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The” Coal City Adventure” you must have been thinking that I would talk about Coal or Mining Visits in this article. But here, is the different thing you don’t know about Dhanbad. The Dhanbad district comes in the Chota Nagpur Plateau spread over 2074 sq km. It is believed that it derived its name from “Dhan” and “Abad” meaning “Prospered with wealth”. In history, it is also described as “Paddy Land” [“Dhan” means “Paddy” and “Baid (land)”].
This place is not only rich in terms of money but also in terms of natural beauty. You can witness its natural serenity here at Topchanchi Lake and Bhatinda Fall which attracts a large number of tourists every year. If you want to explore some devotional points, Parasnath, Shakti Mandir and Lilori Sthan are the perfect match for you. A huge number of tourists on the occasion of New Year (the end of the year) visit these places from the different states of India.
Dhanbad along with its natural beauty houses some of the top-ranked institutions in India such as IIT ISM Dhanbad, DGMS, CIMFR, and Dhanbad Rail Division (comes second in generating revenue after Mumbai). So, now if you have broken with your pre-assumption for Dhanbad, I am going to take you on a ride on the top 5 places you can visit in Dhanbad.
How to Reach Dhanbad?
Dhanbad is a well-connected city with all the major cities of India through Roads and Railways. So, you need not worry about reaching here.
By Road
Dhanbad connects with major cities like Kolkata, Agra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar through NH 19. You have the option to choose luxurious buses or the normal one, available both, to reach Dhanbad.
By Rail
Dhanbad Rail Division is one of the busiest Railway stations in India. It comes second in generating revenue after Mumbai. As a result, there are plenty of trains running on this route connecting from all the major cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Bangalore, Chennai, Tamilnadu, Varanasi, etc.
By Air
Dhanbad contributes a lot to the economic growth of the nation and meets all the criteria, unfortunately, lacks an airport facility. The central government must pay attention to the long demand for the airport in Dhanbad to strengthen tourism. The nearest airport to Dhanbad is Birsa Munda International Airport in Ranchi at a distance of 127 km. From there, you can take regular buses (normal or luxurious) that will take you about 4 hours to reach Dhanbad.
Top 5 Places to Visit in Dhanbad
Bhatinda fall
Bhatinda Waterfall is famous for being a perfect picnic spot for tourists. The cascading waterfalls and the serenity of the waterfall will give you a melancholic charm and experience. But you must be careful near the waterbody and do not try to go into them. If you visit the place at the end of the year like December or January, you will find awesome gatherings here.
The place is just 14 km away from the Dhanbad Railway Station and will take barely 30 to 50 minutes to reach there. You will get several autorickshaws outside the railway station that will take you to the place but only in reserve mode. The place is open between 8 AM to 5 PM.
Maithan Dam
The name “Maithan” comes from the “Mai ka Sthan” which means the home of Goddess Kalyaneshwari. At Maithan Dan you can avail the facility of boating in the lake spread over 65 kilometers with green forests around the lake. The landscape during the sunrise and sunset looks stunning and gives a perfect picturesque view of the site. You must not forget to visit the ancient temple of Mother Goddess Kalyaneshwari and ask for some boon. You can also take a roam of the underground power station built on the lake with a capacity to generate around 60,000 KW of electric power which is one of its kind in the whole of South East Asia.
The place is at a distance of 44 km from Dhanbad Railway Station. You can reach here by taking a reserved mode of transport.
Topchanchi Lake
Topchanchi Lake is a man-made lake spread over an area of more than 200 acres. It is part of Topchanchi Wildlife Century whose greenery in its surroundings proves to be a boon the tourists. The lake is situated just about 22 km from the nearby Sammed Shikhar of Parasnath. Hence you have the opportunity to visit both places on the same day. You can also spend some time walking to the Topchanchi Wild Life Century which houses varieties of wildlife.
Every year many migratory flocks including a pink duck, black-winged stilt, common teal, gadwall, brown-headed gull, spoonbill, red-crested pochard, and common coot from Siberia, Mongolia, and other countries surrounding the Himalayas travel to Topchanchi Lake. They migrate for food and to spend some quality time during mid-December to February. But their presence makes the lake more beautiful than any normal day of the year and thus attracts more tourists than ever.
