Introduction
Around 22 km from Tatanagar Railway Station is Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. It is quite popular in the region due to the population of elephants that live there . The sanctuary skirts and includes the Dalma hills, whose peak elevation is 3000 feet at Dalma Hill Top. Due to its proximity to the city and neighboring state of West Bengal, it draws a significant number of visitors, especially on weekends and holidays.
In general, visitors come here seeking peace in nature and to visit Shiva temple on the hilltop.
For me, a trip to the hilltop was long outstanding for various reasons. But finally a time came when there was no excuse left for not undertaking the cycle trip.
Race to the foothills
As it was an impromptu decision to cycle to the hills, I could not prepare well for it. At 7 am, I was on my bike riding as fast as I could to reach Kandarberya. From Sonari, the road goes over the new Domuhani Bridge, through Dobo and meets NH 33 at Kandarberya. From there the outer gate to the wildlife sanctuary is located on NH 33, a little more than 2 km on the left towards Ranchi.
Having lost out on the cooler hours of the early morning, it was a desperate attempt to cover as much distance as possible before the sun turned scorching.
At Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary Entrance
The entrance gate is beautifully decorated with depictions of elephant herds and other animals. Along the road, villagers were going about their usual business and kids were going to school. I was still in the buffer area and the entrance to the core area was 4 km away.
Taking in views of the captivating landscape consisting of rolling hills, big trees and green fields, I pedalled on and reached the main gate of the sanctuary by 8:15 am. The gate closely resembles the one found near the highway. To its left is an elephant stable that had two male elephants but after the death of one in late December 2022, only one remains. There are a few buildings around including a canteen, lavatory, ticket counter and check post as well as a tourist information center.
The tourists who had made a stop for tickets and tea were busy taking pictures with the pachyderm, who seemed not to mind at all.
Riding inside the sanctuary
After a tea break of 20 mins or so, I resumed the journey only to find the deer rescue center closeby. The enclosure has a good population of barking deer and they seemed startled by my visit.
Moving on through the forest road with non-existent traffic and dense vegetation on either side of it was a thrilling experience. Crossing Makulakocha Forest Guest House, I pushed on and reached a fork at the base of the hills . From this point onwards, it was going to be a continuous climb to the top.
The climb begins
From the fork, the road takes a steep turn to the right and the gradient is punishing for a cyclist. By the time I was navigating this patch, the mid April sun was beating down hard on me. It took a lot of effort and rest stops to get through this part and arrive at the denser and shady part of the hill.
The entire path to the top is single lane with a mix of mud, concrete and brick surfaces, but mostly concrete. There was very little traffic on the road and I was in absolute company of nature. The view of the plains below, as I kept climbing up, became all the more beautiful. Along with the rewarding views, I was able to spot a wide variety of flora and fauna including different kinds of birds, eagles and monkeys.
Pindrabera Forest Rest House
After a gruelling climb of 7.5 km reached Pindrabera Forest Rest House at 2058 feet. This was my second visit to the place. The first time I had come here was while on a trekking expedition to Dalma Hill Top back in school. The place seemed to have changed for the better, with a modern renovation and beautiful gardens. Upon making an inquiry with the staff there, came to know that rooms can be booked from the office at the main gate of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary.
I checked out the panoramic views from the rest house. Jamshedpur city could be seen vaguely through the haze. Time was 11:00 am when I left the place and moved forward.
Final push to the top
The hilltop was still 5 km away from Pindrabera Forest Rest House and I had to do some serious climbing under a scorching sun to cover the distance. The truth is that I was really struggling at that moment to move ahead. The climb was challenging and the heat was unbearable. To add to this, my pair of shoes had torn and soles had come off. As if this was not enough to add to my woes, my water bottles went empty and I was totally famished. It was a perfect case of how not to undertake a bicycle trip. The only positive thing was that I was close to my destination and it was all that mattered.
Dalma Hill Top
As I inched towards the ridge at the top and got a view of the city on the other side, I felt overjoyed as the summit was within arms length.
Finally reached the top at quarter past noon and realized that the journey is more exciting than the destination.
Severely famished and parched, the first thing I did was purchase a bottle of water from one of the stalls selling eatables and gulp down half of it. Parked my cycle at a broken shed and went inside the temple premises. Even at that height of 3000 feet, there is a well with cool refreshing water which devotees use to purify themselves before entering the sacred Shiva Gufa. I followed the established customs and washed my hands and feet. Thereafter, it was a climb of a steep fleet of steps to the cave.
Shiva Cave (Gufa) Temple
The prime attraction for visitors at Dalma Hill Top is the cave temple followed by the views from the top. At the time I visited, there were few visitors and a bhandara was being prepared. I took the steps and found myself at the feet of Lord Shiva.
Inside the Gufa, there is a Shiva Linga and the aura is divine. I offered my obeisance to the Lord then started climbing towards the peak of the hill.
Hanuman Temple and the peak
An extremely steep fleet of stairs lead from the Shiva Gufa to the hilltop. Atop, there is a temple dedicated to Hanuman ji. The arduous climb and barefoot walk on the stone surface had taken a toll on me. But every bit of it was worth it. After offering obeisance to the Lord and enjoying the fabulous views from the top, it was time to descend.
Food for life
Just outside the temple gate are the food stalls. Expect nothing fancy here. I chose to purchase raw cucumber and sprouts for the much needed energy to get me back home. Other food options included samosas and similar fried items.
After the much needed calorie intake, I started for the sanctuary main gate at 1:15 pm.
Cycling back in the heat
The descent was quite easy as expected. Nothing eventful on the way back except when I reached near Makulakocha Forest Guest House, I saw the elephant with the mahout walking on the road. It was the same one that I encountered near the sanctuary gate in the morning. Only this time, the tusker was out for an exercise and not chained and I had to pass it.
It was a terrifying moment, as I felt my hair standing on its end while making a nervous pass of the pachyderm on my humble bicycle. I even prayed to Lord Ganesha to grant me safe passage.
I reached the main gate of the sanctuary around 2:20 pm and recharged my water bottles. The heat was at its peak but I had no option other than to cycle back 16 km. It was around 3:30 pm when I entered home and fell flat on the floor under a fan.
Conclusion
It was a long pending desire to cycle to Dalma Hill Top which was fulfilled that day. Every cycling adventure is unique but in the end the realization is the same in each case, that if you keep going you will eventually make it.
