Ep 6 Kanger Valley to Jagdalpur | Kotumsar Cave Tirathgarh Falls | Bastar, Chhattisgarh
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. This morning we started from Chitrakote. And after travelling 55 KM, we are standing...
...at the entry gate of the Kanger Valley. The national park starts from here. We will go straight for 2 KM on this road. There we will get a jeep. The jeep will take us to the Kotmsar Cave. That is our plan so far. And we are accompanied by Mr. Ram Tiwari.
He is standing with us. Namaste! We met him at the tourism office yesterday. He offered to help us with today's journey. And there is also Balak Bhaiya with us.
He works in a firm called Sadguru Travels. So, we have been travelling with him for the past 7 days. The charges that we paid for Innova Cresta are Rs 18 per km. Each day's running is about 300 KM.
Night-halt charges and meals are additional. We are going straight from here. We will now join you after 2 KM. We've come to the Jeep starting point.
From this counter here, we bought a ticket for Rs 1500. Upto 6 persons can travel on that. It will take us to the cave and bring us back here.
This whole journey will take 1.5 to 2 hours. Come, let's go. We've travelled 5 KM so far. We've stopped here to see a waterfall.
What is the name of this waterfall? Kanger Dhara! Kanger Dhara! So, we will walk down from this side, to see it? hen we will come back? Yes! So, how far is Kutmsar Cave? 7 KM. 7 KM. Let's go.
You should join us too. Umesh Bhai just told me that the 'Kanger Valley' is... ...closed for tourists during the monsoon season. But, since Umesh bhai lives nearby, he told me that... ...during the rainy season, the flow of water is so high... ...that one won't be able to stand here, on this rock. That should tell you that in comparison to the present level...
....this whole area is covered in water during July-August. Is that so? Yes! Really! And then, the valley opens for tourists in November? Yes! But the water level must still be substantial? Yes! The view is good! Beautiful! Let us go a little further, to that side. Let's go. See, this isn't a mountain. These are huge boulders, large rocks.
Now, if you pay attention, there is a special feature to be noticed. It seems as if this rock is arranged in layers. If you would notice, you'll see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... ...at least 15 rectangular tiles layered one upon another. And this isn't just here. This phenomenon is visible everywhere.
That is why, the current cuts into the rocks here. Now, the fact is that the current of water... ...in this place is very fast. And that is the reason you can see straight cutting along the surface. Beautiful! I feel, you can easily spend 1-2 hours here. Obviously, you must be interested in nature.
If you are a nature-lover, two hours would pass in a jiffy. You won't even notice the time passing by. Nice! Let us walk a little further.
What is this? Tendu! Tendu? It comes from a Jhaad (bush). Jhaad ka Tendu! What is this Tendu? Tendu is a type of fruit, like Chiku (Sapodilla)! It is sweet in taste. Like Chiku! Please give me some! Tendu! Here, take one! You also take one Balak Bhaiya! It tastes just like Chiku, as he said. Though each fruit has very little pulp inside. But the taste is good! Nearest match to this taste is Chiku. Please keep the change! Alright! Visit again! Yes I will come back.
Shall we go now? This is the last point till we can take our car. Rakesh has already joined us for the next leg of the trip. Now, about his role during the trip. There is zero light available inside the Cave. There is neither sunlight nor is any artificial lighting used.
His job is to light our path inside the cave with this special torch. And you've told me that inside the cave, if there is no light at all... ...one won't be able to take a single step further. Yes! Nothing would be visible.
Yes! You won't be able to see even your hand like this. Alright! So, how far is the cave? About a 100 meters from here. 100 meters! Shall we go? Okay! Balak Bhaiya, join us! We've reached the entry point of the cave. I won't be going inside. Because he told me that in some parts of the cave...
...one has to bend down or even crawl. Yes, you need to crawl right at the entrance. One needs to be extra cautious. I had told you earlier that I had injured my ligament...
...while playing football some time back. So, I don't want to take any risk. I will stay outside and I will give you my microphone. You can narrate some highlights of the cave inside. There is some more information written here.
If you have health problems related to BP, breathing, asthma or heart... ...you must avoid going into this cave. It is also important to note that oxygen levels are low inside. So, you guys can proceed. Let's go then. We have come down 72 feet from the ground level.
