Leaning Temple of Huma

Leaning Temple of Huma

30 kms from Sambalpur is the Leaning Temple of Huma. On State Highway to Subarnapur ( Sonepur/Sonpur) is the Leaning Temple. Anecdote is that whenever people have tried to straighten it, but it tilts at an angle. Lord Vishwakarma constructed the temple in one night. Situated on the banks of river Mahanadi in the district of Sambalpur, people draw parallel between this temple and Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Mysterious Fishes in Mahanadi river in Huma

Near the temple there are lots of fresh water fish in the river, which come to the surface to eat bread crump and biscuits. Anecdote is that all these are forms of various Gods who have decided to reside near the river. Never before I had seen such a scene though heard off.

Women selling Biscuits forMysterious fishes

And what happens if you try to catch them….one of the snaps will tell everything…Again anecdote is that you will become rock..that’s what happened to one of the village girls who became rock after catching one of the fishes. Over the period of centuries the rock has flown away. But people worship that Lady in form of a rock idol in one of the nearby islands formed in the river. Every year in Kali Puja, a small fare takes place on that island where one temple is also there.

Lady God who tried to catch the Fish




Island on which there is another Temple


Rocky Beds of River Mahanadi

 Tilt is quite distinctly visible

We sailed to that island and sat down under one of the shady trees just gazing at the Huma Temple on the other side of Mahanadi and gazing at the natural wonder….the angle at which temple is bent…

Hirakud Dam

Hirakud Lake..hard to differentiate between water and sky..so blue and serene

Road along the Catchment area...just look at the submerged hills in the back ground

After staying overnight at Jharsuguda,we left for Hirakud Dam in the early morning. Hardly 20 minutes drive from Sambalpur is the dam. Since,photography of the dam is not allowed from security point of view,I am posting the pics of the Lake...though its funny,,since Google earth gives a better satelite picture than my camera. 
Just imagine a tourist place on earth where one pass for taking the vehicle upto the dam costs Rs 1...yes 
you read it right...Just Rupees One...
Since,there are lot of techicalities and numbers associated with Hirakud Dam,I am posting some selected text from Wikipedia.

The Hirakud Dam is a composite structure of earth, concrete and masonry. Ten km north of Sambalpur, it is the longest major earthen dam in the world measuring 24km including dykes, standing across the river Mahanadi. The main dam has an overall length of 4.8km spanning between two hills; the Lamdungri on the left and the Chandili Dunguri on the right. The dam is flanked by 21km long earthen dykes on both the left and right sides, closing the low saddles beyond the ajoining hills. The dam and dykes together measure 25.8km. It also forms the biggest artificial lake in Asia, with a reservoir holding 743km² at full capacity with a shoreline of over 640km.

Cattle Island exists in one of the extreme point of Hirakud Reservoir, a natural wonder. It is near Kumarbandh village of Belpahar-Banharpali range which is about 90 km from Sambalpur. By motor launch from Hirakud Dam, it is closer by 10km via the river. The island is nothing but a submerged hill, and prior to Hirakud Dam construction, it was a developed village. Only cattle inhabit the island. During the resettlement period, villagers left some of their cows and bulls behind; when the dam construction was over the cattle settled down on the hill-top. By the passage of time the nearby area filled up with the reservoir water, turning the hill-top to an island. Being away from mankind, the cattle are now wild, very swift and not easily caught. Living on a hilltop with dense forest, they are larger than tame cattle. Almost all are white in colour. Nearby residents attempt to hunt these animals from time to time, but these hunts are rarely successful. Though descended from tame cattle, these animals provide a contrasting picture of this breed of animal returning to life in the wild.

For more information log on to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirakud_Dam

Gopalpur, Puri, Chandipur, Chandrabhaga  Aryapalli, Astaranga, Balaramgadi, Balighai, Baliharachandi, Beleswar, Paradeep, Pati-Sonapur, Ramchandi, Talasari   Ansupa, Hirakud, Indravati, Kolab, Machhakund, Rengali, Sorada Ghai, Barehipani & Joranda, Badaghagra, Sanaghagra, KhandadharDuduma, Harishankar, Handibhanga, Hatipathar, Khanduala, Miriglotah, Mruga Mahadev, Nrusimhanath, Phurli Jharan, Pradhanpat, Putudi  Atri, Deulajhari, Taptapani, Tarabalo

Gudguda Waterfalls in Sambalpur

Gudguda Waterfall cascades down in two falls(one is visible in the backdrops)

This weekend's drive had been a hectic one...drive to Deogarh from Rourkela..and then back to Rourkela .We drove for 392 kms but after seeing the Gudguda waterfalls..all tiredness did vanish...On the way back to Rourkela from Pradhanpat waterfalls we stopped at Kuchinda and had our lunch..as usual Mutton curry at the Kuchinda bus stand.It was almost 2:30 in the after noon and we did set off for Kusumi , a small settlement about 20 kms from Kuchinda.Gudguda Waterfall is near by Kusumi...thats what was told to us by the local dhaba owner at Kuchinda. Road was okay type and one can see greenery all around but not thick forests. As we reached Kusumi, we were told to take a right turn towards the waterfall about 13 kms in a unmettaled, kuttcha road. Oh god..I had forgotten to fill in my fuel tank at Kuchinda and the vehicle was running in reserve quota.Then came the challenging part of the trip..no direction to the waterfall and we were in thick forest..one will come across a lot of cross roads while approaching the fall...but all doubts ceased once the road ended at a small stream....after lot of introspection we could see that actually there was a cement bridge that had been washed away by the stream...but decided that we need to move ahead by walking to the falls...Slowly as we approached on the forest path, a feeble sound of falling water was coming...ooh there was the Gudguda waterfall ahead...but instant reaction from fellow bikers...its not a beautiful one...but some one has said that every waterfall has its own beauty and one needs to feel it....when we reached near the waterfall...it was amazing.....



First Fall in the background

The fall is actually in two steps...one fall in the background was not visible clearly and we could not even reach to the fall .it was as if challenging us...look u can't even feel me completely....that was the beauty of this waterfall.It was already getting darker and we needed to drive back to Rourkela.



God's Canvas

May be one day I will come back and explore the untouched first fall of the Gudguda Waterfall...or may not be................




No body would remember our Trails...Forest Path to Gudguda




While crossing the Rivulet near the Gudguda falls




Orange orchards of Kusumi

While driving back ,we came across so many Orange orchards...to top up to all these Guava,Jackfruit,Mango,Litchi farms every where...It was hard to believe that I was seeing all these in a village near Kuchinda in Sambalpur....A sense of freshness and fruit scent was all over ...This village is a model one for all fruit farmers in Orissa...




Bikes needed some rest...so did we

Was lucky that bike did not run out of fuel in the middle...we safely reached kuchinda and refuelled our bikes...it was almost six in the evening..did drove back to Badgaon and had our evening chai and kachori...Rourkela was just 65 kms away...we drove down fast and ended up with a good well needed hot water bath......