Trek to Kodachadri – “Miss Beautiful” of Karnataka’s mountains

Our Visit:

8th and 9th December 2018.

Season:

End of Winter – Hazy, moderately cold and mostly dry air with slightly moist forest floors.

Route:
Onward:

Bengaluru -> Nelamangala -> Kunigal -> Yediyuru -> Hirisave -> Channarayapatna -> Arsikere -> Kadur -> Bhadravathi -> Shimoga -> Arasalu -> Hosanagara -> Nagara -> Sampekatte -> KattinahoLe

Return:

GolihoLe -> Kollur -> Nittur -> Nagara -> Konanduru -> Mandagadde -> Lakkavalli -> Tarikere -> Kadur -> Arsikere -> Tiptur -> Yadiyuru -> Kunigal -> Nelamangala -> Bengaluru

The road is very good till almost Shimoga. After that, the ghats start which are pretty good.

Mode of Transport:

We took Durgamba travels sleeper bus which was good. But, it is pretty difficult to sleep through the ghats anyway.

Map:

https://goo.gl/maps/nkECBrULHiF2

Location:

Kodachadri [kutaja (hill jasmine) + adri (mountain)] is a mountain in Shimoga district of Karnataka. It is in Mookambika wildlife sanctuary and is part of the western ghats. It is around 415 kms (around 8 hours drive) from Bengaluru. It is considered the most beautiful mountain in coastal Karnataka.

The trek starts near a village called KattinahoLe which is around 6 kms from Sampekatte bus stop.

Permissions:

Permissions are required from the forest check post near KattinahoLe. One can opt for a guide from forest department as well. Camping is not allowed.

Contact:

Kodachadri HallimaNe homestay – Mr. Raveesh –

Mr. Raveesh will help you with everything that you need for trek – food, accomodation, jeep, guide, buses, taxis, local sight-seeing. Name it and he will provide that service to you. The prices are reasonable too.

Difficulty Level:

Its a long trek – around 17 km in total. The landscape is such that it is a moderate difficulty level trek. The speciality of this trek is that it offers all kinds of terrain – dense jungles, waterfalls with slippery rocks, grasslands and jeep track – a complete package. Since we were here in december and it was post monsoon, it not that difficult at all. But, during the monsoons with gushing waters, pouring rains, leeches and slippery paths, the trek’s difficulty level goes up a notch. Water is not a problem in this trek. Carry a bottle and you will get to fill it in many places. Since camping is not allowed, there would not be much weight on your shoulders making it a ‘light’ trek.

The Plan:

– Start from Bengaluru on friday night (10 PM).
– Reach Sampekatte by 6 AM.
– Jeep from Sampekatte to reach KattinahoLe (Kodachadri HallimaNe Homestay) by 6.30 AM.
– Freshen up, have breakfast and start trek by 8.30 AM.
– Reach Hidlumane Falls by 11.30 AM.
– Reach jeep track by 1.30 PM.
– Reach temple (or Inspection Bungalow) near peak by 2.30 PM.
– Have lunch near IB.
– Reach Sarvajna peeta by 4.30 PM.
– Reach peak by 5 PM and spend time till sunset.
– Take jeep back to homestay. Dinner and sleep.
– Start by 10 AM next day to Kollur temple.
– Reach Someshwara beach by 4 PM.
– Reach GolihoLe by 7.30 PM.
– Board bus in GolihoLe at 8 PM to reach Bengaluru at around 6 AM next morning.

Experience in detail:

DAY 1: 07th December 2018

It was a much awaited trek. I was blessed with a baby boy in July and this was my first real outing in nearly an year. We were 5 this time – Jagan, Nagendran, Hari, Prem and me. Jagan, my long-time trek mate and the real reason for this trek had brought along his team-mate Hari. Nagendran (my team mate), Hari and Jagan were also my Nokia colleagues. I was meeting Prem (Jagan’s childhood friend) for the first time. It was special for Hari, Nagendran and Prem in a different way since this was their first real trek. Though I had been to Kodachadri in 2009, I was eager to revisit my memories. We all boarded our Durgamba travels bus from Goragunte Paalya stop at around 10.30 PM. After initial chatter, we quickly went on to sleep.

DAY 2: 08th December 2018

The bus dumped us in the foggy Sampekatte bus stand at around 6 AM. It was a cold morning and the small tea shop nearby helped us kick-start our day with a hot little cup of tea and biscuits. Our jeep ride was waiting. Our driver, Krishnamurthy, had helped us load our bags into the jeep’s belly. Three other trekkers were sharing the ride with us in the jeep.

Sampekatte bus stand tea stall

The ride from Sampekatte to KattinahoLe’s Kodachadri HallimaNe Homestay was around 6 km and the road were in good condition. The driver however seemed to be in a different mood altogether and I doubt if he ever lifted his foot off the accelerator peddle. He was zooming through the narrow village roads and now we were all surely wide awake!

Mr. Raveesh and his wife greeted us once we reached the homestay. Raveesh (in his fifties) is a typical malnad guy and has been in this place all his life. He knows the neighbourhood, the region and its history. He has also written and published a small informative book on Kodachadri. He is a humble guy with happy-to-help attitude. The homestay has two buildings. The old one is actually Mr.Raveesh’s big malnad-style home with Mangalore tiled roof. Apart from his home, it has 3 rooms attached to it with few common bathrooms. We were given 2 of these 3 rooms for our stay. The other building was a modern 2 floored RCC building that Raveesh had recently built out of his savings specifically for homestay purpose. It has different sized rooms and could easily accomodate 20 people.

Kodachadri Hallimane Homestay

We were offered tea on reaching the homestay and once we got freshened up, our breakfast (upma and idlis) were ready. It tasted quite okay. We packed 3 boxes of upma just in case we needed it during our trek. Raveesh had arranged for a guide. He was a localite and was in his twenties. He quickly gelled with us. We started our walk towards the forest checkpost at around 8 AM. Guide told us that the 3 trekkers who had joined us in the morning’s jeep would like to join us for the trek and he could guide both the groups. It seemed like a harmless proposal and we all agreed. But, this was a mistake and we realized much later.

We walked for around half a kilometer and reached a jeep stand where there were few shops as well. Half a kilometer’s walk from here and we reached the forest checkpost. Here, we had to buy forest entry tickets (Rs.20 each) and would also have to surrender any plastics in our bags [But, nobody really checked].

A short walk on the jeep track for a while and then we entered another path towards Hidlumane falls. The forest path seemed to have started now.

Trek path starts

A short walk on the forest path and by 10 AM, we reached a clearing. At the edge of the clearing was a home with a small shop and cute puppies.

The first clearing

House in middle of nowhere!

We sat for a while and continued on the trek path behind the house on the edge of paddy fields and into the forest again.

Beautiful paddy fields

It was just around a half hour’s easy trek into the jungle when we reached a stream with small waterfalls.

Streams start!

We walked along the stream, scampered on the rocky bed and within another half an hour, we reached the main waterfall – The Hidlumane waterfall. Though it was not flourishing, it was a beautiful sight. since this waterfall was not easily accessible, it was mostly in its natural form. We were lucky that we were the first group to reach the waterfall. We got around 15 minutes of private time with the waterfall and the boys made full use of it. Within half an hour, there were at least 50 people in and around the waterfall.

Hidlumane waterfall

We spent around 45 minutes near the waterfall. The other group of 3 trekkers were still in water and refused to come out. This is when we realized our mistake and we decided to go ahead on the trek path without the guide. The guide told us that the path was not confusing and there were many trekkers already on the path ahead of us. The immediate path from the waterfall was quite a steep one. We frequently were on all fours, gripping the roots of trees and sometimes found ourselves on the edge of very narrow-edged rocks looking down the steep valley.

Steep ascent from waterfall

After around 45 minutes of steep climb, we reached the grasslands. The sun was right in the middle of the sky now and we immediately felt the scorching heat.

We reach the grassland after jungles!

It was a not-so-steep but constant ascent for around 20 minutes from here to reach the top of the grasslands. From here, we had 360 degree view of the kodachadri valleys with jeep track on one side and the dense jungles (that we had just traversed) on the other.

Top of grassland

Jeep track in view!

We had to descend into the valley for around 10 minutes from here. There was a spring here and we filled our bottles. It was a constant ascent on the grasslands from here to reach the jeep track in about half an hour.

Final ascent towards jeep track

It was 1.30 PM and we had a 2 km walk ahead on the jeep track to reach the Inspection bungalow where we could get our lunch.

The walk on the jeep track was quite boring and dusty. We reached Inspection bungalow by 2 PM and had lunch (rice, sambar and butter milk).

Lunch point with retro look!

We were ready to go towards the peak but our guide with the other group was still not here. We had to wait for them to tell him to arrange for our jeep.

It was around 3.30 PM by the time we started going towards the peak. The first stop was a temple complext and then the Ganesha cave.

Temple complex

Om Namo Ganeshaya Namaha

Then at around 4.30, we reached the Sarvjna Peeta – a dedication to Adi Shankaracharya. The view from Sarvajna peeta itself was quite great.

Sarvajna peeta

The sunset view point was visible from here and it was just around 15 minutes away. It was all foggy here and we could hardly get a glimpse of the forests below. But it was evident that we were at the highest point of the region. We were not very lucky to get a good sunset. But, with good evening light, we clicked some good pics and spent some memorable time on the rocky ledges.

5.45 PM and we started towards the Inspection Bungalow where our jeep would be waiting. The jeep ride was a real bumpy one and not for faint hearted or for the elderly. We wondered how worse it would be during the monsoon with slippery mud all over the track. In about 90 minutes, we reached the homestay.

Hot pakodas and piping hot tea were waiting for us at the homestay once we freshened ourselves up. We could not have asked for a better trek day. After a round of playing cards, we hit the bed.

DAY 3 – 09th December 2018:

It was 7.30 AM when I woke up to see the foggy morning. With hot tea in hand, I went for a walk through the sleepy village. It is always so refreshing to walk the paths of malnad settlements and breathe the morning air. It never misses to give the cleanising experience and somehow gives the feeling that these are real homes and that we are missing it so much by being away from nature.

KattinahoLe village

Arecanut plantation

Idlis, poha and sweet was served in the beautiful semi-open dining area of the homestay. We freshened up, packed things up and were ready to leave the homestay by 10 AM. Our jeep was ready and dropped us to Kollur (~30 Kms) at around 11 AM.

Homestay Dining area

Kollur was humid and the sun was at its peak. Kollur Mookambika temple is a historically significant and beautiful place. With flocks of people from Kerala and Karnataka, it is almost always crowded and today was no exception. We left our bags in a cloak room and got our darshan by 1 PM. Lunch (Prasada) was served in the public dining area (adjoining the temple complex). We were in the bus stop with our bags at 2.30 PM waiting for our bus to Someshwara.

Someshwara is a quiet little coastal area. Someshwara beach is not really a famous tourist location. We reached Someshwara bus stop by 3.30 PM. An auto from here and we found ourselves in the beach at 4 PM – right on time. It was blissful sight. I, personally like places which are not crowded. This place was not only devoid of people but also clean, beautiful and not much commercialized. It is also an estuary where Sumana river meets the Arabian ocean.

Someshwara beach

We quickly dumped our bags on on one of the rocks and found a quiet spot on a big rock with the sunset view. I have to say, this was the highlight of this trip. There were mussels, snails, crabs all over the place with waves splashing on the rocks and ships at a distance with setting sun in the backdrop. Have to thank Jagan to have planned to come to this place after the trek. Cannot ask for more for pulling curtain on a memorable trek-cum-trip.

Beautiful sunset view

An auto took us to a restaurant after sunset and dropped us to GoliHole bus stop (around 20 Kms) where our Durgamba travels bus was waiting for us. We slept quickly and found ourselves in Bengaluru at 6 AM next morning.

Trek to Bandaje and Ballarayanadurga – Camping on the edge of a waterfall

Our Visit:

6th and 7th January 2018.

Season:

End of Winter – Hazy, moderately cold and mostly dry.

Route:

Bengaluru <-> Nelamangala <-> Kunigal <-> Yediyuru <-> Hirisave <-> Hassan <-> Sakaleshpura <-> Gundya <-> Shiradi Ghat <-> Dharmasthala <-> Ujire

The road is very good till Sakaleshpura. After that, the ghats start which are good but it is pretty bad after Gundya and all throughout Shiradi Ghat.

Mode of Transport:

We took SRS travels sleeper bus which was just about okay. But, it is pretty difficult to sleep through the ghats anyway.

Map:

https://goo.gl/maps/KZ63wZP2bV52

Location:

Bandaje falls or Bandaje arbi (Arbi in Tulu means waterfalls) is located around 300 Kms (around 6.5 hours drive) from Bangalore. It is in the famous Charmadi ghat section of the Western Ghats in the Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. It comes under Belthangady forest range. The waterfall is still one of the lesser known/visited spot owing to the difficult terrain and demands a trek to reach it.

There are two routes:
1. Reach Valambra house (Kishore Gowdru MaNe in Kadivithwara village) from Ujire by auto/jeep and then start the trek to Bandaje Falls. Camp at Bandaje falls. Start next morning to Ballarayanadurga (Fort) and then reach the base at Sunkasale.
2. Start at Sunkasaale and trek to Ballarayanadurga, then to Bandaje falls and get down at Valambra.

Route 1 is a steep until Bandaje falls through dense jungles and takes some effort while route 2 is not tough compared to route 1.

We took route 1.

Permissions:

Permissions are required from the Belthangady forest range office for forest entry and camping. One can opt for a guide from forest department as well.

Contact:

Mr. Kishore Gowda is a landlord at Valambra village who caters to every need of a Bandaje trekker like breakfast, packed lunch & dinners, forest department permissions, guide arrangements and even accommodation in his beautiful & huge village home if required. He was our single point of contact for everything we needed.
Mr. Kishore Gowda (Narayan Gowdru MaNe) – 09901939829

Difficulty Level:

The landscape is such that it is a moderate difficulty level trek. The main attributes to this are the dense jungles and steep climb. Add leaches, heavy rains and damp forest floors to it and it becomes a demanding trek during the monsoons. The fact that trekkers need to carry all the food supplies, fuel and warm/rain wear makes it a medium-difficulty trek. Smartness in carrying light food, wearing the right gear and managing weights will considerably reduce the difficulty level.

