Treks and Travels

Visit to Kudremukh and Sringeri

2010-12-17T17:18:00.015+05:30

11-12 December 2010

Day 2:
Visit to Somavathi falls and Sringeri

The next day morning we went to the waterfalls nearby to the place whrere we had put up for the night (@ the guide’s place). Here Somavathi River makes a small plunge, thereby creating a small waterfall (known as Somavathi falls). Even though the weather was chilling cold in the morning, we decided to have some fun in the falls. We spent close to an hour splashing water around.
There is also a temple here dedicated to Lord Ganesh, which is considered very sacred to the villagers over here.

We then returned back to guide’s place, packed our luggage and were all set to return back to Bangalore after successful scaling of the peak. We started our journey back at 11 AM from Mullodi.
Since we had some time left in our hands we decided to visit Sringeri temple. In previous couple of trips we had planned for the visit but somehow things didn’t fall in place. We were hoping that we would be able to make it this time.
Sringeri is close to 60kms from Kudremukh.

Sringeri Introduction:
Sringeri is home to number of historic temples. Of these Sharadamba temple and Sri Vidyashankara temple are the prominent ones. According to legend, Adi Shankaracharya is said to have selected the site as the place to stay and teach his disciples. This is one of the four mutts which has been established by Adi Shankaracharya.

Even though the distance from Kudremukh to Sringeri was less, it took us close to 2 hrs to reach the destination. The road conditions are pretty bad especially after the SK border where one has to make a right turn.
We reached Sringeri at around 1:30pm. We were just in time for the temple would be closing by 2pm. We visited Sharadamba temple and Vidyashankara temple. Since it was Sunday the place was pretty crowded. We then had lunch at the temple, which is served as prasadam for every devotee.

This temple is located on the banks of river Tunga. One can see huge fishes in this river bank located close to the temple. People here flock to watch these fishes and also feed them with various foods. This place is declared fish sanctuary and hence nobody can fish in this water in the surrounding area.

After spending some time in the temple premises, we were all set to head back to Bangalore by 3:45pm. We reached Bangalore by midnight.
This turned out to be a good trip, given the various hiccups faced at the beginning of the trip.

Trek to Kudremukh

2010-12-17T14:43:00.031+05:30

Trek to Kudremukh peak:
11-12th December 2010

It’s been a long time since we were planning for a trek. The extended monsoon season had hampered our plans. We could still manage to do a small trek to Gangadikal, a small peak in Kudremukh range a month back. As the monsoon began to recede we decided to trek one of the tallest peak in Karnataka in fact the second largest, the Kudremukh peak.
The ground work required for the trek started well ahead. We had phone numbers of the forest department for enquiries regarding the trek and stay (had acquired the number during the last visit to Kudremukh). We also came across a person who actually arranges for the entire trek activity. After a discussion with him we decided to go ahead with the plan to trek on 11th December 2010. Many of my colleagues and friends were interested in this activity, and as usual at the end of the mail chain activity many of them pulled out. Finally five people geared up for the trek, which was quite a good number.
Due to the lesser number of participants the vehicle needed to be changed. As usual we contacted our person who arranges vehicles for our trips. However this time the vehicle arrangement turned disastrous and we were left stranded on previous evening of our trek. This was not a good sign for the trip to begin with. The vehicle didn’t turn up for some reason, hence had to arrange for an alternate one. Using our various contacts we finally managed to get one, providing a sigh of relief and ending the frustrations.

Background of the peak:

Kudremukh is a big mountain range that is spread across three district of Karnataka namely Chikmagalur, Dakshin Kannada and Shimoga. These mountain ranges have few of the tallest peaks of Karnataka, making it a trekker’s paradise. Owing to the Naxal Activity, the trekking in these ranges had been closed but was opened again for the nature enthusiasts in the recent years. All the trek routes that are available here have to be completed in a day. No camping is allowed in the national park.

The Trek:

Kudremukh peak is considered to be one the most beautiful range surrounded by huge valleys and greeneries all around. The peak resembles that of a horse head, hence the name Kudremukh (Kudre = horse and mukh = face in the native Kannada language). As per the information received from the guide we would require an average of four hours to climb the peak and another four hours to get down. We would require a minimum of eight hours to conquer the peak. As per our initial plan we had decided to leave early on Friday evening, so that we could reach early morning a start our trek. But the vehicle incidence hinted at toppling our plan, which was our reason for frustration and anger. The alternate vehicle arrangement ate up our precious time and we were finally able to start from Bangalore at 11pm. By now we had lost hope in starting the trek the next day early morning. To add to these problems was the sudden change in weather in Kudremukh, which resulted in few showers on Friday. Rains are not uncommon in these parts, as the monsoon would extend even after the season.
Due to monsoons the roads across Karnataka are indeed in a pretty bad shape. Going by our previous experience, we decided to go via NH 206 (Shimoga road) rather than NH 48 (Hassan road).

The route:
Bangalore – Tumkur –Gubbi – Arsikere – Kadur – Chikmagalur – Aldur – Baalehonnur – Kalasa –Baalegal –Mullodi village(start point of the trek)

We were surprised to have reached the destination at 7:45 am in the morning. All the credits should go to the driver, who after understanding the situation tried his level best to make us reach us on time.

The start point of the trek is at a village named Mullodi. Mullodi is at a distance of 18km from the Kalasa town. One has to travel a distance of 12kms towards Kudremukh from Kalasa to reach a place called Baalegal. One can see a hoarding besides the main road, indicating the start of the trek. From the main road one has to travel another 6kms by walk or can hire a jeep to reach the Mullodi village.

Once we reached Kalasa, we called up our guide Satish about our arrival. He had arranged for a jeep for our pickup from Baalegal to Mullodi. We were still skeptical about our trek plans, but the guide convinced us that it is still possible to complete the trek. We reached Mullodi at around 8:30am. The jeep ride takes about 30-40 minutes to reach Mullodi from the main road.
We freshened up and had breakfast at our guide’s place. We were all set to go by 9:45 am to conquer the peak. The guide had arranged for the afternoon lunch as well. We as usual had packed some snacks and fruits for the journey. The just ended monsoon season helped us in cutting down on the number of water bottles.

The previous experience of leech bites at Gangadikal peak was still fresh in our minds. The problem is not with their bites but rather the itching that continues for an extended period after the trek. I had come across some websites were people were using some kind of socks to prevent the bites. After some search on internet, finally was able to get the leech socks. We were curious to see if this really works on them. The guide also provided us with neem oil mixed with Tobacco powder, which need to be applied to our feet. This combination generates a pungent odor which helps check the leech bites. We decided to go ahead with both these combinations and give it a try.

All five of us along with Arun the guide, started out at 9:45 towards the peak. According to the guide the one way distance to the peak is close to 12km, which made it 24km for a round trip.
The initial part of the trek started off with small uphill and downhill climb, which was rather easy. Totally one would have to cross five streams on the way to the peak. Owing to the winter season, the water levels are easy to tackle.

After two kilometers into the trek one would reach a point called Ontimara (Lone Tree). As the name suggests this is a single tree that acts as a reference point as once sees it from higher elevation. The initial part of the trek is mainly through grasslands surrounded by the beautiful peaks and valleys. One has to cross couple of dense vegetation on the way in the initial phase of the journey. If one closely observes the pattern, these dense vegetations (cover of big evergreen trees and undergrowth, also known as Shola forests) and usually in places were one has to go through the valleys. This is a breeding place for the leeches waiting to pounce on humans and suck blood. One has to literally run through this area in order to lessen the number of leech bites. So far our combination for avoiding leech bites was successful.

