Wednesday, November 26, 2025

https://sanitybrigade.blogspot.com/2022/02/sagara.html back up

 

Sagara is one of my favourite towns of Karnataka. Situated in Shimoga district and in the heart of Malnad, it's mostly famously know for the nearby Jog Falls and the Linganamakki Dam.

[This blogpost is work in progress and will be frequently updated].


Naming

It's local name has been Jambagaru ( Jamba = Proud, Gaaru = Rain ). The story behind the naming of this place goes thus:

A sage was once walking through Malnad. It was the monsoon season and he was observing the rain patterns - in present day Sagara, he felt that the rains were lashing with a certain style or pride and he named the place Jamba(Pride) Gaaru. As he progressed, he named other places similarly e.g., Kolachegaru, Bachhagaru etc.

History

To be filled.

Places of Interest

Sagara Town and Around

  1. Ikkeri Temple
  2. Ikkeri Fort
  3. Neenasam Theater
  4. Local shopping in Sagara town around the market/Marigudi area. Also try stuff at Jai Hind Bakery nearby, especially purchase the kashaya powder there
  5. Varadamoola - source of Varada river

Talaguppa-Jog-Sharavathy backwater Area

  1. Jog Falls
  2. Choorikatte helipad
  3. Honnemaradu backwaters - water sports and forest camping
  4. Linganamakki Backwaters
  5. Talakalale balancing reservoir and water sports 
  6. Dwimukhi Chamundeshwari Temple
  7. Vadanbyle Padmavathi Temple
  8. Siganduru temple
  9. Varadahally Sreedhara Swamy kshetra
  10. Varadamba temple
  11. Aranabailu Uddandeshwari temple
  12. Muppane Nature camp and Jetty point
  13.  Hamlets on the backwater
    • Kippadi
    • Hulidevarabana Jettypoint - provides some remarkable views of the backwaters
    • Hakre
  14. The old Hirebhaskara dam that becomes visible during the dry period.

Sharavathy WLS-Bhatkal Area 

  1. Muppane nature camp
  2. 1008 Bhagavan Parshvanatha Swamy Basadi off the state highway
  3. Gubbagodu Neminatha digambara swamy jain temple
  4. Hadageri Mahavishnu temple
  5. Badebagilu hanging bridge
  6. Bheemeshwara Temple and Waterfalls
  7. Channekkallu waterfalls
  8. Kanoor Fort (trek)

Sagara-Thirthahalli Area

  1. The ancient Jain settlement and temples of Huncha(Hombuja)

Sagara-Siddapura Area

Sagara-Soraba Area

  1. Heggodu Temples
  2. Anavatti temples
  3. Banavasi temple

Sagara-Shimoga Area

  1. The ancient gem of a village rich in culture, temples and flora - Hosagunda
  2. Tyavarekoppa tiger safari
  3. Savalanga temples ( diversion )

Sagara-Ripponpet/Hosanagara Area

 

Hosagunda - the name might not ring a bell but a visit there is sure to make it the experience of a lifetime.

History

Hosagunda was one of the capital cities of Shantara dyansty ( Shantharasa Dynasty ) and was ruled by them from around the ninth century to the thirteenth century. For some reason, the town was destroyed/lost and consumed by forests and vegetations post the downfall of the Hosagunda Dynasty.

The town began to be re-inhabited around the 1960s as a place for people displaced by  the Linganamakki Dam Construction.

Temples were getting discovered around 1996 in the area. Around 2001, a person by name Shri. C.M. Narayana Shastry bought farm land around Hosagunda. For some reasons, he went through a number of bitter spiritual experiences which made him consult astrologers and gurus leading to the rebuilding of all the lost temples that were discovered in and around the farm land - with support multiple mutts and institutions.

As part of the reconstruction, a number of havans and purifications were performed to rid the places of any long living bacteria or virus and help a renewed growth of Flora and Fauna.

Temples

The Umamaheshwara temple is the most important temple and was restored in 5 stages. It is built in Kalyana Chalukya Style.

 

   Pictures and videos below:

   The Adishesha

 

   The temple before and after restoration


   Umamaheshwara Temple




The Prasanna Narayana temple is a short drive into the wilderness of Hosagunda. One gets to see a lot of old trees and a famous Ganapekayi climber plant which is approximately 600 years old in the vicinity of the Prasanna Narayana temple. Stone inscriptions reveal that this was presented to the chief of the Hosagunda Army by King Baladeva when the army successfully conquered Belagutti and other areas.





The Kanchi Kalamma temple, which is motorable via a concrete road is the another famous temple. The temple is built in Kerala style and the murthy was recovered from a nearby hillock and reinstated.


 

There are a number of other small temples, inscription stones and interesting relics of the past that you can explore on your own will, but without venturing out too much from the paths - it's so easy to get lost.

The temples and the Goshala are a must visit.

The Hosagunda Utsava, a cultural festival is celebrated during Nov/December period for 3 days.

Flora and Fauna

The people around are extremely careful about disturbing or destroying anything that belongs to the forests due to the high spiritual power that still lingers in the lost lands around. The 600 acre area around the temples has been declared Devara Kaadu ( the forest of the Gods ). Do not picnic around or loiter without respect to the place - you might get into trouble.

While many trees are unmarked, a few are marked and called out - The intertwined Banyan+Jackfruit tree specimen, the 600 year old Ganapekayi climber near Prasanna Narayana temple and the 650 year old Mango Tree that is 7+ meters in girth are the standouts.

The parts around the temples and forests around are a nature lover's delight - huge old tree that are 700 years old, dense canopies and the flitting butterflies are all a great treat for a respectful nature lover.

 

The unique Jackfruit tree + Banyan tree symbiosis


 

How to reach 

Hosagunda is a short diversion from the Shimoga-Sagar road at about 10 kms before Sagara.

How to plan

The temples and the forests around are extremely sacred and treating it as a picnic spot may get you into trouble. Do not venture too much away from the kuccha or the concrete roads -  you will get lost easily. Keep atleast 2-3 hours for a leisurely visit - early mornings or around 8 am might be a good time. Similarly, starting around 3 PM and finishing by 5/530 PM would be good. The priests at the Uma Maheshwara temple would be great guides/explain the history and the places around a bit more.

Parting Shot

Hosagunda is a great spiritual, architectural and natural wonder - and is a gem that needs to be experienced and preserved for generations and generations to come!
 

 


Ganapekayi is a threatened species of climber plants. It's found in Africa and tropical Asia. However, it's not a highly noticeable plant in India. In Karnataka, it's limited to parts of the Western Ghats, especially Sagara and Siddapura Taluk. These climbers are parasitic, hugging big forest trees and thereby stunting the trees growth quite a bit. These live for hundreds of years. One of the oldest Ganapekayi climber may be seen at Hosagunda, Sagara Taluk, Shimoga, near the Veeranarayana temple -it is believed to be 600 years old and is massive. They are generally found in "old forests" - untouched areas of wilderness that also host centuries' old trees.

Given they live long, it's generally hard to spot their base/roots, you will have to traverse their entire body that would criss-cross in dense foliage and undergrowth - will be nothing short of a mini-adventure, what with the added experience of two-dozen leech bites. Locals too do not know much about this creeper despite it being present in their surroundings. My enquiries about it were met with much quizzical looks and amusement. It took a shepherd and a schoolboy to find us one such big creeper.

A unique feature of the creeper are the pods, picture above. The pods can grow to 4-5 feet; in Africa they are known to grow upto 6 feet or more. Typically in India, you would see them grow up to 3 feet. The one in the picture was just short of 3 feet. The pod is composed of smaller removable pieces (call it a sub pod if you like ) - they can all be detached from each other leaving an outer wiry frame. Each sub pod is home to a stone-hard seed, which resembles the face of Lord Ganesha - hence the name "Ganape Kaayi" or "Ganapekayi". The seeds are light, but unbelievably hard and produce a stony sound when struck.

The pods are extremely difficult to find in their full form, as frequently they are infested by red ants or get separated easily or drop down and rot or act as a medium for lichens once they fall to the ground. It takes quite some effort to spot a full pod that is still attached to the creeper usually. Further, the pods are produced only in November/December - so if you venture to find one outside of these months, Good Luck! If you get hold of a full pod, it will feel like a giant rattle with the hard seeds rattling when you shake the pod.

The seeds find various uses - as home remedies for illnesses such as jaundice, as narcotics that induce vivid dreams or purportedly even for Black Magic. They are also used to prepare a traditional dry curry in Malnad homes : the seeds are roasted(rather, burnt) and then hammered to get the white pulp out. The pulp is then boiled repeatedly ( 6 to 7 times ) and the water thrown away each time. Then, finally mixed with spices ( typically garam masala, salt and chilli powder) to prepare a dry curry.

Sadly, like so many things of the past, details about this plant are fading away into distant memory for everyone.

A part of one such old creeper can be seen below : would have been the size of a full-grown elephant's leg in girth.


We all travel to Kalasa so much, don't we? Yet there are so many details about this place that I have never looked at more closely. Let's start with a bit of history and the background stories a bit.

