The River canyon trek- Yelbong

😀 that's the path to reach the beautiful Yelbong as seen in insta reels and pics. Truly said-No pain no Gain

Let's start from the start

Yelbong was on my list for past two years. This year, getting extra push from Amandeep, we jumped for the trip. First challenge was to get train tickets to NJP, which is usually as good as winning lottery ticket (long weekends/ festivals). From three the group turned to lucky seven. All of us, brimming with energy.

But the catch was, we had only two confirmed tickets and rest WL, 2AC. BUT. nothing was going to deter us from this trip. we came fully equipped with extra newspaper (incase we need to sit on floor for 12hrs journey).

With Chiraj bhaiya having enough homemade food to last us for next 3days, we boarded the train.

Maybe it's the luck of seven or persuasion of our friend,

[above is Chirag bhai (C) home made thepla, upon which we had jumped and devoured quite shamelessly 😁]

we managed three more seats and with few sharing of berth amongst ourselves, we reached our station

Happy faces

This fella was so adamant on being in focus. refused to move an inch from frame. She clearly surpassed our pic queens and kings from our group. just see the grace and dignity with which she's posing!

We had too much time, so we made impromptu visit to Bengal Safari in Salugara

Initially we wanted to do everything. but decided to start with Grand Safari

we had 11 more mins for our vehicle to start,

so we decided to utilize the children park 😀

Our smart vehicle

First stop was to

D- Hey champ! come up. they are being crazy with phones again

M- Let's get viral. what should I do?? Hakuna Matata?

D- SIT down

Us- "Baloo!! Baloooo!!! we love you!

Palat! please palat!"

B- "For God's sake!"

Such a lethal beauty

🙂

rrrr....

R- it's musical cat

C- How?

R-run your figures over her stripes and see

C- Is it?

Chirag bhai in action humming Tuhi re

C- O teri! It works!

Meanwhile the cat, "Pass over the momos"

which we didn't

after filling our stomach with momos and soul with ice creams

we resumed our journey

Dusty under construction road

Us having serious discussion on who would bungee jump and who will trek down to gather the remaining pieces

with no conclusion

The final stretch of road to our home stay was adventurous, slightly treacherous

Finally, our room in Yelbong saran Homestay

All set for lunch. and as usual,

Chirag bhai with his staple food beside him

with few hours of daylight to spare, we left to explore

nearby playground

Local Wine tasting 😂

Irrespective of Koyel's reaction, it tasted good. These wines are home brewed with Amla or gooseberries.

midnight birthday celebration. 🥳

All thanks to the owner of homestay for making this possible.

Must Group pic before the start of trek

The walk to river was no easy job

steep shortcuts,

slippery zones where you literary have to crawl

Keya is sitting on stones having coal. locals dig the coals from the mountains and sell them in market. It's risky job which people usually avoid unless forced by dire circumstances

steps down and

down

finally the river bed

we thought that most of the struggle is done,

now we will only cross the river and walk along the canyon,

we were so wrong

the vegetation had changed. Trees and plants seemed much familiar from plains.

walking over boulders, slipping over 80 degree muddy slopes

climbing rocks and crossing over dead branches

we finally reached the revered opening

and it was TOTALLY worth it

Somebody is trying hacks to keep their shoes dry

plz don't intimate. it didn't work🤣

It was pure joy

This place is refresher for adventurist's heart

This was my first time visiting a canyon structure.

The play of sunlight within rocks, the dune form of canyons, together was mesmerizing. We kept on chanting, it was worth the visit

Again

trek to furthest end of canyon where we met dead end. Swam to the last stepping stone.

Behind the smile is the pain of freezing legs in cramped space. After photo session, we traced back our steps

back to the start

This is first time I'm seeing people with smiling face after such rigorous workout

Lunch break

Can you spot the coals? This is what I spoke about earlier

Kavita- improvised version of lady with umbrella

Break

Tea break

The lone bench

🙂

We had barbeque (tasted scrumptious). Most of us dived for bed with aching legs and calves.

Next day, all set for return but before that

😂🤣

Revenge time

The irony of above pic is that people who detest taking pics have clearer pic than others 😀

we left homestay at 12pm

Somewhere in Lataguri

Some jalebies?

pick your lazy self and buy from the sweet shop just round the corner😝

Everyone (fit) should commence this one day trek once.

With 2AC tickets (from Kolkata), vehicles, homestay, Bengal safari, day trip to Lataguri overheard cost for seven people was Rs7000 each. It can come down to Rs5000 if one is availing only yelbong trek with economical train tickets.

PC- Chirag, Suchandra, Rig, Amandeep and Kavita

Keep travelling!