We were mesmerized by the greenery and the beautiful valleys surrounding us. This would be one of the best experience one can get trekking the place.
The grasslands extended for the initial 4kms of the trek. The terrain was friendly enough and the energy level of the group was good. We took a break at a nearby stream to quench our thirst and replenish the energy. A few minutes’ walk from here one can come across a few tiled houses which belonged to Mr. Lobo, a priest who had stayed here long ago. Few years ago, when there were no restrictions on camping in the night in the forest, people used to use this house for overnight stay. The property is quite huge (close to 90 acres as per the guide and it is under litigation since the place was declared a sanctuary) and one can still see the remains of the plantations and paddy fields at this very location.

After this point the ascent to the peak begins. The altitude slowly picks up. The weather was good since it had rained the previous evening and the chillness was still in the air. One more team of two had started ahead of us. We caught up with them and then decided to climb together to the peak. Due to the recent monsoon activities one can come across lots of streams and waterfalls at different parts of the valley.

This was the first hill we had come across till now, and the ascent was quite steep. The peak opens up to big grassland, providing a spectacular view of the hidden valley. On a clear day one can actually see the Dakshin Kannada district.

From here onwards one need to cross few hills in order to reach the peak of Kudremukh. The initial part of the journey was slow due to photography session and slower pace. We needed to pick up the speed from here in order to make it to the peak at the earliest so that we can have enough daylight for our descent.
From now the pace of the climb had increased. We crossed many hills and Shola forests. At this juncture the peak showed up, generating eagerness in us to reach there. The peak looked so near, yet so far. We reached a stream on the way where we decided to take a short break to quench our thirst. The water over here was freezing cold.

Even though the peak looked so closer from the current position, there is no direct path leading to the peak. One has to climb the adjoining peaks in order to make it to the top. We were thinking of taking an alternate route to reach quickly, but the guide insisted on the normal route since I one shouldn’t miss the view of the entire valley on the way to the top. The entire valley opens up after a few minutes into the walk giving a spectacular view. This moment would definitely mask all the effort that we had put in to reach this very point.

On reaching slightly higher altitude one can see a waterfall falling right into a gorgeous valley below. This was indeed a very beautiful view to watch out for. After some discussions it was decided that we would have our lunch at the very beginning of the falls which we just came across. This waterfall starts as a small stream right in the middle of the Shola forest before plunging into the deep valley. The path leading to it was a very dense jungle. The jungle then opens up into an open space with a small lake at the corner, surrounded trees on all sides. It gives a feeling of being landed in an island. This is the place that one should never miss on the trail.

We reached the place at around 2pm, had tamarind rice packed by our guide. After a break of 45min we started our journey in pursuit of the peak. At this very place one would come across a ruined building, probably a guest house built during the British rule.

We were now near the vicinity of the peak. As usual in any trek the last mile would be the most treacherous one, which was no different here. Finally after crossing the final hurdle we were on top of the peak. We made it to the peak by 3pm. The dream of conquering this peak finally became a reality and one can see the joy on all us on being able to make it to the top without any incidents.

The view of the other side of the peak was indeed spectacular. It was denser and greener. It was a scary situation as the peak given an abrupt ending at one edge opening up a valley hundreds of feet below. The view was short lived since clouds started covering up the valley. We spent close to 30min before heading back.
It was already 3:30 pm and we wanted to be at the base of the hill before the night fall. Also at higher altitudes the weather can change abruptly. Our previous trekking in the very mountain range was a disaster owing to the sudden downpour making it difficult for us to descend. Fortunately the weather looked good and we were hoping that it would hold until we reach the base camp.
The numbers of breaks were reduced during the descent in order to meet the deadline of reaching below before the night fall. We made it to the bottom by around 6:30 pm, just before the night set in. The down climb was completed in about 3hours time.
This was indeed an exhilarating climb to the peak and returning back on the same day. We had covered close to 24km in a single day. The joy of successful completion cannot be described in words; one has to experience it to get a feel of it.
The weather is chilling cold in the evening during this part of the year. A hot bath was a must for freshening up and to tackle the weather.
The brightly lit camp fire to combat cold and a wonderful dinner put the curtains for the evening. There was more in store for us for the coming morning!!!

Trip to Coorg: Visit to Lesser Known Waterfalls - II

2010-08-20T11:01:00.027+05:30

Day 2:
Visit to Mallalli falls, Abbimatta Falls and Shivanasamudra:

We got up early morning and decided to trek to Mallali Falls. One of the main reasons to stay at this home stay was its nearness to the falls. The falls is located at a distance of 5km from our home stay. Even though there is a motorable road to the very end we decided to trek to the falls, as it has been a long time since we had done a trek.
There is also an alternate shorter path to the falls from the estate that we had put up but decided to take on the longer one as we didn’t have much activities planned for the day. The first two kilometers of the trek was a tar road after which one needs to take a deviation for the falls. This marks the beginning of the jeep tracks to the falls.
Finally we reached the falls after one hour of walk through the jeep tracks. The path leading to the falls is mainly downhill. There are boards all along the way indicating the ferocity of the falls and the presence of crocodiles in streams.

The falls is situated in a valley covered by dense vegetation on all sides. Of all the falls that I have visited in Karnataka it is one of the most beautiful falls that I have come across given its secluded location and the style of fall. The falls unveils itself in parts as one gets down to the valley. There are concrete steps till half way built by the tourism department to reach the bottom of the valley. The step sizes are quite big creating uneasiness rather than helping out to reach the bottom of the valley.

As we reached the bottom of the falls, we could feel the presence of water in the air making the breeze cooler. As we reached even closer we got drenched completely by the water droplets carried by breeze. It was like a fine spray of water sprayed from a hose. It was an amazing experience of being close to the falls and getting drenched. Due to the slippery rocks it is difficult to get close to the falls and not advisable to get into the water owing to the amount of water present in falls.
We were completely mesmerized by the experience. These are the moments that you enjoy from the journey and make you realize the beauty and treasures of Mother Nature. We then started our journey back from here after spending close to one hour at the falls.
There is a toll gate for the falls where one needs to pay Rs 5 per person as entrance fee. The guy at the toll gate was surprised to see us heading back from the falls. He enquired whether we had stayed back the previous night at the falls. It was strange for him to see people visiting this place so early in the morning. He distributed chocolates and make us realize that it was our Independence Day. We also bought some fruit juices from him. It was fruit juice with a mix of spices which I had never tasted before and was quite good. This also quenched our thirst for the remaining part of our walk.
It took us close to 3 hours for covering the falls. We got freshened up, had a heavy breakfast rather say it a brunch.
As per the initial plan we would be visiting another falls called Abbimatta falls which falls on the way to Somwarpet. After talking with the driver we decided to go ahead and visit the falls even though we were short of fuel in vehicle. Since it was going to be a downhill journey the fuel consumption would be less and hence we were able to cover this falls as well.

Abbimatta falls:

Abbimatta falls is located at a distance of 5-6km from Somwarpet on Pushpagiri road. It is situated close to the fields and owing to monsoon stream flowing right in front of it we were not able to get a closer look of it and also its been partially hidden behind the trees. A talk with the workers in the field suggested that there was no bridge across the stream to reach the falls but one can reach the top of the falls from a temple situated on the other side of the falls.
We usually carry a Tripod to such places for telephoto shots. Looking at these equipments the people working in the fields stopped their work, thinking we might be from press. Such situations have happened many times in our previous trips and now we are used to it.
This was the last activity planned for the day in Coorg. Since we had covered the places quite early we had the option of covering Shivanasamudra also but were not sure if we could reach there on time. We decided to take a call once we were close to Mysore.