The Kalasa town is surrounded by Bhadra on three directions and wherever you go you are not far from Bhadra. A sunset picture to start :


The story of Kalasa

Varuna and Mitra, two rishi brothers,  chose the banks of Bhadra to do penance. As is usual, Indra and others were worried about what Varuna and Mitra would achieve if they completed their penance and the powers that they might acquire. They sent Urvashi to distract them and their penance broke. Enamored by her they emitted their veerya - sensing the birth of someone special that had the powers of the penance Indra and the Gods kept a "Kalasha" or a "Kumbha" to prevent it from falling onto the ground. This Kalasha / Kumbha acted as the womb for Agastya to be born. Therefore, Agastya is called "Kumbhodbava". At the same time Vashistha was born too being released from the curse of Nemi Chakravarti.

As Agastya was born, Shiva appeared before him and asked him what Agastya would want from him, to which Agastya requested that Shiva stay in that place as Kalaseshwara and Shiva accepted.

Much later, Shiva and Parvati were getting married at Kashi. The dwellers of the whole universe went to Kashi to witness the glory of the wedding. Agastya went too. Due to this move of population, the earth began losing it's control and Shiva asked Agastya to move back to Kalasa to counterbalance this. Needless to say, Agastya was disappointed that he could not witness this wedding - to which Shiva said that he will be able to witness it from wherever Agastya was and that there would be a nithya girija kalyana ( daily wedding ritual ). 

Now, day and night in the Gods' world ( Uttarayana and Dakshinayana ) together correspond to one year. In the human world, it corresponds to 1 year, split by the summer solstice. The wedding festival happens to this day, once a year at the Girijamba temple at Kalasa, typically 2 days after Deepavali.

With that intro about Kalasa, let's get into the Pancha theerthas of Kalasa which play an important role in the annual functions and pujas of Kalaseshwara. What I thought would be an easy find turned out to be quite a tough conquest ( I couldn't find one still ).

Notes : 

  • All theerthas fall on the right bank of Bhadra and should all be within 5 kms of the Kalaseshwara temple. We shall also see about other thirthas that are mistakenly thought of as part of this pancha theertha.
  • Some of these places can be dangerous when the Bhadra is in full flow, so take care
  • Some of these have a "Kshetra" temple nearby, we'll see what they are
  • Kalaseshwara procession stops at each of these theerthas during annual festival of the temple - so I would say a good time to visit these is along with the group to see what Pujas are performed
  • Many locals didn't know as many as 3 of these theerthas' locations - that's what prompted me to write this post to a large extent
  • I have provided the coordinates for all barring one or two , just copy and paste into your favorite map to navigate

The Pancha Theerthas in the order Bhadra flows through them

Bhandara Theertha or Kosha Theertha

This is the theertha that is the hardest to reach ( I didn't have the time ) as the approach road to this is covered with agricultural land. This theertha perhaps can be reached from the Bynekadu side ( Kalasa - Samse road ) more easily. If someone does get here and has the coordinates pls post in the comments section - I didn't have the time to get here on the last trip.

Story: Kosha theertha or Bhandaara theertha is where Kubera left wealth required for Shiva and Parvathi's wedding. Navanidhis were left at this place by Kubera on the orders of Shiva. Taking a bath here is believed to give the worldly / material benefits to the people taking bath.

Koti Theertha

This is also a little obscure place, but once you figure the place it's not hard to remember. When you head out of Kalasa town towards Abbukudige or Sooramane falls, the first thing you encounter is the Ilvaleshwara temple (established by sage Agasthya). Past the temple the overbridge ( for vehicular movement ) begins. Just before the bridge, stop on your left, get down and look around on the left side of the bridge where it starts, you will see some steps down which take you to a Shivalinga and Nandi - this is Koti Theertha.

Story : This is where crores of Gods and bhaktas that came to witness the wedding stood and therefore called - Koti (crore) theertha. The part of the river is called "Kotihole" or "Kotehole". Taking a bath here will absolve people of a crore sins.

Pictures

Shivalinga and Nandi at Koti theertha

 

 


View from Kotitheertha

 

Coordinates

Ilvaleshwara temple : 13.231285571359011, 75.34727321328705

Koti Theertha : 13.2298997,75.3468774

Rudra Theertha

Is the place where Gaalaba Maharshi did penance. You take the left after the Kalasa Venkataramana temple and go on the concrete road upto the Ganapati temple, park your car, walk into the banks  ( and into the river if you are going in a season where the river is full ), walk to the biggest boulder you see first. You will see a shivalinga, nandi and the markings of a feet - Rudrana paada or Rudrapaada. This is the exact Rudra Theertha. The place is as great as Gaya for doing Pindadaana etc. It is believed that the Kalasa temple is the head of the Aghoraroopa taken by Kalaseshwara and these markings of feet at Rudratheertha are the feet of the Aghoraroopa. It is also believed to be the place where the 11 rudras stood in penance to please Lord Shiva - the place where Shiva showed up and stood in front of these rudras is where we have the foot imprints. Be very careful - if you are going in the non dry months - you may not see the foot prints or not even make it that far if river is in full flow.

Pictures

Paada of Shiva at Rudratheertha

 

Shivalinga and Nandi at Rudratheertha



Coordinates

Rudratheertha/ Rudra paada:  13.237659,75.3443037

Ganapati Temple: 13.237813036030998, 75.34534975891641

Gopalakrishna temple : 13.237625048474722, 75.34635290509715

Venkataramana Temple : 13.238946180179411, 75.35062298185655

Amba Theertha

This place perhaps is the most beautiful of all the theerthas. The water flow is very heavy during even summer and therefore one has to be very careful when she enters the water. You get thousands of smooth river stones that look beautiful. There is a mantapa where Kalaseshwara sits during the annual festival.

Story : The place is known as the place where Parashurama took a dip to absolve himself of the sins of killing his mother ( interestingly there is also a similar story of Parashurama and Ramatheertha Bande behind Theerthahalli Rameshwara temple ). By taking a bath here one is supposed to be absolved of Matru Ninda. The place is known by other names like Matrika theertha. It is also associated another story where during a walk Parvati felt thirsty and Shiva created a pond by shooting his arrow.

Some distance away is where Shri Madhwacharya did penance and a miracle and you will see this place - Bheemana Bande and you will see inscriptions about Madhwacharya. There is a hanging foot bridge over Bhadra next to Bheemana Bande also called Bheemana Kallu.

Other places like Uppinakayi Kola and Seetheya Seragu are nearby too. There also is a lake when you shout 'Amba' a flower (Ranjada hoovu aka Bettada Tavare ) comes up.

Pictures

View from hanging bridge near Bheemanakallu


Mantapa at Ambatheertha


View from Ambatheertha


Coordinates

Bheemana Kallu/Bande : 13.241330406346796, 75.34107891142543

Hanging Bridge (a view from the bridge is as below) :  13.242447772937544, 75.33966970350174

Uppinakayai Kola : Unkown

Seetheya Seragu : Unkown

Amba Kola : Unknown

Amba theertha :  13.249271231711024, 75.34454440167666



Naga Theertha & Vashishtha Theertha

This is a little confusing. There are two theerthas here : the board at the temple lists both as separate theerthas ( in fact they are geographically ). However, by temple literature and pooja vidhana, Kalaseshwara sits at both places during the annual festival and so this confusion. The places are distinct, but together they constitute one theertha of the pancha theertha.

Nagatheertha is difficult to find. You have to go the Horanadu road a bit and a few kms before Horanadu there is a right turn ( ask for Nursery road or Bhadra Sasyakshetra road ) Go as far as you can on the concrete road, you will reach a place called Ganapati Katte, continue on mud road from her and there is a board pointing to the right for the nursery. At that point you take the left mud road that is narrow and goes through some undergrowth. You pass a home on the left, continue. Finally you can drive no more and there is an estate gate to the right. Park your vehicle there and walk in the same direction ( yes, it's a narrow footpath, with trees on either side completely alive with wildlife like wild boars etc, but they will all be hidden within the undergrowth - so exercise caution); keep walking until you reach the river, turn right and continue walking on the bank until you see some nagashilas painted in yellow. That's pretty much what you can see at the place. PS: Nagatheertha as it is marked on Google maps today is not correct - it is actually Rudratheertha.

Story : During Girija Kalyana Takshaka, Vasuki and other snakes were provided accommodation here and so the name. It provides absolution from Nagadosha/Pretadosha etc if you take a dip in the river here.

Pictures

View from Nagatheertha


Sarpakallu at Nagatheertha, this is where Kalaseshwara sits during fest
 

Vashishtha Theertha

You can see this place and the bridge from Nagatheertha, but you are better off approaching it from the Kalsaseshwara temple side. From the rear exit of Kalaseshwara temple take left and continue along the concrete road until you reach the river and the hanging bridge. Alternative road is to proceed along the road to Bangalore for a few meters and then take the left sharp U turn hairpin that will put you on the Vashishtha theertha road.

Below the bride is a few stairs that take you to the Vashishtha Theertha. You will see a Shivalinga and a pooja area.

Also nearby is a Vashishtha Ashrama/cave, Bhairava temple and Ganapati temple. The other attraction is the hanging footbridge that provides stunning views of the Bhadra. You can drive all the way to the ashrama/theertha.

Coordinates

Nagatheertha : Last drivable Point, you will have to start walking on the foot trail from here until the next point:  13.246746593021683, 75.36193889740109

Nagatheertha : From the path where you are already walking look for a trail that descends to your left at this point: 13.246844853171634, 75.3636222108926. From here walk towards the river, and on the river bed take a right and continue until you see huge rocks in the middle of the river to your left.

Nagatheertha (actual place ): Sarpashile/Endpoint, From teh above point take a few steps and you will be here: 13.24711954936754, 75.36249738390956 : this is where you find the sarpashila etc. This is the actual nagatheertha where Kalaseshwara sits during the annual festival.