The Plan:

– Start from Bengaluru on a friday night (10 PM).
– Reach Ujire by 5 AM.
– Reach Kishore Gowdru MaNe at 6 AM.
– Freshen up, have breakfast, get the required permissions and documents and start trek at 7 AM.
– Reach Bandaje Falls by 2 PM.
– Camp near Bandaje Falls.
– Start by 9 AM next day from Bandaje Falls to Ballarayanadurga (Fort).
– Reach Ballarayanadurga by 12 noon.
– Start from Ballarayanadurga by 1 and reach Sunkasale by 2.30 PM.
– Reach Horanadu by 4.30 PM.
– Freshen up and visit Horanadu temple by 6.30 PM.
– Dinner at Horanadu temple at 7.30 PM.
– Start from Horanadu at 9.30 PM.
– Reach Bengaluru by 5.30 AM.

DAY 1: 05th Jan 2018

We were a group of 6 and had booked a sleeper bus (SRS travels) from Bengaluru to Ujire. A good amount of planning and division of tasks resulted in 6 rucksacks divided equally with the utensils, tents, sleeping bags, groceries, fruits, vegetables and our clothing. When the last of us boarded in Jalahalli, it was 10.30 PM.  Few HiFis & brief chit-chat —– off we went into a deep slumber until Gundya and Shiradi Ghat. Though the roads of this ghat are topped up every year, it is still a bumpy affair and the curves do not help at all. By 2 AM, I am sure some of us were awake and holding onto the supports to avoid falling off the seats. The driver seemed to be in a real hurry and what was supposed to be a ride till 4.45 AM, ended at 4.10 AM and we found ourselves in the Ujire bus stop with many sleepy heads around and few small shops open.

Ujire Bus Stand

DAY 2: 06th Jan 2018

Hotel Srinivasa serves hot idlis near Ujire bus stand as early as 5 in the morning and there’s sulabh toilet which opens at 5. We used them both and were ready to board an extra large auto rickshaw. Jeep is usually another option here but there were none at 5 in the morning. Our destination was Mr. Kishore Gowdru’s home which is around 15 kms from ujire bus stop. Just take Kishore’s name and you will be dropped to his house in not more than half an hour.

By 6 AM, we were standing in the middle of this huge Gowdru MaNe (house) which was built in classic malnad style with one large expanse of flat floor (courtyard) surrounded by two storeyed rooms, kitchens and other living spaces.

Gowdru maNe – A typical malnad home

Mr. Kishore made his entrance in a typical Mangalore tulu style wearing dhoti, carrying his toddler in one hand and barking orders at his workers who were already busy in kitchen and stores. He asked us to use the bathrooms to freshen up and told us that our breakfast would be ready by then. There were two other trekking groups apart from ours (one of them from Bangalore Adventure Club) and they seemed to have stayed there overnight and were packing up stuff ready to trek. We were promptly served our idlis, sambar and chutney at 6.30. We paid for the trek permissions, camping charges and for the packed lunch for the day at Mr. Kishore’s desk. We got details of our guide for the day and were ready to start at 7 AM.

The trekking trail starts about 200 mtrs behind Gowdru MaNe. We take a narrow bridge to cross a stream and the reach a V-shaped crossroad.

Valambra Stream

Valambra path

The us! – Sharath, Suhas, Sandeep, me, Jagan [Harsha behind the lens] – Valambra crossroad

We met our guide Shekhara here. Shekhara was a tall lean man in his forties with a genuine smile on his face and a happy-to-help attitude. He led us on the road to our left in the V-junction. Once on this path, you will find yourself inside the jungle in no time. Unlike other treks, this one does not give you time to relax in the beginning. It starts steep. With all the luggage, I was starting to feel the weight within half an hour. We were inside dense jungle with hardly any sunlight penetrating the canopy, it was humid and I was perspiring heavily.

Initial ascent

After around 2 hours of quite a steep trek, we reached a beautiful stream. Since it was January, crossing it wasn’t a task. We unburdened ourselves of our rucksacks and relaxed in the chilling water for more than 40 minutes. The oranges that we had carried tasted sweeter than ever and the fishes waiting to treat our legs dipped in the stream tempted us to stay longer. But, we had a long distance to cover and there were only a couple of good campsites near the Bandaje falls. So, it was race with the other trek groups. We picked up our rucksacks and started on the trail hesitantly. It was around 9.45 AM.

rejuvenating stream…

The steep trail continued for around 2 more hours. By then I was completely exhausted and was struggling to keep up with the others. I was perspiring heavily now and it was only after I felt a small cramp on my left calf muscle that I realized that my electrolyte levels had dipped. I had carried enough sugars but none of us had carried electrolytes [Grrrr…]. We were supposed to get out of the dense jungle and reach grasslands in about 2 hours. I was around 50 meters away from the grasslands when my left calf muscle couldn’t take anymore and cramped up heavily. It was a searing pain and I wanted to shout my lungs out. Hiding my pain, I tried to balance my left side weight on a stave handed to me by Jagan. I limped up towards the grasslands and just when I was about to put my rucksack down, my right calf muscle gave way and it had just gotten serious. At that moment, I wondered if I would be able to continue.

Grasslands!

It took a long 15 minutes, couple of bananas (essential potassium), a thorough self-massage of both calf muscles, some spicy snacks and a good amount of determination for me to get up and declare that I was ready to continue the trek. I doubt if anyone else had understood the seriousness of my situation then for I had not really howled in pain. They were just waiting for me to stand up. Our guide advised me to give my calf muscles a good massage if I felt any pain. We had asked him to head back down once we reached the grasslands. We thanked him, paid him and bid bye to him.

It was only in the grasslands that we felt the sharp sunlight. Sun was shining pretty hard. The grass was no longer brandishing their bright green. But the views started to appear and our eyes started to smile. Just about 10 minutes of walk up the grasslands and the first view of Bandaje falls was in sight. It was a beautiful sight.

First view of Bandaje waterfall !!!

Though the falls was pretty much in sight, it was around 1 hour trek to reach it. I was still limping and somehow managed to continue in spite of my protesting muscles. About half an hour into it and I couldn’t take it anymore. I just had to put my bag down and the others took turns carrying my bag. But, it was a steep climb and within 15 minutes, others got exhausted too. So, we reduced my bag’s weight by stuffing few of my things into others’ rucksacks. It helped. By 12 noon, we had reached the top of the cliff below which we could hear Bandaje falls. The top was also flat enough to pitch around 10 tents. The late comers would pitch their tents here. We were going to claim the area down near the falls.

The last 100 meters was down into a patch of thick shola forest and a steep one. We would have to take support of the roots to avoid slipping. After a long climb, my legs tried to adjust for the downward climb. But, they gave up again and both my legs cramped and horribly this time. The others were already down near the stream and I just waited for the pain to subside. After around 10 minutes, I slowly went down to the stream with the help of my stave and roots. It was 12.15 PM.

The stream of Bandaje falls was a breathtaking one. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could cross this stream during monsoon. It was flowing pleasantly now but it was evidently deep and dangerous at some places. We had undoubtedly reached the most beautiful place in the region.

Towards the fall of the waterfall…

We freshened ourselves up quickly and claimed the only two places for pitching our tents on the river bed. Our packed lunch of Puliyogre from Mr. Kishore was gobbled up in no time. That gave me the energy that I needed. I took some pictures while others were busy pitching the tents. I retired in one of the tents. My body was craving for some rest. It was 2.30 by then and I had no idea where I was till 4.30 PM. I was back to my own self by then (well… almost).

The sun was sleepy by then and had started to shine golden rays by then. It was perfect time to go and enjoy near the Bandaje falls. A quick walk for around 50 mtrs by the rocks and stream-sides and we could find ourselves at the edge of the rocky cliff where the Bandaje waters leaped to their glory. It was only then that I realized why Bandaje is revered by many. When it comes to South Indian treks that create a “wow” at their peaks, I would surely place this one at the top of my list as of this date.

That amazing view…

I just sat near the edge of the waterfall for sometime. The sight of pure mountain water quietly running down the stream and leaping from the edge of the cliff fearlessly, creates a sense of awe. The silence takes you to another world. No matter how much time you spend here, you will never get bored of it.

Peace…

It was around 5.30 PM. We had clean ourselves up before sunset and ready the things for the night before dark. A quick bath in our own private natural fresh water pool. We quickly readied few things necessary for preparing our dinner and climbed onto a rock by the edge of the cliff again to watch the sun go down the horizon.

Those who say that the sun has to be big and orange for a beautiful would have been proved wrong if they had witnessed this sight. I somehow doubted that expectation for a sunset to be called beautiful all through my life. Many a times, it depends on where you are sitting too. Here we were, the 6 of us sitting on one rock… all 6 talkative ones all silent… All 6 of us lost in our thoughts… all 6 of us in awe… all 6 of us dancing in our minds… as we watched the sun disappear behind the clouds and then behind distant mountains. A sight to behold.

That beautiful sunset…

It was Sandy’s culinary skills on display for next 2 hours as he expertly juggled through all the ingredients that we had carried in our rucksacks to prepare lip-smacking lemon rice. I swore that it was the best lemon rice I had ever had. Oh! not to forget, there was instant soup (knorr ready-to-make) prepared by Sharath a couple of hours before that appetized us.

The cooks in us!

It was a surprise when 4 lads approached us at around 7.15 and told us that they hand not carried anything for dinner and that their guide had disappeared. We served them our extra lemon rice and asked them to use our groceries and stove for preparing their dinner. They were grateful and filled themselves up in no time.

So…A happy tummy, a lazy chat and then it was time to end the long day. 3 of us snuggled up in each tent and quickly slipped to sleep. A happy night on the river bed with the waters singing lullaby throughout…

DAY 3: 07th Jan 2018:

It was not exactly a peacefully slept night for me on the hard ground. It was 6 AM when I got out of the tent and decided to finish my download in the open forest slopes before the sun comes out. So, Sandy and me found a discrete place and emptied our tummies. The cliff edge and the falls were enticing us. Within no time, we found ourselves sitting on the rocky waterfall edge as if to welcome the first rays of the sun. It was not a chilly morning. It was just about perfect. Again, none of us spoke a word for 30 minutes or so until we realized we had to start our breakfast preparations.

This time it was Jagan on role. He prepared “sajjige” (a type of sweet porridge) in no time. It was yummy and filling. We still had upma to be prepared by Sandy. So, everyone got on different tasks of cutting vegetables and readying different things needed for the breakfast. Alongside, a couple of us packed our tents and cleaned up the place [After all, the only trace that we have to leave in such a beautiful place is our footprints].

Yummy upma for breakfast!

Dozens of other trekkers who had pitched tents on the higher grounds crossed our make-shift kitchen. They all had packed breakfast. It was around 8.30 and they were on their way towards Ballarayana Durga. Many stared at us as we were busy preparing our breakfasts and I am sure their mouths watered at the thought of a hot, fresh & tasty breakfast. Upma was tasty indeed. We also had plenty to share with another onlooking group. They were happy to have it.

It was 10.15 when we finally had our rucksacks on our backs, hesitantly having to leave the beautiful place. I stretched up a little and hoped that my legs wouldn’t give away today.

The initial trail was straight up the grassland slopes. We had to cross two hillocks to reach flat trails that followed. But, before that we took a wrong trail and went around a hillock instead of going up the hillock. So, we found ourselves on an unmarked hillock full of knee length grass and we had go uphill and then across to find our way back to the original trail. It was an unnecessary tough climb. But to our surprise, we found rabbit furrows all along this hillock. Just about 10 minutes uphill and we found a wild rabbit scampering across the adjoining hillock. The detour did not go in vain after all!

Rabbit hillock…

Grassy slopes…

One hour after our start from the camp, we found our way back to the original trail… almost at the top of the 2 hillocks that we had to reach. From then on, it was mostly flat trail. My legs were feeling ok too. 🙂

The views were beautiful throughout. The cameras that were disappointed the previous day came to life. We spent much of the time clicking photos.

Beautiful landscapes…

A break…with a view

It was just around 1.5 hours into the trek when Ballarayana durga became visible at the top of a distant hill. It was evidently dilapidated.

The sun was shining hard. We had made it a point to carry 2 litres of water each as we knew that there was no water source anywhere else in today’s trail.

First view of the fort…

The last stretch of around 200 meters towards the fort is a steep climb uphill. Once there, I realized that the fort is sitting on the edge of a cliff… a vantage point overlooking a vast expanse of land on the other sided. It must have been a strategically important post back in history. We wondered what their water source was.

The last mile…

Inside the fort walls was just a dilapidated granary/ammunition store. Apart from that it was just the crumbling walls. We went around the edge of the fort along the fort walls taking in those panoramic views. We found beautiful spot near one corner of the fort and sat there chatting for a while. It was 1 PM.

View from the fort…

View from another corner of the fort…

There were a lot of other people in the fort. They had walked from the opposite direction [From Sunkasale side]. The trail was easier from that side and well suited for fit tourists who could walk for an hour or two. We recharged ourselves with some cakes, cookies and other snacks and were ready to start at 1.45. The trail was all descent from here. The trail was a well trodden one. We initially thought it would take us around 1.5 hours to get down and reach the main road. But, we did not take any break anywhere and found ourselves at the main road entrance within 45 minutes. The trail was a fairly simple one.

End of trail on the Sunkasaale side…

From here, we had to take a ride (an auto/jeep) to reach Sunkasaale. All along the trail from the fort to the main road, there were phone numbers of auto drivers painted on rocks. We used one of them to call an auto. Our auto pickup was ready by 2.45 and after around 15 kms of auto ride, we reached Sunkasale bus stop.

From Sunkasale, the plan was to go to Horanaadu. Local buses or KSRTC buses were available every half an hour to reach Horanaadu. We relaxed for a while and had few bajjis near Sunkasale bus stop and at 3.30 PM, we boarded a KSRTC bus to Horanaadu. It would be a 1.5 hour journey in the ghats. Unless you find a front seat, this drive can upset your tummy since the curves are pretty cruel.