The Driver was confident of making it to Shivanasamudra at 4:30 pm which I think was quite a nice time to reach. Things didn’t work out well as planned as we lost our way. The roads were asphalted, and this actually confused the driver who took a wrong diversion. Gautam has a GPS enabled phone, from which we realized we were heading in the wrong direction and also the driver seemed to have realised his mistake. We had lost our precious time and we were in a dilemma weather to head back to Bangalore or make an attempt to reach the falls before dusk.
We decided to head for Shivanasamudra. The roads leading to it were in god condition and finally we were able to reach the place at 5:30 pm.
Shivanasamudra is considered one among the biggest segmented waterfalls. It splits into two on its way resulting in two different waterfalls Gaganachukki and Bharachukki. Since it is a monsoon season we had expected lots of water in the falls but we were disappointed by the view. It was nothing like what I had seen from some of photographs recently posted on it.

We decided to visit Bharachukki as well which is situated at a distance of 13km from Gaganachukki.

The trip ended on a quiet note. We had our dinner at Malavalli and then headed back to Bangalore via Kanakapura road.
It was indeed a good trip given the amount of falls we had covered in two days.

Trip to Coorg: Visit to Lesser Known Waterfalls

2010-08-19T16:38:00.015+05:30

Aug 14 -15 2010

Day 1: Visit to Devarakolli and Devargundi Falls

The theme for the trip was Waterfalls. We decided to cover lesser known falls in and around Coorg. After some research on net we shortlisted few falls and chalked out an effective plan to cover most of them in two days.
We started from Bangalore at 4 AM in the morning in Qualis. Our first day plan was to cover the falls around Madikeri and then return to Somwarpet and cover few falls over here.
We took the route via Mysore.
Route:
Bangalore-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Hunsur-piriyapatna-Kushalnagar-suntikoppa-Madikeri.

Our plan was to cover Devarakolli falls, Kalyala falls and Devaragundi falls on the first day and if possible also visit Abbey falls and the second day would be to visit Mallali falls, Abbimatta falls. Initially the plan was to do the second day trip on first day but due to non availability of hotels in Madikeri the plan was switched (It was a government holiday on Saturday due to Nagarpanchami). This change in plan was a blessing in disguise because of the road conditions.

We reached Madikeri around 10 AM in the morning. Our first destination was Devarakolli falls. To reach Devarakolli falls one has to take the road leading to Mangalore from Madikeri via Sulya. Devarakolli is a small village located at a distance of approx 15km from Madikeri. This falls is on the main road which is mainly powered by rain water, hence available only in rainy season. The road is actually a downhill with pristine beauty of nature all the way. One could see rubber plantations on the way.

We spent close to half an hour enjoying the weather at the falls. We then proceeded towards Devarakolli village, where we stopped for some time for clicks. The pictures below would give an indication of what was in store for our cameras.

A talk with the villagers led us to a big stream. One needs to walk for about 10-15 min from the main road to reach this place (Landmark: A Mosque besides the main road in Devarakolli village)

This is apparently the Payaswini River which takes its birth near Madikeri and flows all the way to Arabian Sea via Kasargod. This river flows all along the road side for quite a distance. We came across couple of rest areas created on the banks of the river where one can take a break and relax.

Our next destination was to visit Kalyala falls which is approximately 10kms from Devarakolli village. After speaking to the locals over here on the feasibility of visiting both Kalyala and Devaragundi falls, we decided to drop our visit to Kalyala and headed towards Thodikana for Devaragundi falls.

Kalyala falls is located in the Koyanadu village on the way to Sulya from Madikeri. As one nears this village, the falls located in the midst of the forests becomes visible from the main road. After the deviation from the main road one has further travel 6kms and a kilometer by walk to reach the falls. The roads are narrow and it is preferable to travel by jeep for the last 6kms owing to the rainy season.

We proceeded towards Thodikana. Thodikana is approximately 25-30kms form Koyanadu. It is approx 50km from Madikeri. It is situated in Sulya taluk of Dakshina Kannada. It is also the border between the two districts Coorg and Dakshina Kannada.
The roads here are not in very good conditions owing to the monsoon season and hence one has to plan the day well in advance for the visit. The route is:

Madikeri –Devarakolli-Koyanadu-Sampaje-Kallagundi-Aranthodu-Thodikana.

We reached Thodikana at 1:15 PM. We visited Mallikarjuna temple (couldn’t go inside as the temple was closed). There are no hotels available here for food. We could get only tea and bun for our lunch.

Devaragundi falls is about 2.5kms from the temple. Initially one kilometer is approachable by road, but is advisable to go by walk as the roads are not in good conditions owing to the recent rains. After a kilometer into the walk one reaches a stream which needs to be crossed (no bridge though). After crossing the stream one would come across three houses to the right. After reaching the third house the owner would guide to the falls.

The falls is located inside the estate. One needs to cross a small stream inside the estate to reach the falls. The falls is about 30-35 feet in height. It is situated in a place where it is surrounded by trees in all directions providing an amazing view of the falls. The rocks here were quite slippery and one needs to be careful while stepping on these.

One might feel tempted to get into the water but it is advisable not to get into it owing to slippery rocks. Few of us experienced leech bites at this very place!!.
After resting for some time we headed back to the temple premises. This place is actually declared fish sanctuary and nobody is allowed to fish in the streams flowing over here.
A stream passes close to the temple where one can find lots of fishes. We took some packets of puffed rice for the fishes to feed. This place is called as Mathsyateertha.

As per the initial plan we would be camping in a home stay near Somwarpet. We started our journey back towards Somwarpet via Madikeri. We took a break near Sampaje on the way back as we were hungry, stopped by a small hotel and had some snacks.
Somwarpet is situated 40kms north of Madikeri. From Madikeri we needed to travel another 23kms to reach the home stay. It was 7:30 pm in the night when we reached Somwarpet. We called up the home stay people regarding our arrival. From Somwarpet one has to head in the direction of Pushpagiri hills to reach the home stay “Pushpagiri home stay”.
The route:
Somwarpet- Shanthalli (12kms) – Kundalli (4km) – Beedalli (7km)
Since the night had fallen it was difficult to commute on this road. This road would lead all the way to the base of Pushpagiri hills from where the trek to the peak starts. The way was covered by Mist/Clouds as one heads towards the foothills owing to gaining elevation resulting in poor visibility. Adding to this woe was the low fuel indication of the vehicle which started worrying us. Calculation showed that we could make just make it to our destination, but still the uncertainty still lingered in the minds. After consulting few people for directions, we managed to reach the destination by 8:30 pm with a few litres of fuel to spare just right enough for the return journey.

The Home stay was well maintained by the owner. It is a nice cozy house equipped for 10-12 people stay. The night was little cold. This indeed was a very remote place far away from the civilizations. The home stay was not powered electric power but by solar power, indicating the remoteness of the place. After a travel for almost 17 hours, the hosts provided us the much required dinner and a cozy bed to doze off for the rest of the night.

Visit to Chikmagalur - II

2010-08-03T17:47:00.022+05:30

July 24-25 2010
Day2:
Visit to Mullayangiri and Sitallayangiri

Our second day plan was to visit Mullayangiri, Sitallayangiri, Bababudangiri and manikyadhara falls. We started at around 9 AM in the morning towards Mullayangiri. It had rained in the early morning, but later the skies cleared giving a wonderful view of the valley. Fields on either sides of the road were covered with Potato saplings.

Once we started ascending the peak of Mullayangiri, it started drizzling. This was an indication of how the weather would be on top of the hill.
Mullayangiri is the highest peak in Karnataka. With a height of 6300 ft it stands as the tallest peak between the Himalayas and Nilgiris. Mullayangiri is one of favorite destination of trekkers. There are two temples situated on the top dedicated to Lord Shiva one at Mullayangiri top and another at Sitallayangiri, 2km before the top.

On the Peak (Entrance of Temple)

Nowadays there is strict vigilance from the police/forest department towards maintaining the cleanliness of the place. It is now a strictly no plastic area. There is very stringent checking done to the vehicles for any alcohol, which is strict no for this place. These steps would help in maintaining serenity of the place.
With the altitude increase, the weather started deteriorating with cloud covering the peak and it started raining rather heavily. To add to it was the strong breeze blowing across the hill. The visibility was very poor and one had to drive very carefully as the roads were very narrow, good enough for one vehicle. The place was not so crowded when we reached the peak. From here one needs to climb some 200+ steps to reach the temple.