Vashishtha Theertha / Ashrama :  13.240699363382754, 75.36526146910626

Hanging Bridge :  13.241595555338918, 75.36485109112083

Agastyarchita Ganapati Temple : 13.240579261661985, 75.36477196595658

Bhairava Temple : 13.237103466037757, 75.36353144426145



The outliers that are frequently thought of as a panchatheertha

The other Naga Neertha

This Nagatheertha is confused as one of the pancha theerthas : it is not. This is on the way to Sringeri from Kalasa via Kudremukha. This occurs on the right side of the road somewhere after Gangamoola Cross. The place is locked but you can see the deity from outside. The place obviously is ancient, but the temple appears relatively new. It's a beautiful place but now locked for the public. From one of the blogs  I read  a few years ago, I remember reading that these were resting places for people that traveled from Belthangady to Sringeri via foot through the forest.


 

Coordinates

Naga theertha : 13.254973198826864, 75.16187835196062

Ganga Theertha

When Shiva agreed to Agastya that nithya kalyana will take place at Kalasa, Parvati refused to go as there was no way to see Ganga at Kalasa. So at this point Ganga took an incarnation at Kalasa. Taking a dip here will give one the same benefits of dipping in the Ganga. The place also goes by a name Triveni Sangama.

Coordinates

Ganga Theertha : Unknown

Varaha Theertha

This again is a beautiful place for sarpa shilas and now currently out of bounds for the public. Perhaps is still accessible during the Kudremukh trek, but unsure.

Coordinates 

Varaha Theertha : Unknown

 

Tourist Attractions In and around Kalasa

In Kalasa

  • Panchatheertha - Bhandara theertha( kosha theertha ), Koti theertha, Rudra theertha, Amba Theertha, Naga-Vashishtha theertha and the little places around that I have mentioned above. You need a full day morning to evening at Kalasa to cover all these.
  • Ganga Theertha
  • Venkataramana temple 
  • Chennakeshava Temple
  • Girijamba Temple
  • Kalaseshwara temple ( separately don't miss buying the drumstick leaf thokku at the shop near the temple ) 
  • Bheemana Kallu and hanging bridge
  • Hanging bridge near Vashishtha theertha
  • Hebbale bridge
  • Duggappanayakana katte - Go on the Kalasa Magundi road for a kilometer, until you see a forest office board/park on the left. Stop your car there, take the entrace ticket and walk up inside to Katte to see a grand view of Kalasa. It is believed that there is a treasure hidden here that belonged to a local king and is guarded by a serpent. The forest dept is refurbishing the place at the time of writing and you may see some workers. Coordinates : 13.233501640870832, 75.36584082624657 if needed. However, you may not be able to navigate as Google maps maybe confusing. Just take the road that I mention.
  • Nemmakki-Bhadra Sangama (not drivable to the point, ask locals and walk )


Between Kottigehara and Kalasa

  • Kelaguru Teapoint and estates
  • Durgadahalli Kalabhairaveshwara temple  ( if you want to see the puja, go on Mondays only and in the morning around 8/9 AM ). Otherwise it's still a good place to see some Nayaka age shields and swords. This is off Sunkasale
  • Ranijhari and Ghatikallu view : Stunning views of the hills when you go up a little from the temple - either by foot (towards the fort ) or by a 4x4. This is off Sunkasale. Ranijhari is seen as the place where Chennabasava Nayaka's pregnant queen committed suiced from  ( for a vivid, dramatized version of the story, read the book Chennabasava Nayaka by Masti Venkatesh Iyengar -the book references Ballalarayana Durga, Ranijhari, Kalabhairava temple etc )
  • Ballalarayana Durga and Abbi falls : This is a day trek, and easily doable by a DIY plan or you can take someone as a guide from the nearby Durgadahalli ( this is off Sunkasale )
  • Mydaadi view point which provides a panoramic view of the Belthangady and Charmadi area ( this is near Marasanige )
  • Hemavati river source : This is off Javali. The temple was created by a maharshi Jaabaali and so the village of Javali derives it's name from the rishi. At this place is the source of Hemavati river and the Ganapati temple.

Near Samse

  • Yelaneeru Falls - Inside a private estate. You have to speak to the estate owners, pay the entry fee and they will take you to the falls. The falls derives from the place/village called Yelaneeru. Yelaneeru ghat is a well known place for many generations - as it faciliated a path from Belthangady to Samse/Kalasa. To this day a road exists ( doable by bike or 4WD ) until Didupe and from there you get jeeps to Belthangady ( it perhaps is a 20km journey overall from Samse to Belthangady and taking 45 minutes during non monsoons )
  • Didupe falls ( see above, but you cannot do on regular cars from Samse side )
  • Yelaneeru - Didupe - Belthangady drive on a 4WD
  • Gaaligandi - Take the roads up the estates ( the narrow road next to Forest Guest house Samse and within minutes you will be going up the estate roads ) to Gaaligandi view point from where you can see all of the area ( and remote view of Ballalarayana durga ). You will get lost easily in the turns and take someone along that knows the place. Normal cars wont to do in monsoons and also during summer you need a higher ground clearance for your vehicles
  • Ganapati temple - This is a popular tourist spot on the mainroad before Samse with a lot of people clicking selfies. Provides some great views of estates and the temple.
  • There are 3 ancient Jain basadis around Samse - worth a visit


Around Kudremukha-SK Border-Sringeri

  • Treks : Many treks start from the checkpost at Basrikal or from Bhagavaty.
  1. Kudremukh trek - you can seem some splendid grasslands, the erstwhile Lobo House ( which is not maintained anymore but was an important stopover until a few years ago, now in a state of disrepair ), Lobo's grave, then on the top, the remains of a church and a british Bungalow. There is also a trail from Belthangadi side from Navur-Sulyodi to Kudremukh. Earlier people used to ascend from Samse side and descend on Navur side ( which was steeper ), now I hear that there is no permission to descend via that side. Kadtikallu, Hirimaraguppe are zones on the Belthangady side of the hills, which is beautiful.
  2. Gangadikal trek
  3. Kurinjal trek
  • Bhagavathy Nature Camp - Beautiful place next to Kudremukha main road. Forest dept runs camps and just Safaris
  • Kudremukha town and Bhagavathy temple
  • Bhadra viewpoint near Kudremukha
  • Lakhya Dam ( out of bounds for the public )
  • Gangamoola ( the source of Netravati, Bhadra and Tunga, now out of bounds for the public )
  • Varaha Theertha - out of bounds for the public
  • Naga theertha - you can view this from the main road, locked/ out of bounds for the public
  • Hanumanagundi Falls - at SK border and now out of bounds for the public.
  • Kerekatte Orchidarium - this is after SK border and towards Sringeri

On the Horanadu side

  • The Adishaktyatmika Horanadu Annapoorneshwari temple
  • And from here Kyatanamakki hills. It's undulating hills best suited for sunrise and sunset. From the road it is a 2 km jeep ride with some ridiculous driving terrain only suited for the best of 4wd vehicles. Don't take your vehicles even if 4WD unless you have had a first hand look at the terrain. At the end of the drive, the vehicle has to be parked and you have to hike up gently over the hills to get to the sunset spot.  20 mins or so gentle walk. Jeeps can be hired from Horanadu or from the Kyatanamakki tea point on the main road
  • You can drive on all the way till Kogre-Shantrigrama if you enjoy bad roads and nature ( a few years from now this will act as a short route from Sringer i to Horanadu as opposed to the Basrikatte road, which even is being redone as I write )
  • Haluvalli Subramanya temple : This is on the Horanadu-Magundi road located at the village of Haluvalli

Other Places 

  • Abbakudige and Soormane Falls - The Soormane falls is located in the Abbakudige estate, next to the a home. An entry fee of 20 per head is collected. The falls is beautiful and is a small walk from the house ( house is driveable all the way to the house through a combination of pukka and kachcha roads ). Coordinates :   House(13.240382741596093, 75.3294022851327),  Soormane Falls(13.241195628269796, 75.32758372438411)
  • The Abbakudige estate itself is a super place to drive through - if you drive in March/April - it's spectacular to see the coffee blooms. 

Reference[1] : Skandapurana, Tungabhadra Kaanda

Reference[2] : Kalasa Temple books by Karnataka Datti Ilakhe

Reference[3] : My own local travel and interactions with older people of Kalasa town

 

Increasingly as Karnataka attracts tourists not just from outside the state but also from the cities in Karnataka, it is important to not lose track of history/tradition of the places. With mushrooming resorts and homestays, travel and stay have gotten comfortable, I urge everyone to speak more with locals to get a flavour of the local culture/history and tradistions. Increasingly though travel is aligning towards city-like activities of late : Karaoke Singing, Selfie-focused approach, Drinks and "fun" activities. Its not uncommon to go to a remote forest camp for some peace and still ending up with noisy/boisterous folks that make you feel like only they have paid for the place and not you, maybe I'm old-school.

This was a long awaited trip. Somehow didn't happen for three years after it was closed temporarily per the Supreme Court order in Aug 2012.

But it did happen this year, due to a wedding at Coimbatore. We just extended that to a mini vacation.

Visited in September 2015.