By 5, we were in the holy Horanaadu. There are rooms available for devotees at a subsidized price. We took two rooms at Rs. 150 each in an a temple-managed accommodation right opposite to the Horanaadu bus stand. The rooms were simple. No hot water… No charging points… Just a room, cot and an attached bathroom. They were clean though. Served our purpose.

Temple managed room complex

We cleaned ourselves up and visited the Horanaadu Annapoorneshwari temple. We spent some time sitting in the premises of the temple waiting for the famous Horanaadu dinner to be served. It was 7 when the gates to the dining hall opened. By 8, we were out with tummies filled with tasty dinner.

Horanaadu Annapoorneshwari temple

Our bus was at 9.15 and it was already waiting in the bus stand when we came out of the dining hall. We spent time in the room till 9 and then boarded the sleeper KSRTC bus to Bangalore. It would be an 8 hr journey to Bangalore. End of a memorable trek.

Horanaadu bus stand

Tips for Bandaje trek:

Pack light. Carry food that is light and full of salts, carbs & sugars. Glucose and electrolytes are a must.
Carry enough water. There is only one stream on the first day until you reach the falls and none on the second day. So, carry enough water bottles.
During monsoon, carry enough rain and warm wear.
For leeches, carry salt/nilgiri oil/old deodorant/leech-proof socks. The latter the better.
Obtain proper permissions from the forest department.
It can be dangerous near the waterfalls. Be responsible.

Last but not the least, do not litter. I repeat… The only trace that we have to leave is our footprints.

Happy trekking !

 

Trek to Brahmagiri Peak – A walk through the clouds

Our Visit:

18th and 19th June 2016
Pre-monsoon season – Cloudy, moderately cold with scattered scanty showers.

Route:

Bangalore <-> Ramangara <-> Channapatna <-> Maddur <-> Mandya <-> Srirangapatna <-> KRS Road <-> Belagola <-> Elivala <-> Bilikere <-> Hunsur <-> Gonikoppal <-> Ponnampet <-> Hudikeri <-> T.Shettigeri <-> Srimangala <-> Iruppu falls

All roads are pretty good in this route.

Map:

https://goo.gl/maps/Y5L8ZY3Qss42

Location:

    Iruppu falls is located 250 Km from Bangalore (around 5 hrs drive) in the Brahmagiri forest range of Kodagu (Coorg) district in Karnataka. Iruppu falls marks the start of the Lakshmana thirtha river which is one of the tributaries of river Kaveri and also marks the start of a trekking trail leading to the Brahmagiri top. The brahmagiri range of Kodagu is famous for its wildlife and Kodagu being one of the least populous districts of Karnataka, gives us an opportunity to experience the best of virgin forests.

    From Kerala side of the Brahmagiri range, Brahmagiri peak can be reached by a trek from Mananthavady (29 km east) or from Tirunelli (11 Km). From Karnataka side, trek to Brahmagiri from Irupu Falls is 9 km. But, if one wants to camp in Narimalai rest house (like us), it will be around 11 Kms to the peak (4.5 Kms to the forest house and 6.5 kms from the rest house to the peak. Trekkers need to seek the permission of Range Forest Officer at Srimangala.

Difficulty Level:

    The landscape is such that it is a moderately easy trek. But, the leeches, rains and the damp forest floors can make it a medium-difficulty trek in pre-monsoon or monsoon seasons. The fact that trekkers need to carry all the food supplies, fuel and warm/rain wear makes it a medium-difficulty trek. Smartness in carrying light food, wearing the right gear and managing weights will considerably reduce the difficulty level.

The Plan:

– Start friday night (12 PM) or early saturday morning (2 AM)
– Reach Srimangala by 8 AM.
– Use the IB near Srimangala forest office to freshen up.
– Get the permission from forest office.
– Reach Iruppu water falls and start trek by 9.30 AM.
– Reach Narimalai forest rest house by 1 PM.
– Visit Narimalai peak if possible and spend the night in the rest house.
– Start to Brahmagiri peak at 6 AM on Sunday morning.
– Reach the peak by 9 AM.
– Reach Narimalai rest house by 11 AM.
– Pack bags and start towards iruppu falls by 1 PM.
– Reach Iruppu falls by 3 PM.
– Start to Bangalore from Iruppu at around 4.30 PM.
– Reach Bangalore by 11 PM.

DAY 1: 18th June 2016 

    We were a group of 10 people and had hired a tempo traveler. With sleepy eyes and high spirits, we started from Bangalore at 3 PM. It had been more than an year since we had gone for a proper trek and Brahmagiri sounded like a great way to quench the craving of our trekking souls. It had been in our list for a really long time. Lack of proper contacts and information had kept us away from it. So, there we were, a mix of first-timers and fairly experienced trekkers on our way to one of the best peaks of the western ghats famous for its wildlife, flora, fauna and more so for its elephants.

    We reached Srimangala Inspection Bungalow at around 8.30 in the morning. The IB is an old classic with well maintained vintage furniture and fittings. The care-taker is a nice friendly man. The Srimangala forest office is just beside the IB. We met Mr. Pramod who provided us with all the info for a range of questions we had. With the guide fee and Narimalai forest rest house rent paid at the office, we bid bye to the beautiful IB.

Inspection Bungalow at Srimangala

    We had our breakfast (puttu with greengram curry) in Ayyappa hotel in Srimangala town and reached Iruppu falls at 10 AM.

The 10

    We had to cover a distance of around 4.5 Kms today and reach the Narimalai forest rest house. With quite a heavy luggage of groceries and warm wear, we set out on our trek with our guide Pavan who was waiting for us in the parking lot. The weather was perfect – cloudy, cold, drizzles and sunshine playing hide and seek. The path to iruppu falls is well paved from the gate entrance and the trek trail starts at the right side of this path around midway through to the waterfall.

The deviation from iruppu falls path into the jungle

    We followed a solar-powered electric fence for about half a kilometer till we reach a deviation to the left leading us right into the dense jungle. This is where we started feeling that we were ambushed by the blood-thirsty leeches. Every two steps attracted a dozen of them and there was no escape. With water-proof shoes and good pair of socks fastened with the laces, some of us managed to avoid most of them from reaching our bare feet but we were never completely successful. The first-timers shrieked in horror for a while but then got used to the slimy leeches. But, by then the heavy luggages had started taking toll on most of us. Though the distance we had to cover today was a small one, we realized that we had made quite a mistake by carrying heavy food. We were carrying around 4 Kgs of rice, 2 Kgs of dal, 15 packets of maggi, potatoes, onions, ladies finger, oil, chillies, spices, snacks, chocolates, biscuits and many other things hoping to cook a great meal in the forest house. With no other go, we slowed down but moved steadily forward.

     After trekking for around 2 Kms, we reached a beautiful stream with an overhanging bridge. This provided a much-needed break. We set our bags aside on rocks, cleaned our shoes ridding them of the leeches and freshened ourselves up in the stream. The water was extremely cold and as soon as we put our feet in the water, the tiny fishes started cleaning our feet – Aha! A natural fish spa! What else could we bargain for!.

A refreshing break in the stream

    Till now, the trail was mostly jungle. But from then, it was a mix of grasslands and shola forests. This trail also gave us panoramic views of the fog-covered Brahmagiri hills. The mixture of light-green grasslands and the patches of dark green dense forests in the valleys formed a view so fantastic that it was a feast to our eyes and cameras. The leeches, however, made sure we did not spend much time enjoying the panorama. So, we maintained a steady speed and reached a viewpoint after around 1 Km at the peak of one of the hills. The peak had quite a good expanse of flat land covered with grass with view on two sides of the hill. It made for a perfect place for photos.

Our Signature jump!

    One more Km from here and we reached another magnificent viewpoint very close to the forest rest house. There were huge rocks overlooking the valleys surrounded by fresh-green grass providing almost 180 degree view of our surroundings. A place every trekker would dream of spending a morning and an evening.

    Promising ourselves to come back to this place in the evening, we continued for around 5 minutes from here to reach the Narimalai forest rest house. It was 2 PM and the first look almost gave us a feeling of a dilapidated building in middle of nowhere. There were no views, no streams, nothing much near this place. The building was fenced with solar-powered electric wires to protect us against the notorious elephants that this range was famous for.

Finally!… Narimalai Rest House

    The rest house was equipped with basic utensils for cooking, bedding for around 10 people, buckets and mugs for storing water and separate gazebo with two firewood stoves acting as a kitchen. A water stream was around 200 mtrs down this rest house and we had to carry all the water required for cooking, drinking and washing from there. That 200 mtr path to the stream was densely leech-infested and steep making it a pretty tough task to carry numerous buckets of water to the rest house. We were famished and the cooking started immediately. With a well orchestrated effort of 8 people, steaming rice and sambar was ready at 4 PM and each one of us exclaimed in praise of ourselves for the job well done.

The Kitchen and the cooks

Aha! Bisi Bisi Anna Sambaaaaarrrr!!

    At 5.30, we set out to the nearby viewpoint for a glimpse of sunset but we were presented with a view much much more magnificent. The valley was completely covered with clouds and the moisture-laden fog was spraying water on the blades of grass torrentially. There was a small gap between two standing hills from which the fog seemed to be getting generated and being fed into the surrounding valleys and hills. Sun was going down behind one of these two hills and the dense fog made it look more like a full moon than a setting sun. The fog was covering the whole valley in 3 minutes and the strong wind would clear it in the next minute and the cycle followed. Sunset, fog, breeze, spraying clouds and green grass – A killer combination for any nature-lover. After plenty of clicks, we just sat there in complete awe.

Brahmagiri … You Beauty!

    8.30 or 9 PM after chit-chat, horror stories and dinner (with left-over rice and sambar and fresh curds), we were off to bed to end an amazing day – our only remorse of the day was that we could not sight any elephants.

DAY 2: 19th June 2016

    We got up at 6 and started from the rest house at 7 AM. Our guide Pavan told us that the major part of today’s 6.5 kms trek was going to be grasslands. We had carried bread, jam, biscuits and water for breakfast. As promised, majority of the trail was through the grasslands crossing one hill after the other. It started with a large patch of jungle and we crossed a couple of swamps, river streams and few small patches of shola forests. The advantage of having grasslands was that it was less damp and hence very few leeches. The weather was still very pleasant making the trek a pleasing one, the lighter bags adding to the pleasure. The winds were cold and the view was foggy. Forget the vast landscape in front of us, we couldn’t see further than a few small hillocks ahead of us. So, our hopes of spotting elephants seemed to be crushed.

Breakfast with the clouds!

    By the time we reached the last stretch of the trek, it was around 9.30 AM. The last 200 mtrs was a very steep ascent unlike any other stretch in the whole of our trail till then. Our guide said that he would wait for us down there and we could go up to the peak and come back in an hour or so. The path was ridden with slippery rocks and loose soil. Wherever it was wet, the ground was very slippery. The rocks had no real edges and would roll on our step making it quite a challenging ascent. It took a strenuous half an hour to reach the peak marked by a round cement structure with some markings on it. Though we had a 360 degree view from this point, we were surrounded by dense fog and absolutely nothing was visible in any direction inspite of the strong winds. After few clicks and breakfast here, we started descending.

View from the Brahmagiri Peak

    We reached the rest house at around 12 and we could not spot any real wildlife on our way down to the rest house either though we crossed heaps of fresh elephant dung time and again. It was time for lunch and we prepared maggi in a hurry and packed our bags for the final descent to iruppu falls.

    By the time we started our descent at 1.30 PM, it was drizzling and giving hints of serious rain. We fastened our laces and readied ourselves for our battles with the leeches. As we went down, the rain was hitting much harder on us and we scampered through the jungle as fast as we could. We gave almost no breaks (thanks to the leeches and rain) and within 80 minutes, we had reached iruppu falls. Yup, that was the intensity of the horror that the leeches and rain had on us 😛 .

Can u spot the frog?

    Few of us went up to the iruppu falls for a dip and the rest of us went straight to the parking lot where our tempo traveler would be waiting. With a change of clothes, refreshements, snacks and chit-chat in the cafe, we bid adieu to iruppu at around 4.30 PM.

Iruppu Falls from a distance…

    We took the same route that we had taken a day before and reached Bangalore at 12 after taking a 90 minute break for dinner in Mysore. Thus came to an end, a memorable trek through the mesmerizing landscapes of Brahmagiri range leaving behind an everlasting impression of nature’s beauty on the travel pages of our lives.

Contact:

Srimangala Forest Office: +91 9448813835 or +91 8274 246693.

    It is mandatory to get forest department permission before trekking. Narimalai forest house can accommodate 10 to 12 people. So, the trekking slots need to be booked well in advance (around 2 to 3 weeks) by calling the forest office. The permission needs to be obtained by visiting the forest department office in person. A forest ranger will accompany the trekking group once the guide fee and the forest house accommodation fee is paid at the office.

Tips for Brahmagiri trek:

• Pack light. Carry food that is light and full of carbs & sugars. Carry your own plate, spoon and water bottle.
• Carry enough rain and warm wear.
• For leeches, carry salt/nilgiri oil/old deodorant/leech-proof socks. The latter the better.
• Obtain proper permissions from the forest department.

 

Sharavathi river basin – Muppane Nature Camp – Connecting with Nature

Route:

Bangalore <-> Tumkur <-> Tiptur <-> Arsikere <-> Kadur <-> Tarikere <-> Shimoga <-> Sagara <-> Talaguppa <-> Kargal <-> Muppane Nature Camp

Our Visit:

21st and 22nd Feb 2016

Location:

Muppane Nature Camp is around 425 kilometers from Bangalore. It is just off Sagara around 16 kilometers from Kargal. We were nine, a group of boys and girls and we were there for a weekend in a Tempo Traveller. The entrance is just beside the Kargal-Bhatkal road and the arch with the name welcomes you.

Sharavathi Backwaters!