Once we started climbing the steps, we were completely in the clouds and with strong breeze blowing across the hill. The winds were literally pushing us along the steps; such was the power of it. Reached the top of the hill and visited the temple after a struggle with the wind.
Just before reaching the top of the hill, one can come across a mantap with Nandi inside it. There is a path just besides it leading to the caves. It is believed that sages used to meditate here. This is on the leeward side of the hill, where there is absolute silence and no winds at all.

We spent some time over here and then headed towards Sitallayangiri (approx 2km from the peak downwards). There is a temple located over here, again dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was around 12:30 pm we reached here and took blessings from the lord.

The priest here can arrange for your lunch if you tell them in advance. The best option would be to reach Mullayangiri first and then Sitallayangiri (there would be enough time for them to prepare). We were lucky enough to get lunch without advance notice.

Our next place was to visit Bababudangiri and Bababudangiri. Unfortunately for us the weather was not good and also due to monsoons the caves over there were inaccessible and also the restoration work was going on for the shrine located on top of it. We decided to drop this plan and head towards Bangalore via Belur, Hassan. We thought of heading to Belur temple which would fall on our return journey path, but decided against it as everybody was tired and it would also delay our return time to Bangalore.

Though we couldn’t cover many places on second day, the whole trip was a fantastic experience in the monsoon season.

Visit to Chikmagalur

2010-08-03T17:39:00.035+05:30

June 24-25 2010
Day 1

Trip to Kemmangundi, Kalhatti falls, Hebbe Falls, Shanti Falls, Mullayangiri and Sitallayangiri

The week started off with the discussion of trip during the coming weekend. It was decided that we would be visiting Chikmagalur. We planned to visit Places around Kemmangundi and Mullayangiri. Even though it is a monsoon season, we wanted to get the feel of it.
As per the plan we decided to visit places around Kemmangundi on the first day and Mullayangiri on the second day. We enquired with the Karnataka Horticulture department for stay, but unfortunately couldn’t get the reservations for the same. The plans were switched.
We started off from Bangalore at 2 AM on the Saturday picking people from various locations. A chat with the driver suggested that we could retain our original plan, since there were lots of home stays available in and around Kemmangundi. Since it’s an off season, we would be taking a risk of heading towards Kemmangundi without any reservations for the stay.

We took the following route to reach Kemmangundi:
Bangalore-Tumkur-Gubbi-Tiptur-Arasikere-Kadur-Birur-Lingadahalli

After Tumkur one needs to take a deviation from NH-4 and join NH-206.The traffic on this highway was relatively less compared to others. The entire stretch of NH 206 is good. We stopped by at Kadur for Breakfast at around 8 AM in the morning. It was hard to find a restaurant in the early hours of the day in spite of it being a highway. We then proceeded towards Birur, where one has to take a deviation towards left which leads to Lingadahalli. The road condition starts to deteriorate once the deviation is taken at Lingadahalli.
This is the point where one can start getting the glimpses of the Kemmangundi. One can see cloud covered hills and valleys creating a very beautiful view. Since the advent of monsoons the entire landscape has turned green giving a soothing view to the eyes. Adding to it was the chilling weather with cool breeze blowing around, giving a sensational feeling. The difference in air quality is felt as soon as one enters the area. We stopped by to click some photographs of the same and then headed towards our destination Kemmangundi.

After Lingadahalli one has to turn left on SH57 and follow the sign boards of Karnataka Tourism. We came across few home stays on the way. After visit to couple of them we zeroed in on Rangers camp Home stay for the evening stay. It is located on the way to Kemmangundi at a place called Ballavara. It had a nice set up with rooms in the center of the 12 acre estate.
We then headed towards our first place of the day, the Kalhatti falls.

Kalhatti Falls:
Kalhatti falls is situated in a village called Kalhattipura. The water here cascades from 100+ meters above in front of the Veerabhadreshwara temple. Once can get a glimpse of this water fall from quite a distance before reaching this place.

One can see three elephants carved on the rocks right in front of the temple, over which the water falls. This falls is also known as Kalahasti falls owing to its fall on these sculpted elephants.

One can also trek to the top of the falls through the stone steps placed next to the falls to get picturesque view of the falls and the valley. Very often people come over here for a trek during the winter/early summer, climb the hill slopes and enjoy the panoramic view of the verdant valley.
As expected started drizzling and we were not sure about what was in store for us. After spending some time over here we decided to go towards Kemmangundi, the very top point of the hill, where one can get the entire view of the valley.
As we headed towards Kemmangundi the weather worsened with altitude resulting in poor visibility. The entire area was covered with clouds.

Kemmangundi:
Kemmangundi is at a distance of 10kms from Kalhatti falls. It is at this very point where Karnataka Horticulture Department guest house is located. From here one can visit Z-point, a view point show casing the beautiful valley. Shanti falls is located on the way to Z-point.
Since the current weather situation was bad we decided to have early lunch at the hotel situated in this place. The food here was good.
The weather in monsoon season over here is highly unpredictable and can change within no time. We decided to try our luck at the Z-point and Shanti falls as the skied had cleared a little bit. One can trek from the Karnataka Horticulture Department guest house to reach these points. It’s about 2-3kms trek. Vehicles can cover the first 1 km distance after which one needs to trek for another 45min or so to reach the point.

There was surprise waiting for us over there!!! . Owing to Monsoon season there were plenty of leeches on the way, which started attacking. We were mentally prepared for this !!. After 15min into the walk en route Z point we came across Shanti Falls.

Shanti Falls:
It’s a small water fall on the way to Z point. The water flows all the way from top of the hill, creating a spectacular view while falling into the valley below. The route all the way is very scenic with deep valleys on one side and hills cover on the other.

It started raining heavily all of a sudden and with no shelter around we made a decision of head back to our vehicle. The jackets didn’t provide much of a relief from rains. The decision of not heading to Z point was good since the weather deteriorated further with clouds engulfing the entire valley. We then decided to go to Hebbe Falls.

Hebbe Falls:
It is situated at a distance of 10kms from Karnataka Horticulture Department guest house. Only jeeps ply on these roads. Jeeps can go till the Khoday’s estate from where one has to walk for another 15-20 minutes to reach the falls.
The road leading to the falls is in very bad condition. In fact some stretch it must not be considered road at all. It just like hills leveled down with ditches all around. The rains have even more worsened the roads making a very bumpy ride that I have come across to any falls. To add to these woes the driver of this jeep was driving it as if it was a highway.
The area was completely engulfed by clouds all the way and the visibility was reduced to 2-3 feet. To make matters worse the Jeep didn’t even have a wiper. Only a skilled driver with familiarity of the locality can handle these situations.

As we were closing to the estate the jeep’s tyre gave away. We were approximately 1.5-2kms from the estate. We then decided to walk all the way, in the meanwhile the driver told he would fix the tyre and then pick us back. It was an amazing experience of walking through the coffee estate. It takes approximately 45min – 1 hour to reach the estate.

From the estate one has to cross three streams on the way to reach the falls. The paths become narrow due to the dense growth owing to monsoon. One could sense the falls from a distance owing to the breeze blowing across carrying the mist.
Surrounded by dense jungles, Hebbe fall gushes down from a height of 551 ft in two stages called Dodda Hebbe and chikka Hebbe. Owing to the cloud cover we could see only the former falls. The falls is broken down by a rock projection from the bottom creating a striking view.

We spent close to one hour at the falls taking some long exposure photographs. The Hebbe falls visit took around 4 hours. This ended the first day trip which was a good one considering the season of our visit.