Day 1 : Bangalore - Annur - Coimbatore. Stay at Le Grande across Crosscut Road.
Day 2 : Coimbatore - Marudamalai Pollachi - Anamalai - Vettaikkaran Pudur - Sethumadai. Stay at Tiger Hills Resort
Day 3 : Sethumadai - Topslip - Parambikulam. Stay at Honeycomb complex
Day 4 : Parambikulam - Dhalli - Tirumoorthy falls/temple - Udumalapettai - Palladam - Tiruppur - Oottukuli - Tiruchengode - Ariyanur - Salem. Stay at AMR Evvergreen
Day 5 : Salem - Bangalore

Day 1
Started late around 12 Noon after brunch at A2B. Reached Annur at 5.30 PM after taking diversion from Avinashi. Had an evening snack at Ananda Bhavan Veg at Annur. Headed for a wedding at Ganeshapuram. For the night, headed to Le Grande at Coimbatore for crashing.

Day 2
Had breakfast at Le Grande, and headed to Marudamalai. After visiting Marudamalai, returned to Coimbatore, ate best meals at Annapurna ( it seems the sambar is a big hit ) at RS Puram. Started  to Pollachi and then to Sethumadai. Some of the most beautiful roads and nicest people. Stayed at Tiger Hills resort at the foot hills of Tiger hills. Resort was good with great views. Always wanted to stay at Sethumadai, so that we could head really quick to the Sethumadai checkpost in the morning.

Day 3
Started to Parambikulam. First checkpost at Sethumadai opens at around 7/7.30 AM. Next comes Topslip. It's called Topslip because of timber/logs being rolled down from the top of the hillock as part of timber operations, I was told. After that, is the second checkpost at Anappadi, this is Kerala side. You have to register yourself and move on. Next is the information centre. Here you have to leave your vehicles if you don't have an accommodation booked. You can take the safari from here. You can also take the TN safari at Topslip. If you have an accommodation at Parambikulam, then your guide will get into your vehicle here. Your guide will remain with you through the trip. Accommodation has to be booked via phone, the number is listed at Parambikulam.org.

There are 3 dams in this area : Tunakkadavu ( which you can see from the roadside ), Peruverippallam ( which you are not permitted to unless you are staying on the Island ) and the biggest, Parambikulam Dam.

Our guide, Shivan got in and started explaining the plan etc. Lots of peacocks and monkeys by the roadside. Due to long weekend, we saw that the crowd was very heavy, but most of them were day trippers / no staying overnight. We crossed the Sarkarpathy Tunnel junction, Tunakkadavu dam and backwater, Tunkkadavu tree house, the valley view point and eventually reached Parambikulam Village, where we stayed in the Honeycomb lodge complex.

For the afternoon, we went on a Safari ( our vehicle with guide ) all the way till Kannimara teak and then towards the Tunaccadavu backwater. Excelling sightseeing when returning - Gaurs just by the roadside and Nilgiri Langoors.  The folks staying in Tented Niche get to take the Dusk Ride back to the tent, which is around 6.30 PM, so even a better chance of sighting wildlife. For the rest, you have to get back to your accommodation by 6 PM due to increased wildlife activity. Evening we went for the tribal dance program, which was worth it.

The Tented Niche is the best deal if you like the wilderness/stay in wilderness I was told. The Honeycomb complex felt safer with kids in tow. I was mighty impressed with the Thunkkadavu Treetop house as well.

Day 4
A trek to Sarkarpathy tunnel road guaranteed Elephant sighting, the guide said. We passed up the option as we couldn't do that with the child. Instead, we went for the boat-ride on the Parambikulam backwater. The drive to the boating point is an experience in itself. You get to park the vehicle at the edge of the backwater! Note that you should go early if you dont' want to get stuck behind crowd for your turn. Most beautiful views from the dam backwater, excellent views of the Karimalai peak, which is the tallest peak in the range. From there we went to the Parambikulam Dam. Again, excellent views.

From there, we started around 10 AM, and drove towards towards Sethumadai, Vettaikkaran Pudur and from there to Dhalli and to Thirumoorthy temple. The Thirumoorthy temple in Udumalaipettai taluka of Tiruppur district is famous for the Thirumoorthy ( Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva ) temple : the main idol is on the on rock boulder and is believed to be very old.

From there we climbed up the steep path upto the Thirumoorthy falls, which was running thin. It wasn't worth it. From there we got down, drove towards Udumalai - you will get to see the Thirumoorthy dam and backwater on the roadside, which is a stunning blue on a sunny day.

From there we went to Udumalai, had lunch at Ramesh café ( excellent meals ) near the bus stand. There are other good restaurants too in the area ( Palani road/Udumalai Bus stand ). From there we drove fast so as to get to Tiruchengode temple. Despite our best attempt, we couldn't make it in time for the temple at Tiruchengode ( which is where Kannagi is supposed to have ascended to Heaven ). But due to the temple located on a hill, entry to the ghat road closes by 6 PM. So if you are going, make sure you get there at the entrance of the temple ghat road by 4 PM. From there we went via the internal road through Attayampatti and exited on to NH47 near Ariyanur and from there headed to Salem.

Stayed at AMR Evvergreen at Salem, which is our regular hotel.

Day 5

A 2.5 hour drive Bangalore.  The best trip in a while.




















Here's a picture of Kinnaur Kailash aka Kinner Kailash peaks from Rupin Pass


Koladevi is a village near Mulbagal Town of Kolar district, famous for it's temple with Lord Garuda as the primary deity.

The temple has multiple connections with mythology.  This place is where Rama found a dying Jatayu and cremated him after Jatayu's death. For those that know the story of Lepakshi, this might come as slightly contradictory/controversial. I'm not sure myself as to which of the two stories ( that is, if Rama found a dying Jatayu in Lepakshi or Koladevi ).

The temple is believed to have been consecrated by Shri Madhvacharya and is the only temple to be dedicated to Lord Garuda. It is believed that childless couple beget children, people are cured of their skin diseases or Sarpadosha by visiting this temple. Lord Garuda is seen to be holding Sri Narayana in one hand and Sri Lakshmi on the other here.

Also, in the Dwapara Yuga, an arrow shot by Arjuna burned down a forest and with it, a snake's young one. The furious snake cursed Arjuna and he had to redeem  himself by worshipping Garuda in this place.

The temple is located at a short drive of about 40 minutes or 23 kms from Mulbagal town. When you enter the town road of Mulbagal from NH 4, after driving for 2 kms or so, you will see a board to NH 234/Srinivasapur. Take that road and follow the signboards from there. Take right at Mudiyanuru to get to Koladevi.


Kurudumale is a village near Mulabagal of Kolar district famous for the Vijayanagara era Ganesha temple and Chola era Someshwara, Kshmadamba and Nateshwara temple. Located at a drive of 15-20 minutes from Mulabagilu aka Mulbagal ( 11 Kms ), the temples attract visitors all around the year.

Ganesha Temple
The temples are located at the base of a small hillock, from which the "Male" ( Maley ) , meaning hill, part of the name is derived. The original name of the place was "Koodumale"( ಕೂಡುಮಲೆ ). Koodu = join/together. It is believed that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva got together to worship Ganesha at this place in the Krita Yuga. So, it's believed that Ganesha is being worshipped for four yugas here.

The temple, was however, built by Sri Krishna Devaraya during his reign after he heard of the importance of the place. The idol is made of Saligrama shila. The imposing Ganesha idol is a sight to behold. The quirk of the temple is that there is no Gopuram.

Temple timings : 7 AM to 1 PM. 3 PM to 7 PM. Abhishekam time : 8 AM. Temple may be open for extended hours in the afternoon on days of festival etc.



Someshwara and Kshamadamba temple

The Someshwara idol was consecrated by Shri Kaundinya maharshi and the temple was constructed under the supervision of ace sculptor Amarashilpi Dakanachari during the Chola era. The temple is 1300 years old. Intricate soapstone carvings and more idols inside the temple are noteworthy.

The Kshamadamba temple, the lord's consort's temple is located behind the main temple.




Nateshwara temple

Located behind the Kshamadamba temple, in a somewhat cordoned off area is the Nateshwara temple. It is believed that the idol was desecrated by thieves many years ago. The idol was moved by the thieves in a bid to hunt valuables. Since then, it is believed that the temple was not worship-worthy and has been lying abandoned. No doors exist to the temple. There is a new initiative to re-consecrate this temple to start pooja again.



Other details

1) There is a govt run tourist guest house at Kurudumale
2) Kolar inter-town tourist buses have Kurudumale on their circuit.
3) Frequent buses ply from Mulbagal ( every 45 mins - 1 hour ). First bus is at 7 AM from Mulbagal.

 
Seeing an apple tree was a childhood dream. Finally when I got to see one ( nay, many and totally fruit-laden ) - it was such a memorable moment.

It was at Jhaka, a high-altitude hamlet in Himachal - it rained and stopped and the droplets dripped off the trees and apples.

Recently had a chance to visit Shimla. Reminded us a lot of Ooty.