Map:

https://goo.gl/maps/VybqBni14iN2

DAY 1:

It was around 7 in the morning when we reached the gates of Muppane Nature Camp only to find it closed. The area comes under Karnataka forest department. Sampath was our co-ordinator. He procures the permissions required from forest department, arranges our food, accommodation, trek and water-sports activities. While many of us fidgeted with our phones with poor mobile network to call Sampath, I and my buddy crossed the check-post and walked on foot on the jungle road towards the camp in an attempt to find someone inside the fenced camp area. It was pretty early in the morning and with only the wild sounds and the birds chirping, we felt as if we were the only two inside the fenced area. We had probably crossed only a couple of bends on the curvy road when a big sambar appeared out of nowhere. It was probably a 100 mtrs away from us at the next curve looking directly at us and was probably alarmed to see people in the otherwise uninhabited forest. We had stopped in our tracks but just as we whispered something to each other, it scampered away from us into the jungle and vanished in no time. Disappointed at ourselves for having lost an opportunity of a beautiful click of the sambar in perfect golden morning light, we walked ahead for what seemed to be at least 1.5 kms. But with no sign of anyone around and knowing that the others waiting for us behind would have started worrying about us, we decided to walk back to our TT.

Walk through the Jungle!

By the time we reached our TT, our driver had managed to find a spot near the TT where his mobile was able to latch on to the weak network. We called Sampath who then talked to someone from the forest department. A forest guard’s (Ashok) house was supposedly just about a furlong away from the check-post and Sampath asked us to go to his house and inform him about our arrival. We went in the opposite direction on foot and we did find his house as directed by Sampath. We saw Ashok on his bike near his house and when we signalled at him, he started towards the check-post and opened it for us and lead our TT into the jungle road. It was a 3 km drive on the unpaved jungle road until we finally saw few gazebos and a couple of people. These were the living quarters, kitchen and the generator rooms. We introduced ourselves and one of the men asked us to continue on the same road for few hundred metres to reach our dormitory. Our jaws dropped with awe when we caught the first breathtaking sight of the vast expanse of Sharavathi backwaters.

There was one roofed dormitory which could accommodate around 20 people (25 if cramped together). The whole room was ours anyway as there were no other bookings. The dormitory itself is located directly facing the backwaters and the location could not have been any better for any nature-lover. As soon as our ride reached the front yard of the dormitory, we could not help ourselves from running down the open red-soiled slope to reach the stand still waters. We wanted to spend some time there but we were famished and desperately wanted to load ourselves quick. There was a building complex with a couple of toilets and bathrooms where we freshened up readying ourselves for breakfast. The kitchen (a small room with adjoining gazebo) and the dining area (a bigger round gazebo) was around 300 metres behind the dormitory. Our breakfast was idli and sambar and it was ready when we got there. Although not tasty, we hogged at the food to satisfy our roaring tummies.

At around 12 noon, We got ourselves ready for a trek to a nearby waterfall and left the camp in our TT. We reached Hosagadde road which was around 5 kms from the camp, a right turn and after a couple more kms, our guide asked us to park our TT by the fields. We started our trek beside an arecanut estate and walked along the borders of many estates for a good 2-3 Kms. We were following the course of a water stream all along to reach a small house in Dabbe village. It was an easy stroll in the jungle until then. We were offered drinking water and we rested for a few minutes before starting the descent, a few hundred metres in front of the house, towards the base of the Dabbe waterfalls. The descent was a very steep one with angles exceeding 75 degrees at some points. Our guide (again arranged by Sampath) had carried a rope to help us with the last stretch of the descent which was even more treacherous. The overall descent was quite a laborious one extending to around a kilometer and is surely not for the faint-hearted.

The descent… Not for the faint-hearted.

It took almost an hour for us to reach the bottom with the beautiful view of Dabbe falls. Water plummets from around 300 feet and it is almost impossible to bare our bodies directly against the mighty waterfall. Although it was summer and the waterfall was not in its full force, since it maintained a straight fall without much scatter, it appeared to be carrying more water than it actually was. I was left guessing if the waterfall got its name because of the straightness of its fall (Dabbe in kannada means an un-bent sliver).

Dabbe Falls!

Dabbe Falls!… View from the bottom…

We spent around 45 minutes near the waterfall and started the steep ascent towards the Dabbe village. The ascent was much easier than the descent and took just half the time. Our lunch (lemon rice with pickle and curds) was ready and we filled our tummies though it was not the best of food. With the energy back, bidding the lady in the house adieu, we started our trek back towards our ride. About 45 minutes later, through the same estates, we had reached our TT. There was no holding back sleep once we rested on the cozy seats of TT and about half an hour later (at around 6.30 PM), we found ourselves back at our dormitory. Again, we were right on time for a perfect sunset. We witnessed the golden last 5 minutes of the sun setting behind the backwaters with its rays shining against the calm waters of Sharavathi. To add to our delight, we were served hot mirchi bajjis (fried batter-wrapped chillies) with kashaaya (masala tea). A fun-filled evening 🙂

Beautiful Sunset…

Beautiful Sunset…

We spent some time chit-chatting and freshening up and at 8 PM we asked the men to arrange a camp-fire on the banks of the backwaters. By then the lights went out and the men gave a lame reason of diesel shortage (which we knew was quite far from truth). With the gleam of the bright moon, warmth of the camp fire, dumb charades, songs, chit-chat and my best friends around, I could not think of any other place I would rather be at that moment. It was a perfect setting one could expect on a weekend. We were served chapathis (Indian hard breads), bisi bele bath (a spicy dish of boiled rice with veggies) and paayasa (porridge) for our dinner and we enjoyed the tasty dinner around the bonfire. By 11, we were all on our beds, asleep, gearing up for the exciting day in store for us the next day.

 

Bonfire… time to party!

 

DAY 2:

Day 2 started pretty late for me. It was 8.30 when I opened my eyes :P. By then, my friends were sharing their early morning stories of which I can only share the pictures. It was apparently beautiful misty backwaters and jungle with a beautiful sunrise. That is all I had missed :P.

Misty Sharavathi!

This was THE day we had all been waiting for. It was time for a dip in the backwaters!!

We had our delicious breakfast (Poori, saagu and kashaaya) at around 10.30 AM and started to backwaters at 11.30 PM. We had to cross the fenced internal perimeter of the camp and just by the gate there was a path through the jungle leading towards the backwaters where it was safe to swim. We had to walk for around 1 Km through the dense and dry forest. Once we reached the banks, we realized that the whole expanse of the serene backwaters was ours for the day at our disposal. We swam, we used the kayak, we tried the open kayak, we sailed in the coracle, we connected the islands with the paths of our boats. We laughed, we shouted, we let our hearts do the talking.

Water-sports!

For me, it was an intensely deep feeling of connecting with the panch Maha-bhoothas – the five basic elements of the planet – Earth, Wind, Water, Fire (Sun) and Sky. As I sit there, I felt complete. Everything that a life needs to prosper on this planet was right there for me to experience. For a minute, it was a feeling of overwhelming satisfaction, as if I needed nothing else, as if nothing else mattered. A thought surged surged through me – Why couldn’t I spend my whole life here?! After all, this is everything that anyone “needs”! A thought emerged “why is there no limit to a human’s greed”.

Salute to the Panch Maha Bhootas!

By 2.30 PM, we were all tired and our stomachs were roaring again. The scorching sun was taking toll on us and the drinking water was over. It was time for us to head back to the camp. Boiled rice with rasam, sambar and papads. A sumptuous meal for the hungry. With joy-filled hearts and packed bags, we bid bye to the camp at around 4 PM.

En route Bangalore, we passed by a check dam which acts as a feeder to Jog falls which was just around 3 Kms away. It was summer and the water level was expected to be low. But, to our surprise, the dam was overflowing and the water was exiting in full force. This meant that there was plenty of water flowing into the world famous jog falls. This also meant that there was no way we were missing a chance of witnessing the Jog falls displaying its majesty. We took a U-turn and were in Jog falls in no time.

Feeder Dam to Jog Falls…

The view was mesmerizing! It was nothing short of a wonder to see the Jog falls in action in summer. It is usually in action during monsoon. But, in monsoon, there is rain, clouds and lot of fog shielding our view. But, this was different. It was Jog falls set against the golden summer evening light, complete with a rainbow across it! This was a co-incidence and was because of a major fire-accident in the Sharavathi receiving station making it dysfunctional. Because of this, the water from Linganamakki dam was let out and was being diverted to other power stations and Jog falls received a healthy share of its water. We were lucky 🙂

The might Jog Falls!

After a journey of around 7 hrs from Jog falls with a fun-filled chatter and aggressive political debates in our TT, we finally reached Bangalore at 3 PM. That was the end of an eventful and memorable trip to the cradle of nature and back. The routine followed…

Tips [Summer days]:

• Carry plenty of drinking water wherever you go. May it be a trek or a dip in the waters.
• Do not expect mouth-watering food. You would be lucky to get good food which you can gulp down your throats.
• It would be better to carry your own plate, spoon and a glass. You might otherwise feel uncomfortable with the cleanliness of the utensils used there.
• Carry enough cash. There are no ATMs for miles and plastic money is of no use here.
• Do not expect mobile Network. So, inform your closed ones at home in prior about your disappearance from the grid.
• Do not forget sunscreen lotions. It would be a crime to expose your skin to the harsh sun here. Apply it generously on every part of the body that is exposed to sun (Not only your face). After two weeks, my skin on the shoulders still looks burnt just because I used sunscreen only on the face.

Trek through Bhadra Reserve forest – BabaBudangiri to Kemmannugundi

    It was a last minute decision to join a trekking group of twelve in which I knew only three people. The plan was to span the trail of the Bhadra forest between BabaBudanGiri [Dattha Peetha] and Kemmanugundi [Around 17 kms]. The eight of us from Bangalore started at 11 PM on a friday night of 7-11-2014. It was the start of winter and we had packed more warm wear than rain wear. We reached Kadur at 3 AM where the remaining four were to join us. We had booked rooms in TDS residency of Kadur to rest for a while and freshen up. Having rested for a couple of hours, we had breakfast at a nearby Shanbhag restaurant and started towards Chikmagalur. The tempo traveler we had hired, dropped us at the farthest motorable road on the BabaBudanGiri road and it was 9.45 AM when we set off on foot towards Galikere.

    Galikere is a sacred place in Bababudangiri and also the starting point of our trek. Galikere truly stands up to its name because it is so windy here that the winds create ripples on the pond’s surface and instantly makes you realize the name’s origins.

    The plan was to trek for 11 km on the first day, camp near Palu mane and then start off the next day towards Kemmannugundi. The trail from Galikere was an easy one with minimal elevation; mostly through grasslands and rarely a few shola forests. The views are just too good. As it was early november, there was no sign of rain clouds. It was just clear blue sky and perfect lighting for photographs.

    The Shola forests are good sources of flowing water and there are a couple of them before reaching the camping place. These were Tiger reserve forests and not a trail known to many. So, most of these forests were virgin forests and we had to tread our trail at few places using machetes. We also spotted many wild sambars. They were timid as expected and seldom gave us any time to click some pics.

    We enjoyed the trail with a lot of breaks and reached a plain flat-land around 1.5 kms before the Paalu Mane at around 4 PM. We decided to pitch our tents here instead of searching for a camping place near the Palu Mane since the land was considerably flat and the water sources were nearby too. This is when we met another group of trekkers. We gave them directions to go to Palu mane and camp there and soon they departed. We fetched firewood from the nearest Shola forest and some of us had already erected a couple of tents by the time the firewood was fetched. By 6 o clock and sunset, our tents were pitched in and camp-fire was ready and we were waiting for sunset.

    We had got ingredients required for preparing khichdi for dinner and the small gas stove which we had carried proved to be more than just useful. That is when we realized that we were right on time for the moon rise. By 8, we could see the distant hilltops getting illuminated by moonlight. It was just a couple of days past the full-moon day and the sky had no clouds at all. The place was perfect for star gazing with crystal clear, pollution-free sky. When the full moon started peeking out of the closest hillock, we were literally awestruck. None of us had ever witnessed as beautiful a moon-rise as this. We had never imagined that a moon-rise could actually be so beautiful. Within minutes, the whole region was bathed in moonlight and there was no need for using any torches at all. We were literally amazed by the beauty of this night and our luck. By 9.30, everyone of us had filled tummies and the snoring sounds could be heard from the tents. It was indeed a beautiful night.

    Unfortunately, the night did not end there. At around 10.30, we had some frenzied visitors. A group of 6 men started hurling abuses near our tents and opened the zips of tents and started pulling us out of the tents one by one. They claimed to be the forest rangers and demanded us to open our bags for inspection. They seemed to be extremely agitated to have seen us camping there and started hurling abuses at us shouting that it was tiger reserve and no one was supposed to be here let alone camping. The sight of the camp fire nearby was not at all a pleasing sight for them and we were told that we had committed a serious offence by being there, using firewood and having campfire. The girls in the group were in a state of shock and all the others were panicking as well. That’s when we realized that the person leading our group had bluffed that he had got a permit for us to camp in this region. We were all dumbfounded and the rangers seemed to show no mercy. They lined us up with our bags and started taking pictures of the camp, our luggage and us. We tried to calm them down. This talk and cross talk continued for almost 1 hour and by then we had realized that they were expecting a bribe and also noticed that three of them were completely drunk and had no control of their actions or speech. So, one after the other, a ranger approached and took his bribe and left. By the time the last ranger had left our camp-site, it was 1 AM and we had bribed as much as Rs. 6500. The rangers had also warned us not to continue on this trail anymore and asked us to return to Galikere at the break of dawn.

    That was it. The rest of the night, none of us could enjoy the night anymore and we were eagerly waiting for the sun to start our trek. At 6 o clock, we had started packing our stuff and tents. We had decided to continue towards Kemmannugundi because the way back to Galikere not only because it was far away and arduous but also because most of us had not slept well and wouldn’t be able to walk for long and Kemmannugundi was nearby compared to Galikere. So, we started our trek to Kemmannugundi at 7.30 AM.

    We reached Paalu mane within an hour. The Paalu mane seemed to be no more than some big dilapidated bungalow. We were not in a mood to explore it at all.

    The trail we took now had 3-4 steep ascents and descents. We had to go around few shola forests to avoid the unnecessary plight of making our way through those thick forests. At around 10 AM we could see Kemmannugundi at a distance of around 2 kms. From this point, it was pure descent. The path was filled with uneven rocks and excessively grown bushes surrounding those rocks which started taking real toll on our toes, ankles and knees. By the time we descended into the kemmannugundi mud road, it was around 10.30.