2010-07-22T17:56:00.033+05:30

Trip to Dubare,Siddapura,Ammathi, Bhagamandala and Talakaveri:

Day2:

As per our initial plan we were supposed to cover three places i.e. Igguthappa temple, Nalknad palace and Chelvara falls in the first half of the day and then head back to Bangalore. The jeep arrived at 8 AM in the morning. After having breakfast we headed towards our first destination, the temple. We had to take the same route that we had travelled the previous night to reach the temple.
The route: Virajpet - Karada - Kakkabe

Igguthappa Temple

Igguthappa Temple is dedicated to lord Igguthappa (another name for Lord Subramanya). Igguthappa is the main deity of Kodavas, situated at Kakkabe small village near Virajpet. In Kodava language “Iggu” stands for Food and “Thappa” stands for provider.

The legend goes that Lord Subramanya appeared in the form of Lord Shiva at this very place and taught people about cultivation, living a selfless life and to pass on this to the coming generations. To commemorate this every year people celebrate the festival called Huthri, a crop harvest festival where people donate part of the produce to the Lord.
The devotees believe in the miracles by Lord Igguthappa, where one can ask for anything. Tulabhara, weighing oneself against fruits, sugar, coconuts, rice etc, is an important offering here.

Our next Destination was the Nalknad Palace

Nalknad Palace

Nalknad palace was built by Kodava King Dodda Viraraja in 1792 A.D. It is situated the foothill of Tadiyandamol, the highest peak of Kodagu (near Kakkabe village). It is a two storeyed building, supposed to be the summer palace of the Kodava kings.

The guard of the palace volunteered to take us around the palace. The palace mesmerizes everybody with its exquisite wall paintings, intricate wooden carvings. The palace has a Darbar hall on the first floor, but don’t be fascinated by the paintings on the roof since it was done by some film crew few years ago for their film shoot. At that time the palace was yet to be taken over for renovation by government.It is sad to see such a place being tampered for one’s personal benefit.

The guard also showed us around various rooms which were covered with exquisite paintings. Out of his own interest he had it covered with polythene so that it won’t be tampered with by the visitors.

He also showed us around the hiding place for the king, in case of any attack. It was a dark and a narrow passage which also leads to the entrance of the palace, but well hid.

Our next destination on list was the Chelavara falls:
The route: Virajpet - karada - Kadanga - Cheyyendane - Chelavara village

Chelavara Falls

Chelavara falls is one among the most beautiful waterfalls in Coorg, yet it is relatively unexplored. This is approximately 4km from the Cheyyendane village. The waterfall is a wonderful view, situated amidst the coffee plantation.

A walk for about 10min takes us to the bottom of the waterfall, which provides the spectacular view. One can also reach the top side of the falls and can get a spectacular view of the falls with lush greenery all around.

It took us almost 5 hours to cover all the three places and had to thank the rain god for having mercy on us J . It was a fantastic weather to visit these places, chilly in the morning when we started and remained cloudy all the way on our trip. We reached the hotel back at around 1 pm.
We decided to head back to Bangalore in a different way, i.e. via Nagarhole and visit Irpu falls on the way as we had enough time left on our hands. This was initially not part of our two day plan.
The route:
Virajpet - Gonikoppal - Ponnampet - Kutta - Srimangala

Irpu Falls
Irpu falls, which is around 45kms from Virajpet. The tributary of river Cauvery, the Lakshmana Tirtha River has its source in this falls. This fall is a major tourist attraction along with a pilgrim sight.
One has to walk along the guided path for about a 1 km from the temple at Irpu to reach the falls. It is located on the Brahmagiri range. The falls creates a spectacular view with water plunging down in three tiers of approx 60m height, creating deafening noise that could be heard from a distance.

According to a legend lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana passed along the Brahmagiri range. When lord Rama asked his brother to get some drinking water, Lakshmana shot an arrow at the Brahmagiri hills which started spurting water. This stream of water came to known as the Lakshmana Tirtha River. Due to this legend many pilgrims visit the Irpu Falls to wash off their sins.
There is a trekking route available over here where one can reach the peak of Brahmagiri hills. One has to contact the forest department for the arrangement.
We spent close to 1.5 hours here capturing some spectacular view of the falls.

To reach Bangalore we had to go via Nagarhole national Park and we had to be there before 6pm, since Karnataka government has imposed restriction for entry of vehicles after 6 pm for the safety of the wild life. We had to hurry as it was close to 4:00 pm and we were 25-30km away from the entrance of the national park. The road leading to the park is not that good. We reached the entrance at around 5pm.
The Nagarhole reserved forest stretches for a distance of about 45km. It is a treat for the eyes when travelling through this sanctuary, with greenery all around. Also during this part of the year (monsoon) the forest comes alive with greenery with sprouting grass alongside the road. This entire stretch is known to be the habitat for Asian Elephants.

We came across herds of barking deers and also few wild elephants crossing the road. At one place we were chased by the angry mother elephant, a warning to keep away from it!!!

We reached Bangalore at around 11pm troubled by rain all over from Mysore. It was indeed an exhausting but a wonderful trip experience in the monsoon season!!!

2010-07-22T13:48:00.031+05:30

July 10-11 2010

Trip to Dubare,Siddapura,Ammathi, Bhagamandala and Talakaveri:

Day 1:

After lots of Discussion and research on net it was decided that we would head to lesser explored places in Coorg. In two days time we decided to cover were Dubare Elephant camp, few places around Siddapura, Ammathi, Bhagamandala, Talakaveri, Chelavara falls, Nalknad palace and Igguthappa temple.
Four of us started from Bangalore early morning at 5 AM so that we can reach outskirts of Bangalore without encountering any city traffic. The route was to go via Hunsur. At around 8 AM we decided to have breakfast and as per our driver’s suggestion decided to have something different and hence stopped by Thatte Idli hotel near Bidadi. Many such hotels have sprung up on the way to Mysore.
As per the plan Our First Destination was to reach Golden temple but decided against it as it would reduce our chances of making it to Dubare before its closure time. We headed towards Dubare via Ranganthittu-Hunsur-Bylkuppe road. We reached Dubare at around 11-11:30 AM. We sensed something wrong as we couldn’t spot any elephants. When enquired we came to know that one of the elephants was sick and also since there were no elephant rides on this day they were let into the jungle pretty early.

Dubare is known for its elephant camp, situated on the banks of river Kaveri. It is this place where wild elephants are tamed and trained for Mysore Dussehra festival. Activities like river trekking, rafting, fishing etc can be done which is organized by Jungle Lodges.

We were quite disappointed with the result but spent some time over there going around the place. If one has to make it for all activities in Dubare one has to reach early morning around 9:30 AM. We then decided to head towards Siddapura. This is the start point of scenic route filled with greenery. The place is filled with coffee and pepper estate all along the way.

We reached Siddapura at around 1 pm and had lunch at an Udupi hotel. After enquiry with locals we decided to head towards Pollibetta (or pallibetta) where there is a Tata Coffee estate. We decided to try our luck there to go around the estate but were disappointed for not getting the permission. Only people with prior permission are allowed into the estate .This was the second disappointment of the day.
We then decided to head towards Virajpet via Ammathi, a small place on the way to Virajpet. It is a very scenic drive with greenery all around. We stopped by for few snaps of coffee plantations/paddy fields on the way.

We reached Virajpet at around 3 pm, and as we had not booked any hotels for the night, went around the city in search of it. We zeroed in on a decent hotel for the stay. We also enquired with the hotel people regarding our plans for the second day and after some discussion fixed our second day plan of visiting the Chelvara falls, Iggutappa temple and Nalknad palace. As we were not sure of the terrain of these places we decided to hire a jeep for Rs 1200 for the second day trip.
Since a lot of daylight was left we decided to head towards Bhagamandala and Talakaveri. To reach this one has to head towards Madikeri and take deviation near Moornadu.