Food  Lots of options on Mall road and otherwise too. Here's what we tried, and liked
  • Dawat, Shimla Dhalli : Small but well located restaurant en route to Mashobra. Good views from the restaurant and excellent food!
  • Guptajee's Bhojanalya, Mall road, Shimla : Excellent vegetarian fare!
  • Hideout Café : Excellent continental breakfast! Mediterranean omlettes, sandwiches, pancakes with honey, pasta... Unbeatable taste!
  • Café Simla Times : A somewhat upmarket place - bar, restaurant and bakery. We had our dinner here. Highly recommended.
  • Mehru's sweets, lower mall road, try the pethas!
 Shopping

Lots of options on upper and lower mall roads. Here are the shops we tried and recommend
  • Himachal Khadi Ashram, Mall road - good place to buy woolen clothes
  • Saahiba, Mall road
  • Lakkad bazaar, Shimla

Sightseeing

We visited and thoroughly enjoyed the following
  • Sankat Mochan temple
  • Prospect hill + Kamna devi temple
  • Jakhu temple, where Hanuman rested for a while when getting Sanjeevini
  • Kufri top and zoo
  • Bird park ( was under maintenance, but we spotted some birds from outside )
  • Mashobra valley ( we heard it is an awesome sight during winters )
  • Apple Research Centre at Craignano
  • Naldehra picnic spot/Golf course. We did horse riding to see the Mahu Nag temple and Shally Tibba
  • The state museum : Absolutely worth it, spend atleast an hour
  • The Viceregal Lodge : Spend atleast an hour here, especially walking around the lawns and the backyard
We couldn't visit Tattapani, the thermal springs spot.











The timeless chariot of the Vittala Temple                                                                                       
 

Kumaraswamy Temple, also known as Karthikeshwar, is a Chalukya age ( 1200 years old ) temple dedicated to Lord Subramanya located about 30 mins from Sandur. In the same premise is also another shrine dedicated Parvati, and is supposed to be older than the Subramanya temple.

There are also two smaller shrines dedicated to Gante Mallappa and Naganatheshwara.

The place is associated with the Krauncha Dharana episode in Hindu Mythology as well as the coronation of Lord Subramanya as the divine commander of the gods.  The places around this temple are associated with a number of other different stories from Hindu Mythology and so, assumes even more significance. The places around Sandur and Karthikeshwara have numerous references in Skanda Purana.

Located in the verdant hills of the Swamimalai range, the drive up the hill is exhilarating with stunning views of the valley below. The temple is open from 6 AM to 8 PM with closure of about 1-1.5 hours from Noon. Temple may offer basic accommodation and food with prior intimation.

There are other places to visit nearby, but you may need guidance : Bheema Theertha, Bhairava Theertha, Durga Theertha etc.

Do not miss visiting the Hari Shankara temple a few kms before the Kumaraswamy temple when traveling from Sandur. Located just off one of the hairpin bends, the temple is nestled amongst thick greenery. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, and legend has it that Sri Vishnu himself worshipped Shiva at this place after Madana was burnt by Shiva. The temple also has a spring, which is supposed to have been created by Vishnu with his mace, and so, called Gada Theertha.

Place is accessible from Sandur; own transport preferred, though infrequently, buses operate to Devagiri ( beyond Karthikeshwar ) and you can get down at Karthikeshwara.






Narihalla ( ನಾರಿ ಹಳ್ಳ  ) is a stream and at the place a dam is built on it, there is a reservoir/backwater by the same name. The reservoir is located at Taranagar, on the Sandur - Toranagallu road. Narihalla is a tributary of the much bigger Tungabhadra.

It offers stunning views of landscape - which consists of huge rocks/boulders that peep out of water - the formations of the rocks are dramatic, making for awesome views. The area was made famous in the movie Manasa Sarovara, directed by Late Shri Puttanna Kanagal. The road has high vehicular traffic, especially trucks, so be safe.

There is a boating point ( country raft ) - with signboards. If you don't see the boat or the boatsman, never mind, just take in the views from the road-side. Water is accessible at one or two points along the highway.

There is an undescribable aura and mysticism about the place that leaves you totally stunned. If you are in Hospet, drive down towards Sandur, and about 6 kms before Sandur town take a left and continue till you join the SH-40 again : within five minutes of joining the SH40 you will be at the edge of the beautiful reservoir.

Best visited during / after rains. July onwards. September is the best time to visit.  The nearby town, Sandur itself has a number of interesting and offbeat attractions.

Other attractions in and around Sandur include

  • Gandi Narasimha Temple
  • Kumaraswamy temple Kartikeshwara
  • Harishankara Temple ( visited by HH Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswati ) 
  • Naveeluswamy Temple ( where Subramanya is seated on a peacock ) - this place is not reachable by cars - you need a short hike or a motorbike.
  • A number of sacred theerthas located around the mines close to the Kumaraswamy temple :  each one has a mythological/historical connect.
  • The Shiva Vilas Palace ( it's now a hotel )









 

This was a bus trip where I joined a few friends for just one day ( they were traveling around Ganeshgudi for four days )

Took a bus to Dharwad and from there, a bus to Ganeshgudi. Wolfed down food at the Old Magazine house and we got going in no time. Went to Yellapur - just before Yellapur, there was a garage with a few taxis parked and we decided to take a cab (Rs. 1100) from there to Satoddi falls. (We parked our car at the garage, as we weren't sure if the car could do the last 5-6 kms alright, which was going to be bad )

Once on the Satoddi road, there is a fork, the right one goes to Bisagod Mines while the left one to Satoddi. Keep left at all forks from here ( there are boards pointing to the falls ).  The biggest village on the road is Dehalli ( The Gram Panchayat limit extends all the way till Satoddi falls :) )

No fuel station anywhere. Best bet is Yellapura, pack food ( although there is a little hotel at Satoddi ) and enough fuel from there. At Shivapura, I was told that the Ulavi was closeby - you could use a self-navigated "theppa" or raft and cross teh river, from where Ulavi was 20Km, I was told.

Sure enough, the last 6 Kms are bad, very patchy and broken. The Indica managed to do it just about OK ( Swift could do too if you plan to drive, and so would many other cars, though you have drive carefully ) - it was not unmotorable-bad.

The car has to halt a KM away from the falls - you have to pay Rs.30 as entry fee. From there you walk ( flat terrain, but narrow winding path, that could be slightly hard to trace with heavy monsoons ). The path ends in a lot of boulders, many of which will be submerged in monsoons.  From there, you can get a good view of the falls ( this is where the trip stops for many ).

However, if you need to get to the base of the falls ( impossible in the rainy season and still very hard and tricky during non monsoons as well ), you need to do some decent rock jumping/stream wading.
We went in Feb, so we could hop, jump, do some tricks over the boulders ( very hard if you are not fit ) and wading through hip-high water and eventually got to the the base of the waterfall. There are whirlpools ( esp during rainy seasons ) and one shoudl be careful.

Finally, when we reached the base, the feeling of just laying on the rock and letting the waterfall spray cool you is indescribable.

While coming back we stopped at the Kodasalli backwater, with an amazing view.









 

Recently, had a chance to visit Veeranam also known as Veeranarayanapuram Lake in Cuddalore District. I have never seen such a vast expanse of fresh water ( OK, let's leave out Vembanad Lake ).

After visiting the Kaattumannar Koil ( Veeranarayana Perumal Temple ) in Kattumannar Koil temple, we started driving along the SH from Kaattumannar Koil to Sethiyathope, and it was a memorable drive. The lake extends along the entire 15-16 KM stretch; one of the most beautiful drives I have had in the recent times. Early morning mist added to the beauty.

 
 

Gondimalla is a village near Alampur, Mahboobnagar District, Telengana, mostly known for the Krishna and Tungabhadra river confluence. If you are visiting Hyderabad from Bangalore side or are visiting Kurnool, it's worth the little extra distance. Take a right off the highway just after Kurnool and take the road to Alampur. Visit the Jogulamba temple ( one of the Maha Shakti Peethas ) and the Balabrahmeshwara temple complex ( all the Navabrahma temples ). Don't miss seeing the Tungabhadra in full flow from the edge of the temple complex ( you need to climb up a dozen and half steps to get the blissful view )

From there take the Gondimalla Road, decent condition, till Gondimalla. At Gondimalla, ask for the Jhunkareshwari temple. You have to take a near-kachcha road for about 1-1.5 kms till you reach the temple.

The Bala Jhumjhumkareshwari temple is home to two deities, Jhumkareshwari and Saraswathi. The temple is beautiful, and very peace-giving.

From the temple backyard you can see the Krishna - Tungabhadra sangama/confluence - a huge water body, all blue as far as you can see. Visit in October/November to see maximum water. In summers, apparently you can see the two distinct profiles of the rivers.

There is a Haritha hotel near Alampur, if you wish a quick bite. When return from Alampur do visit the Sangameshwara temple and the Papanasi temple complex as well.



                                                                 ABOVE : View of the confluence from Jhumkareshwari Temple, Gondimalla.

                                                                 BELOW : One of the temples in the Navabrahma temple complex at Alampur.


 

Had a few days to myself after a long time, and wanted to go to a quiet place. Masinagudi was the foremost on mind, however, Ganeshgudi seemed a little attractive too. Given the distance, Ganeshgudi could never be a weekend trip - so Ganeshgudi it was.

It was a Solo drive, not new to the route ( been to Dandeli before ), so was not worried much. Zoomed on the beaten track : NH 4 - all the way upto Haveri. Wanted to explore the Sirsi, Yellapur side a bit more ( explore the roads I mean, there was no time to visit places ). The narrow mud road of about 150 metres after Haveri bypass is not the most visible of the roads - this is the road you need to take ( for quickness' sake ). There usually a couple of ice cream carts on the highway just before Haveri, and right after that keep watching for a road that runs perpendicular to the highway and the narrow road ( steep, downwards ) that connects to the Sirsi road.

Visited the Tarakeshwara Temple at Hangal. Proceeded towards Sirsi and then to Yellapura - that is a beautiful road. From there headed to Hubli, was going to stay at Hubli for the night.

