Binkayee is a small village in Athmallik subdivision of Angul district. It is situated in a very remote location at the bank of river Mahanadi. The place is unknown to many and rarely visited by tourists. Binkayee is 215 km from Bhubaneswar. The nearest railway is Angul station which is at a distance of 104 km from Binkayee. There is regular bus service between Angul bus stand and Athmallik. Beyond Athmallik, it is difficult to find any public transport though few auto rickshaws are available. I traveled to this place 0n 21 Oct 2015 when I was at home on a vacation.
The journey started from my home at Talcher at 6 O clock in the morning. I traveled by car which is the most convenient way of transportation to Binkayee. First, we moved to Angul through Banarpal, then to Badakera. We have our breakfast (Bada, aluchap and bhuguni) in a small hotel and spend half an hour at Badakera. There was a weakly vegetable market (haat) which was crowded at that time. Then we moved towards Boinda. We turned left and headed towards Athmallik.
The road journey between Boinda and Athmallik was fabulous. After driving 20 km from Boinda, the road passes through a mountain range. The road is undulating and the driving on this road was breathtaking and adorable. We stopped on the way and enjoy the natural beauty of the region. Both sides of the road are covered with dense forest. On one side of the road, a small river flows parallel to the road. The road is very less crowded. Only few vehicles were found. After capturing few photographs of this region, we moved to Athmallik.
Athmallik is a subdivision of Angul. It is a very small town with very less population. After reaching Athmallik, we drove towards right and arrived at Deulajhari which is at a distance of 5 km from Athmallik.
Exploring Deulajhari:
Deulajhari is famous for hot spring and Shiva temple (Shree Sidheswara baba temple). It is situated near the river Mahanadi. It is a famous pilgrimage place and the hot springs are considered to be divine. The temple and the hot springs are located amidst dense pandanus forest (locally called as Kiabana). This area is considered as sacred and covers an area of 24 acres. The temperature of these hot springs are raised by thermophilic microorganisms (Singh and Subudhi, 2016). The temperature of these hot springs is as high as 69 degree Celsius. After worshiping at the Sidheswara baba temple, we explored the surrounding pandanus forest. The forest is very dense and inhabited by cobra. After spending one and half hours at Deulajhari, we moved to the next destination, Binkayee. Exploring Binkayee:
After driving 29 km straight crossing Athmallik, we arrived at Binkayee. The road between Athmallik and Binkayee is very narrow and runs parralel to the river Mahanadi. The road passes between paddy fields on both the sides which makes the journey more adorable. After driving 45 minutes, we reached at the end of the road. we parked the car there and walked to the temple of goddess Binkayee. The temple lies at the foot hill of the mountain and at the bank of river Mahanadi. This area is covered with eastern ghats mountain range. We worshiped at the temple and spend approximately one hour at the river bank. the natural scenic of the river and the mountain is very beautiful. Satkosia gorge starts from this point where the river passes through 22 km long gorge. This area lies at the outskirt of Satkosia national park. This place is frequently visited by wild animals. Elephants often come to the paddy fields and village area for food. There were also few other travelers roaming at this place. It is not advisable to enter the river as the water current at this region is high and crocodile may found in the river as it is nearer to Satkosia crocodile sanctuary. After exploring the beautiful place, we returned back to Talcher. The journey was very pleasant and memorable. Binkayee is far away from Angul-Talcher industrial belt and it is pollution free. This is a good place for recreation and picnic.
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21 Oct 2015
About me
Tapan Kumar Pradhan Post Doc Researcher PhD, IIT Kanpur http://tapankp.weebly.com Distance:
Binkayee - Bhubaneswar = 215 km Binkayee - Angul station = 104 km Angul - Boinda = 48 km Angul - Athmallik = 85 km Athmallik - Deulajhari = 5 km Athmallik - Binkayee = 24 km Talcher - Angul = 15 km |