You can reach the Lake from the nearest Dhanbad Railway Station which is at a distance of only 37km. Again you must take a reserved mode of transport to visit this site.
Parasnath
Parasnath is the range of ancient Parasnath Hill. It falls in the nearby Giridih District but is very close to Topchanchi Lake (about 22 Km). So if you are visiting Topchanchi Lake you can visit Parasnath Hill also.
The Parasnath Peak at 1365m is the highest in the Jharkhand. The hill is very sacred to Jains, and they call it Sammed Shikhar. It is believed that out of 24 Tirthankar, 20 got nirvana here and the name Parasnath was given to the hill on the name of 23rd Jain Tirthankar Parshvanatha who also got Nirwan here. There is a famous Jain temple made of white marble, on the top of the hill which appears bright in the sunlight from a distance. I will remind you to maintain the chastity and purity of the hill as it is sacred.
The Sammed Shikhar is just 15 kms from the “Parasnath Railway Station” which is the nearest railway station. You can take a local train or express from the nearby Dhanbad Railway Station running at frequent intervals, It will reach the place within 30 minutes.
Shaktimandir
Shakti Mandir in Dhanbad is a famous Hindu temple located in the heart of the city. The temple is dedicated to goddess Durga and owns the Akhand Jyoti (eternal flame) brought down from mata Jwala Devi in Himachal Pradesh. Thus it is very sacred to the people here. The temple was inaugurated on 7th December 1989. It receives a huge crowd on the occasion of Navratra every year.
The temple is just a distance of 2 km from Dhanbad. You can reach here very easily by taking an autorickshaw from Dhanbad Railway Station. The temple is open all day at all times (kept closed temporarily at mid-noon).
Other Places to Visit in Dhanbad
Panchet Dam
Panchet Dam is a multipurpose Dam built in 1959 on the Damodar River. It falls in the Panchet area of Dhanbad district. This place is 54 km from the Dhanbad Railway Station and 10 km from Kumardhubi Railway Station. You can reach here by road via Chirkunda GT Road.
Birsa Munda Park
Birsa Munda Park is located at the heart of the city of Dhanbad and hence, an ideal spot to have some leisure time. It includes various leisure facilities for all such as walkways, leisure areas, play areas, toy trains, various rides for children, etc. The park is open on all days between 6 AM to 6 PM.
Lilori Sthan
Lilori Sthan in Dhanbad is one of the oldest temples dedicated to Goddess Kali (one of the manifestations of Navdurga). It is located at a distance of 18 km from Dhanbad Railway Station. You can reach out to the temple via Hirak Road. There is a strong belief in this temple in the coal city and people come here to take their wish granted by goddess.
Jharia Coal Mines
Jharia is a town in Dhanbad city, just at a distance of 7-8 km from Dhanbad Railway Station. It is widely famous for its coal mines all over the country and abroad. This is Jharia, because of which only, Dhanbad takes pride as the Coal City or the Coal Capital of India. You can visit a number of coal mines here (underground and open-cast) and enrich your knowledge. It is the powerhouse of India as most of India’s coal comes from Jharia.
You can reach Jharia by taking a shared or reserved auto. The route is safe all the time even, at midnight the facility transportation is available.
IIT ISM
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), is the only IIT in Jharkhand located in the Dhanbad district. Lord Irwin had established it as the Indian School of Mines in 1926, under British Government Rule. The institute has well-known recognition, nationally and internationally for imparting quality education in the fields of Mining and Geology.
Conclusion
Dhanbad being the powerhouse of India, is also a cultural house of India at the same time, as it accommodates people from all the diversities of India. The people are here from Bihar, Bengal, Tamil, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and other parts of India. They speak differently but live co-ordily, a perfect example of Unity and Diversity. Dhanbad has many more things to offer you as a perfect tourist destination point other than coal mining. So what are you waiting for? Welcome to Dhanbad!
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