Treks and Travels: February 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Trip to Sirsi Uttara Kannada

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.....

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.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ettina Bhuja and Ombattu Gudda Trek

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.