The next morning started early from Hubli and decided to go to Gokarna before going to the Old Magazine House at Ganeshgudi. Early morning drive on that stretch around Kalghatgi gives you great chances of seeing a number of jackals by the roadside. I did notice one. After the temple visit at Gokarna, wondered which route to take to Ganeshgudi - the thought of driving through the notoriously bad roads of Anashi/Kumbarwada, sent shivers down my spine.

Decided to head back to Yellapura and from there through Bhaagavathi, Sambrani and Kesarolli cross to Ganeshgudi. Again, before Bhaagavathi, saw a few jackals by the roadside. Reached Ganeshgudi at around 2.45 PM. I had to interrupt my lunch three times and pick up the camera, because of the colourful birds that came hopping around, most notably a Blue Capped Rock thrush.

It was a weekday and I was the only guest on the whole property. Sat a short distance from the birdbath and kept clicking/observing. Old Magazine house doesn't offer a safari - birdwatching and rafting are the specialities here. Was quiet and satisfying : just the kind of break I hoped for.

Evening I was taken for a coracle ride on the Kali. A short jeep drive and the coracle equipment was collected from near a temple - and off we went sighting Hornbills, Woolly necked storks and peacocks, no crocs thankfully.

The next morning was a birding walk up until the main road a few kms beyond, many bird sightings, but hard to get good pictures - for the fleeting moment they appear.

Early mornings are never a good photography time near the birdbaths ( depends on the equipment you have ) as very little light filters in. 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM is probably the brightest, given that, it's definitely worthwhile that you do the birding on the mainroad in the mornings.

After the morning birding session, decided to explore roads around Ganeshgudi and Kulagi. Headed towards Bapela along the Karwar road towards Joida. Don't miss the 500 metres of a loop road near Bapela, that goes away from the main road and joins back the main road : it gives you an all blue supa backwater view.


On the way to Kulagi, stopped at Nagjhari view point, which provides a beautiful view of the valley yonder from the watch tower. It also apparently is a leopard point, with many sightings.

From there headed towards Kulagi, the nature camp. It's being extensively refurbished and a "Timber Trails" annexe being added, that surely looks one luxury notch up. Rooms/Cottages appeared very clean. Lots of monkeys and Langoors around. Models of tribes that have been placed are well done. A quick visit to the museum is a must ( remember : just a quick one, nothing more )

From there we headed towards Bommanahalli pickup dam backwater which is on the Kulagi - Ambikanagar route. Parked the car about 500 meters from the backwater ( you can't take the car, it's a narrow trek trail ) and trekked to the pristine backwater ( Note: this place is very lonely with not a soul in sight ). Lots of peacock feathers strewn around.

From there headed back towards Dandeli ( apparently you can sight crocs from atop the bridge near Kogilban ) - no such luck that day. Just got back to Old Magazine House in time for lunch and the evening birding session near the birdbath.

By then a few other guests had checked in.

After the evening session, went to a steep trek behind the property with one of the guys there - I could only make half of the distance before opting go back due to the exhaustion ( never wear jeans for a trek : haven't learnt my lesson after so many treks )

After dinner, one of the guys walked me around to show some Scorpions and Tarantulla spiders.

Next day started at around 8.30 AM and was back in Bangalore by 4.30 PM with a brief stop at Kamat @ Sira for lunch.

Road condition update :

Haveri - Sirsi : Rough for about 15 kms upto Akki Alur ( just before the Hangal fork) from Haveri. From there, Very good all the way until Sirsi. Took about 6 hours to get to Sirsi ( via NH4 and this road ).

Sirsi - Yellapur : Tarmac's been eroded but road still very good. 45 mins to 1 hour.

Yellapur - Bhaagavathi - Kesarolli Cross ( haliyal x dandeli fork ) : narrow but in decent condition. The bad stretches are just before Bhaagavathi. After that its good till kesarolli. Lots of jackal sightings on this road. Overall doable - be aware of the unmarked speed humps.

Kesarolli - Handali checkpost ( G.Gudi x dandeli fork ) : Rough stretches with mud filled potholes : still passes muster.

Handali - Barchi checkpost : Narrow but in good condition - smooth tarmac.

Barchi - Dandeli : slightly jumpy stretch. Between Ammewadi power station and Dandeli town very bad.

Barchi - Ganeshgudi : very good surface. Just watch out for the odd pothole : they are very big and the suspension breaker kinds - esp during nights.

Ganeshgudi : Bapela - Kulagi circle : in good condition.

Kulagi - BP dam - Bhaagavathi : narrow road, but surface a tad eroded : still very decent.

Kulagi - dandeli : Potholes have been filled with mud. Surface still very rough.

Haliyal - Dharwad : below averagish - potholes filled with mud. Keeps you guessing all the while. Plus there are a few bad stretches too.

Ganeshgudi - Joida : in good condition.

Beyond Joida : joida - kumbarwada - anshi is still very very bad ( months? Years? ) and the Ulavi route to be preferred

Preferred route from Dandeli to Karwar : ( Dandeli - head on the Karwar road towards Joida - much before Joida there is a diversion to the left with a big arch [ Ulavi Road ] - Sintheri rocks - towards Gund - 2 kms before Gund take a right diversion towards Ulavi - before ulavi don't take the diversion towards Ulavi - Anashi - Kadra - Sadashivagadh - Karwar : you still need to endure about 6-8 kms of very bad roads )







TARANTULLA SPIDER













REDVENTED BULBUL











LANGOOR








BP DAM









CHESTNUT HEADED BEE EATER








BROWN CHEEKED FULVETTA







BLUE CAPPED ROCK THRUSH







BLACKHEADED MUNIA







NAGJHARI VIEWPOINT, NEAR KULAGI

This was a one day trip from Bangalore to Kemmannugundi and back. We did this in May 2011. It was a hectic 600+ kms drive in a day, not to mention the additional 7 kms trek ( both ways ) from Kemmannugundi. Not going to talk much about Kemmannugundi here though.

The trek from Kemmannugundi to Z-Point is about 3.5 kms : and passes through the Rock Garden, Shanti Falls and then through narrow stretches till the end. During monsoons, it'll rain leeches on this trail, so beware. Snakes are not a rarity. Pan Parag wrappers and chocolate wrappers sometimes act as a compass unfortunately. Needless to say the view is breathtaking from the z-point. Was accompanied by the family until Shanti ( which was a trickle ), walked alone until Z Point from there. Difficulty level is easy to moderate.

Started back to Bangalore from Kemmannugundi around 6.30 PM and reached past midnight. The only break was at cafe coffee county at Ballavara - clearly this place is like a great stop over - chats and coffee - after a tiring outing.


A VIEW FROM NEAR THE ZPOINT
 

This is a short one on the temples of Nuggehalli ( also called Nuggihalli ). This is a village on the Channarayapatna -> Tiptur state highway about 30 kms from Tiptur, 18 kms from Channarayapatna. It has the stamp of the usual Hoysala architecture and it's resemblance to the more well-known temples of Belur and Halebidu is the first thing you notice. Nuggehalli is far from a quiet unknown village - it's a bustling townish village - known mostly for it's 5 or 6 temples - Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and Sadashiva being the most popular of them.

The area around the temple is an Agrahara ( Brahmin Settlement ). It does appear that the subsequenty generations of families have branched off and settled elsewhere, but do regularly visit ( Citation needed ) - most notably during the Chaitra Masa Pournime Ratotsava ( Full moon day of the Chaitra Month ). The CR Patna - Tiptur road is in decent condition, except for small patches. It's also narrow in some stretches, but is being widened.


History ( From Tourism Dept's boards)

A saint by name Rushabha performed penance and pleased with his devotion, Lord Narasmiha Swamy appeared before him and blessed him. During the reign of Someshwara Hoysala, his aide Bommanna Dandanayaka visited the place with his guru Pundarikaksha Somayaji and at Somayaji's behest, built the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in 1246 AD, in a trikutachala concept ( 3 deities are present in the LakshmiNarayana Swamy Temple- Kesava, Narasimha and Gopala ) and also setup the agrahara under the name "Vijaya Somanathapura". The Sadashiva Temple was built in 1249 AD by Kilaka. The name Nuggehalli came into being in the 14-15th century during the Vijayanagara empire - Nuggu meaning "Move fast or attack" a term used by the Palegara of that period.

Later during the Vijayanagara empire, more additions were made to the temple in terms of the present navaranga with granite pillars and also the Alwar Sannidhi.

Visiting

Being a much smaller temple/lesser known place, the priests of both the Sadashiva temple and the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple work flexi timings ( as with most small temples ). The best time to visit is around 10AM ( they typically open then ). And in the evenings, it's open between 7 PM and 8 PM. Although upon request, the priests open the temple for visitors during off hours as well ( the priest lives in the road right opposite to the temple and you can make a local enquiry )

There is also the remains of the fort built - a gate near the temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha ( I was unable to enquire or visit as it was getting dark in the evening )


Additional Information or Enquiries/ Event calendar can be found at www.nuggehalli.org

SADASHIVA TEMPLE



THE DECKED UP RATHA, APRIL 17, 2011, RATHOTSAVA, NUGGEHALLI




THE LAKSHMI NARASIMHASWAMY SHRINE




THE SADASHIVA SHRINE
 
 

This one was a 2 day trip around Sringeri and Sagar - but only little known places that I was longing to visit for a while.