Bhagamandala is a piligrim place situated on the upper stream of river Kaveri. At this place, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Kannike and the mythical Sujyoti river. It is considered sacred as a river confluence (sangama). It is common for pilgrims to take a dip at this place. This is considered to be a sacred place for Hindus.

We reached just in time at around 5:30 pm at Talakaveri, birth place of river Kaveri, situated on Brahmagiri hill. It’s around 8km for the Bhagamandala.

The temple here closes at 6pm. We visited the temple and the small pond which is believed to be the origin of river Kaveri. From here the river goes underground and emerges some distance away from this place.

After visiting the temple we headed towards the peak of Brahmagiri hill. The legend goes that Sage Agasthya meditated here on this very peak of Brahmagiri.

The weather here is highly unpredictable and also given the rainy season, it was also drizzling slightly. After experimenting with our cameras for few snaps we headed back to our car and decided to pay visit to Bhagandeshwara Temple at Bhagamandala. This was the time we encountered heavy rainfall, which cut down the visibility to a great extent.

In the meantime our driver enquired with the other drivers about the drive back to Virajpet. There was another way to Virajpet, often used by Buses to ply which meant that the road would be wide enough compared to the earlier route we took to reach Bhagamandala. This new route goes via karada.
The return journey towards Virajpet was pitch dark, raining and also filled with thunder sky. As part of our travel itinerary we have a GPS to keep track of our journey. The new route that we took was moving parallel to our initial route and we were quite excited about the meeting point. We were mislead a few times at few junctions owing to the dense vegetation and unavailability of road signs and had to return back. To add to this problem very few people were around to ask for the direction.
Finally reached a village named Kadanga at around 8pm, were we could see some civilization. We went around in search of hotels for dinner but couldn’t find any. We then decided to buy some snacks as a backup in case we come across the same situation in Virajpet where we would be heading to have dinner. When we reached there the entire city looked deserted and we lost hope in finding any hotel. In the end we were lucky enough to find one hotel. We finished our dinner and headed back to our hotel after a rather hectic travel of 16hours!!!

Trip to Sirsi Uttara Kannada

2010-02-24T16:47:00.000+05:30

20-22 Feb 2010
Day 2

Visit to Ancient city of Banavasi:

Banavasi is a small town near Sirsi (around 24km from Sirsi). It was the capital city during Kadamba’s rule. It has a rich history dating back to more than two thousand years. The main attraction in this city is the Madhukeshwara Temple built over many centuries by various dynasties including Kadamba, Hoysala and Chalukya. It is also believed that the temple is also built by the famous sculptor Amarashilpi Jakanachari .
Though the place is not a developed tourist place, we could still get some information from the priest over there (unfortunately lost the recording that I had done, but still remember some facts). The word Madhu means honey and since the Shiv Linga is in the color of honey the temple is called as Madhukeshwara temple.
Nestled deep in the forests of Western Ghats, this temple town is covered by Varada river on three sides. Its fertile soil grows rice, sugarcane, arecanut, spices and pineapple. Banavasi literally means the "inhabitant of the forest". It is claimed that this is oldest city next only to Varanasi.

The Shiva Linga of the Temple

Lord Vishnu with Dasavathara

The Garbha gudi (where the lord resides in the temple) is done in a very plain style with very little carvings on pillars and doors. The Triloka mantapa where the lord is offered puja reveals Chalukya influence. The Triloka mantapa is believed to be carved out of a single stone.

Triloka Mantapa

There is also a dancing hall in the front which was done during the Hoysala period. It has some exquisite carvings on pillars and on the ceiling which basically form the dancing hall. It hall has four pillars which is carved in such a way that it has mirror like finish. It is believed that this shiny surface acted as a miror so that many people could watch the dance performance which used to take place.

The Bell which hangs just outside the Garba Gudi has an unique feature, which when ringed the vibration lasts for a minute or more and one can hear as if somebody is chanting the word "OM".
These diverse forms in different parts of the temple amply prove that the temple has taken several centuries and contributions from many dynasties to reach its present shape.

There is also a stone cot (kallu Mancha) dedicated to the lord. It is also carved out of a single stone. The Triloka mantapa and Stone cot are the contributions of Sonda rulers.

Stone cot carved out of single rock

7 Foot tall Nandi Idol in front of Dancing Hall

Like in any other Lord Shiva temple there is a Nandi idol carved out of a single stone which stands in front of the lord 7 feet tall. There is an interesting fact about this Nandi idol. It is not facing the lord straight but slightly deviated towards the right since it is guarding two of them , with one eye watching the lord and with other watching Devi Parvathi. One can clearly view the right eye of Nandi from the Goddess Parvathi temple even through numerous pillars. Such is the genius of the sculptor.

View of Nandi from the adjacent Parvathi Temple

Another significant temple in the premises is that of Shantha narasimha portrayed with two hands (rather than the usual four hands). The unique feature of this idol is its eye opening which changes with the light intensity (its portraits wide open eyes in the dark and when bright it eye lids looks as if closing down)

There are many smaller idols of different deities, added from time to time in the renovated temple. A unique 'Ardha Ganapathi' which literally portrays vertically-half Lord Ganesha can be seen in the temple premises. It is beleived that the other half of it is located in Varanasi.

It also has Goddess Parvathi Devi, Lord Vishnu, Parashurama, Dhundiraj ganapathi idols, Astadikpalakaru statue etc. The famous five hooded Naga sculpture with the prakrit inscription of 2nd century was installed by princess Sivaskanda Nagashri when she got constructed a Vihara and tank as per the inscription in second century.

Banavasi also has the 75ft height Ratha (which is also the tallest in south India i guess).

Day 2 to be continued.....

2010-02-24T10:29:00.000+05:30

Trip to Sirsi Uttara Kannada

20-22 Feb 2010

– Day 1

In the mid of the week it was decided we would attend Guru’s marriage in Sirsi. This was an unexpected trip that was planned and we were left with two days to plan the entire trip and utilize it to the fullest. The marriage was on 22nd Feb 2010 but we decided to leave Bangalore on 19 Feb and go around visiting places in Sirsi for two days.
The ticket to Sirsi was booked with KSRTC bus for 19th Feb Friday night from Bangalore and the return journey on 22nd Feb night. We tried calling up few hotels in Sirsi for booking but was not successful. We took our chance and decided to reach Sirsi first and look for accommodation. We had few hotels in our prioritized list.
Five of us (myself, Miltan, Arjun, Vijay and Piyush) started from Bangalore and reached Sirsi on 20th Feb at around 7 AM in the morning. The weather was chilling with dense fog covering in the morning. We went around the place looking for lodges, finally zeroed in on Hotel Panchavati about 4km from the Sirsi, on the way to Yellapur SH63 road. It is a decent hotel to stay. The hotel being out of town provides a very calm environment to stay. It has an attached restaurant which serves pretty good food. Initially we thought of staying in hotel Madhuvan, which is right in the heart of the city but it was fully occupied at that time so was hotel Samrat.
We had hired a local vehicle to go around for our three day trip. It is a better option since one need not have to bother about the routes as these people are well versed with the routes and we can then plan accordingly the trip.

Yana:
We started out trip by 9 AM on Friday morning. Our first destination of the three day trip was Yana. We came to know that there are two approaches to Yana. The first one is through Devimane ghat on the way to kumta where one has to take deviation and the other one is through villages of Hegdekatte, Devanalli and Mattighatta (while driving from Sirsi towards kumta one has to take a deviation to the right to go to Hegdekatte road) . We took the second route, after covering over 35-40km we get a deviation to the left which goes towards Yana. This is also the last point for the people who come by village bus (as told by our taxi driver). This is junction where Vaddi ghat starts.
From this junction one has to travel approximately 3kms by vehicle and another 0.5km by walk to reach Yana. Few years back there was no road after the junction. One had to walk all the way to reach Yana. This place became famous after the release of film “Nammura Mandhara Huve “. This was the first Kannada movie which portrayed this structure for the people, until then very few people knew about this.