    We decided to visit Shanthi falls which was around 1.5 kms in the direction opposite to where our ride was waiting for us. Shanti falls really helped in calming our nerves both physically and mentally. By 12 o clock, we were on our way back from Kemmannugundi towards Kadur. By then, each and every muscle in our body was pleading for rest. We had lunch in a restaurant in Kadur, dropped our 4 fellow trek-mates there and started our journey towards Bangalore at 2 PM. Within three to 4hours, we were near our respective homes and very happy to be so.

Take Aways from the trek:

1. DO NOT enter the Bhadra reserve forest without proper written permissions from the forest department. The forest department here is well structured and closely knit. So, once you take their permission, it will not be tough to ask them to spread the word about your trek to all rangers in the region. By doing this, at least you will not be on the guilty side during a rough situation and can confidently stand your ground.
2. These are virgin forests and meant to be so. So, you might not even get a permission to camp anywhere. This is actually for your own good and good for the wildlife as well.
2. The weather in November can be very cold. Carrying thermals, gloves and woolen caps are certainly recommended. Rain gear can be minimally carried just for emergency purposes.
3. The clear skies are a feast to the eyes. If you have a chance to camp in the region on a full moon day, then do not miss for anything else in this world.
4. The trail is not a challenging one in non-monsoon seasons. So, make sure you trek at an easy pace and enjoy the surroundings to the fullest.

A weekend in Sirsi – Again!

It was a much needed break from the routine mechanical life.
We started on the late evening of 16th May 2014, Friday, which will also be noted as one of the historical days for India since it was Loksabha election results day and BJP (Narendra Modi) had got enough seats to form the government without any need of alliance. We were waiting for a reason to go out and this time the reason was Harsha’s engeagement in Sirsi.
Sirsi is a rich taluk in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka around 400 kms away from Bangalore. It is famous for its rich crops like arecanut, spices and many more. It is a blessed with monsoon rains and a lovely weather.
So, five of us (I, Suhasini, Pradeep, Chethan and Syed) boarded the 11 o clock VRL sleeper bus from Jalahalli Cross for a 7 hour journey to Sirsi town.
It was quite an eventless journey (thank goodness there were no bedbugs this time in the bus). The driver was slow i guess. So, it was 7.30 by the time we reached Sirsi town [shivaji chowk].

Harsha was waiting to receive us. He had reached the place a couple of hours before us having taken a different bus from Bangalore the previous night. We got ourselves into the Maruti Omni which we had booked in advance. 8 kms in few minutes and we found ourselves before Harsha’s beautiful house in Kageri.

The weather in Sirsi was quite hot and humid with occasional breeze. We got freshened up after getting a warm welcome from the courteous family. After the typical Sirsi style breakfast, we set out to Yaana. Yaana is a beautiful place around 40Km from Sirsi, known for its karst topography with unusual rock formations. From the parking lot, a walk of around 1.5 km through the jungle takes you to the actual place. A stream of water runs parallel to the path that we take to reach the rocky formations. There is a bhairaveshwara temple at the foot of the rocky formation. There is a cave-like opening leading us right into the middle of these rocky formations. It is quite an eerie place and the pungent odour of the bat excreta makes it even more repelling. It is quite an impressive place though which attracts a decent number of tourists. If only the tourism department had paid more interest in maintaining this place well and developed it into a heritage site, it would have been an even better place to visit.

The path through the jungle to reach yaana

A sumptuous lunch on our way to kumata in Hotel Panduranga international and we were all set for a fun-filled evening. It was a typical malnad road through the jungle and suddenly our driver slammed on the brakes. He was pointing to something on the road just before our van. At the first sight of it, we all silently jumped out of our van equipped with our lenses and ready to click. It was a green vine snake. We had heard a lot about it’s sightings in the vicinity and were discussing just a couple of hours back about our ill-fate of not finding any of them. It is usually very difficult to spot them as they are very well camouflaged. Today, we were lucky to have a driver with a sharp eye and also to have this snake on the asphalted road rather than in the middle of the green jungle where they are camouflaged. Pics were clicked from every possible angle and soon the snake hissed its way into the jungle.

Green vine snake

We had probably just gotten into the van and started moving when the driver pointed again at something, this time at the trees. It was Malabar Squirrel. An oversized and two-toned arboreal squirrel species which is again difficult to spot since only three sub-species are said to be remaining today. This one was difficult to be caught on film. It jumped from one place to another having realized that we had spotted it. Happy about the day’s proceedings, we continued our journey towards Kumata. 🙂

Kumata beach is around 20 Km from Yaana. It is a quiet and peaceful sea-shore, home for several fishermen families living just by its shores. A fishing couple had just come back to the shores with a fresh catch and we asked them if they could make a fresh dish out of the catch. We were baffled by the courteousness and hospitality that followed. All 5 of us were invited to their house which was around 500 mtrs from the beach. It was a fine house surronded by flowering plants, coconut trees and fresh water wells. It was a typical coastal karnataka family living their self-sustained lives amidst nature depending on natural resources. They not only offered us dishes made out of the catch but also asked us to stay back for dinner. We were so overwhelmed by their hospitality and innocence that we were left with only one small way to say thanks and that was to take a group picture and promising them that we would have it printed and posted to them once we got back to Bangalore. Amazed to such people still existing in such a mean world!

By the time we got back to Harsha’s place, it was around 9.30 PM. It had been an eventful journey and also a tiresome one. After having entertaining chat about the existence of ghosts and spirits while on a short walk through the dark woods nearby, we quickly got back and crashed on the beds.

Mornings in such a place are always one of the most beautiful hours of the day. We woke up to the chirping sounds of dozens of birds. Hoping to find a rare bird or at least a beautiful peacock, we started walking into the nearby hillock at 6.30 AM. We were rather unlucky and were only able to spot a hornbill, a yellow necked bulbul and some unusually long-tailed small bird which we could not photograph. However, we were refreshed by the fresh morning air. Breakfast and bath and we were all ready to serve the actual purpose of our visit to Sirsi – Engagement of SriHarsha Hegde and Ashwini. It was small function organised in the girl’s house in Sirsi town. I have to mention that the lunch served was truly yummy and will be remembered for a long long time. Wishing the cute couple the very best in the future, we returned to Harsha’s place in Devraj’s car. Devraj happened to be the nephew of Sirsi’s famous education minister, Mr. Visveshwara Hegde Kageri. He was quite a lively guy and was happy to tell us about nearby places and the speciality of vegetation found there. After resting for a couple of hours in the afternoon, we took a long walk through the arecanut estates, paddy fields and the adjacent village. It was a pleasant walk through the wild adorned by many fruit trees and we were guided by both Harsha and Devraj on how to pick the best fruit trees around. We got the first-hand taste of yummy guavas, jambu fruits and other fruits. Devraj also showed us around his huge house which was exactly adjacent to Harsha’s place. By then, it was time for us to pack up and get ready for our return journey. A mouth-watering supper decked with quite a variety of dishes made of mango [oh yeah!…it was mango season…and so, mango formed the prime ingredient of every dish in every meal] and within no time, we were all full and bidding bye to this amazing family and place. It was 9 o clock sleeper bus of VRL and we were back in bangalore by 5.30 AM, ready to battle our routine lives again. An amazing weekend comes to an end but not before imprinting several beautiful memories in our lives. 🙂

Narasimha Parvatha – Trek to the peak of a blessed land

After a month’s gap for our outing, it was time for a trek. Narasimha parvatha had been on our wishlist for over 6 months now.
No wonder it popped up as our first choice when we locked on a date for trek.
Narasimha parvatha is the highest peak in the KudureMukha region. It offers a scenic trek route between Agumbe and Sringeri. The fact that it is near Agumbe itself is most attractive since Agumbe receives the second highest rainfall in India, next only to Cherrapunji of NorthEast India. So, Agumbe is sometimes called “The Cherrapunji of the South”.
These were reasons enough for the trekkers in us to get excited and plan for this trek.

Why the name “Narasimha Parvatha”?

People say that there is temple of “Narasimha” near the peak. But, we did not find any in our way.
Narasimha refers to a ferocious Hindu god who has a Lion’s head on a human body. Parvatha means mountain. For me, this name made perfect sense since this was one hell of a consuming, mighty Malnad Forest exuding the power of nature at its best.

What is the best time?

This region receives a ridiculously high amount of rainfall during the monsoon. So, planning this trek during the monsoon [July to October mid-weeks] will surely take toll on a trekker.
Any time near the end of monsoon and before the end of December will give you a glimpse of the beauty of these hills.
January to June should be a normal trek with much less to boast of.

Where to start?

There are two routes to reach the Narasimha Parvatha. One from Sringeri Side (from a place called Kigga) and the other from Agumbe Side (from a place called Malandur). The route from Kigga is quite an easy one. The route from Malandur is quite an intensive one.
We chose the Malandur route for our ascent. KSRTC Buses which ply from Bangalore to Agumbe were our first choice and we found a suitable bus which departed from Bangalore at 2200hrs on a friday night [06-12-2013] and would reach Agumbe at 0700 hrs next morning. It would be a 9 hrs journey to cover approximately 370 km.
From there, our guide, Mr. Avinash or one of his acquaintances would take the responsibility of taking us to the trek’s starting point [a local auto does the trick].
The route from Malandur to Narasimha Parvatha peak was around 14 kms. The route from Narasimha Parvatha to Kigga was around 6-7 kms.

Pre-Requisites:

Since we were trekking in December, we had to be prepared to take on the wild winter. Not much rain is expected in December. So, a good jacket which withstands cold would do good. In addition, the usual trekking gear like the water bottle, med kit, lot of food, tents, sleeping bags etc is more than enough to endure this trek.

This used to be a sensitive area due to Naxalite activity and trekkers had to procure Forest Dept permission before going inside the Kuduremukha forest region. But, when we were there, such procedures had been relaxed. The guides had taken care of informing the local officers about the number of trekkers that they would take inside the forest.

So, here it goes…

We had taken a KSRTC Rajahamsa bus from Bangalore to Agumbe [around 370 kms]. It was a 9 hrs journey and we reached the Agumbe Bus Stand at 0700 hrs on the saturday morning. We were supposed to contact our guide from this place. But, beware of the mobile network here. Only BSNL subscribers can find network here. So, we had to use the phone at a nearby hotel to contact our guide Mr.Avinash. We used the public toilet there to freshen up. Breakfast at Hotel Mayura was ok. We got the packed food for our trek from this hotel [Chapatis, idlis, vada, Rice bath and stuff]. You will also find few shops from where you can stuff your bags with some dry fruits, chocolates, fresh fruits and stuff.

Mr.Vishwanath [Avinash’s father] and his Mr.Naveen [Avinash’s younger brother] promptly took us to their house at Malandur in a local auto rickshaw from where our trek would start. Their house was a typical malnad style farm house which skirted a huge stretch of paddy fields. We filled our water bottles quickly and readied ourselves up for the trek. It was 0830 hrs by then and we started our ascent just in front of their house.

The initial route was along a muddy path covered with stones. It was possibly a path that a water stream would take during the monsoon rains. We were lucky enough to spot a long brown-coloured water snake. But, it slithered through the bushes quickly before our cameras could click. Assuming this as a good sign, we moved on. Soon, we were amidst dense forests. The forest floor was covered with dry leaves. But, it was moist enough to host the preying leeches. We experienced a distinct phenomenon here. There were hundreds of crickets in some specific regions of the forest and the buzzing noise that they created was almost deafening and unbearable at times. It was as if we were unwelcome in thier terrain.

After around 5 kms through the dense jungle, we found ourselves on top of the famous “Barkana Falls”. It finds its place among the 10 highest waterfalls in India. We found that the stream of the Sita River at the top which created the beautiful falls was rather too meagre. We wondered how the river would look during the monsoon. The edge of the waterfall’s top provided a spectacular view of the Kuduremukha valley. There was another waterfall in sight on the opposite side of the valley which our guide said was unnamed. It was 1130 hrs and this would be our lunch point. The Sita river also offered us a safe and natural jacuzzi. This was also the last place to fill up our water bottles since there was no other water source till we reached the peak after this.

After around an hour rest, we started our ascent into the jungle again. Now the ascent was much steeper through the jungle and it continued to be so for around 3 kms. After around 90 minutes, we reached the edge of the jungle and caught a glimpse of the grasslands ahead. It was the first view of the expansive green plain. We rested here for around 15 minutes.

It was our first exposure to the blazing sun. It made us realize how it was relatively easier to handle a similar angled ascent through a dense jungle than on the plains. But, the views were a feast to the eyes. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to trek along these grassy plains during the monsoon with pouring rains and leeches all over the place.

It was another quick climb on a couple of grassy hillocks to reach the edge of the last jungle on the ascent route. This took us around 60 minutes. Then we had to go through a dense jungle to reach the grassland again. This patch of grassland would be the last one and by around 1530 hrs, we were able to reach the peak. We passed alongside the place where we were supposed to be pitching our tents. The peak gave us a 180 degree view of the Kuduremukha National Park. It is always said that its not the destination which matters, but the journey. The breeze which makes you forget the tough climb is all you ever crave for.

We spent around 15 minutes on the peak and got back to the place where we would pitch our tents, promising the peak that we would come back for the sunset. The camping place had a small shed built by forest department [probably as a night watch-house]. Though a couple of aluminium sheets that formed the roof had been pulled off their places by the strong winds, the shed offered a decent enough shelter to spend a night in the absence of rains. But since we liked to stay in the tents, we quickly scavenged the turf for a levelled patch to pitch the tents. A fresh water spring at around 300 mtrs from our camping place catered to our drinking and washing needs [Sorry, missed to take a pic of the spring]. We all wondered how it was ever possible to have fresh water spring so high up in a mountain like this – “Nature’s way of posing question marks”. The winds were getting colder by the minute indicating that it would be a chilly night.

Sunset was at around 1820 hrs. By then, we had gathered the firewood for our campfire. It was a beautiful chilly evening around the campfire. Dinner, chit-chat, singing, star-gazing, lot of laughter and off we went to our tents for sleep.

