 hours
Crossing the Hooghly at Dakshineswar
These bikers were going ahead of us. They seemed to be going on a long trip. Wonder where?
Road surface was good for almost 90% of the way. There were the odd broken patches and craters and in some places there were speedbreakers and a lot of congestion but on the whole it was a good drive
We stopped for breakfast at this dhaba near Durgapur. Calcutta to Durgapur took about 2.5 hours
Once we hit the state highway from Raniganj roads were a little more congested and we ran into all kinds of animals on the road too
There was road repair work in progress in some sections too
However, there was very little traffic and hardly any pedestrians so we made good progress despite the impediments
There are multiple routes to this part of Bengal. We could have come via Asansol as well
The countryside was verdant and really beautiful
Finally our destination was within sight after almost 7 hours
Sand mining in progress in one of the rivers on the way. Illegal sand mining is unfortunately one of the biggest industries in Bengal
The small town closest to Muruguma is Begun Kodar which also has this interesting temple
We finally reached Muruguma and our stay was right opposite Muruguma Lake. It took us exactly 7.5 hours to reach our destination.
Our resort Bon Polashi was quite basic but nice.
It had nice cottages and even its own pond with fishes in it
The lush greenery all around ensured that we had some beautiful visitors
Our room was spacious and functional
We also had our own (sleepy) guard dog
Rules of the resort. Made sense considering the remote location
The open common dining area had this magnificent view
Food options were simple and limited but whatever was served was tasty
After having a hearty lunch we set out for Muruguma View Point to see the sunset. The road runs past the lake.
It then goes uphill and becomes really narrow and steep. There are also at least four hairpin bends
The sunset from Muruguma View Point
That completed day 1 for us. It was an excellent day both in terms of the drive and the destination.