Road Less Travelled: Ride Through Koraput And Malkangiri

   Koraput-Malkangiri region of India is unique, mysterious and fascinating in many ways. The place is located amid Eastern-ghats, the chain of mountains that stretches up to 1000 miles in the eastern border of India. Apart from this, the region got breathtaking landscapes, wild forest, impressive valleys, historic temples, amazing road and ancient tribal communities with their unique customs. 

   Since childhood, I have been curious about this remote region. But as it happened to all others, I was haunted by an immense fear of Maoist activities, tribal rebel groups, wild animals and many attacks we heard from news & other agencies. So I decided to face this fear and go for a long solo ride from Berhampur (Odisha) up to Hyderabad (Telangana) through these lands on my Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle covering a total distance of 1000 kilometres and I commenced this journey on 27 Jul 2020. This has changed my beliefs and shown me how much we were wrong about these lands and their people. 

   This is not my first long ride or is not going to be my last, but I choose to pen this experience down because, like me, many wish to travel these lands but avoid due to various misconceptions and lack of proper information. Again, this region was not explored by travelling enthusiasts and adventurers and I want to bring their attention to the table. This is also an ideal land to those people who wish to escape from strained city life to relax and rejuvenate. This is an informative travel blog. Happy reading.

Berhampur-Rayagada stretch 215km (4:30 am):

   I started my journey from Berhampur city and after a good 40 km ride, at Taptapani, I saw the first close glimpse of a mountain by marking it as a starting of Eastern-ghats in that route. This place is famous among locals due to ascending mountain and unique hot-water-spring. From there the road is so smooth yet full of snake curves that provide immense pleasure to navigate while driving through it. 

Harabhangi reservoir at Adaba, my next major halt is a huge lake placed amidst mountain spikes. The golden beam of morning sun just amplified the overall beauty of this tourist attraction. Little ahead of the Harabhanga lake, I came across the Kandhapendaraguda area which is known for its darling road tearing through the forest. I took some quick snaps of my machine before resuming my journey again. After riding some distance, on my way to Rayada around 100 km away from Harabhanga Lake, I encountered a tiny valley at Tentulipadar. Travelling through one of the finest roads, ascending-descending small spikes and swirling through 180-degree turns by cutting the valley is an amazing feeling to experience. Finally, I landed at Rayagada after a long 7-hour ride. This place is known for the Khonds-Soras tribe and its magnificent nature.

Rayagada-Koraput stretch 110km (11 am):

   

   By setting next destination as Koraput, I set my journey from Rayagada onn again. Interestingly what I encountered is one of the rare moments of my life. Due to high altitude and dense forest, the weather of this place is highly unpredictable during monsoon and holds full of surprises for unprepared vivid travellers like me. While riding, I suddenly entered a rainy territory which I was not prepared to deal with. I had to stop and shelter in a remotely isolated tiny home, cover my bag with a raincoat, zipped my jacket up to the neck to avoid complete wetting and rode again through the rain droplets. It seemed rain, sunlight and clouds were in an infinite loop with themselves to provide one of the greatest sensations of joy to humankind. Travelling through these alien lands, I was able to hit Koraput on time. Though I did not cover Deomali hill due to my solo ride & time constraints but one can trek (recommended with a group) and experience the amazing hilltop which is located on the sidelines of Rayagada-Koraput state highway.

Koraput-Jeypore stretch 20km (2:30 PM):

   I had my lunch at a popular restaurant named Koraput Inn. The taste and price are reasonable. The next series of events were meeting an old friend, spent some time at the coast of a Collab River, viewed famous Sabar Srikhetra temple of lord Jagannath by taking necessary COVID-19 safety measures. There are many tourist attractions along this route starting from Duduma waterfall, Koraput-Coffee-Board-Garden, Bagra waterflow, Jeypore view-point, Naktidongor Hill-Forest, Kolab dam etc. If got enough time, consider covering nearby Jagdalpur area of state of Chattisgarh which holds more than 10 waterfalls and many fascinating mountains.If you wish to travel on rail, you can opt for rail travel that connects Vishakhapatnam (or Berhampur) to Jagdalpur by covering Rayagada and Koraput as It passes through tunnels, forests, waterfalls and is known for providing one of the best rail experiences in India.

   From Koraput, I flew to Jeypore town through Jeypore Valley which is only 20 km apart where I stayed a night in a guesthouse named Jeypore Guesthouse. The guesthouse offered excellent service and priced 350 (or 250) per person per night. They offered food at night and also the manager helped me with my next route towards mighty Malkangiri by upholding one of the oldest Indian beliefs - Atithi Devo Bhavah (a guest is as equal as god). The night went well.

