Shree Antu lies in a beautiful district Ilam. When we think of Shree Antu, we often attach a word, homestay too, as it is one of the fantastic places to stay overnight. You can have spectacular views of the surrounding’s hills from the top sitting in the middle of tea gardens. I was kind of thinking have a similar experience once again, as I clearly memorize the first ride a couple of years ago in a group. This time I was looking for doing a solo ride to Shree Antu from my place, Itahari because I wanted to feel the nature so deeply, I wanted to surrender myself to the beautiful tea gardens and lie down closing eyes for hours. So, here is my journey begins. Do not worry, I will tell you the route and probable cost for your journey.
(Full Vlog Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt8J_VzwuIU&t=842s)
Generally, as a rider, I have to be prepared well for my all ridings. Itahari to Shree Antu is not far, as it is just a 140 KM far from Itahari that takes approximately 4 to 5 hours of ride in a motorcycle to reach there. You can return on the same day but I would suggest you to stay overnight there and return on the following morning. Yes, many people do the same, stay at homestay at least for a night. For me, I was looking for returning on the same day, so didn’t carry any big luggage in my bike. If you are looking for staying a night over there, you can carry at least a pair of clothes etc. just to make yourself comfortable.
My hometown is Itahari, so in most of the blogs, my story and journey begin from Itahari. However, Itahari lies in the central so no matter where you travel from you have to come to Itahari first unless you are already closed to Ilam and Shree Antu. From Itahari we just take the only one East – West Highway of Nepal to East. We follow the east-west highway till Charali of Mechi Zone, which takes almost 2 hours to reach there from Itahari. From Charali we leave the East – West Highway and take a side road to Ilam. We don’t have to reach Ilam nor Phikkal, as we have to just cross Kanyam. Between Kanyam and Phikkal, there is a small place, from where we get a route (road) to Shree Antu. It is approximately 20 KM to Shree Antu from Kanyam.
Roads from Itahari to Shree Antu is very good and it involves all pitch road, so you can take your car, scooter, bike or bus. There are mainly two places to explore, one is Antu Pokhari and the other one is Antu Dada (View Tower). Firstly, you reach Antu Pokhari which is a beautiful pond surrounded by small hills filled up with tea gardens and cottages (homestay). 2 to 3 KM of ride from Antu Pokhari, you will get Antu Dada, from where you can witness a beautiful sunrise and sunset. Good thing is that there has been a tower too. You have to purchase tickets to enter into the tower premises and a ticket costs NPR. 25 per person for Nepalese citizens and NPR. 100 per person for foreigners. I found Antu tower is the most managed towers of all that I have ever visited. If you have a two-wheeler you can take it to all the way up to the tower but 4 wheelers should be parked at the bottom, from where you have to walk for about half an hour to reach at the top.
(Full Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt8J_VzwuIU&t=842s)
Generally, Homestay costs you Nepalese Rs. 1000 per room, where rooms have the capacity to accommodate 2 to 10 people depending upon the numbers of people. You can stay either in Antu Pokhari or nearby Antu Dada. Friday evening is the most crowded day, so if you are going on Friday, you must book your homestay in advance. In other days, it is normal, as you can easily get rooms. Have a wonderful journey!