We had not packed enough food. So, we had absolutely nothing left for the breakfast when we got up at 0600 hrs. So, we had to go down to Kigga to have our breakfast. The sunrise across the valley and over the mountains was a breathtaking one – “Everyday wonders…when witnessed from points like these are even more wonderful!”.

It was time to pack-up and by 0815 hrs, we were all set for the descent. I personally thought that the jungle through which we descended was somehow more beautiful. But, we did not have time to spend a lot of time since we had not had our breakfast. It was literally a sprint down the slopes of the forest. With a couple of 2-min breaks, we reached Kigga at 0940 hrs. We had taken around 100 minutes to cover around 7 kms.
A man-made pond covered with green and red algae welcomed us to Kigga. We spent around 30 minutes resting on the pond’s bund. We spotted few birds like Kingfisher, couple of herons, couple of beautiful butterflies and a couple of colourful bees. It seemed like that the pond was situated in a very good place for birds.

Kigga was a small village with “Shrungeshwara Swamy” temple and one main street with decently built houses on both of its sides. We bid our guides adieu [He charged Rs.2000 for his services]. We had our breakfast in the only hotel in the village. We had planned to visit a couple of waterfalls nearby and then visit Shrungeri temple from where we had our return bus to Bangalore.

So, we hired a local auto who charged us Rs.100 for taking us to each of the waterfalls. We visited the “Sirimane Falls” which was around 6 kms from Kigga. It was a small waterfall and was commercialised enough for it to become a tourist destination. Entry ticket of Rs.5 per person and 130 steps down from the road, one will directly land on the lap of the waterfall.

Next, we had planned to go to “MagheBailu Falls”. It was around 4 kms from this waterfall. The autos would take the muddy road till we reached “Bhattara Mane”. We had informed “Bhattru” that we were dropping in for lunch there. So, once we reached there, we dumped all our luggage there and started to the falls. It was an narrow path inside dense jungle with lot of leeches. This jungle was more moist than the Narasimha Parvatha trail.! We walked for around 1 km into the forest to reach the MagheBailu falls and what a sight it was!
It was a spectacular waterfall giving us glorious view of a wild waterfall. The place was really very damp and the waterfall was perfectly wedged between the forest slopes giving minimal penetration for the sunlight to reach the ground. Naturally, the water here was chilling! It was 3-stepped waterfall. The last two steps offered a perfect platform for a delightful bath. The last step was around 60 feet drop. One could hardly go near the drop since it was too deep near the point where it dropped. We enjoyed the waterfall from a rock nearby, bathed on the other two steps, took a few clicks, evaded the ever-preying leeches and by 1330 hrs, went back to “Bhattara mane” for lunch.

Bhattara mane was a farm house. It was a typical Malnad house. They had Arecanut plantations, banana plantations, paddy fields and coffee plantations around the house. It was the harvest time and it was as if the crops were dancing and celebrating around the house. The grains, colours, fruits and vegetables manifested the richness of the fertile land in this region. This was a blessed land indeed.

Lunch was delicious. We were served with rice with sambar, jackfruit happala and curds. The people here were really humble and believed in treating their guests with a lot of love. We thanked the family for their kindness and boarded the autos to return to Kigga. [The Bhat family had charged us a humble Rs.50 per head for the lovely lunch].

Buses plied from Kigga to Shringeri every hour. We had decided to take the 1630 hrs bus to Shringeri. The bus however started at 1700 hrs and we reached Shringeri which was around 15 kms away by 1730 hrs. We hurried to reach the temple before sunset.

Shringeri housed a historical VidyaShankara temple which was built in Hoysala and Dravidian architectural stlye in 13th century AD. Its architecture boasts of several unique features. [More on this link]
The Tunga river which flows right beside the temple attracts many tourists and provides a wonderful place to enjoy a beautiful sunset on the river bank.

After some street shopping, we boarded our 2130 hrs KSRTC Non-AC sleeper bus which would get us to Bangalore by 0600 hrs. This had turned out to be perfect weekend get-away with a fantastic trek, couple of beautiful waterfalls and ending with the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Sharada Devi. This weekend would surely stamp itself on our diaries forever.

Contact:

Mr. Kantharaju [Guide from Malandur to peak] – +91 9481065494
Mr. Thimmappa [Guide from Malandur to peak] – +91 9483496142
Mr. Chandrashekhar Bhatru [Kigga Home Landline Number] – +91 8265291127
Mr. Raaghu [Auto Driver in Kigga – Can help for local sight seeing] – +91 8762819717

Leave only your footprint as a trace. Do not litter. Protect the wild.

Sirsi get-away

It was a get-away that we were quite eagerly waiting for. It was a long weekend with Thursday and Monday off on the occassion of Kannada Rajyotsava and Diwali. We had planned for a two-day trek-cum-trip to few waterfalls in Sirsi. So, I started off early from office on thursday at 6. Our bus was supposed to be at Jalahalli cross at 9.30 PM. It would be a 8.5 hrs journey to Sirsi, a small but picturesque town in North canara, Karnataka.

Thursday October 31st 2013:

The bus was too late. For it was a long weekend, I guess half the city was exiting the city on the very same day. The whole damn city was jammed. The roads were completely choked. Our friend Syed, who boarded the bus at Jayanagar, 35 kms away, at 7 PM, was giving us updates about the whereabouts of our bus and it so happened that the bus reached our boarding point at 1.30 AM. A full 6hrs to cover 35 kms in the city! Our other friend, ShreeHarsha who had boarded a different bus also had to face a similar situation.

Relieved that we were finally in the bus, we immediately hit our beds. Within 5 minutes, I felt itching all over my body. To my surprise, I realized that my bed in particular was infested with bedbugs!! It was an AC bus with no windows. So, I could not even throw the bedbugs out once i caught them. So, I had put them in an airtight container that i had! How weird is that! So, after 6 more hours of agony and 20 odd bedbugs in the airtight box, it was dawn and when the sun drove the bedbugs away. I managed to catch 1 hr sleep. What a night.!

Friday November 1st 2013:

When the bus finally reached Sirsi at 10.30 AM, we knew that our plan for the day was ruined. ShreeHarsha had reached before us and we met his smiling face in the Omni cab that we had hired for two days for local commutation. Thus started my actual Sirsi trip with Kishan, Pradeep, Syed and ShreeHarsha.

Sirsi [pronounced as Shirasi in Kannada] is a typical North Canara town with densely covered hills all around it. It was famous for its arecanut production. With its humid weather and with very frequent rainfalls, it was perfectly suited for growing cardamom, betel leaves, pepper, vanilla etc. Since all these have a very good commercial value, the landlords here were quite rich and the town is usually categorized as one of the rich towns in Karnataka.

Our friend, ShreeHarsha is a native of Sirsi [from the village Kageri nearby actually]. We were taken to his house which was like 10 min away. Like many natives here, his family lives in a huge 100-year old house with arecanut plantation and paddy fields around it. What an amazing get-away this was. There was no telecommunication network here, no hussle-buzzle of the city, no tension in the air. It was a complete contrast with chirping sparrows, light breeze, friendly people and a rich cultural heritage. We were welcomed by his family. His mother, his father, his sister, his uncle, aunt, his brother, sister-in-law and his cute niece. They were really glad to have us there.

We freshened up quickly and had a really different breakfast. We were served “akki rottis” [baked rice breads] with chutney, saagu [mixture of boiled pulses], liquid jaggery and ghee. What an amazing combination. Our first experience of authentic North Canara food and we all simply loved it.

We had rented out few tents and sleeping bags with an intention to camp near one of the waterfalls that night. So, with all that in the van, by 12, we started to our first destination for the day, Unchalli waterfalls. It was around 35 kms from Kageri and it took us around an hour. It was a sunny day and it was very humid.

We had to walk for around 500 mtrs from the parking lot through the muddy path through the forest to reach the viewpoint.

We all gasped at the first sight of the waterfall. We had seen dozens of waterfalls and nothing could come close to what we saw there. It was a huge waterfall [116 mtrs] in its full force and the sound that it was generating was deafening. And that was the reason it had its other name “keppa joga”, meaning “deafening falls”. It was also called Lushington falls, named after a British district collector who first discovered the falls in 1845. But, what made the sight very special was a perfectly formed rainbow across the waterfall. In fact, there were three rainbows!. A predominant one right in the middle, a lightly formed one above this and a half formed one near the base of the waterfall. We couldn’t help but fill ourselsves with this feast for a considerable time silently. There were three viewpoints, one below the other and the lowest of them all gave us the best view of them all. We considered ourselves lucky to be there at that picture-perfect time and place.

By the time, we got back to the parking lot, it was 3.30 PM. Our next destination was supposed to be Burude waterfalls where we were also supposed to camp. It would be around 1hr journey from here and a 1hr trek to the base of the falls. We were not even sure if there was a suitable place down there for pitching our tents. So, we were now not sure if we would be able to get back to our van in case we couldn’t find a suitable camping place before dusk. All thanks to our over-delayed bus. So, we had to drop our Burude falls plan and had to plan for something else for the rest of the day. What made sense was the Gokarna OM beach plan. It seemed feasible because we could reach the place within 5.30 PM and we could spend our time on the beach enjoying the sunset.

So, we started to OM beach. On the way, we pulled our van off the road and had our lunch. We had packed dozens of “joladha rottis” [baked breads made of corn flour], a local favourite from the “khaanavali” [local home-cum-restaurant]. We reached the OM beach at 5.30 PM.

It was quite a crowded place with a lot of tourists, a mix of both localites and foreigners. The sun-set was perfect. It was rocky beach and it was very humid. It had a couple of beach resort-cum-restaurants. We had our usual chit-chats at the beach and returned to the van after sun set.

It would be a 3 hrs journey from there to Harsha’s place in Kageri. We had our dinner in the usual restaurants by the highway. It was around 10.30 PM and Harsha’s sister was awake to open the door for us. We silently hit our beds without disturbing the other sleeping residents.

Saturday November 2nd 2013:

I finally managed to catch some decent sleep. Though it was quite an interrupted sleep [because it was an unaquainted place], it was a welcome rest for me. I was awake at 6 AM when Pradeep asked if I would accompany him for the early morning walk in the village. It turned out that 4 of us were awake except Harsha who was in deep sleep at his native place. With our cameras, we hit the backyard of the farmhouse. We could frequently hear a peacock’s squak. So, we followed the cry hoping to catch a glimpse of the national bird of India. But, as we thought we were near it, it would somehow go farther. Maybe it was because we were laughing and talking all the while. We had to return as we had to start our day’s program by 8.30. But, Pradeep, determined to capture the bird in his SLR, went into the wild alone leaving us behind on the road. When he returned after a few minutes, he said he had seen a really big peacock but couldn’t click a good picture of it as it flew away quickly.

Harsha showed us the place where the arecanuts were dried and processed, the place where the gobar gas plant was constructed, the cattle cottage and few other village stuff. It was really nice and different to know all this. It was a very closely knit ecological cycle between nature and man here. A very self-sustained life. The paddy fields produced the rice for the family and fodder for the cattle. The cattle produced milk for the family and cowdung for the gobar gas plant. The gobar gas plant produced the gas needed for the cooking and heating needs of the family and also the slurry which was later used as a fertile manure for the paddy fields and the arecanut plantations. Nothing was wasted, everything perfectly balanced with minimal carbon foot print and minimal outside dependency.

The breakfast for the day was “PesareLu ” [fine roasted layer of rice batter] with chutney and Jaggery-ghee combination. Again a local delicacy which we completely enjoyed. We started from their house at 9. Our first destination for the day would be Sathodi waterfalls. It was quite a famous tourist destination. It was around 75 kms from Kageri and would take around 2.5 hrs through the ghats. The final 6 km stretch was a nightmare. It was unworthy to be called “road”. It was around 12 when we reached the falls. We had to walk for around 1 km through the jungle path to reach the waterfall.

Sathodi falls was a considerably small waterfall. But, nevertheless a picturesque one. Not all waterfalls would give an opportunity for people to play in the waters at its lap. But, this one seemed to made for one such thing. And so, it was quite crowded. More so because it was a weekend. Though the sight of the waterfall was a welcoming one, the crowd made me disappointed. We wanted to get away from the usual crowded places. My first thought was that we should have gone to Burude falls instead.

There seemed to be a path which would take closer to the waterfalls. But, for that, one would have to cross the rapids of the flowing river stepping on the boulders in the river. It looked a little dangerous. Moreover, I had no intention to get into the water with so many people around. So, I just sat on one of the rocks in the shade of the tree while the Kishan, Syed and Harsha somehow managed to get to the other side of the river. After around an hour or so, i was completely frustrated. But, then Syed came back and said that there was no one near the waterfall if you crossed the river and went close to it. So, me and Pradeep crossed the river and went closer to the waterfall after climbing a few rocks. We had now reached a higher level and this place had its own platform with a panaromic view of the waterfall. It was an amazing sight from here. More importantly, there was no one here!. I was delighted and to my surprise, Kishan offered to take me right underneath the waterfall. Apparently, some localite had shown him a path to that place. Within minutes and after some really scary footsteps on the ever-slippery and slushy rocks, we were at the place where we met the waterfall face to face!. Well… not exactly face to face because we could barely look at the waterfall directly because the water was being sprayed all over. We could only stand there with our backs to the waterfall and feel the real force of the waterfall. Nobody could speak here for no one could hear anything but the waterfall. This was an experience I had never ever had. It was completely worth coming to this place. After having a relaxing natural jacuzzi experience there, we headed back to the crowded shores.

By this time, it was 4 PM. There was a forest dept approved tiffin center on the way to the parking lot. We ordered upma [kind of powdered rice porridge] and avalakki [a dish made out of de-husked rice flattened into flakes]. It was hot, fresh and delicious. The lady there also told that she had moved to this place from Belgaum a decade ago. She told that this particluar place, which was now backwaters of Kodasalli Dam across the Kali river was originally housing 3 villages. They were all submerged because of the backwaters of the dam and the villagers were re-located to a different place a decade back. The well grown arecanut plantations on the shore were the only remains of the civilization there now.

