Travel with Ivaana to the picturesque Ayodhya Hills

When it comes to Purulia, it is all about Granny’s love and Grandpa’s pampering. This year too I went to visit my grand parents, and decided to go to the picturesque Ayodhya Hills dotting the fringes of this district. In a Bengali family you can’t expect anything to go smoothly and when it comes to travelling all I can say is, its complicated. Anyway,after putting ona socially acceptable dress, changing routes thrice,forgetting to turn off kitchen appliances and locking fifteen different doors and windows, we finally got into the car for the Ayodhya hills.

Just like a disclaimer, my aunt declared nobody would fight on the way and instead ‘just enjoy!’ I was given the cornermost seat in the middle row of the Bolero. Our expectations were not met as usual; we had planned to be out by 9:30 am but it was about 11:30 am when we departed. After a 20 minute- drive, we were on the highway. The sun was shining majestically,making the view more beautiful than ever, keeping the fact apart that it was almost impossible to see anything without sun-shades. 

As we left Purulia town, serene and unpolluted nature welcomed us. The red laterite soil played a contrast with the green foliage around. Within a few minutes, we were climbing uphill. The trees and shrubs started changing from dried foliage to leafy eucalyptus. There were so many shades of green, almost difficult to capture and remember!

We halted at a view point to take some pictures. The road up, looked like a winding snake. Tiny mushrooms grew on the fringes, some bright red with minute beige spots, just like the pictures in a children’s story book.By the time we reached atop the table-top hills, it was already 2:15pm.The government guest houseswere well maintained but on asking, we learnt they had to be booked in advance. We went and had food in one of the small shacks which was supposedly better than the rest andthe food was unbelievably delicious!

Next, we headed to the upper dam, which is 30 minutes away from the table top. We saw fields of kashful around. I was so lost in thoughts that I didn’t realise we reached the dam. The car was not allowed to enter after a certain point, as the road was closed due to a landslide.There was a long and broad stretch of road with grey boulders on each side.The deep turquoise blue water was almost merging with the boulders. Beyond the water were green hills, that looked like heaven. The sun was blazing hot and the stones and the road were radiating the heat.It was impossible to walk further. 

The best time to visit the dam is early morning. Our next stop was Lake Khaibera. We stopped at the entrance, which opened to a series of rocks that looked like a staircase. There werea total of 600 steps, with large gaps. We couldn’t go down straight to the lake. I could climb down approximately 50 steps. But an uncle of mine went down 400 steps. He came back after 20 minutes and was desperately gasping for air. He showed us the pictures he took and the scene was marvellous. The climb downis only for athletes and not for elderly people.

While returning, we took a detour down Mayur Pahar. It is a small elevation covered with different shades of green trees. We were told by our driver who double hatted as a local guide, that the hills had peacocks, and hence the name.The village boys came to our car asking for biscuits. We gave them our packetsof Little Hearts. Their happiness was beyond imagination and we felt blessed too as we bade them goodbye and descended.