Vacation at Chikhaldara, Amravati

Chikhaldara is the place for you if you wish to get away from the maddening chaos of our cities. Particularly so, if you enjoy solitude with some history and greenery thrown in. One additional motivation would be that your mobile would be 'switched off' for most callers, but would be available to you with some coaxing!! I had decided on writing  this blog before my visit considering the scanty information available on the internet regarding the place. So, here I am. 

Chikaldara at 1118 m AMSL is supposedly the only Hill Station in Amravati and is located 230 km from Nagpur. The route from Nagpur is via Amravati, Paratwara and on to Chikhaldara. The road till Amravati is sheer bliss, okay till Paratwara and manageable thereafter. Depend on 'Google maps' to tell you when to turn off the highway short off Amravati for the road to Paratwara. 

View from one of the Hairpins enroute Chikhaldara

There are two MTDC resorts at Chikhaldara, the older 'Holiday Resort' (07220-230234/230263, Mob: 8422822094) beyond the town and the newer resort near 'Mozari point'. We stayed at the 'Holiday Resort' and loved the place, but for the food. The resort is in a wooded area, is spacious and is close to Golaghat point & Hurricane point. 

Buffalo Country-Access to 'Holiday Resort-MTDC'

The spacious parking at the Resort

The rooms with the garden in front

Chikhaldara per se can be explored at a relaxed pace over two days. That is, if you choose to not visit the nearby Melghat Tiger Reserve, which though is a 50 km to and fro ride from Chikhaldara with around 50 km inside the reserve. The knowledgeable tell me that it is very rare to see any animals at Melghat due to the nature of the terrain over there. We chose to give it a miss due to the distances involved.
If you choose to reach Chikhaldara early in the afternoon, you can on day one, see the Botanical garden, which though well conceived is much neglected and in a very poor state. Intriguingly, there is a five rupee entrance fee to the garden which I suppose is to ensure that the local vagabonds are kept away. There is a toy train ride inside the park at Rs. 10/- per head. You can thereafter visit the nearby Devi point, where there is a temple hewn into the rock with water dripping through the rocks into the temple. You can thereafter proceed for boating to the nearby Shakkar talaav. We then  proceeded to Mozari point to view the sunset. The actual Sunset point is on the road to Vairat and can be accessed ostensibly only by off-roaders due to the poor state of the roads. Mozari point is next to the  new MTDC resort. The resort is on a hillock shorn off greenery but overlooking the Mozari point and therefore appealing. That's it for day one. 

The MTDC resorts serve food through the in-house restaurants but if you wish to explore other options, the town has nothing much to offer. However, we did try and settled on Hotel Sai in the main market, which served decent fare in a clean but spartan setup.  

View from Mozari point

We found our Guide, Rahul (78756 54696) outside the Park. He is pursuing his BCom from the only Govt College at Chikhaldara and works as a guide in his spare time. He quoted Rs. 250 for a dekho of all the points and an additional Rs. 200/- for taking us within the Gavaligarh Fort. He was helpful and honest and is recommended.

Another view from Mozari point

On day two, we had Poha (beaten rice) and chutney with a Aloo Bonda thrown in for breakfast at Tiwari Hotel in the main market. We had planned to proceed to Gavaligarh fort for a trek inside its ramparts in the morning and planned to see the remaining points after lunch. We reached Gavaligarh fort for the trek at 0900 h. The fort was built by the Bahamani Sultan Ahmad Shah in 1425-26. The fort reminds one of the gumbads in Bidar and the Bidar Fort with similar architecture, which incidentally was also built by the Bahamanis.

Temple under the rocks at Devi point

Gavaligarh fort

Jungle inside the fort

Its better to start early as the total distance to be covered is around 6 km and it does get hot as the day progresses. Be warned that it is lonely inside the fort and the tracks are gravelly. A guide is mandatory to avoid getting lost. Small children and the aged may find it discomfiting and so the trek is best avoided for the very young and the aged. After you enter the fort, there is a jungle and quite a few lakes within. The jungle within also affords you an opportunity to see indigenous varieties of various plants, including wild gooseberries and wild custard apples. A 700 m trek inside the fort will take you to the Dilli Darwaza which ostensibly is the entrance to the innards of the living/administrative area of the fort. You get to see the Choti Masjid (Little mosque) & the baroodkhana (the ammo depot) a little after the Dilli Darwazaa. The palaces have supposedly collapsed but the imposing Grand Mosque or Jami Masjid is definitely worth a visit. Its a grand building with a huge enclosed courtyard in front. During the trek, we met villagers staying across the fort heading to the Sunday market in town with their produce. The trek took us two hours and we proceeded to the Sunday market in town for some local produce. Thereafter, we returned to the resort for some much needed rest. 

Dilli Darwaza

Lake adjacent Chotti Masjid

Chotti Masjid

Inside view of Chotti Masjid

Grand Mosque- Jami Masjid

View of top of Jami Masjid in the distance from Holiday resort

Inside view of Jami Masjid

Baroodkhana- Ammo Depot

Another view of inside of Jami Masjid

We had lunch at Hotel Sai and proceeded to Jathradoh, a local water fall inside the Melghat Reserve. The fall isn't very grand considering that the monsoon had receded some time ago. But, is worth a visit. The pool at the bottom of the fall is deep and the edges are slushy. The top of the fall can however be accessed by foot and will allow you to wet your feet. 

Jatradoh waterfall

Top view of Jatradoh

Next stop was 'Panchbol' point where your voice echoes off the walls of the cliffs surrounding the place. Its scenically very beautiful with no humans/construction anywhere close. The valleys below are thick forests coupled with a view of a waterfall in the distance. The place reminds you of Pachmarhi. 

Verdant thick forests at Panchbol

The river in the forests below at Panchbol

 

Panchbol- with the majestic falls in the distance

On the way back from Panchbol, as soon as you hit the main road is the Holy Cross Convent. You can buy freshly ground coffee powder here and yes, the coffee is grown right there in their backyard at Chikhaldara. 

The gorge at Bhimkund

We next proceeded to Bhimkund, where Bhim is supposed to have showered after killing Kichaka. Folklore apart, the place is again scenically beautiful with a waterfall thrown in. The gorge below is around 250-300 m deep with the waterfall in the distance. All the falls were not at their best considering that the monsoons had receded a while ago. The point is definitely worth a visit and the roar of the waterfall was almost therapeutic.

View from Bhimkund

Video at Bhimkund

That's it for day two. On day three, we took a leisurely stroll to Golagahat point and Prospect point, which are within one km from the Holiday resort. Nothing worthwhile at these points and can easily be given a miss.

Layout of places to see at Chikhaldara

We checked out at 1200 h on day three for the drive back to Nagpur. I was advised to route back through the Melghat reserve, which ostensibly is a great drive through the forest. We however could not attempt the same due our requirement to be back at Nagpur before dark. The alternate route entails an extra drive of over 35 km, which would be about an hour's drive in the hills. 

That's it. Hope it helps potential visitors to Chikhaldara in planning and optimising their stay at Chikhaldara. Have a good trip.