We started from Sathodi falls at 5 PM. It would take around 3 hrs to Sirsi town from where we had to board our 9.45 PM bus back to Bangalore. We happened to reach Sirsi at 8.30 PM… with good time left for us to have dinner. We instead chose to have some chaats at the town and filled our stomachs. The finals of the India vs Australia 7-ODI cricket series was going on at that time. We curiously refreshed our cricket score screens in our mobiles to get score updates. Our bus was on time and India had won emphatically. What an end to a great get-away. This time, there were no bed-bugs and no trouble falling into a deep sleep. 8 hours later, we found ourselves back in Bangalore.
Incidentally, Bangalore seemed to be colder than Sirsi! It was Diwali time and we had 2 more days off to enjoy the festival days and the extended weekend with our families. 🙂

Saurkundi Pass – odyssey in a snow paradise

It was a long awaited break from the monotonous life of software engineers. Leaves were applied, flights were booked 2 months in advance. Hell lot of shopping with a reason of trek. 😉 Decathlon became our one stop shop for all our trekking needs.
The reporting date at Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) base camp for our Saurkundi pass trek was on May 2nd. May 1st was a holiday and we had planned to spend that day in Hrishikesh. We had got some information from friends that the river rafting and bungee jumping was too good in Hrishikesh. Thats all it takes to drive us forward. I had taken the responsibility of getting our Hrishikesh plan right. I came across India easy trip pvt ltd in the internet and found out from Mr. Alpesh [Manager] that they can act as our trip organizer.

DAY 1: April 30

So, it started on April 30th. The six of us [Myself, Kishan, Pradeep, Harsha, ShreeHarsha and Syed Mehtab] had left our offices early since we had flight at 8.30 PM and had to be at Bangalore International Airport by 6PM to be on the safer side. As expected, there was some delay in checking in since the credit card used to book our flight was not with us. We had to make the payment again using another card. However, we were comfortably seated in the lounge well before time. It was 2.30 hrs flight from Bangalore to Delhi.

Our taxi [Chevrolet Tavera] was waiting at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. The driver [Mr. Lucky] seemed a bit impolite. But, he promptly had our baggages tied above the car, had us seated and started to Hrishikesh at around 12PM. We stopped enroute at a roadside bread omlette shop as we had not had our dinner. It would be around 350 KM drive to Hrishikesh.

DAY 2: May 1

It was 7.30 in the morning when the driver stopped near river Ganga of Haridwar and asked us to freshen ourselves up. We politely refused and asked for a room where we could dump our luggages for the day and freshen ourselves up. After a talk with our trip organizer, we found ourselves at a freaky looking “Arora Guest House” in Hrishikesh. It was filthy as hell but enough for dumping our luggages and freshening ourselves up quickly and start off the day. We were charged Rs.350 for the day for the room [cheap right?…just imagine the condition of the place then…]

By 10AM, we had had our breakfast at a nearby restaurant and ready for river rafting. We got a call from the river rafting guy [reference given by driver] and the Bolero was waiting near our guest house. It was a thrilling 30 min 3.5km drive from Hrishikesh to Shivpuri which was the starting point of our rafting. The driver gave us one hell of an adrenaline rush with his driving skills. We were joined by two other girls and two other guys making it 10 people in one raft.

The water was freezing cold. With our life jackets on, we boarded the raft and after a short distance, we jumped into the river enjoying the chilling green water giving us shivers. It was going to be a 16km route from ShivPuri to Ram Jhula with 3 major rapids and 6 normal rapids. Each rapid had a name from the localites like “Roller Coaster”, “Thank God” etc. It was a cool ride for around one hour. Then, we stopped for a snack!. What sort of adventure sport has maggi and slice in between!. We continued after half an hour for another 1 hour or so till we reached Ram jhula where we disembarked and reached our room in another jeep. Rs. 450 for 16km chilling river rafting was worth every penny. 🙂

After changing our clothes, we had to hurry to the Bungee jumping pickup point near Laxman jhula which was near to our room. We were dropped near Laxman jhula by a jeep and we used the bridge [Laxman jhula] to cross river Ganga. We were picked up by the bungee jumping bus [Jumping Heights]. It was around 45 drive to the jumping location.

It was a scary location. One had to push the fears to the limits to do this for the first time. I went first. The scariest moment was when the toe end of the foot feels the edge of the jumping platform. That is when you ask the question “Is this needed?…Should i quit?”. But the countdown had started. 3…2…1… and there i was… flying from 272 metres above the ground, banking all my luck on a big rubber band tied to my waist and leg. What an exhilarating experience it was. I was shouting for more than a minute with excitement.. Around 2 seconds of free fall, then pulled back and the free fall starts all over again!. It was an achievement by itself. The five of us completed this and all 5 of us were proud of ourselves. 🙂

It was time to head back to our room in the same bus after collecting our “I have got guts” badge and certificate.
By 7.30 PM, we were in our taxi heading to Kullu which was supposed to be a 13 hr drive from Hrishikesh.

DAY 3: MAY 2

A flat tyre, a sleepy driver, 3hrs of rest on road and finally we reached Kullu after a dreadful 21 hrs journey in a tight Tavera. Our base camp was at the 15th mile between Kullu and Manali. That means it was around 25 kms after Kullu. Roaring Beas river was flowing to the right of the road [NH 21]. The chilling breeze reminding us again and again that we were in the Himachal Pradesh now. It was 4PM when we reached the base camp. Hungry, agitated and annoyed, we refused to pay the full amount to the trip organizer since we had suffered enough since 2 days. We were welcome at the reception by Ms.Roopa [From Belgaum] and others. We got our ID cards and tents allotted. It would be tent No.5 for 3 days at the base camp and we were part of batch SK-8 !!

It was a beautiful sunny evening. We freshened ourselves up in the chilling water of the base camp washroom. Played hand tennis amidst the spectators wondering what kind of a sport this is. 😛

Got a bit disappointed when we realized that there were no girls at all in our batch! Had a nutritious dinner, spectated the lousy camp fire activity and slept at around 10 PM in our tent.

DAY 4: MAY 3

Our schedule for the day would be Morning exercise, Acclimatization walk, orientation and campfire at night. Up at 5.30 AM, it was a chilling morning. Struggling to keep ourselves warm, we jogged for around 0.5km to the exercise ground nearby. The exercises were damn good and within an hour, we felt ourselves all warmed up with no signs of fatigue. Breakfast at 8 and we were ready with our rucksacks at 8.45 for our acclimatization walk. It was an average paced walk up the hill slopes for around 3.5km. There was a brief self-introduction of the group.

We also got a full view of the Beas river valley, a Durga temple, a full view of a hydro-electric power project and apple orchards on our way back. It was not the season for apples or plums. The apples had just begun to show up.

It was around 1.30 PM when we reached our base camp. Lunch and freshening up followed. It was time for orientation class at 2.45 from Mr. Swamy from Karnataka, field director for Saurkundi Pass expedition 2013. He went on and on till 4PM. We tried to prepare a skit for the evening camp fire. But, as we had to go to the nearby town to purchase some things, we dropped the idea.

Pathilikuhl was the nearest town and it was decently commercialized to cater to our needs. After a swift round of shopping, we returned to the base camp at around 7 PM. Dinner at 8. Attended the lousy campfire. It was time for bed at 10 PM.

DAY 5: MAY 4

It was a bright morning. Superb stretching exercises for an hour till 7PM, breakfast at 7.30 and we were ready for rappelling at 8.45 PM. Our instructor Dharamvir Singh took us [36 people of SK-8] to the rappelling location. It was around 1.5 Km from the base camp. It was a rock face of about 35 feet on a hill slope and the instructor was skilled enough to teach everyone in the group and make everyone do it easily in the end.

The six of us completed the rappelling first and went to the nearby woods to prepare our skit. Our initial draft was ready by the time rappelling activity was complete at around 1PM.

Some of us were also taken for river crossing meanwhile. We all returned to base camp for lunch at 1.30PM and returned to the same location for rock climbing at around 3PM. We were back at the base camp by 5.30PM after rock climbing.

We rehearsed the skit near the staff tents and were reasonably ready for the camp fire. I would be the narrator [vocalist] of the skit. It was SK-9’s campfire today and we had ask for a sweet timeslot for our skit.  As expected, there was a roaring response from the fellow camp-mates and the YHAI staff. It was the day when SK-1 had come back to the base camp and there was a crowd of around 200 today. We were instantly famous in the camp! Everyone coming and patting our backs and shaking hands. We were glad that our effort did not go waste. Pradeep, Harsha and Kishan did some night photography near the tent and we were off to sleep at around 10.30 PM. Great end to a great day. 🙂

DAY 6: MAY 5

It was the day our trekking starts. At 8.45 AM, we were all geared up with our rucksacks filled with stuff to support us for 7 days. SK-9 and SK-10 were lined up to bid us bye. The first day was a steep climb from our base camp at 4500 ft to Segli Village Camp at 7100 ft.
It was a slow trek through the forest on a well formed trail. There were rains frequently and we had to put on and take off our rain cheaters again and again. We broke for lunch where there was a temporary tent with guy selling maggi and omlette. I think we trekked for around 5 hours slowly through and up the forest slopes to reach the Segli camp. It was told that it was an 8 km trek but I felt it to be lot shorter. It was still drizzling.

The Segli camp was an awkward looking camp. We were utterly disappointed at the first sight of it. It was across the slope of a steep hillside amidst the trees. It was moist and slushy with dangerous locations for toilets, kitchen and way down to the trek path.

We had got the topmost tent so that nobody would mind if we created hungama at night inside the tent. There was also a small tent where there was the maggi guy. The six of us had a heated discussions about worldly topics like “Capital punishment for crimes”, “Anna hazare Movement” and stuff. What a place for heated arguments… 😛
We had fun in tent playing mafia.
DAY 7: MAY 6

The view from this Segli camp was quite appealing with sight of the snow-capped mountains and a colorful village nearby. We got our usual morning coffee and breakfast. As we go higher, we really start to enjoy any warm food. 🙂

We started from this dirty camp to Hora Thatch camp at around 9.30 AM. It was a typical trek through forests and valleys and few steep climbs for around 5 hours with a lunch break in between to reach the Hora Thatch campsite at 9000 ft above the sea level. We also got to see our first snow patch just at the entrance of the campsite.

The campsite was all slushy because of previous day’s rain and snowfall. It was still drizzling when we reached the campsite. The campsite was just beside a  waterfall and it was damn cold. The muddy ground made it an unloving place to wander around. No real activity here except for a hot debate inside the tent about the Anna Hazare movement again… 😛

DAY 8: MAY 7

It was a bright sunny morning. We were desperately waiting for the heat of the sunrays. We played one round of mafia in the sunlight along with other guys in the group. After breakfast, we started at around 11 AM. Since the next campsite was nearby, we were advised to take today’s trek nice and easy. We were asked to enjoy the views and make it to the camp taking our own sweet time.

The trek was smooth with few steep climbs and walk over the edge of the cliffs. The speciality of this stretch was that we experienced a mild snowfall, rainfall, sunshine and even got to see the pollination of the pine trees in a span of just 10 minutes. The weather used to change so fast and drastically on these mountains. So unpredictable!.

It was an easy 2.5 hrs trek to the gorgeous Maylee thatch and we reached it at around 3.30 PM. It was a stunningly beautiful campsite nicely located between three mountains at the lap of the middle mountain. It seemed to be a perfect location for a grassy plain with a 270 degree view of the snow-capped mountains all-around.

We were welcomed by a cheerful camp leader Mr. Sunil. He made us play some group games and we enjoyed the golden evening thoroughly. It was a perfect evening weather up on the mountains.

I watched others play poker in our tent while the rest of the group were enjoying the camp fire in the adjacent tent. It would be a cold night.

DAY 9: MAY 8

It was a beautiful morning. We started from the gorgeous Maylee thatch campsite at around 11 AM up the mountain on the lap of which the campsite sat at 10500 ft above the sea level.
Overviewing a spectacular view of the snow covered mountains, it was ascent, ascent and more steep ascent for around 4 hrs to Daura Campsite.

Daura Campsite was a beautiful campsite just behind the exposed mountain-slope amidst the trees with snow patches all around. When we reached at around 4 PM, it was a perfect evening with a cloudless sunny sky perfect for clicking photos. With a cup of tea and salted peanuts, we sat on the grassy hill slope enjoying the picturesque snow-capped rugged mountains. It was getting colder as the sun got ready to set.

It was dinner at 6.30 just before dusk. We then planned for a camp-fire where the topic of discussion would be horror stories. So, around 20 of us settled down inside a tent in gloomy torch lights. Most of them narrated their experiences or the horror stories they had heard. Our whole intention of this talk was to play a prank which worked perfectly after about 1 hr of talk and all the girls and most of the boys screamed in horror. A great end to an amazing day. It was too cold inspite of wearing thermals and tucking ourselves inside the sleeping bags. We went to sleep at around 10 after a round of cards. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

Day 10: MAY 9

We were all set to leave the camp at 7.30 in the beautiful morning. It was trek straight above the mountain at the slope of which the camp was present. It was a continuous slow climb till around 10.30 or 11 on the grassy mountain slopes.

We passed a rocky terrain covered in half with snow.

Then there was climb again till around 12.30 through the snow patches.

This is when we got our first snow slide of around 400m. It was first snow slide for many. We all thoroughly enjoyed it although few got their elbows scraped while sliding down.  It was snow all around us by now. Then again a short climb and through a valley of snow and then up again on the snow covered mountain and there it was… our destination… SaurKundi Pass!!!.

It was around 150m level stretch of snow on top of the mountains. An awe-inspiring 360 degree view of the snow capped mountains. It was a destination worthy of our climb in every way. smiles, laughter and celebration all around, our group of 36 took a group pic with the Indian flag.

Rohtang pass was visible at 120 degrees, singhor pass at 60 degrees and the famous saurkundi frozen lake (from which the pass gets its name), was partially visible at 80 degrees from the line of sight. After spending enough time clicking panaromas, landscapes and portraits, it was time for the descent. It started with a huge slide of around 1.5km. It was an amazing experience. This was the one we were waiting so eagerly for.

We then passed through the snow valleys and there was another slide of around 800m of around 70 degree steep at some points. Amazing ride. Then it as through the forests down into the valley. Then another small slide through the snow valley between the trees. Then descending steep through the forests for around 2km, we finally reached Longa thatch at around 5PM.

