Let’s dive in our journey of Parasnath hills. So let’s start from the start. Our friends have always been great travel lovers and nature admirers. We love to travel and explore the beauty of God’s creation. So when our college ended, we decided to go to the highest peak of Jharkhand which is also a pilgrimage site for Jain’s and its name is Parasnath hill, located in the Giridih district of the state. It is hands down one of the best locations to visit with your friends. So we went for it, the journey was full of uncertainties as it was our first trip and knowing nothing about traveling and time management, we went a little over budget and were unable to return back at a reasonable time. We underestimated the trek and were not well prepared but being with friends helped a lot.
Weather and facilities:
The weather was really not forgiving while we were going up the hill, the Sun was so harsh that we were almost soaked. Also the trek is almost 15 km long but there are almost no shops during the entire length of the trek, despite that there are sheds every 100-200m which is a great relief for those who are travelling by foot.
Journey, Challenges and Views:
Our journey started great but as we started to ascend the change in altitude and low oxygen levels started hunting us. We were able to cover the first 4 km within 45 mins then the challenges started. The harsh heat and altitude made it hard to climb and we were getting late as we only had one option for returning home. So we decided to go to one of the streams of the hill and end the trek but our luck kicked in. This was the one of the two times we got lucky on this journey.
We were able to get bike rides at a very low price so we decided to go and see the top for which we had come and we were awestruck.
The view was phenomenal and the temple up top made it 10 times better. The experience was really mind blowing and the views were something else.
Challenges while Descending the hill:
Then after witnessing everything and capturing it, we started descending and the harsh weather started changing. It went from being sunny to cloudy and the heat which was haunting us became soothing breezes of cold air. We were digesting it all and our luck kicked in for the final time and we were able to enjoy the rain on the hill. It was truly an exceptional experience as we all were just enjoying the rain by playing and going off-road. We were roaming and enjoying the rain and in that process we forgot that we had to catch our train.
So again being late we decided to take bike rides and with our negotiation skills we were able to get a huge discount of 0 rupees. Just kidding but we got the ride for a fairly low price and we got down the mountain and out of the base station.
Now other challenges are raised. It was finding a rickshaw to the railway station and we found one only to miss the train by a few minutes. We were then surrounded by many problems like lack of transportation and time. We improvised and somehow got to a place where we all got a way to travel back but the journey which once started as a 8 hour journey became a journey of 16 hrs.
So for those who wanna travel
Here’s a detailed guide for you all:
1.Firstly you’ll have to reach Parasnath station
2.Then you’ll have to take taxi or rickshaw for Madhuban which is the base of the hill
3.After reaching there you have a few options which are you can book a room and explore the locality or you can directly start the trek.
4.Then you can either take bike rides to go to the top or go walking or take assistance from locals who would carry you.
Cost of the journey:
I am only listing the cost of expenses after reaching Parasnath station.
-100 to 200 for transportation of one side
-Room would cost you around 500 to 1000
-Renting a bike would cost you around 1000 rupees one way.
-Food would cost around 200 to 300 and try to carry some food for the journey and the prices at the trek would be higher
Challenges for the journey:
-You may encounter wild elephants
-Dehydration
-Lack of transportation facilities after 3 PM
So here’s my experience of Parasnath hills.
Do share your opinions in the comments.
Team SiteYourWay