Saturday, August 22, 2009

Garpanchkot......monsoon getaway

Stuck inside a city reeling under heat, humidity, pollution & post election political violence, where to go? Its monsoon time, though not bountiful for agriculture this year , but still enough to dampen your mood, comfort. Roads are getting potholed, waterlogged, hills are suffering with landslides. So struck upon an idea by few blogs by a short weekend getaway least vulnerable from monsoon havoc located at drier parts of the state...Garpanchkot at Purulia.


Garpanchkot is a secluded forest bungalow(WBFDC) built in the lap of Panchakot Hill(Panchet Hill) easily accessible from Asansol/Adra(about 35-40 Kms) from both places.Truley, those who will expect customized site seeing tour, shopping, partying Garpanchkot is not a place for them. It has nothing but a resort, where you can stay a day or two for a change from boring city life among greenery of the hill.There are few ruins of old terracota temples, palaces of ancient Panchkot dynasty, feudal princes who ruled over the region a millenium ago.


16th Aug,2009. We set off for GPKot from Asansol. Soon we crossed over to Purulia via Dishergarh. We got first views of our destination from the bridge over Damodar.





Saikat's brand new i10 made this trip so enjoyable



Soon we reached Sarbari More,then Puapur village. From Puapur a road towards right goes to Panchet Dam over Damodar River.The other way goes to the WBFDC resort just 2.5 kms apart from Puapur. Panchet Dam in monsoon offers panoramic view of the reservoir and drive thorugh the dyke of the dam is an enjoyable experience.





Panchet Dam over Damodar











Welcome to Garpanchkot Eco Tourism Resort



The Dining Hall



Our cottage Mahua, where we stayed



Ruins of Panchkot reminds of glory of the past, as well as negligence to preserve our heritage in present.




Useful Tips: Garpanchakot is a nice weekend stay you can enjoy. The only place to stay is WBFDC Eco Tourism Resort. So it is advisable to ensure your room well in advance. Though it can be easily covered from Asansol, Dhanbad, Durgapur within a day. The resort is satisfactory in service and overall staying experience. Authorities need to give a bit of extra effort to make it a excellent experience.

Driving Direction: The resort is situated in the lap of Panchet Hill which is located around 35 Kms from nearest big town Asansol and around 27 Kms from Adra. If you are visiting from Kolkata , drive along NH2 uoto Asansol.Asansol is well connected by numerous trains with rest of the country and frequent bus services suitable for all pockets are available from Kolkata, Ranchi, Bardhaman, Siuri ,Adra, Purulia etc.

Drive through Dishergarh, cross Damodar River to enter Purulia District. You will see Panchet Hill in distance in right. Drive towards Sarbari More, then upto Puapur.Here take a detour to right for a couple of kms to get into Panchet Dam. The road towards left will take you to the resort(1.5 Km).