We reached Yana entrance by around 10:30 AM. After walking for about 0.5km we suddenly were faced by humungous rack structure of Yana. It was a beautiful structure to watch and hard to put in words. Two main majestic rock structures named Bhairava shikara and Chandika Shikara stands tall amidst the dense jungle. There are 61 structures of these kinds distributed across the jungle among which the two listed above are the prominent ones. These structures are not only famous for tourist visit but also a pilgrim center. Once in a year on Shivarathri festival, grand celebration happens over here. People for different parts come here to be on this auspicious day. There is a shivalinga inside the cave on which water trickles down, which people call it gangodbhava. There is a path through which one can come around the Bhairava shikara and get some good views of the rock formation.

It also has mythological significance. The story goes around the rakshas basmasura who was granted a boon by Lord Shiva to reduce anyone to ashes just by placing his hand on them. The boon backfired on Lord Shiva, who chose this place for hiding. Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a dancer and challenged him in a dance performance, during which he was dragged into placing his hands on his own head thereby reducing him to ashes hence saving Lord Shiva. Today people believe that the black colored soil spread across this place is in fact the left over ashes of the same Basmasura (was told by a senior person whom I met in Sirsi)

Vibhoothi Falls:

After talking to people in temple premises in Yana we decided to visit Vibhoothi falls which is about 7-8km from Yana. In order to reach this one has to go back to the intersection which led into Yana, take the other direction which leads to Vaddi Ghats. When approaching this falls one can see some civilization. The place name is Mabage. From here the falls is around 3kms. The last 1km has to be by walk and it takes around 20min to reach this falls.
This is a three step fall. People call it Vibhoothi since it flows through limestone and the water here is bright white. At the end of the falls once can go for a swim or take a bath as it forms a small pool before going down further for one more fall.

Unchalli Falls:

It is situated at a distance of 35km from Sirsi town. It is actually the river Aghanashini, tributary of Kali river which makes this spectacular falls. After travelling for around 15km from Sirsi crossing Ammenahalli village on the way, one has to take a left and have to travel another 20km to reach Unchalli falls. There is a billboard indicating the deviation to the falls. The tar road takes almost till the falls. The last half kilometer has to be done by walk to reach the view point.
It is spectacular falls given the time that we went here (its start of summer in Feb). The fall is quite beautiful with a very steep fall of more than 100mts. There are viewpoints created by tourism department to view the falls. There are few hundred steps to go near to the falls and two view points to view but be aware that these concrete steps won’t lead you till the bottom of the falls. It rather stops abruptly. If one wants to go till the bottom of the falls there is a different path that leads you there. Near the start point of the steps leading to view points, there are few concrete benches that have been put up for people to relax. Just behind these one can see a small path mud way that would lead till the bottom. It would be a one hour of walk to reach the bottom of the falls. Since we were not aware of this and also it was getting dark we decided not to go all the way till the bottom of the falls.
This fall is also known as Lushington falls named after a British collector who first discovered the falls. Locally it is also known as keppa joga (keppa = deaf) due to the immense noise it creates during its fall.
One would find a petty shop at the begining of pathway to falls where one can quench his thirst after the visit to falls. You might as well get some guides to take you all the way till the bottom of the falls but it would be normally during the month of Nov to January.

This ended the first day of our trip of Sirsi.

Ettina Bhuja and Ombattu Gudda Trek

2010-02-18T13:49:00.001+05:30

12-13 Feb 2010

It has been a long time since I had been on a trekking expedition, also due to some work commitments I had to drop out in the last minute to the OG trip that was planned few days back with my colleagues. Also since the last trek was unsuccessful attempt to conquer OG, we gave it a thought to take an alternate route which was rarely used by trekkers (with a help of guide though) and accomplish the target set previously. Shivarathri holiday gave us a good amount of time to plan our trek more comfortably.
A good amount of ground work was required to plan the trek. Thanks to the people who write about their travel these days which provided most of the information required for planning. The plan was to trek to the Ettina Bhuja peak on Friday morning, camp over night and then from there proceed towards Ombattu Gudda and return back to Hosakere via Lakshmi estate on Saturday evening and then head back to Bangalore on the same night so that we can have one more relaxing day.

Nine people started off on 11th Feb Night from Bangalore in a Temp Traveler and reached in the earlier hours to Shishila (at around 6:30 AM) a small village near the famous Dharmasthala temple. This was the start point of our trek. As per the prior arrangements we reached a Gokhale’s house who would provide us with the early morning breakfast and also the Chapathi as afternoon lunch. The guide who would be accompanying us came at around 8 AM with whom we started discussing about the plan for the next two days. Going by previous experiences we tried to keep the baggage weight to minimum but still the bags were pretty heavy J . Each one carried a sleeping bag, two litres of water, food enough for two days and carried three tents as a whole for the group.
After having a rather heavy breakfast we started off for the trek with chendappa, our guide. The start of trek is about 5-7km from Gokhale’s house and has to be reached by vehicle to reduce the trek time. We could see the glimpse of the peak which we were about to conquer. Everybody eagerly started taking snaps of it.

The trek started off with crossing the Kapila river and its tributary I guess, after which one would eventually lead into thick vegetation. This is the last water source of the trek until we reach the base of the peak where one would find one small stream just below the peak.

The beating of sun rays indicated that the summer has already set in. Even during this time of year the vegetation was thick enough protecting us from the sun. The path went all along the river for some time. The trail was almost flat over here and we could feel the elevation slowly building up as we moved further. In the initial first hour we covered lot of ground though some people lagged behind for taking photographs. Also we came across a small water falls on the way which was hidden from the trees and bushes.
On the trail one can come across variety of Mushrooms on the forest floor and also dead trees and dense canopies which would become excellent photographs. Many of us have captured some amazing snaps of these.

After more than two hours into trek we started deviating from the stream path and we could sense the elevation building up. The climb was slowly getting tougher and one could sense a fight between the body and the mind. It has been a long time since I had trekked and I could feel the initial resistance for the climb. The effect of city life style was showing up. We started taking breaks at regular intervals for catching our breath and the high humidity was taking toll on us.
The trail gained more altitude after two hours into trek and the vegetation was a mixture of grassland and Thick forests. After initial disappearance of the peak, now the peak was visible again but still was far away across the valley. We had crossed few hills in the process by now and walked along narrow ridges which in turn led us to another hill. They valleys were deep along the ridges and one had to be careful while moving along this path. We would take breaks in between to fulfill our thirst with water along with glucose for instant energy.

Finally after four hours into the trek we decided to take a break for lunch at around 1 pm. Everybody seemed to be hungry and we decided to stop at a place where we had last cover of trees. We could see a clear view of Ettina Bhuja now for where we stopped and it was still a question as to how one can reach its peak given the structure of it. It was impossible to imagine being on top of it (As per the guide one had to go around the peak and there is a way out to climb it)
We had covered three fourth of the distance till now as per the guide and remained with one fourth which could be covered in one more hour as per his estimation (which finally proved wrong for us though :-( , more details later)
The lunch was provided by Gokhale and it comprised of Chapathi and beans curry. Everybody enjoyed every bit of it and then decided to take a short nap for half an hour since not much distance had to be covered in the trail.
After a short nap we resumed our next phase of trek at around 2pm. The vegetation consisted mainly of tall grass and very sparing covered with trees. The temperature had reached its peak, sun god was showing no mercy and all of us were sweating profusely and unable to manage the heat. The task of reaching the base of peak looked daunting. The number of breaks increased because of the heat and we were soon running out of water and no tree shades as well. This was one of the toughest climb to the base and finally were able to make it after two long hours of walk. We reached there by about 4pm in the evening. We then threw our bags and ran towards the only water stream which lies below the base of Ettina Bhuja to refresh ourselves and relieve ourselves of thirst. The water source is not visible to anyone, only a person whose has an acquaintance with this place can point you out the exact location.

