I am brought up in Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, mainly. We thought of driving down the Patratu valley earlier but because of Naxalite threats, we didn’t pursue our plans earlier. Now, the areas are safe and free from the Naxalite menace. During this visit of my father, we thought of driving down to mesmerising Patratu valley and the serene Patratu dam.

Surrounded by lush forests and characterised by winding roads, the Patratu valley is certainly a beauty every traveller would love to capture. It is also home to famous Patratu Thermal Power Station. Once a forested land, Patratu is a developed town and an offbeat tourist spot today, just around 40 km from Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is highly rich in wildlife and forest has some of the most serene locations, hidden and less known to the tourists. It’s still one of the least-explored states in the country. One such place which can leave you stunned is the beautiful valley town of Patratu, located at an elevation of around 1350 feet.

Located in the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand, Patratu is a charming valley town which is popular for its dam, which was constructed under the planning of the greatest Indian engineer and father of Indian engineering, Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, popularly known as Sir MV, to cater to the water needs of nearby towns and villages. The birthday of Sir MV, September 15, is celebrated as Engineer’s Day in India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania in his memory. The dam was made to store water of Nalkari River; this is the main attraction of Patratu.

We took a half-day’s trip from Ranchi to this place, the Ghat roads are blissful, and the drive is exhilarating. Passed through the Pithoria-Patratu valley, with lovely S-curves, hairpin bends, swooping corners and absolutely stunning views. The roads are picturesque too with wide corners and fenced borders.  There’s a valley viewpoint, where people stop to enjoy the nature, take some pictures, and some vendors selling golgappas or fuchkas, ice creams etc. We also stopped here for taking some photographs and enjoyed some delicious fuchkas, followed by ice creams. Crazy, are we?

Chief Minister Raghubar Das inaugurated the newly constructed Patratu Lake Resort on October 02, 2019. The resort built beside the Patratu dam by State Tourism department is a magnificent tourist site with several amenities. A variety of water sports, such as jet skiing, high speed motorboats, sideboats, casts and parasailing can be experienced at the water park. Apart from this, the amusement park has wall climbing, bungee jumping, multilayered rope course etc. However, the resort and the facilities are yet to be functional and are still getting the finishing touches.

We returned home enjoying tender coconut on the way up.

If you love exploring untrodden trails, you must add this gorgeous beauty to your bucket list.