Sonepur: A team of mountaineers, led by Everester Jogabyasa Bhoi, assembled here and trekked the Trikut hill range at Patali Srikshetra on the occasion of International Mountain Day on Monday.
A group of 21 professionally trained mountaineers, including five women from across nine districts, under the aegis of the Odisha Mountaineers' Trust trekked about 10km of an arduous route starting from the Trikuta foothills at Kotsomalai village during the state-level event.
The expedition aimed to highlight Patali Srikshetra, a place best known for the Jagannath culture. It has potential in the field of ecotourism and adventure tourism. The Patali Srikshetra Trust of Kotsomalai extended co-operation in organising the event.
Bhoi said the main reason behind choosing Patali Srikshetra was to highlight the spirituality and promote adventure tourism. "The spot has been recognised as a spiritual place as it is associated with Lord Jagannath. It has potential for ecotourism and adventure tourism," Bhoi said. "I would like to come back to this place for more programmes. We will conduct a mountaineering camp here."
Lipsamayee Dubey, a college lecturer in Kalahandi, said: "We trekked about 10km on the difficult terrain of the hill, and it was a wonderful experience. We came across several caves during the trek and each of them had a story to tell. It is a feast for eyes as you trek along the route. The lush green forest and the beautiful valley below exult an awesome feeling," she said.
Purna Chandra Padhi, trustee of the Srikshetra body, said: "The place has so much potential for spiritual tourism, ecotourism and adventure tourism, but not much has been done. Event like this will help highlight the place in a bigger way."
A team, led by the then Puri temple administrator Suresh Mahapatra and consisting of researchers on the Jagannath cult and sevayats of the temple, had visited Kotsomalai village in 2007. The experts among the team members had concluded that Lord Jagannath had been hidden in a cave of the nearby Trikuta hills for 144 years to get rid of the attack of Raktabahu and Kalapahad.
