Village Walks & Rural Exploration

The villages surrounding the hill, including Nanduara and the growing township of Annapurna Pally, reward slow exploration on foot. The agricultural scenes of paddy cultivation, mustard fields in winter and the daily rhythms of rural life in the Rarh region are unhurried and picturesque. Village children are often the most enthusiastic guides, curious about visitors and happy to point the way. The water of this region is famously sweet and clean, drawn from deep wells in the laterite plateau and travellers of old noted its health-giving properties. Hire a local guide through your accommodation to visit nearby Santali or Munda hamlets, where traditional house painting (both geometric and floral) adorns the mud walls and the sounds of the dhol drum and the shehnai drift from occasional ceremonies.