Jeypore-Malkangiri stretch 105km (next-morning 4:30 am):

  

   At 4:30 am, I set my hands on the bike handlebar with a rough calculation of the possible threats I am going to encounter as I observed my Himalayan compass indicating towards Malkangiri. This piece of land got thick forest, active Naxal-Maoist infiltration and is one of the most beautiful, remote yet neglected areas in India. My engine roared as I headed for Malkangiri and With each passing minute, my heart was beating little faster and the fear raging a little higher. On the way, I learned some facts which directly contradicted my belief about this alien land and its people.

   Just a few kilometres before Malkangiri town at 6 am in the early morning, I came across a dam by holding a huge water reservoir named Satiguda dam. I was standing on the roadside dumbstruck with its scenic beauty. The sun is rising in the middle of two hills, scattering its golden carpet throughout the water. On the coast, wooden boats were oscillating with water and the serene clouds above it were just magnificent to glare. I saw few people at the bank of the reservoir with their fishing boats. Though little hesitant, I went to them for some talk. To my surprise, they are friendly people just like anybody else. My fear of rebel groups washed away and I felt very comfortable talking with them. Though they are tribal people, they are extremely kind and suggested various places to visit in the Malkangiri district. After a good half an hour time at that reservoir, I kept my engine running again.

Malkangiri-Motu stretch 95km (6:30 am):

   Motu, the last village of Odisha, located at the tip of the pointed region bordering two states, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh. In order to reach Motu, I kept riding hours through the dense forest without sight of a single house. The journey from Malkangiri town to Motu was equally scary as joyful. Upon arrival at Motu, I was standing there, silently celebrating victory and patting on my back for traversing through one of the most hostile yet beautiful regions in India.

  I stood there for around 15 minutes consciously observing slow yet peaceful activities of the villagers. I asked a aged person about that village and he reconfirmed that it was Motu. He asked about me and I responded honestly. Quickly I came to know that, he knew about my village and had spent a considerable amount of time in my home area during his adulthood. He became friendly and interacted with me as like we were known to each other before. He revealed some shocking facts that contradicted my perception of local people. He told me that there were no more visible Naxal activities in this remote tribal land. The tribes are simple yet friendly and have created strong panchayat (village council) level administration so that nobody has to go to the police if anything goes wrong. Again he continued that the Malkangiri district is a diverse land because of the migration of Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and a tiny amount of Islamic culture and they all are living peacefully. I asked about Naxal attacks for which he clarified that the tribal people only get aggressive and launches anonymous attacks when someone from outside threatens their lifestyle or existence. Otherwise, they are as ordinary people like anybody else, like you and me.

  This sharply contradicted what I heard about these people from my very childhood. I was so wrong about these lands and its people. Whether it's about Rayagada, Koraput or Malkangiri, It's so obvious that this piece of the region was certainly misunderstood by the outer world. They create news without knowing the ground reality and they judged them based on their long gone past. Because of this mindset, most of the vehicles take an indirect route to Hyderabad via Visakhapatnam national highway avoiding these beautiful lands (the road less travelled). This piece of heaven was clearly unexplored and needed little attention & courage to discover the hidden potential for tourism and trade.

Motu-Bhadrachalm-Hyderbad stretch 400km (10:00 am):

  

After my breakfast at Motu, I resumed my journey to Hyderabad. After a 5 min ride, I was welcomed by an SMS saying I am in Andhra territory. Also, I can see the hoardings written in Telugu words. After a good 80 km journey, I was able to reach Bhadrachalm temple at 11:30 am a popular spiritual yet religious destination of Hindus. After quick Darshanam of lord Ramachandra at Bhadrachalam, I started my Himalayan ignition and kept riding for another 300 plus km with tiny halts due to extreme heat and dehydration. The journey went smoothly. I was able to enter the city of Hyderabad by night before supper.

                        

Have a look at these stunning visuals of Koraput from Youtuber @traveller_babu.  

Disclaimer: 

  According to the wiki: "Koraput is a part of Tribal belt in southern Odisha and is home to some of the oldest Adivasi's (tribals) like Gadaba, Manatya, Paroja, Sabar, Bhumia, Dharua etc. Again Malkangiri is a part of the Red Corridor region and one of the most Naxal-Maoist affected districts of India". Note that this is a personal blog. Please do proper R&D if you wish to travel. Happy journey!

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