Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Panchghagh Waterfalls (पंचघाघ झरने), Khunti/Ranchi, Jharkhand

Panchghagh Waterfalls, Khunti / Ranchi
       It was a Sunday of February and we decided to visit Amreshwardham, Angra Badi in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. It is near Ranchi and about 50 km from here. It was a family trip and we started from Ranchi in a private car. The time was 9:45 AM and after four days of clouds and cold, the weather was clear and sunny. Ranchi is a plateau and whichever direction you go there will be downward, serpentine hilly roads with jungles on both sides. Khunti district is full of green forests and hills and hilly rivers. This hilly terrain gave Khunti one of the popular waterfalls which is "Panchghagh". We had visited Amreshwardham, Angra Badi many times but could not go to "Panchghagh". Even this time we had no plan to visit "Panchghagh", but after the worship and lunch, we had enough time in our hands to visit some nearby attractions. We searched on the google map and found that the "Panchghagh" waterfalls were only 17 km from there. But this road was through the villages while there was another route through Khunti town through highways but it was double the distance. We decided the shortest route and navigated through the terrain with the help of Google maps. The traffic was nearly zero and very few people in the sight. The Khunti area is also Naxal affected. We were advancing cautiously. The Google map is also not fully dependable as sometimes it leads to some very awkward situations. So we also tried to ask and verify the route from a few villagers. Finally, we reached the Khunti-Chaibasa highway near Murhu and breathed a sigh of relief.
Overflow water from the tank
at the foot of Panchghagh waterfalls

        Further, on the highway, we saw the welcome gate of Panchghagh waterfalls. About one km from here we reached near a drop-gate where they were collecting money for entry and parking tickets. The ticket for each person is ₹ 7.00 and parking for the four-wheeler ₹ 25.00. When we reached there we had an idea of what the number of people was there. Many buses, cars, and bikes were parked. A big welcome gate was also under construction. Locals were selling groundnuts and other snacks. At Panchghagh, there are five branches of the Banai river. On this day only one branch was flowing. It was Sunday and students from many schools were there for a picnic. They were having lunch and enjoying music from big speakers. It is a perfect place for picnics with many spaces on the upstream as well as on the downstream side. Neither the height of the fall is much nor the water falls vertically creating deep and dangerous holes under it. It may be the safest of all waterfalls around Ranchi. For crossing the streams narrow concrete footbridges are made. There is a children-park at the beginning and a viewing point hut.
Upstream view of the Panchghagh waterfalls
from the viewing point

         When descending beside the mainstream there is a resting place with concrete benches. The main enjoying point is at the foot of the fall where a 3 feet deep tank has been made by collecting the coming water. When we reached there many young men were playing with a ball, some bathing and some just posing for the pictures. The place is full of rocks and stones of different shapes and sizes. Even like hanging rocks, which are marvelous picture points. The development work is also under progress. The overflowing water from the above tank was again going down over the stones. We sat on these stones near the water and put our feet in the water. Many pics and videos were taken. The sunny weather made us thirsty. Purchased some bottles of water and returned back. It was 4 o'clock in the evening and we had to reach Ranchi preferably before it was dark. So we drove back in a happy mood. 

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