We took a weekend trip to Mainpat, also known as Shimla of Chhattisgarh or the mini Tibet situated in the district of Surguja, Chhattisgarh. It is a beautiful hill station with astounding places like Ulta Paani (Reverse flow of water stream), Jaljali (a place where the land bounces), spectacular waterfalls, and alluring lush green valleys. The site is called mini Tibet because of the Tibetan settlement with seven camps and around 2000 Tibetan staying within it. We started our trip by visiting Jaljali.
Jaljali: The bouncing grassland
This was the first time of me seeing this kind of area where the ground bounces like a trampoline when jumping across it. To start with the description, as we entered the main gate, stairs were going downhill, leading to a grassy meadow with forest on either side of it. The view of Eden green grasses backed with shady dense woods and mules roaming across the fence with the cold bite of wind was enchanting. Jumping above the grassland feels like jumping above a trampoline. Though the intensity of bouncing is not that big, it is undoubtedly a fantastic experience. After researching on the internet, I learned that the grassland is formed on a crater created by a volcano million years ago. The crater, after being filled with rain water and bog plants including mosses, shrubs, aquatic animals, sand, etc., for years, has resulted in a soft land. There is this area where tourists can be seen riding mules across the field. After returning from the site, we came across the local food stalls selling roasted corns and noodles in front of the entrance gate. It has been raining on and off all day. The sky was tar-black, and the car’s roof sprayed with the rainwater was creating a murmuring sound in the ears. The scenery of rolling hills in the evening with the water dripping from the sky was a feast to the eyes.
Afterwards, we had some evening snacks in a Tibetan restaurant called Tashi-lha kitchen and then returned to our stay. On the following day, we started our trip with a visit to Tiger point.
Tiger point
The name comes from the fact that the tiger used to come to the area for drinking water before. As we explored more in that area, we could see there were stairs around 200 in numbers going downhill. As we were going down the stairs, a humming sound was vibrating across the air. There were woods across one side of the stairs, and monkeys were seen jumping across the trees. As we approached more, we saw a waterfall plunging down the wrinkled face of the mountain and gushing over the rocks. Then we walked along the edges of the rocks to reach to the bottom of the waterfall. We sat on a big rock for a while, enjoying the scenic view of a waterfall around 60m in height with the thundering sound toppling into the pool at the bottom. Then, we started heading towards a place called Mehta viewpoint. That day also, the rain was pouring on and off. It was a pleasant weather for travelling.
Mehta viewpoint
This is a place with a higher altitude, thus giving an ethereal view of the majestic mountain range, blooming meadow with wildflowers and bright blue sky. The viewpoint has swings and food stalls inside the premise. Then we started moving towards Dhakpo Monastery.
Dhakpo Monastery
Mainpat is home to around 2000 Tibetans practicing Buddhism in the region. A number of monasteries can be seen across Mainpat, hence named mini Tibet. Dhakpo Monastery is one of the monasteries present across it. It has a beautiful and peaceful surroundings. After the visit, we went to have some food from a Tibetan restaurant called Karma house and restaurant. It has a shop beside the restaurant where prayer flags, idols, Tibetan jewelry, crafts, textiles, etc., can be brought. Next, we started moving towards an astonishing place called Ulta Paani.
Ulta Paani
As we approached the place, the water stream looked like a blue satin of thread across the mountain. As we came closer to the stream of water, we could see the water was flowing backward or flowing uphill. Another strange thing that we observed was that the vehicle was defying gravity. We stopped the car, set the gear to neutral, and released the brake, and the car was moving uphill. This is because the place is a gravity hill or magnetic hill. This place creates an optical illusion where the downhill slope seems to be uphill. The surrounding has such a layout that it develops an illusion and the water & the vehicle, which actually moves downhill, appears to move uphill.
Afterward, we headed towards the Buddhist monastery in camp number 1, the oldest monastery in the Mainpat. It has a giant prayer wheel on the premise. It has tranquil and beautiful surroundings.
Next, we went for a drive across the Mainpat village. With that, we ended our two-day trip and started heading towards the home in the evening.
The trip was amazing and one of my best trips so far.
