Daringbadi : Kashmir of Odisha

Daringbadi from Distance

The Kashmir of Odisha, Daringbadi is a sleepy town in the district of Kandhamal in Odisha. It has been very famous for the extreme cold conditions during the winters and often there are news of snowfall in the hillsides of this small town. We had been making plans to visit this place during the winters and thanks to a couple of holidays during this month of December, we finally had the option to visit the hill station.

It is a long tour of 135 Kms from Berhampur through Aska - Surada route. I had it in mind that we can touch Surada in sharp 2 hours and from there, it will take about an hour or a bit more. And so we made plans to leave Berhampur by 6 in the morning and reach Daringbadi by 9:30. As there were news that there is fog and cold during the early morning hours. But we could not start our journey before 7:30.

The roads are fairly clean and smooth with a whole lot of traffic as Berhampur - Aska route is a busy road. Anyway we dropped midway at Hinjilicut to have our breakfast. Remember, breakfast is the major meal of the day and you must never skip it.

Lily Foods on the busstand of Hinjilicut is a well known joint for some morning breakfast. It is affordable and good place which we have been visiting for last many years.

We had Puri + Masala Upma + Chhole @ Rs 20/Plate and 3 Idlis + Guguni + Chutney @ Rs 15/Plate, Bara / Gaari, Alu Chop, Samosha all @ Rs 7 / Piece. You can pick up cold water, drinks, chocolates, snacks and sweets from this place too.

Anyway we spent a good half an hour at Hinjilicut which further delayed our journey. After that we were on road and did not stop till Surada. We reached Surada by about 9:30 AM. And then we moved on the Berhampur - Raipur NH Stretch towards Daringbadi. The road is good except at a stretch of about 10 kms where there are potholes and the roads are worn off. And then from Gajalbadi, you have to drive on the stretch of about 15 KMs Ghat roads which are having too many sharp curves and if you are not confident of driving on those roads, it is wise to pick up a driver who can do the task for you. The sudden ascent of the height may cause dizziness and head reeling in occasional traveller and I always feel like my ears are blocked when I drive uphill. It is wise we keep a lot of chocolates and water while going up hill.

The drive on the ghat roads was really taking its toll on everyone as all were feeling dizzy. Somehow we covered a distance of about 50 KMs in one hour sharp and we were at Daringbadi by 10:30 AM.
In the main square on the road, there was a good policing and we were asked to present our vehicles details and documents for verification. It may be because this is the month of XMas and they do not want any problems in the town. The police personnel were good and they helped us well too.

From Surada we head towards Brahmagan Road for about 15 KMs when we reached a place called MIDUBANDA WATER FALLS. The road to the falls was not a road but sort of something like that. We did not have any problem going there, but while coming back, our vehicle could not go up and so we had to get everyone off the vehicle and we drive up.

Midubanda Water Falls, Dashingbadi

From the vehicle stand to the waterfall is a stretch of about 100 meters, which had little stairs and nothing much and going down was not much difficult. The waterfall was beautiful and you must go there if you wish to enjoy the scenery. You can take a bath there too, but beware the water was sleepery. People were seen taking selfies and photographs there, but what made me feel sad was that there were as many as 4 groups of people cooking food there for picnic and the place was a complete mess with all filth all around. I wish the local authorities did something to keep the area clean for the visitors.

After the waterfall we had to climb the stairs and hill to reach our vehicle. It is indeed breathtaking and if you have arthritis, do not dare go there. Also if you have weakness of height, you must neither go there. We did not however face any trouble and reached our vehicle.

Midubanda Waterfall, Dashing badi

After the visit to the waterfall we were on the route to Daringbadi, but in the sides of the road there are huge jungles of Eucalyptus trees and other tall Sal trees too. We stopped there for a few photographs. We were all feeling hungry by then. But we had to visit the Coffee Plantation site in Daringbadi, which was a beaufitul place. You must visit this place for taking good photographs. There are stretches of coffee plants, plants of black pepper, sal trees, and much more. They have even made special cages for Rabbits there. And also you can see a floating stone which has been kept there for the visitors. I liked this area very much.

After the visit to the coffee gardens we were all feeling hungry and so decided to have something to eat before hitting the other places of interest in the town. There are some hotels in the town, which you can not tell to be real restaurants but they offer good food. We stopped by a small hotel Balia in the main roads and he fed us with much better homemade food and it was affordable too. After the food with Mutton, Egg, Fish, And many more items, we headed to the hillview park.

The hill view park has been constructed atop a small hillock and you have to pay a fee of five rupees to enter into the park, which is worth it. There are many statues of animals there. Apart from the breathtaking views of the valley from the place, there are many amusement rides and swings for kids there. The tower in the corner of the park gives you a magnificient view of the valley and long stretches of plantation on the hill sides. We took as many photos as we could. There is a tribal museum adjacent to the park.

You can visit this place for free. Although at present this museum houses not many exhibits. But there are some cool things to see. Hopefully they will add more articles there soon. But the house sure is a cool place to visit.

In front of the Hillview park there is a newly constructed nature park too, where there are more exciting things to see. Which includes a 3D theater, a butterfly park, a herbal garden, amusement rides, tribal cultural exhibits etc.

You need to pay an amount of 5 Rupees for entry in to the park but you are gonna see something really charming inside. I loved the stroll along the length of the park and see a whole lot of many varieties of flowers in the park. And the butterfly park houses a insanely wonderful collection of flowers, sadly I did not see any butterflies there, may be because it was evening and the insects were gone to sleep.

In the center of the herbal gargen there is a statue of a sage and that gives the environment a good feel to view and take photos. I would however like to make a few complaints here. I liked everything about the hill view park and nature park, what bothered me most was that there was no toilet facility. Don't get me wrong, if you see there are toilets inside the park, those are purely non-functional and there is no water supply and good facility and thanks to some people, the toilets are looking the worst. I suggest if you are going there carry your own water.

The town of Daringbadi may have been called the Kashmir of Odisha, but it is not as cold as you might expect. While in news papers we got the information that the temperature of Daringbadi is about 7 Degrees centigrade, in reality it was not less than 30 Degrees, But someone informed that the temperature we are thinking about is the night time temperature, but if you wish to feel the cold you must stay here for a night.

Now that is not in our plans and we had to return back home and we wanted to cross the treacherous stretch of curvy ghat roads before dark, and so we started our homeward journey from Daringbadi at 6 in the evening and thankful to the gentleman who drove a Mahindra XUV, we felt like were being piloted and the vehicle guided us down till the plains and we faced no problems.

We were back in Berhampur by 8:30 PM. The day well spent at Daringbadi, of course we could have stayed back for more and taken some more shots but anyway, there is always a next time. Hope to return there to take good photos. Also I forgot to mention, we saw many good birds there. I wanted to shoot but could not. They are on my list for my next trip.

Description: Daringbadi, Kashmir of Odisha, Odisha, Hill Station