Four Professional guides had accompanied us from Daura till Saurkundi Pass and they went back to Daura. 4 other guides accompanied us to the Longa thatch from the pass. Most of them were Jats, with a commanding tone and fearless attitude. People perfectly suited for their jobs.

Longa thatch was on a small rocky clearing at 10800 ft above the sea level in middle of a mountain slope with few trees around with a grassy patch just below the camp where the horses grazed peacefully.

It was a lovely evening when we were served hot tea and hot bajjis. Cool Camp-leader. Dinner just before dusk at 6.45 with hot jamoons and it was perfect dinner. One round of bluff, boys talk about relationships, religions, treks and all worldly topics and it was “Gunnite” at around 10.

Day 11: MAY 10

We started from Longa at around 11. It was just descent, descent and steep descent. The elderly people in the group who had no trouble while climbing were feeling it tough to maintain the balance down the slippery slopes. We had to help them all the way to Lekhni through the hill slopes almost entirely dominated by pine trees. A descent not too interesting, we reached Lekhni camp at around 3 PM.

Lekhni was an entirely different campsite at around 8500 ft above the sea level. It was a leased-out house built out of timber and mud. An impressive looking two-storeyed structure right in the middle of an apple orchard, it was a promising place for a new experience. We just spent our evening chatting. Dinner was served and we had a small round of anthyakshari after dark. It was a great trek until now and it was time to sleep.

We had just put ourselves inside our sleeping bags and someone came running inside the house shouting that somebody had slipped nearby and had broken his ankle. We rushed to the scene. A small gang of our trek group had ordered special dinner from the localites and when they were enjoying it, one of them had not noticed that they were sitting on an elevation just beside the hill slope. Attempting to click a group photo, he had slipped out of the elevated ground and had landed on the ankle almost 5 ft down. His ankle was twisted in right angle. Luckily, our trek group had a doctor and he was skilled enough to set the bone back in place after a telephonic conversation with one of the orthopaedics. With a crepe bandage on, he was rested inside the house for the rest of the night. An unexpected twist in our not-so eventful trek so far. Thanking the doctor and cursing the culprit gang, we went to sleep at around 11PM.

DAY 12: MAY 11

The last day of our trek and it was around 1.5 hrs descent from Lekhni from 10.30 to reach a village called Parsha. It was finally back to civilization. The injured boy was carried on the back of a guide till this village. He was then taken to Manali Hospital from here in a car.
On the way to this village, we found several local farmers selling fresh strawberries, cherries and lassi. These were farm-fresh fruits which I guess nobody can ever taste in any city. Each one of us easily gulped around 30 strawberries each and the cherries that went in were not accounted for. Simply delicious.

It was around 1 hr down from this village towards NH21 [Kullu-Manali Highway] and we found ourselves in front of “Manali Resorts” around 8 kms from Manali city. We quickly took a bus and got dropped near the base camp. We collected our certificates, packed our luggages, bid bye to our group-mates and were quickly out of the camp at around 2.30 PM. It was the end of our 11-day Saurkundi pass expedition.

We had decided to look for accomodation in Pathilikuhl. We were directed to Neelam guest house which was around 700 mtrs from the Pathilikuhl bus stand. It was an eerie-looking place with around 8 rooms. We were the only people in the whole of the guest house i guess. All we wanted was hot water, a tv to watch IPL and a cozy bed to crash. All 3 were present and the deal was negotiated at Rs. 1200 for two 2-person bedrooms. We freshened ourselves up quickly. Boozers started boozing and the other 3 of us found ourselves in the Pathilikuhl town in the evening hunting for local delicacies. I totally forgot the dish names but each one of the local dishes were really delicious. We were back in the room at around 8.30 PM to watch IPL. It was going to be a pleasant sleep on soft beds after quite a long time.

DAY 13: MAY 12

It was shopping day in Manali. We shopped, shopped and shopped in the Mall Street of Manali. It was a paradise for shopping warm clothes and gift items. We visited the famous German Bakery for our Lunch. We ordered every dish that we did not understand in the Menu and surprisingly, each one of them were finger-licking good. They were decently priced too. My suggestion is that anyone who visits Manali needs to experience this place’s food atleast once.

Back to our rooms by 3, we packed our luggages, checked out and were ready for our 5.30 PM bus at Pathilikuhl bus stand. It was going to be a 13hr journey to Delhi.

DAY 14: MAY 13

We were dropped at Kashmiri gate of Delhi at 6.40 in the morning. We took a taxi who charged us Rs.800 to drop to the domestic airport.
Our 2.5hr flight to Bangalore was at 11.15 and we were bidding bye to North India with a bag full of memories. A long-awaited summer break thus came to a sweet end. 🙂

Oh!.. By the way, here’s our signature…

Trek to MukthiHoLe Falls…

It had been quite a long time since we had last trekked. After Yetthina bhuja trek two years back and the Himalayan Sar Pass trek last year, we had only tripped around with small climbs of Madhugiri, Wayanad etc…
Once rooted to our IT lives, it becomes quite difficult to find time in which everyone will be free at the same time.
But, now 6 of us had finally decided to trek to MukthihoLe falls over the weekend [ShreeHarsha, Vinodh, Myself, Syed Mehtab, Harsha and Pradeep]. This was our regular trek group and any place with this group made it to the “Best Memories” page of our lives.

There were few strong reasons for this choice. Pitching tents in forests were prohibited in almost every known forest range of Karnataka [Thanks to novice trekkers]. It was mid January and the sun would have very little mercy on us and a waterfall trek seemed to be a perfect choice. Grasslands and plains would all be dry and expose us to harsh sun. A core forest like the MukthihoLe range would be the best one.

So, It started on Friday night. We had booked SRS Travels buses for both onward and return journey. It would be around 450 Kms and 10 hrs journey from Bangalore to Honnavar. We boarded the Honnavar bus and disembarked at HaDinbaLa cross [also known as HaDinbaLa bridge]. This place is around 10 kms before Honnavar. Our bus which started from Majestic at 8.30 reached HadinbaLa cross at 5.45 AM. From here, we had to board a NWKRTC bus to a village called Hirebailu which is a deviation to the right from Bangalore-Honnavar road. This bus does not have a good frequency. There is one bus at 8.30 AM and the next bus would be somewhere around 12.

The only place where you can find some breakfast is in this HaDinbaLa cross. So, we had our breakfast at a hotel called “Hanuman Hotel”. Hot Idlis and sambar made a perfect start to the chilling morning. After spending some time around here and there, we decided to just start walking along the road to Hirebailu. It made a cool morning walk with the village ambience. After walking for around 4 km, we just rested in one of the bus stands and waited for the bus. We boarded the bus at 8.45 AM and it was around 9 AM when it stopped at Mr. Mahadev Nayak’s house in Hirebailu. It was the last stop and the bus would return from this place back to Honnavar.

We had contacted Mr. Mahadev Nayak’s son Eshwar around a week back and had asked his help to arrange a guide for 2 days. He had gladly obliged. Mr. Mahadev Nayak’s house is a typical Malnad house with a water stream and a huge arecanut plantation in front of the house. Mr. Mahadev Nayak [aged more than 65] was famous in the locality for his yakshagaana and now his sons (Eshwar and Janardhana) continued to build on this family heritage. They had staged shows in Bangalore too. They were all a bunch of very hospitable people. We met our guide “Naveen Fernandez” [probably aged around 38-40] here and after a small break and freshening up, we started our trek with Naveen.

It was unlike all the other starts in our previous treks. It was a constant ascent and we had to take regular breaks for energizing ourselves. Though the path was surrounded by trees and the tree canopy was present throughout, the heavy load on us [Food for 2 days, water, sleeping bags and 3 tents] made us get exhausted very quickly. After around 100 minutes of this constant ascent, our guide Naveen asked us to take a sharp right turn into the forest and down into the valley. It would be almost impossible to spot this deviation if we were on our own. No wonder many other trekkers had gone around in circles hoping to get to MukthihoLe falls and had never managed to reach it.

Now, the descent started and it was a steep one [around 60 degrees!]. Unlike our expectation, the forest was quite dense and moist for this time of the year. It made us all think how tough it could be to tread the same path in the peak monsoon times of september or october! When asked about this, our guide Naveen told that even the localites wouldn’t attempt to go to the falls in the monsoon and the buses too would stop coming to Hirebailu in the months of september, october and November. The entire locality would then be sort of disconnected from rest of the civilization.

It took a good 40-45 minutes for us to reach the river below. The name of the river, we couldnt find out. Naveen just called it “siddapur river” since it came through Siddapur. The river was not in its prime action [Thanks to the season]. The river bed was exposed, showing off the rough rocks which once were immersed in the river. But, there was enough water for danger and caution had to be taken while crossing it or while trekking along its banks. It was difficult to find a suitable place to pitch-in our tents on the banks since it was all either rocks or thick forest. We found a small sandy patch nearby just enough for our 3 tents. We had our frugal lunch here dumped our tents, sleeping bags and extra clothing at this place .

We started our trek again at around 1.30 PM. To reach MukthihoLe falls, we had to trek around 5 kms upstream along the exposed rocky river bed. There was no way one could take this route when the river was in its full force since it was perfect valley with thick forest right beside the river. We had to be very careful not to twist our ankles while jumping on the rocks and a miss meant a painful evening. It all meant even more to me since this was my first trek after recovery from my ankle ligament tear. But, as they all say, more the difficulty in a trek, more will you enjoy the end point. MukthihoLe did not disappoint us one bit. It was a beautiful view. It was like a dead-end wall to the river bank that we had trekked just then. There was no way whatsoever ahead and the water came down from top of this wall to make a spectacular waterfall. We just sat there in silence for quite sometime. Speechless. It was 3.15 PM. Then there were clicks, smiles and poses. We couldnt dare to swim here even in this off-season since Naveen said that it would be quite deep.

We started back at 4 PM. It was the same rocky path along the river banks and we were forced to cross the river quite a few times when there was no path ahead on the same bank. By this time, most of us were exhausted both physically and mentally. Mentally because we had to concentrate on every step or we would slip and lose balance. The return journey to our camping place took longer than our onward journey and we reached our camping place at 6 PM. There would be no sunlight after 6.30 PM before which we had to pitch-in our tents and set our campfire. Naveen took care of campfire in no time and a combined effort erected all 3 tents well before the dusk.

It was beautiful camping place very different from any of our previous treks where we usually camped near the peaks. But, this time we had climbed down to camp! Normal trekking principles say that it is quite dangerous to camp near a water place since predators tend to come for a drink in the river during the night. But, we were assured by Naveen that the place only had a bear-scare and the campfire would avoid it easily.

We had our dinner [few barbeque bread toasts, chapathis and biscuits] and rested on the sandy river bank. It was a beautiful half-moon night. I was personally amazed by the moonlight of a half-moon!. It really lit up the place making the camp look as if it was flooded with artificial light. After a lot of chit-chat and fun, we rested in the tents while Naveen took a sandy spot near the campfire.

At 6.30 in the morning, it was not very picturesque. It was not foggy. It was just cold enough to force us to wear our tees. Some of us took a dip in the chilling river while others were satisfied to watch and freshen up without a bath. We had a light breakfast, folded and packed our tents, cleaned up the place, put out the camp fire and started our return journey at around 9 AM. It was a dreadful steep climb through the dense jungle. We had to climb using our hands in some places using roots and branches of trees. This was really exhausting and we had to rest every 15 minutes. We had expected this climb to last for atleast 90 minutes. But, to our surprise, we had made it to the muddy road in an hour. From here, it would just be a joyful walk down the path.

We reached Mr. Mahadev Nayak’s house at around 11 AM. Now, we had two options. We could either take a Maruthi Omni to Tolasani Road which was around 5 kms away or wait for the 3 PM bus here itself. Since we were quite exhausted, we thought of taking a pleasant bath in a stream nearby and then decide about it. We walked for about 2 kms to find a suitable and secluded place where we could bathe, shout and have a merry time. A dip in a fresh stream after an exhausting trip always felt soothing. By the time we could gather ourselves back to Nayaks’ place, it was around 1.30 PM. We just laid around, watched TV and had the left-over chapathis as lunch.

The bus to Honnavar was quite punctual and after bidding adieu to the Nayak family, we started our 1 hr journey to Honnavar.

Honnavar town was quite the same as any other coastal town. The first glimpse brought back memories of Wayanad and Kasargod. The same indigenous bricks used for houses, the cracked roads, the forbidding sun and the same family of bushes used as fences around the houses and roads. We quickly found our SRS travels office, dumped all our luggage there and took auto rickshaws to Saravathi Beach [also called Honnavar beach]. This was one of the prime attractions for me in this journey since I was completely mesmerized by some of the photos of this beach.

5 PM was a perfect time to reach this spectacular beach. The sand was unusually white and smooth unlike any other beaches that I had ever visited. The shores completely lacked any rocks, stones or seaweed washing up the shoreline. Except for some human litter and poop, the beach was really very clean. It was not at all crowded for such a beautiful place. After an hour on this beach, u never felt that u had just finished an exhausting trek!

This beach made a soothing end to the story. A few tender coconuts, boiled eggs, tea and snacks and off we went back to the town in autos. Though it was just around 2 km from town, no buses ply to the beach and the only way to get to the beach from town are the auto rickshaws or by walk. There is also a port nearby on the banks of Sharavathi river. Yes! Sharavathi river meets Arabian sea here and hence it is known as Saravathi beach. We could also use the ferry boats to cross the Sharavathi river to reach the beach. Something that I could do on my next visit.

It was around 8 PM and time for our dinner. We had heard that “Kamat Executive” or “Shiv Sagar” was good for veg and “Samrat” or “Samrat” was good for Non-veg. It was true. Our stomach full after 2 days, we happily boarded the 10 PM SRS Travels sleeper bus.

All in all, it was a perfect trek with dense forest, streams, rivers and waterfalls. The difficulty level is surely not “easy”. So, if anyone is thinking of starting trekking, better avoid this one since this might give a negative feeling about the treks because of its difficulty. A beautiful beach at the end of a tiring trek serves like a delicious dessert after a sumptuous meal.

Useful Info:

Mr. Mahadev Nayak – +919343971471