Now we will have to walk straight upto 330 meters. The cave is closed for tourists between 16th June and 31st October. Right now, from where we are passing, this area... ...remains covered in water during monsoon.
The lines you see in the cave walls, are because of water erosion. The water seeping through the cave roof turns into... ...calcium carbonate stalactites like these. The stalactites are basically water dripping down from the roof. If you touch it here, you'll see water dropping.
This is where a layer of calcium gets collected. Let us go further now. The cave is totally dark inside. There is no sunlight anywhere here. Even the creatures inside the cave are impacted by this.
So much so that even the fish inside the cave are called 'blind fish.' It is because they are habitual of living in the dark now. During monsoon, this area where we are walking through...
...water gushes down through here. Due to the water movement, you will see this whole roof is... ...cut into the shape of the Titanic ship. Now this area, where we are standing, from here, in this direction... ...410 meters of cave has been discovered since 2011. But the cave goes beyond 410 meters. One needs to crawl to be able to go into this cave.
And the amount of oxygen in this part is much less than in the main part. Alright! Now we will go further. Sir, if you see up at the roof, at the height of 20-22 feet... ...you will see this is made in the form of two eyes. Our villagers consider this pair of eyes as those of Goddess Kali. For those with faith, they believe it is God-made.
But if we look at it scientifically, it is made by water. Earlier, in the absence of torch or lamp.... ...villagers used petromax, chimney, mashaal (fire torch), etc. Because of the smoke coming out of those devices, this whole...
....area is blackened. And I had told you about the stalactites earlier. And water dripping down from these stalactites... ... creates stalagmites on the floor of the cave. Researchers have found that an inch of stalactite... ... takes 150 years to grow. Okay sir! We have reached 330 meters inside the cave, its last point. If you see at the back here, you will see a lamp burning. The villagers consider it a Shivling since the beginning.
Villagers worship here for the whole day on the occasion of Mahashivratri. On rest of the days, this part is closed. This is the last point of the cave. We will return from here. From what they are telling me about the experience inside... ...I really feel like I should have gone too. But it is good that I didn't because of my knee injury.
Now let me tell you some facts about the Dandak cave as well. This board shows a picture of the cave along with its name. This cave is about 3 KM from the Kanger waterfall... ...which we visited earlier. You can reach the cave on foot as well as on a vehicle.
But you need to climb up a mountain. There are 470 stairs, right? Yes, 470 stairs. This cave isn't open for tourists yet.
So, you need to seek approval of the Forest Department... ...before visiting there. The difficulty level is high because of stairs up the mountain. And there is the cave as well.
This cave is also completely dark, so you need someone.... ...to show you around with the help of a torch. Next on this board is the Kailash Cave. It is 45 KM from the main road. Now, there is some doubt about whether this cave is...
...open or not for the tourists. The place is visited by locals as well as tourists. It is surrounded by villages and those villagers often help out.... ...tourists by guiding them through the cave with the help of torch. I've heard it from someone that in the coming years, Dandak cave... ...might also be thrown open for the tourists. One more thing, everyone who has come out of the caves....
....told me that oxygen level is really low inside. One needs to pay attention to that thing as well. We are leaving now. It is 12 KM upto the gypsy starting point. We will drop you on the way. Then, we are going to Tirathgarh waterfall, which is 6 KM away.
So, 12 plus 6 more KM to reach our next destination. So, we will now join you after travelling for 18 KM more. OK! Thanks to you and you will come with us.
We've reached Tirathgarh Waterfalls. We've parked our car and one cannot go beyond this point. We will go straight from here, then climb down.... ....to reach the waterfall. Time is 3.30 pm and we had reached here 20-25 minutes ago.
But since then, we have been waiting for our lunch to get ready. Once our food is ready, after that we will visit the waterfall. Danku Bhai is preparing our food.
It would be good if we sit inside. Please come. Where is Tiwari ji? Please come. Our lunch is ready. Now, where should I start from? From here! This is rice and chicken cooked together. What is it called? It is called Chawal Bhaja.