Weather plays a very important role in this part of the country which we initially underestimated for our trek. As one gains altitude the tress starts disappearing making way for only shrubs and grasses which makes it difficult to climb during this season (Feb – May) with sun continuously beating down.
Another half an hour climb was remaining to reach the top. Sunset time would be ideal to reach the top as one can see spectacular view of the whole mountain ranges as well as the beautiful sky created by sunset. Since we had enough time on our hands we decided to collect woods for the camp fire and start pitching the tents.

At 5pm we started climbing towards the peak of Ettina Bhuja. It was an immense climb (both mentally and physically given the experience that we had till now) of the steep elevation and an almost vertical climb at the very end of the climb (almost 30-40mtrs).

The experience of getting there was awesome and thrilling. It was a good experience to be there on the top and watch the sun setting. We spent close to one hour experimenting with our cameras. It was worth the climb and one shouldn’t miss this opportunity. The downhill climb was rather easier than thought while climbing up. We made it to the tents when it was neither too dark nor bright, rather call it dusk.

Myself and few others decided to freshen up with a nice bath, while rest of the group got busy with camp fire and dinner preparation. Having bath in the stream was a bone chilling experience but very refreshing.
The menu for the night was noodles with few vegetables. Sundaram and Debarshi had started cutting the vegetables for the recipe. We had carried a vessel to prepare the noodles and it was nice experience of cooking and eating right in the middle of a thick forest.

In the meanwhile we started discussing on plans for tomorrow with the guide. It was clear that the guide not exactly knew the path to the Ombattu Gudda from here but had a rough idea as to which direction that we need to head into. There were three options that we were left with to achieve our next target:
1. Head into the thick canopy right in front of Ettina Bhuja peak and climb up two hills adjoining to it which will eventually leads to Ombattu Gudda track.
2. Reach Bhairaveshwara temple and then enquire with the people over there for the shortest path for Ombattu Gudda.
3. Reach Lakshmi estate and then trace back the path to Ombattu Gudda.

The first option was ruled out since the route was never explored. We were hesitant to take this because of water/food issue. We were not in a condition to camp for second night since we were not prepared for it with respect to food.
Option two would be a longer path and option three was not much of a fun since we would be walking on a jeep track, a well defined path. After lots of discussion we decided that we would first reach Bhairaveshwara temple and then make our decision. After finishing off with Dinner everyone headed towards the bed, to get prepared mentally and physically for the next day activity. Camping in the night was a real good experience. All of a sudden, after nightfall the wind picked up speed and started hitting against our tents and was chilling cold followed by a light drizzle which in turn brought down the temperature making people to go inside their sleeping bags and sleep tight. Now and then I could hear strange noise in the background (maybe created by the blowing winds, or some wild animals’ roaming around). We had set the alarm for 5:45 AM but at this hour it was still dark and we were covered with clouds and the visibility was very poor so decided to wait till the day light pours in. Finally after a wait of 15-20 min it was good enough for us to come out of tents and enjoy the early morning breeze, sitting around camp fire which kept burning the whole night!!!! .
After finishing the early morning rituals, we got ready and were all set to go by 7:45 AM. The path to Bhairaveshwara temple was rather easy since we were going downhill and reached there in the next half hour. We came across farm lands and fences which was enough proof of civilization around and hoped we would meet somebody to get clarification on moving towards our destination Ombattu Gudda. Luckily we met a person as we were nearing Bhairaveshwara temple with whom we discussed the shortest route possible to reach Ombattu Gudda. The person told us that it would take around two hours to reach the top of the hill facing us, after which the OG range starts. We decided to head towards the peak facing us. We needed to climb the peak to reach our destination. We decided to cover as much distance as possible before it becomes really hot. We stopped at the foot of the hill near a stream at around 8:45 AM to have our breakfast and also fill water in the bottles as we were running short of it. We couldn’t find a flowing stream, hence decided to use a chlorine tablet to purify the water. The ascend to the peak was rather steep but the path was fully covered with trees which was good for us. Nearing the peak we had to literally make our way to the top as we hit some dead ends and finally were able to figure out the way to the top. We reached the top by around 10 AM and was a nice feeling to be on the top with the view of Ombattu Gudda diagonal to us, also the view of Deepadakallu to the left and Amedikallu peak behind us. The OG range had just begun and people were very relieved that they had made it till here.

We decided to move ahead and try to reach till the last peak of OG. We got down from the current peak to make the way towards the last peak of OG. The path below the peak was a jeep track which would lead us till the foothill of the mountain range. There is a Bungalow constructed by Lakshmi estate people for their workers and the owners. This forest range supposedly belongs to Khodays’s group.

The jeep track length was almost around 3km of walk. There was no shade on the way which was making us difficult to walk as the temperature was building up. Also our water resources were depleting. The guide had a contact number of the person who was working in the Bungalow and fortunately we had the network to call him up. As per the discussion with him we concluded that we were on the wrong trail and need to come back and take deviation to another path we had initially come across. This decision proved fatal as we were in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t know the next course of action.
After a long discussion we concluded that we would head back to Lakshmi estate since we didn’t have enough water for covering the peak. The Bungalow was the only source of water which we couldn’t find. We were not sure about how far the Lakshmi estate is going to be from the current point. We started out backward journey on the jeep track towards Lakshmi estate. Luckily for us a Jeep was heading towards the Lakshmi estate from the Bungalow. We enquired about the route and guess what?? We were actually on the right way towards the bungalow which unfortunately was too late for us to head back as we were half way back towards Lakshmi estate. It took another hour and a half for us to head back to Lakshmi estate. The distance between the bungalow and Lakshmi estate is about 8km.
We met some caretakers of the estate on reaching the estate at around 2pm. A surprise was waiting for all of us!!!!

We could hear the sound of flowing water indicating a water source nearby, maybe a stream. When enquired it turned out to be waterfalls right in the middle of their estate. All of us headed towards the falls to take a dip and get freshen up. It was a fantastic water fall to relax and end your long journey of two days in the wild. In the meanwhile the caretakers were busy preparing meals for us. The food was delicious. We finished our lunch at around 3:30pm
Our guide Chendappa who accompanied us all the way decided to head back to his village. We had accomplished our target of conquering the peaks. We thanked him for all his efforts that he had put to make sure everything was in place right from finding various water resources and finding the way out from unknown ranges.
Since we had asked our vehicle to pick us up at the estate entrance at around 5pm in the evening we had no choice but to wait since there were no mobile signals to call up the guy. Many of them decided to take some short nap. From Lakshmi estate once has to walk for around 2km to reach the main road. At about 4:15pm we were all set to head back to the entrance and reached there by 5:00pm. After a wait of 15min we could see our vehicle heading towards us. We all leaped with joy and started heading towards Bangalore.
This was indeed the best trek that I had done till now because the team was real good with no weak links (though Debarshi had some problems with the leg on the first day, he didn’t give up, that’s the spirit!!!), amazing experience of climbing the very top of Ettina Bhuja and so on. The plan for the next trek has already started. Hope everybody in this team would join again.

End of Successful Trek...

More blogs:

http://buzypi.in/2010/02/24/trek-to-ettina-bhuja-and-ombattu-gudda-the-experience/

For more photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buzypi/sets/72157623431045166/detail/

http://picasaweb.google.com/debarshi.ju/OG?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqYgO_Poa7nsQE#

Route Taken by us to reach Shishila and back to bangalore

View Directions to Indira Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India in a larger map