The route

Day 1 : Bangalore- Tumkur - Kadur - Sakharayapatna - Chikkamagalur - Sringeri - Kigga - Sirimane - Koppa - Theerthahalli. 475 Kms

Day 2 : Theerthahalli - Konandur - Ripponpet - Anandapuram - Sagara - Ikkeri - Varadamoola - Talaguppa - Choorikatte - Honnemaradu - Sagara - Keladi - Soraba - Siralkoppa - Hirekerur - Ittagi - Ranebennur - Davanagere (byp) - Tumkur - Bangalore. 655 kms.

The party

Wife and I.

Date : New year weekend, 2011.

Sringeri had to be on the list, given it was January 1 and the mandate to visit a temple for the new year.

Breakfast was had at home at an unearthly 6 AM. Until Kadur, it was the usual NH 206. We stopped at Kadur for an early lunch. Don't remember the name of the hotel, but is at the corner where you turn left towards Sakharayapatna from NH 206. This road, as documented extensively is the concrete road, that's broken in a lot places, so a frustrating drive all the way till Chikkamagalur. At one place was a Banyan tree with hundreds of bats flying around : that was a sight!


Through Chikkamagalur, right at Vastare into Aldur. Proceed on the same road, we come to the Bhadra coffee shop. Fantastic place to sip coffee watching vehicles zip by ( the other place I love doing this is at the Ossoor hotel, Sakleshpura ). I don't usually buy coffee powder on roadside places, however good the coffee tastes.

Then comes the Balehonnur bridge over the Bhadra, it's a beautiful sight. A couple of people pushing a dingy along the river. Fantastic drive till Sringeri. At Sringeri, we though we should cover the Sirimane falls and Kigga before it got dark, as the temple was open until later.

A couple of kms from on NH 13 towards Karkala, you see the board to Kigga. You take a right and drive along a reasonably good road to Kigga, where you see the Rishyashrungeshwara temple. Some trekkers use this as a base for their Narasimha parvata trek ( The Narasimha parvatha is where 5 rivers rise, including the Seetha river. I was told the local guides do the "guide job" for about Rs.250 if you get to Kigga in the morning. In any case trekking is not something I do with family members :)

If you have time and a gang of cronies, do not forget to visit the Magebailu falls. There is no motorable road I hear, but the falls is more beautiful the locals told me.

Proceeded along the road till Sirimane falls, which is a beauty even this time of the year. It does appear full, although apparently it's more forceful during the monsoons. You're allowed to bath, but during the monsoons, you're not. There is a viewing deck from where you can keep looking at the falls.

On the way back, we stopped at Kigga to buy some cookies and biscuits. The shop owner kept talking away about the various places around and it was getting tough to break out of the conversation :)

Back to the Sringeri temple, quiet and enjoyable as usual and spent the customary hour on the bridge looking at the river below. Dinner at a decent hotel ( again shoddy job of remembering it, it's been a while and I'm not taking the customary notes down ) and then head towards Thirthahalli for the night stay. Vihangama as usual.


Early start from Vihangama, breakfast at Kamat Cafe ( IIRC, this is the 10th time in about 8 months that I'm visiting Thirthahalli and the folks now know me :) ). And yes, the got some food parcels, which I've figured out is a very good idea when traveling smaller places.


Onto Sagar via Konandur. OK-sort of roads, we head to Sagar and from there to Ikkeri. A bit of history there, the temple is beautiful! Quiet and Calm, the temple is home to Aghoreshwara and the big Nandi that overlooks the place. The trees outside the temple are home to a number of parakeets and we had a good time watching their antics.

From there, we headed towards Varadamoola, the source of the Varada river. After spending a few minutes there, we headed towards Honnemaradu. Sagar -> Talaguppa -> Left at Choorikatte towards Kargal. Within 3-4 kms you see a not so distinct board to Honnemaradu and Hiremane. You take a left. The road is doable till Hiremane. Take a left at Hiremane and it's all mud road from there on : absolutely not doable on a regular car when it rains heavily, I think as it could get stuck in the slush. But being Jan and that it had not rained for a while, the road was dry and so, doable.

You can book a Honnemaradu tent stay on the islands from Bangalore : but we just went to there to just see the place first time. They offer a number of water activities including a boat ride to the distant island ( you can row the boat yourself if you like ). Expensive at Rs.500. But is a beautiful place to just sit back and keep staring into the distance.

On the way back, customary snake crossings on the tar road, no malnad trip is complete without seeing snakes basking on the roadside or crossing the tarred roads. Wife freaked out a bit, but I like snake crossings, they're so majestic.

From there, on the way back, I noticed that there was a Helipad at Choorikatte ( Sringeri has one too ). From there, we parked near Talaguppa and wolfed down the parcelled Masala dosas and Idli for lunch and got back to Sagar. 3 PM : there's a bit more time to make use of in this trip ( although had to reach Bangalore by night ). At Sagar, we decided to visit Keladi and then drive on towards Davanagere and from there take the NH 4 to Bangalore. Crazy, but wanted to do some unexplored roads till Davanagere via Soraba. Roads OK till Soraba -> Siralakoppa. The view of paddy fields was enjoyable. At Siralakoppa, the misery began, all the way till Hirekerur, Ittagi and Ranebennur where the roads were either absent or half the road was absent or diversions or cratery roads. Misery. But atleast a new road explored.

7.30 PM at Ranebennur. But we reached Bangalore after a 4 hour drive. 1 hour stop extra at Kamat near Dobaspet where we had dinner. I enjoy spending a lot of time watching the long distance buses late in the night that have stopped over for dinner, every time I drive through that place late in the night. This time was no different. Buses to Kudligi, Gangavathi, Donimale etc. BTW, these buses are often my inspiration for planning my next trip :).

Reached home at around 00:30. Another enjoyable trip came to an end.









SIGNBOARD NEAR KIGGA







BHADRA COFFEE SHOP, NEAR BALEHONNUR









SIRIMANE FALLS



SIRIMANE FALLS, GATE










SIRIMANE FALLS, SIRIMANE






RISHYASHRUNGESHWARA TEMPLE, KIGGA






EN ROUTE TO SIRIMANE FALLS









SRINGERI TEMPLE



Day 2


NEAR RIPPONPET






VARADAMOOLA








IKKERI TEMPLE




NEAR HIREKERUR





NEAR HONNEMARADU




NEAR CHOORIKATTE

KARNATAKA TOURISM BOARD AT VARADAMOOLA







HONNEMARADU
 

The trips are back, but I'm no more a bachelor. 4 travelogues are coming up pretty soon ( including this one ).

My long drive license was revoked just before the marriage. I was told " Look you're not in the right state of mind to be driving". OK, so ? "Take a bus" or "stop travelling" until after the marriage. Bus trips of course, I went to Jog by bus, but soon realized that it's really to hard to cover multiple places, the Jog trip is a different story, that will be published here later on.

So ? Post marriage, this was the 4th trip ( The other 3 would be published soon as well ), a 2 day trip to Coorg.

Dates : January 8 & 9, 2011.

Plan : Day 1 : Mysore -> Nagarahole -> Irpu falls -> Madikeri -> Mallalli falls -> Somwarpet -> Hassan
Day 2 : Hassan -> Madikeri -> Bhagamandala -> Talacauvery - Madikeri - Abbi falls -> Bylakuppe

What happened actually :

Day 1 : Mysore -> Nagarahole -> Irpu falls ->Gonikoppal ->Thithimathi -> Hunsur -> Hassan
Day 2 : Hassan -> Madikeri -> Bhagamandala -> Talacauvery -> Bylakuppe -> Bangalore

1150 Kms in 2 days.

The Party : Wife, Sis, Appa and myself.

Despite so much traveling in the last year, I had not traveled Coorg much.

It would be hard to travel all of Kodagu in 2 days, so some of the places around Virajapet : Kakkabe, Tadiandamol, Nalknad and Iritty ( Kerala ) had to removed from the plan. Another day, I thought.

Started around 6 in the morning, zipped on the Mysore road, usual stop at the Kamat Drive In for breakfast. Zip again, lost the way a little on Mysore ring road, towards the Madikeri road. Finally with some local help back on the right road. At Hunsur, headed left towards Nagarahole via Murkal. Remember the road is open only till 6 PM.

No sightings this time, no elephants. Only deer. The road continues till Kutta. A short break at Kutta, time for the packed lunch from home ( during numerous trips, I'm beginning to understand that for some places, parcelled food is much better ). Reached Irpu falls around 2 PM. It's a 1 - 1.5 km walk from the entrance to the falls. So far ( until Kutta ) the road was good, but it now got a bit, just a bit rough.

Despite a couple of months after the monsoons, the falls reasonably full, being a Saturday, there wasnt much crowd. Peaceful atmosphere. The Lakshmana Thirtha ( Yes, Mythology has it that Lakshmana shot an arrow to get some water ) jumps in a cascade. The falls close at 5 PM - risk of wild elephants roaming the place, we were told. The closure was 6 PM before but was advanced to 5 PM. As with all waterfall treks, carry some water as it's going to tire you out a li'l bit.

Off from Irpu falls by 5 PM. Didn't make sense to hit Mallalli falls given the fading light - we simply decided to retire to the accommodation. It dawned on us that it was mistake to book the accommodation at Hassan. Until Gonikoppal, the lesser said the better about the roads. At Gonikoppa, take a right into Thithimathi and onto Hunsur. From there, a zip to Hassan. A 9 PM dinner at Sri Krishna and retired to the Sri Krishna Lodge rooms. Decent accomodation, you're asked for the advance before checking in.

