Delhi → Kechla, Koraput, Odisha
Eight days, six states and a school on the far side of a reservoir. This November our learners travel by train, road and boat to Auro-Mira Vidya Mandir, a residential school for tribal children in the hills of Koraput, and live there as part of its community.
Reply needed Please respond by Tuesday 13 October so we can book train tickets. No payment commitment.Itinerary is tentative. Final plan to follow.
Why this journey
Through the afternoon the train passes Mathura and Agra and crosses the Chambal ravines. By evening it is in Bundelkhand, and by morning it is running through the rice country of Chhattisgarh at harvest time. By road we climb onto the Bastar plateau and into the Eastern Ghats, and we come home down through the Araku Valley to the Bay of Bengal coast.
We could fly most of the way. We have chosen not to. A long train ride and unhurried road days give learners time to watch the land change, keep a journal, share meals and look out for one another as a group. Arriving slowly also helps a place sink in, and the journey becomes part of what they learn.
At Kechla our learners stay at a residential school built for the children of tribal families. They will attend classes with these children, play with them, eat with them and learn from them, and spend time with families in the surrounding hamlets. We expect friendships to form quickly, and learners to come home with a wider idea of what school and childhood look like across India.
The route
We are weighing two ways to make the middle of the journey and will confirm one shortly. Everything else stays the same.
Kechla and Koraput are drawn slightly apart so both can be read.
A rest day in Raipur after the train, then one long road day (about 8 hours) to Kechla.
The road journey is split in two, with a night in Jagdalpur and time to see Bastar on the way.
We board the 22868 Durg Humsafar Express at Hazrat Nizamuddin, departing 11:25. It is an all air-conditioned three-tier train with a pantry car. The afternoon passes through Mathura, Agra and the Chambal valley, and the night through Madhya Pradesh.
The train reaches Raipur at 08:00. After checking in and resting, we spend the day in Chhattisgarh's capital. Possible visits include Purkhauti Muktangan, an open-air museum of the state's tribal life, and the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum. Night in Raipur.
The train reaches Raipur at 08:00 and we continue south by road, about six hours, through Kanker and Kondagaon, a centre of Bastar's bell-metal (dhokra) craft. Evening in Jagdalpur. Night in Jagdalpur.
An early start for the road journey to Koraput, about eight hours, through Bastar and up into the Eastern Ghats. At the Kolab reservoir we cross by boat to Kechla and arrive by evening.
Morning sightseeing around Jagdalpur, such as Chitrakote Falls on the Indravati river. Then a shorter drive into Odisha to Koraput, and across the Kolab reservoir by boat to Kechla.
School days with the Auro-Mira children, games and sport, treks and adventure activities in the hills, and time in the village. More on this below.
An early start for the drive straight out of Kechla by road, through the Araku Valley with its coffee gardens and tribal villages, and down the ghats to Visakhapatnam on the coast. Evening flight home to Delhi.
Where we will stay
Kechla is a cluster of tribal hamlets spread across the hills around the Kolab reservoir, high in the Eastern Ghats. When the Kolab river was dammed in the 1980s, the water cut these villages off from Koraput town, which is close by boat but about 100 km away by road. When the Auro-Mira Service Society began working here, the area had no proper roads, electricity, clean drinking water, school or health care.
The Society built Auro-Mira Vidya Mandir as a fully residential school, free for every child and run on donations, guided by the educational ideas of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Most of its children come from Kechla and nearby villages, and between them they speak three tribal dialects.
The setting is serene and humbling at the same time. The campus has the basic facilities needed for comfortable living, and our learners will be part of its daily rhythm.
We visited Kechla with other grades a couple of years ago, and we are happy to be going back.
Tue 24 – Fri 27 November
The day-wise plan is being worked out with the Auro-Mira team. It will include:
Join Auro-Mira classes and share what they know with children their own age.
Games and sport on the school grounds, often the quickest way to make friends when you don't share a first language.
Treks and adventure activities in the hills and along the water.
Time with tribal families in the surrounding hamlets: their homes, fields, food and crafts.
Evening circles and journals to make sense of each day.
Shared meals, shared spaces and a school routine, far from screens and city noise.
Good to know
Dates and cancellations
Tell us whether to book a train ticket for your child. There is no payment commitment at this stage. We start booking train tickets as responses come in.
We close all bookings and go ahead with booking flights.
The train leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 11:25.
Withdrawing a tentative response before Monday 19 October costs nothing. Once you have confirmed participation, these cancellation charges apply.
| Cancelled | Cancellation charge |
|---|---|
| Up to 31 Oct | 10%of the fee (₹3,200), plus any airline cancellation charges |
| 1 – 10 Nov | 25%of the fee (₹8,000) |
| 11 – 21 Nov | 50%of the fee (₹16,000) |
Respond by Tuesday 13 October
We are booking train tickets for the whole group together, starting this week. A quick tentative response from you lets us hold a seat for your child. It carries no payment commitment.
The expedition fee is ₹32,000 per learner, inclusive of all charges.
Each option opens a short Google Form that takes about a minute. Please send one response per learner.