theladywanderer

As mentioned in my earlier blog, post lunch we  set off to explore the Nangur market. Nangur “Haat” (Market) We parked our vehicle at the parking lot and started walking towards Nangur Market. This is a very colorful market of Nangur where Dhurwa Tribes (Warrior Tribes) play the host by selling traditional products, grains, millets, vegetables, local liquor, and crafts. We had a good time here. Lip smacking snacks 😋 These are jaggery balls These are dried prawns(kept in Bamboo basket) and red ants chutney (kept in leafy bowls). Red ant chutney is a local Bastar delicacy,  The circular cut vegetable on the left is Tapioca. And the red leafy vegetable is the Red Amaranth leaf which was served to us on our arrival day at Jabarra. Tribal people make lot of creative stuffs with Bamboo Local authentic turmeric. The root resembles like ginger and is bitter to taste if eaten raw. Making authentic turmeric powder at home involves 4 step process - Wash, Boil, Dry an...

As mentioned in my earlier blog, after the adventurous hike we were in dire need of a good sound sleep. Hence, we thought of waking up little late today but village roasters alerted us with their wake up alarm and repeated this like snooze effect until we all woke up😊.  We were served hot poha for breakfast. Poha was yummy with peanuts fried to perfection😋.  Post breakfast, Shakeel sir told us that we would be doing cave explorations first and then visit local "Haat" market  Kanger Valley National park has some of the best exceptional caves and today we were about to visit “Kailash Cave” and “Mahadev Cave” Kailash Cave Kailash cave is believed to be the oldest cave in this area. This cave has the earliest limestone formations which are very attractive. These limestone structures are truly breathtaking and few of them turn into a shape like Shivlinga.  Stalactites and stalagmites within the cave give it a replica of Kailash. These dripstone structures are also worsh...

Today was the much awaited day for us since we were about to be officially introduced to actual Bastar vibes - tribal village walks, trails and tribal feasts.  We started from Jagdalpur post breakfast to Bodal. Total journey duration is 1 hour, and journey is very amazing as your vehicle passes through the dense forests of Kanger National park along with some views of incredible landscapes.   We reached Bodal at around 11 am. Here we were welcomed by our esteemed host Shakeel Sir (Shakeel Rizvi), a philanthropist who works for the development of the tribal people in Bastar. He stays amongst the tribal people to understand and help them better.  They have high regards for him and look upon him in taking critical decisions.  We got down from our vehicle and were surprised to see such an amazing accommodation arranged for us amid rustic village life. This homestay had all the basic amenities that are required for a comfortable stay here. Thanks to Shakeel sir for g...