In search of paradise, Barak waterfalls

Moirangthem Rustum Singh *

Khoudong Water Fall - Tamenglong :: Pix - Gaikhamdim Marangmei

For people who have less time to travel around need not move far and spend an entire week to appreciate the indescribable beauty of mother nature or to breathe in the stunning silence environing Barak waterfalls, which is located within the virgin forest of Tamenglong district of Manipur, offers the right ingredients to give a traveler the beauty of nature with an added bonus of adventure sports.

Setting out on a motorcycle ride is something that gives me an un-definable delight which I can never explain in words. The energy and excitement enthralls me every time I set out with friends for such rides.

One fortunate morning late June, I set out with some friends from the Zeliro Venturers who rented us their bullet motorcycles and began our ride to the belly of Tamenglong district, about 146 km from the State capital Imphal, which is well known for its misty mountains and jungles.

Far beyond the lavish hill range of Tamenglong, lies the hidden Bamgaijang village adjacent to one of the biggest rivers, Barak River, which was our destination.

The village is located 15 km away in the south-west direction from Tamenglong district headquarters. We set off from Imphal around 8 am. Owing to pitiable road condition, we reached the halfway point in Noney at around 12 noon.

As we sat down for meal, our friends from Zeliro Venturers recounted their last adventurous trip to Tamenglong.

One of the riders said, “From the moment we set out from here, we are going to taste the slippery and slushy roads of Tamenglong, experience crooks in the path. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, you will realize that you had experienced one of the best journeys you’ve ever had. “

What had we not gone through! Since the road was kutcha, my rider and I fell down several times. In one instance, the bike incidentally slipped off and we were literally hanging on the edge of the road overlooking a deep gorge.

We reached Tamenglong after three hours of continuous ride. We were greeted warmly by the riders of Tamenglong.

Together, we headed towards Bamgaijang village. With no cell networks, we were on our own, but the 15-km stretch offered us the unique pleasure of what it is like to ride a motorcycle on roads which have been left unattended for so many years.

Usually in dry season, a four-wheeler takes only one and a half hours to reach the village, but it took us more than two hours to reach. Well it was one of the longest motorcycle rides of my life.

If people were to rent a four-wheeler from Tamenglong, it costs about seven thousand rupees. The Adventure Club of Tamenglong also provides renting services of camping materials, food and other necessary materials required for a hiking trip to the misty hills of the district.

By the time we reached Bamgaijang village, it was twilight. Bamgaijang (Rongmei dialect) means “a comfort place”. Just as the name depicts, it was indeed a “comfort place” with hospitable villagers welcoming us with beaming smiles.

Barak River is a home to varieties of fishes and water birds. The main occupation of the villagers comprise of agriculture, fishing and occasional lumbering.

Next morning, we rented two canoes and all the required materials for an outing at Barak waterfall. The mist and the untouched natural scenes of Barak left us spellbound. As we paddled further up the river, the water current became quicker. We paddled downstream for more than two hours until we reached our destination.

Another 30 minutes of walk along the riverbank led us to our final destination- the “mighty” Khoudong waterfalls which is one of many waterfalls of the Barak River.

Earlier, people dubbed the place as the only place where only psychotic travelers would visit to experience its surrounding beauty. But there I laughed at myself for believing such thing because it was too beautiful to believe that.

Yes, the ride in the canoe was dangerous with tide tossing the canoes every few seconds. The Barak River has rapid tides and it offers the perfect experience of white- water rafting and other adventure sports.

Legend has it that ‘Asa’, a demi-God used to reside along the Barak river that runs adjacent to Bamgaijang and Haflong in Assam hundreds of years ago. On the river bank, one can see a huge solid rock that resembles a chair and we were told that mighty ‘Asa’ used to sit and spend his leisure time there. As we were about make a left turn, there lies a big rounded rock on top of an another rock which looked like as if it has been carved perfectly to cradle the rock.

According to legend, Asa challenged other Gods to a shot-put competition. While the rocks thrown by other Gods fell into the river, Asa’s rock perfectly landed on top of an another rock. We’ve been told that though the rock looks vulnerable, no one has been able to move the rock forward or backward till today. The rock which stands tall in the middle of the river has gloriously withstand high tides and floods till now. As we were about to paddled passed the rock, I stretched out my hand to lightly touch the legendary rock and lo! The moment my hand landed softly on the rock, I felt a sense of pride and I saw myself recounting this great moment as I head home.

I was still basking in the ‘moment’ I had just few seconds ago when our canoe slowly slid up against the riverbank. We held our things and started walking into the forest for almost 20 minutes. With the sound of gushing water ahead of us, I could tell we were almost there.

Behold! Khoudong waterfall. I was too enthralled by the sheer beauty of it and I admitted myself that the journey was indeed worthwhile, in fact beyond worthwhile.

The pebbles in the river have been shaped and molded beautifully by running water. We sat down to bask in the beauty of place, to breathe in the surrounding fragrance.

Far away from home, I tried to picture the differences of man-made places and places endowed by Mother Nature. I realized how destructive human beings can be and that the best way human beings can do to save our earth is to leave the nature untouched.

While rests of our members were assembling things to cook our meal, some of us decided to explore the place. After hiking for about 20 minutes, we came across a huge rock that can easily render solace to travelers like us. The rock which is approximately 15 to 20 feet tall looks like a cave. In case the water level increases, it could have been more like an underwater cave.

Some of us wanted to catch a glimpse of the last and dangerous waterfall of Khoudong. Due to safety reasons, we decided to skip that and head back.

Lunch was ready when we joined the others who had been cooking. One of the communities who can cook pork deliciously is Rongmei. The pork we had in lunch was the living testimony.

The Barak River is one of the sources of income for many villagers of Bamgaijang and Taijijang, which is situated on the other side of the river.

We paddled back upstream towards Bamgaijang filled with love and respect for nature. Those who had created pages of memories of Barak River and Khoudong will only know the deep bond of nature and human beings once used to share.

If one wants to visit and explore the scenic beauty of Barak River and Bamgaijang, one can contact the village chairman for food and lodging. Bamgaijang is considered as one of the most backward villages in Tamenglong district. The village has no power supply for the past three, four years. The villager depends on solar lamps at night. The nearest Public Health Sub-Centre is located at Akhui which is around 8-km away from the village.

It may sound that Bamgaijang lacks all the basic requirements of being a village located so close to a tourist spot. However, despite all the deprivation, Bamgaijang still continues to offer the little it has to every visitor with a hope that the historic beauty of Barak and its stories encircling the village will be reached far and wide.

The village stands for conserving nature, appreciating the natural gifts given to mankind and to build a society where everyone can enjoy the fruit of nature, not its wrath.

With much of the needed ingredients to attract tourists are already there, just a handy touch from the right departments and authorities can change the face of tourism sector in the State. It is a well known fact that Manipur has the potential to boost its economy through tourism. Once the Barak waterfalls are promoted as one of the famous tourist destination of the State, Manipur can walk past all the other neighboring States.

This article is a compiled work as part of the World Tourism Day Media Fellowship, awarded by the “Manipur Tourism Forum”.