This is the fourth part of a series of articles about the author’s trip to Keokradong.
Read Part I here.
Read Part II here.
Read Part III here.
Twelve young men decided to conquer the mighty Keokradong after they were done with exams. Their journey had already cost an entire day. And by the end of this one, they seemed to be nearing victory.
We walked straight to a place that roughly simulated a plaza. On one side of it is an edge atop which stands one of those circular seating arrangements. Beside that is the only hotel within thousands of kilometers vertically. Next to that is an army check-post. Opposite to that is a set of stairs that leads to the peak. Beside that is a tong. Beside that, a road that leads to the infamous helipad and goes further down.
Much like NafaKhum, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are sold for more than their price. However, they cost significantly less than their counterparts in NafaKhum. For reference, a packet of chips worth BDT 15.00 costs BDT 30.00 in NafaKhum. On Keokradong, it costs BDT 20.00.
Upon arrival, we first went to the hotel and took an egg package. The time was five o’clock, and the place was almost empty. After eating, we went to the army check-post, where we wrote down our names. They keep these records for security purposes. Afterwards, we were guided along a route that took us to our cottage: “Meghbari.”
Here’s a question, if you can see how beautiful Keokradong is from photos, why do people still go there? The answer is, you can’t. The trees, the clouds, and the sky all make a panorama that is too good to be true. Butterflies of different colors can also be seen fluttering. Everything feels like a scene from a Studio Ghibli film. We had never seen such beauty. So, we tried capturing them, all the while wondering why nobody had yet done it. Our questions were instantly answered. Modern-day cameras are still not advanced enough to capture such a landscape with correct details.
The clouds kept getting registered as fog, and our phone cameras kept refreshing for a clearer view. We figured, given the lack of connectivity, and taking into account that we cannot be clicking photos either, it’s wisest to charge our phones and keep them away.
We went back to our cottage. The cottage facilities were BDT 300.00 per person on the hilltop. Our cottage stood on a cliff. The difference between this cottage and the one back at Boga Lake is that this one is huge and contains multiple rooms. Different parties inhabited the other spaces. The cottage managers were kind enough to set us up with two separate rooms for 12 people. We got changed inside the cottage. We got fresh. We then went on to enjoy the sights.
Night-time befell us. Getting out of the cottage without a purpose is ill-advised. There are no electric poles or lamp-shades on the hilltop. You need to navigate through forestry in utter darkness.
You might not need to be wary of robbers atop the mountainside, but something deadlier lurks among the bushes. Leeches.
Keokradong suffers from a deadly epidemic of leeches, and everyone must be careful they don’t end up carrying them into their rooms.
We spent most of our time on the corridor. Our corridor was on the side of the cottage that stood on the cliff. The view felt like a lake of clouds among several hills. There were clouds above us and clouds below us. In very short instances, the sky would be lit with the sight of a thunderbolt traveling from one cloud to another. And when it all lit up, we saw nothing anywhere. It was a calming experience. We could even hear the clouds below us pouring down. At times, the clouds above us would also wash us out. We allowed the clouds to have their way.
We were the audience, and today, the clouds were the main act.
The managers had warned us about opening the windows. We were wondering why. No sooner had we opened a window, clouds rushed into our room and fogged the entire place. We immediately closed it. The fog then started culminating into droplets and pouring down. We do not recommend this experience. Keep in mind that up there, the weather is very chilly.
My joints hurt from all the trekking. Finally arriving at the cottage felt like a blessing for me.
I was naturally bummed out when at night all my friends said that they were going for dinner. I turned on my cellphone flashlight and took the shortest steps possible while walking to the hotel. The hotel was packed because this time, we were there on time. We decided to wait outside. When we got our seats, we asked for the mutton package. Six of us got our orders before the waiter told us they were out. The rest had the egg package. Mutton is in high demand among tourists.
I finished dinner early and then came out and sat at the tong outside. A uniformed officer runs the tong. I spoke with him for a long time. The people here could have actual jobs and wear uniforms, but they still are very simple people. He talked about life up among the hills, and I told him about city and university life. He spoke of non-violence and keeping the youth safe. We also gossiped about the history of Keokradong, how it came to be a tourist attraction, and why the place is regulated so strictly.
A story:
A little down the road from where we were, is a helipad. The road is closed off from evening. During daylight, tourists are allowed to walk until the helipad. The officer said, long ago, there were no such regulations. Tourists were allowed to go wherever they wanted. Once, a tourist couple and their guide had walked past the Arakan point long beyond the helipad. They were never seen or heard from again. Nobody knows what happened to them. Since then, the helipad has been closed off for the general public.
After we were all done with our dinners, we went back to our cottage. We sang songs praising the mighty clouds. We played card games deep into the night. And then we went to our respective rooms and fell asleep.
We woke up the following day at 7 AM. We packed our things in advance, and went to the plaza. We still had not seen everything. At first, we went to the helipad. The helipad is a plateau from which you can overlook the vast distance. From there, we went to the peak. The peak has seating facilities pointing over the edges. From up there, we saw vast streams of clouds rolling around the smaller hills like rivers.
The twelve kids that started from Dhaka to conquer Keokradong were victorious. We were at the peak. History might not remember us, but we know of our achievement. It felt amazing to have been able to see our country and the nature from so high above the clouds. We are champions.