Laal Saag! Dal Aachaar (pickles), Chapda Chutney! Chapda Chutney! Chapda is red ant, which is used along with ginger and garlic... ...to make this chuntey that is popular throughout Bastar. I've asked them to show us red ants in raw form. See, we had eaten wadi four days ago as well. It is called Rakhiya locally.
There is White Pumpkin, used to make petha. White pumpkin and Urad dal are soaked together. Then, these are formed into badi. Here, he has cooked it with potatoes and eggplant. Now, this is left.
This is also a unique preparation. Unique style of preparation I must say. This is chicken cooked inside some leaves.
I am told that chicken, marinated in light spices and salt... ...is put inside a bunch of green leaves and... ...left on fire to be cooked. The chicken gets cooked by the heat trapped inside. The chicken also imbibes the flavor of leaves, as we were told. What? What is it called? Dona Ourga.
Great! Is this rice? This is Pej, made with Madhiya and rice. What is Madhiya? Madhiya is a type of seed, which is grounded into a paste... ...and then mixed with cooked rice, to make this drink. Well, it isn't difficult to identify this has rice in it. And as for the Madhiya powder, it would be wrong to call it bitter. But still, it is very slightly bitter.
And just a touch of salt. Dona Purga has a distinct smell. Isn't that right? You feel like you are eating something different.
This smell is because of the leaves. Because of leaves, that is what even I suspected. Thank you so much for giving us extra spoons. This is good! Here, you take one and I will take one. I've seen Laal Bhaji is quit common in this part of the region.
You would get to eat it everywhere, along with peas. Its taste is good. I had eaten Laal bhajii about 2-3 days back. That was very juicy. This may be because of the freshness quotient. I know this is Urad Dal but it tastes different.
Look at this Chapda. I am going to taste it a little bit. It is delicious, but very different. It has a large amount of ginger-garlic past in it.
You must also find it sour. I was thinking about that. Why is it sour? This ant is sour in itself. Nothing else is added for sourness. I thought may be they have added lemon or tamarind for make it sour. Nothing more is added because the ants are really sour.
Alright! The taste of Dona Purga is delectable. It has sufficient chilies in it and a particular smell. And this smell is dominating. Very well-cooked and delicious. Rakhiya Badi and this potato is really delicious.
But I should have eaten it before the chicken. The chili from the chicken is still dominating my taste buds. You told me this is made from gur (jaggery) and rice flour. It is called Gur Bada.
See, this is delicious. I am enjoying it I mean. But I feel since it was made 30-45 minutes ago, it has hardened since. It would feel softer if we eat it instantly after cooking. It is a good thing that we came here and had such a lavish lunch. Better thing is that you had his contact no. and... ...you ordered us this meal two hours in advance. Otherwise, we would have had to wait longer.
Good! Now we will talk to you after 15-20 minutes. We are going to finish this food and then go to the waterfall. We've finished our lunch.
Okay Danku Bhai! We were five people and total bill was Rs 1300. We had ordered a lot of items. Average cost of meal was Rs 250 per head. The average cost of eating here, otherwise, would be... ...Rs 100 per person for vegetarian meal and....
...Rs 150 per person for a non-vegetarian meal. Come let us go from here. I can hear the sound of water from here. Here is the first view of the waterfall.
We have walked a little bit further from the entry gate. How many stairs are there? About 150? 150 stairs. We have reached near the waterfall.
I really like the natural beauty of this place. This is a huge rockface. Regular movement of water has created multiple steps across this rock.
As a result, the water is falling down step-wise. That makes for such a beautiful view that you wouldn't realise... ...how you will spend 2-3 hours here. So beautiful! So beautiful! You told me the name of this river is Munga Bahar. Munga Bahar Nalla.
Tirathgarh waterfall is made from Munga Bahar Nalla. Tirathgarh water comes from Munga Bahar nalla and... ...it joins Kanger Dhara a little further. It turns into Kanger Dhara and becomes Kanger waterfall. That joins Sabri.
Yes, it joins Sabri. And that joins Godavari further? Yes! From Godavari, it goes into Bay of Bengal. There is a warning here about a whirlpool inside the pool...
