Where the water flows from trees

Chaibasa - Lupungutu

Part 1 –

I got married in 2007 and I was somewhat lucky as my wife was from the state of Jharkhand. This meant that I have to keep travelling to and fro from Kolkata to Ranchi. Jharkhand as a state is quite diverse, you will find hills waterfall, temples, castles, fort, forest etc. and every opportunity I had to visit my in laws I managed to sneak one or two short trips. This time I am going to talk about a small town called Chaibasa. This place is quite near to Kolkata and happens to be also where my father in law’s original paternal home. In fact his mother (my grandmother in law) is still alive and we do visit her once every year. This trip report comprises of three visits which I have combined as one for the ease of readers.

Chaibasa is a city and a municipality in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. Chaibasa is the district headquarters of West Singhbhum district. Predominantly it’s in the Tribal (Munda) belt of Chota Nagpur region. The landscape has both forest and hills thus making Chaibasa a scenic town.

Mining, Cement, Steel are the main industry which is dependent on this town thus even though this is a small town still it’s well developed. You can get almost anything in and around the town from various shops.

First time I had visited Chaibasa in the month of November 2007 since me and my wife had to visit my grandmother in law to seek her blessings as she could not attend our wedding due to her old age. We could have taken a direct train from Kolkata (Howrah – Barbil Jan Shatabdi) but decided to go via Ghatshila since my cousin stays at Ghatshila and we could stop over to meet them as well as to freshen up.  We hired a Sumo (Jeep) which will go via Jadugora (famous for Uranium mining) to Chaibasa. The route was very scenic with hills and forest all around us, however in 2007 the roads at some spots were almost missing which made the ride a little bumpy sometimes.

Subarnarekha River at Ghatshila

Road from Ghatshila to Tata Nagar

Hills of Jadugora

Jadugora mining of Uranium – Dump site

River near Jadugora

River near Jadugora

Tata Nagar crossing – turning towards Chaibasa

Damaged bridge – Traffic slows down a lot here

Some portion of the road is completely damaged

Entering Chaibasa

We had started at around 10 AM from Ghatshila and we reached Chaibasa at around 1 PM. Being a new son in law I was greeted with all sorts of rituals which I enjoyed a lot. After our lunch we were resting in the garden and discussing with my father in law about the town and what tourist spots it has, its then that my father in law informed me about a place called Lupungutu. This place according to him has a natural spring and what makes it different from any other spring is that the water flows out of tree roots. Now I got more interested and enquired about the distance, my father in law got up and told me to get inside the car as he will drive us to Lupungutu since it was just 15 – 20 minute drive from Chaibasa.

He was right and with 20 minutes we were at Lupungutu, the land where the water flows from the trees. This place is having around 10 – 12 trees in a circular pattern and the natural spring water indeed flows from the tree roots. Even though the weather was bit cold considering it was late November but remarkably the water was quite warm since it was underground water. I hesitated to taste the water but my father in law encouraged to give it a sip. The waster was sweet to taste and by now I had drank enough to quench my thirst.

Lupungutu natural spring

Lupungutu natural spring – Water flows freely from tree roots

Lupungutu natural spring – Water takes its own course through leaves

Lupungutu natural spring – looks like a small waterfall

Lupungutu natural spring

Part 2 –

Let me fast forward it to August 2014. By now I was a father of a naughty 5 year old daughter and my grandmother in law was still alive but her hearing ability had substantially decreased. I had travelled to Chaibasa along with my family to attend the Barka Kutumbh ceremony of my brother in law (Nilesh). Barka Kutumbh is the pre wedding ceremony wherein the girl’s family visits the boy’s family home for the first time along with close relative and ties the turban around the Groom’s head symbolizing the acceptance of the new relation.

The ceremony took place in the morning followed by a lunch which was attended by more than four hundred guests. By mid-afternoon the skies turned dark grey and it started pouring, luckily by that time all the ceremonies were over and most of the guest had left. With nothing else to do I asked Smita (my wife) is she wanted to go to Lupungutu. Rianna our daughter had never seen that place and I wanted her to see the water sprouting out of tree roots. We also asked our close friend Aerbin to come along with us. As we were about to leave Nilesh my brother in law also wanted to join us. Thus all five of us set out for Lupungutu. 

Smita & Rianna enjoying a splash at Lupungutu

The trees around Lupungutu – Water flows from these trunks & root

Since it had rained Lupungutu was at its best with water spring from different spots. A quick 10 minute walk takes you to the banks of Roro River which flows near to Lupungutu.

Walking towards Roro River from Lupungutu

Stone canyon around Roro River

Roro River

Roro River – Children’s from nearby boarding school enjoying a splash

Roro River – Children’s from nearby boarding school enjoying a splash

Part 3 –

Apart from Lupungutu, Chaibasa is also known from its forest and hills. Chaibasa is surrounded by Saranda forest thus there is a huge bio diversity. In March 2013 I went to Chaibasa to attend my wife’s cousins wedding and after the wedding ceremony the next day I went for a bike ride along with few of Smita’s cousins. We went to Jubilee Lake and around the town outskirts.

Saranda forest

Saranda forest

Saranda forest

Wild Chameleon

Flora of Chaibasa

Fauna of Chaibasa

Wild Mushrooms

Jubilee Lake

Jubilee Lake

GEL Church

How to reach Chaibasa –

Chaibasa is a station on the southbound line to Orissa from Rajkharsawn on the Tatanagar–Bilaspur section of Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line. Nearest airport is Jamshedpur which is 60 Km. from Chaibasa. Ranchi is 145 km away from Chaibasa.

From Kolkata take 12021 Howrah – Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express which departs at 6.25 AM and reached Chaibasa at 10.56 AM. Return train* will be 12022 which departs at 3.39 PM from Chaibasa and reached Howrah at 8.50 PM.

* Chaibasa station has smaller platform and the return train has reserved compartment for Chaibasa quota at the end which usually falls outside the station platform. It is advised to board the last compartment which is accessible from the station platform and then use the train compartment vestibule to reach the last compartment.

Where to stay –

Akash Hotel

Chawla Super Market, Near Central Bank Of India,
Sadar Bazar Chaibasa - 833201,
Chaibasa

Contact No: 06582-256488

Annapurna Hotel

Annapurna Hotel Near Chaibasa Bus Stand,
Sadar Bazar Chaibasa – 833201,
Chaibasa

Contact No: 06582-256720

Hiring a car –

Sai Travels

F S Tower, Chaibasa HO,
Chaibasa - 833201, Near Rungta House

Contact No: 6582-258936, 94701 99117

Tourist attractions in and around Chaibasa –

Lupungutu

Roro River

Jubilee Lake (Kachari Talab)

Rungta Garden

Roro Dam

Clock house

Shahid Park

GEL Church

Thank you for reading my blog / travel log, please do read my other travel blogs. Bye for now.