The Planning
The trip to Panchalingeshwar was totally unplanned. I was searching the travel magazine for an exciting place to visit with my family, when i came across this place. My father contacted The roopark village resort for our stay and we were soon on our expedition.
Kolkata to Panchalingeshwar
We started on early morning of 22nd January 2014 at 6 p.m., we took our car for an exciting road journey. Soon we were crossing the Howrah Bridge and passing the Orissa state border line we reached Balasore. 28km of rugged country road later we reached our resort. We were welcomed in the traditional way and we were led to our cottage, it was made of mud and natural things the village people use to build their house. Tired of our journey we took some rest. At night we were called to watch a tribal performance. The tribal women and men showed their dancing skills, my sister and I joined them and danced, they helped to learn the steps and it was lot of fun. Later we were served dinner, as it is a remote village they only serve what is available to them, but food is delicious.
Panchalingeshwar to Devkund
Next morning we were given a car from the resort to visit Devkund, which was about 30kms from the resort. We climbed a hill to reach Devkund; it is about 5km of trail through the forest to reach the waterfall. We were close to nature with the stream flowing close by and the vegetation around us, we could feel the freedom growing inside us. Once we reached the waterfall we were awestruck to its beauty. Up in the hill is the temple and from its side a breathtaking waterfall is coming down to form a Kund, this is how the place gets its name. To reach the temple we had to climb about 250 stairs. It was exhausting but we were up for adventure, once we reached up we were able to see the temple and the goddess. The view from the top of hill was breathtaking as the water flows down and you can see the lake. After that we reached to the car, lunch was packed for us from the resort, we had our lunch admist of the nature giving us the feeling of a picnic. After lunch we visited some more local temples as Orissa is the state of temples, we reached our resort. At night the resort had planned a barbeque session for us, it was exciting as I had never experienced that before. The barbecued chicken was very good and we enjoyed.
Panchalingeshwar to Panchalingeshwar temple & Chandipur Beach
Next morning a local took us to Panchalingeshwar temple, it is about 10mins from the resort, we passed the nilagiri hills in the background. We had to climb 200 stairs to reach the temple. It is the temple of 5 shivlings under water. One has to lie flat on the rock parallel to the stream to touch and worship shivlings under water. It is said that the shivalings have been enshrined by Sita, wife of lord Rama during their exile. Another story holds that king Banasura worshipped the Swayambhu lingas at this place. After that we were taken to Chandipur beach a must visit destination while in panchalingeshwar as it is very close to it. The beach is unique in that the water receeds from1-4 km during the ebb tide. Due to the unique circumstances the beach supports biodiversity. We collected shells from the beach and it was very much fun.
Panchalingeshwar to Kolkata
The next day we bid adieu to the resort and got on our back to Kolkata. Though it was a short journey but we had a good adventure of hike and trail and it was a memorable trip. If you are looking for a place to escape a city’s hectic life and want to be close to nature then this is your destination.