...so, tourists are cautioned not to step into it. One more interesting that he told me is that... ...if you come here during rains, during July-August... ...or even September.... ...water would be flowing down this whole rockface. And that too in a fierce manner.
And the sound of this waterfall, which we are able to... ...hear upto 200 meters today.... ...would be audible upto a distance of half a km and more. Absolutely Sir! So for 10 minutes or so, we will roam around here. Do some photography. And then go down to level two of the waterfall. This is level 1! Yes Sir! Let's go.
How far below is the second level? Sir, it is half the distance of what we travelled for level 1. Alright! Let's go Sir! These stairs aren't wide enough! Sir, you have to be careful! We've reached level two. This view is totally different from what we saw up there. I mean if you don't come down to level two,...
...you will feel like you've missed something. Now here, the direction of waterfall has changed. Also, this mountain is different from that one. By different, I mean, you can get closer to the fall here.
There are mountains on three sides and the fourth side is open. Do you see that blackened portion of mountain face? That is from where water falls during the monsoon. In the past four days, what I've understood is this.
If you come to Chhattisgarh to enjoy the fiercest of waterfalls,... ...you must come here during monsoon. During monsoon! Am I right? Absolutely correct Sir! Is there a level 3 too? We've reached level three. There isn't must distance between levels two and three,...
... just a couple of stairs. ...whether it is monsoon season or not... ...I would suggest, you must come to Tirathgarh too. You must not miss this visit. You must also not miss visiting the Kutamsar cave,... ...which we visited this afternoon. Though I myself didn't visit it, but I heard that... ...it is worth a visit. The overall experience of today was good.
We enjoyed here. Great! When we came back up here, a person told us that we could... ...also follow a nature trail nearby, which is 3-4 KM long. I am standing outside the main gate of forest rest house. The trail doesn't start here.
The path starts from around the stairs, which takes us.... ...to the backside of this gate. This nature trail is 3-4 KM long. You can follow this trail and reach the highway eventually. This is the guest house of the Forest Department.
Now we are leaving for Jagdalpur. I've told you this is a distance of 35 KM. We will now join you on reaching Jagdalpur. We've come to Sanjeevani shop at Sanjay Market Chowk. This shop is run by the forest department.
Ma'am, I've come here to purchase the forest honey. What is the price of this Forest Honey? This is half kg for Rs 260. Rs 260 for half a kg. Nice! It is written here, "Van - Dhan Vikas Kendra." Very good! I will take two bottles of this.
And I will also take Sitopaladi and Sardi-Khaansi Naashak Churn. Please show me both. I've bought these two for myself.
In the past two years, I've noticed that my throat has become sensitive. Whether I have anything cold, or sour, my throat becomes sore. So, I will also take these two. What is this Tiwari Ji? This is called "Mahua ka Laddoo."
It is made with the fruit of a local tree of Bastar. It is dried and mixed with some sweet substance and.... ...shaped like a laddoo. You also have imli (tamarind). I've heard that Bastar's imli is quite popular.
Someone was also telling me today while we were coming here... ...that Jagdalpur also has Asia's biggest imli market, in terms of volume. Absolutely Sir. Is that so? Yes Sir, Imli is abundantly grown across Bastar.
That is why, we have the largest market in Asia for imli. What is its price? Rs 80 for half a kg. 80 rs for 500 gms. Here you go.
Do you have Kaju as well? Yes, Kaju is also grown here. What is the price? This is 250 gm packet for Rs 360. 250 gm for 360 rs. I can also see Chyawanprash.
Usually, we eat Chyawanprash in cities. Does it have different ingredients? One will have to taste it to understand its taste. That is the main point. Alright, I will take this as well. Please give me a bill for all of this. Thank you! Yesterday, when we reached Jagdalpur, I saw a Murti lane....
...near Hospital Road, where lots of handicraft shops sell murtis. We've come into Ganesh Handicrafts. I am standing inside the shop. We just chose this shop randomly among all the shops.
So, tell us what all you have here. These sculptures, I think, are called Dokra Art? Yes! This is a local art form. We visited Kondagaon earlier. And we saw these sculptures there as well. So, these sculptures are famous here as well as in Konda? Yes, in both places. So, what do you use to make it - bronze or steel?
2022-04-24 22:30