The next day, started at 6 AM, only to realize that breakfast would be available only around 7 AM. Trips are not meant to be tiring you out, so there was no question of leaving unfed :)

Started around 7.15 AM and zipped on the SH via Holenarasipur to Hunsur. Quick stop at the Kamplapura Coffee day, 5-10 kms after Hunsur. Road a beauty all the way till Madikeri, except for the last 3-4 kms. Take left at Madikeri and a reasonably good drive via Bhagamandala to Talacauvery. About 50 kms from Madikeri. The temple at Talacauvery closes at 6 PM, while the one at Bhagamandala closes at 8 PM.

The temple was not so crowded : after the pooja, we just soaked up a little bit near the sacred pond. Tears welled in my eyes looking at the source of such a life-giving river. Crores of people depend on this river across states, yet, so unassumingly, she rises here and goes about her job of providing for people in an unassuming way.

And then the spent some time on the benches overlooking the valleys. A few hundred steps above the temple is another viewpoint not to be missed.

Also on your way back, don't miss a number of view points that overlook green valleys.

Ate lunch at a not-so great hotel at Madikeri ( that triggered a stomach upset that lasted 4 days after the trip :( ). Be just a touch careful on where you eat ( I myself eat at a lot of small eateries, but usually nothing happens, but not on this occassion. That's when I realized, one's always taking chances when eating at small places ).

Next stop at the Namdroling monastery near Bylakuppe. If you're heading from Madikeri, it's easy to take a right at Koppa as opposed to a right at Bylakuppe, which is circuitous. Tibetans with a cool attitude all over. Sure looks a different country. We reach the Golden temple as the monastery is called ( it closes at 7 PM remember ). The images were spellbounding! Spent a few minutes quietly.

Zipped back towards Mysore. A quick dinner at Maddur ( it was around 10.15 PM ). Highway hotels on Sunday are open pretty late, so no worries there. Was in no mood to drive that day, so Sis did all the driving from Bhagamandala to Bangalore. Slept peacefully on the backseat!

Tiring, but the feeling of hitting the pillows after each trip is an amazing feeling.

Coming next : Kigga, Sirimane, Ikkeri, Varadamoola, Honnemaradu, Keladi Trip.




SALEM LINE AT HEELALIGE





NICE ROAD



STAG @ NAGARAHOLE








IRPU FALLS




'THITHIMATHI' BETWEEN GONIKOPPAL & HUNSUR








BETWEEN HASSAN AND HUNSUR







BETWEEN HUNSUR AND TALACAUVERY





NAMDROLING MONASTERY
 
 

North of central Karnataka, I wanted to go. Yellapur, Sirsi could be good, I thought. Called up Banana County, Yellapur to check if anything was available for the weekend. Nothing available. So ? Dandeli.

Day 1
> Redbulls packed in
> Jackets, camera and some wide-awake people in the car
> Start : Hoskote
> Route : Devanahalli->Doddaballapur->Tumkur->Chitradurga->Davanagere->Hubli->Haliyal->Dandeli
Roughly 515 kms of drive expected.

Off we go, I've always liked the NH207 to Tumkur as opposed to the tiring Nelamangala stretch. A few more kms but less time consuming always. Just a few bad stretches between Doddaballapur/Dobbaspet, but OK overall. 90 kms on, we reach the Kamat Upachar past Dobbaspet. Most of my trips begin officially from here, despite the fact that I live a lot further. Everyone freaked out looking at the number of cars parked outside that day and the rush at the hotel. We should have known better that it's everyone's stop point. We manage to get our share of stomach-fuel to get us going. 30 minute break, and we're off. Never been on the Sira/Hiriyur/ChitD/Dgere stretch and it was a cakewalk. 4 hours of drive from home ( discounting the break ) and we're past Davanagere. Then begins the "take diversion" rituals. I've heard that the stretch has been like this for years now ( need confirmation ) but easy going nevertheless. Long lunch break at Hubli and we head towards Dharwad. All I knew was that there was a diversion to Haliyal b/w Hubli and Dharwad but I miss it like always. A few checks with some tractor drivers and bus conductors, we figure the right exit out of the highway and onto Haliyal road. Now begins what we were after since morning : winding roads, with green grass carpets on either side. In no time, we're in Dandeli : 3.30 PM. Westcoast Paper Mills!

At Dandeli JLR. Just step out for a quick walk with the camera and a borrowed pair of binoculars to the river. Quiet flowed the Kali. Hmm is this the same fierce river I'd heard about ? Well. Noisy horn-bills on the shore stir up a massive cacophony. I look on discreetly to see what they're upto. Spend the rest of the evening looking at the river and the sights around. Get back to the room to work out the plans for the next day. I don't do any of the activities at any resort except possibly the morning safari. So I'm not going to talk much about any of the activities at JLR.

Day 2
Lazy morning safari. 10 AM, back, pulling the car out of the parking shed. Heading towards Ganeshgudi. Traverse back the road from Dandeli till the checkpost, where we deviate towards Ganeshgudi. Beautiful, quiet, foresty road winding through villages and small nothings. Just near Ganeshgudi, a few things(?) squat in the middle of the road. Dog ? No. Hmm, Jackal! That's near a checkpost, a few people are talking away, but a Jackal ? He's not scared until he notices someone's looking at him. Jumps off the road and vanishes into the bushes. Off we drive, to Supa : the dam backwater followed us as long as I remember. At Londa, we didn't know where we're heading towards. Someone says Panaji, I say Sadashivgadh. Nothing works out, we drive till Khanapur and turn back. The greenery and paddy fields are so artificially green, and are too good to believe. But they're not fake like a filmstar's hair : they're for real. We turn back, through Nandagad ( we see a board to Sangolli Rayanna's Grave ), Bidi, Haliyal and back in Dandeli, plotting the next move.

Decided to head towards Gund in the evening ( Sizzy's friend recommended the drive for wildlife sightings, but alas we found nothing ), we stop at Sintheria rocks on the way to take some breathtaking views of the Kaneri river ( A tributary of Kali ). The river jumps a small altitude, sending smoke into the air. It has drilled caves into a huge monolithic rock where pigeons and other birds nest. It was a sight. I usually avoid touristy places because of the crowd and crowd-apathy to the places; so I'm usually happy just driving through places as opposed to stopping at well-known places. Easy to get down to this river but you've to ascend a few hundred steep steps to get back, enough tire me out and I decide to turn back instead of going to Gund.

Already working out the route for the next day. The goal was to drive through Anshi when I started, and not fulfilled yet. So that was definitely an option. Then another option came through : Yellapur/Sirsi/Yaana ? The next day was the last day of the weekend and I'd to be back at work on Monday. But driving through Anshi was too tempting to ignore. It meant a drive of 675+ kms ( with a lot of ghat roads ) on my way back to Bangalore.
But were too excited to retain any commonsense. So Anshi it was. Just checked with the JLR guys to see what the best road was. The strongly discouraged me from taking the Joida/Kumbarwada road ( bad bad stretch of road after Kumbarwada they said). I was told the Ulavi cross->Anashi road was a better option, but I'd still need to drive through about 5 kms of bad stretch.

Again that evening, back to the riverside, I thought Kali was flowing eastwards, when I expected it to flow westward. Only then did I realize, it's a bit of an abnormal flow. It rises in Western Ghats ( Goa border I was told ) flows eastward and then takes a U turn to flow westwards to join the Arabian sea. Hmm, how unique! Artificially created river-course ? Possibly.

Day 3
8.30 AM : Checkout and start. Beautiful forest stretches till Ulavi through Kaneri bridge and Gund ( actually, we turn towards Ulavi about 2 kms from Gund ). Quick stop at Ulavi for some chocolates, gum and candies, survey the place and turn back. One doesn't need to go to Ulavi to go to Anashi. Lazy drive, soaking up in the atmosphere. At about 5 kms from Ulavi, you see the road heading towards Kumbarwad, you take the road and head 2 kms toward Kumbarwada to see a diversion to Anshi. No very bad stretches yet, so were happy. But it was short-lived. Right after Anashi, 5-6 kms of bad road, chunks of asphalt missing leaving gaping holes where the road once was. Grin and bear. Move on. Better stretches were there soon. An unnamed waterfall sleepwalked close by. We're at Kadra now, asking for where the next fuel station is : Sadashivgadh, we're told. Much straighter stretches of road. Sadashivgadh is here. We move on to see great views of the Kali Estuary. In no time we're on NH17. Beautiful drive between hills on one side and the sea on the other. Devbagh 0.5 kms reads the board. Hmm. Some other day. Nice drive on the highway. We cross the bridge on the Gangawali river. More driving. We stop at Panduranga International at Kummata for lunch. A multi-course meal later ( seriously, I didn't stop to think how many kms were left in the day ) we're full. Good food. Suddenly we realize it's close to 3 PM, and we're still at Kummata. Wow, we needed to do atleast 480 kms that evening and night. We start at 3 PM and decide to take the NH206 from Honnavar ( bad, bad choice ; but was there any other choice ?). 87 kms to Sagar it read. OK, 1.5 hours we thought. But surprise, the road is not a joke, it took 2 hours to get to Jog with some slow driving on pot holed roads ( not to mention the "I wanna stop here to get a few pics" stops ). 5 PM Jog. 2.5 kms, the board said. This is the 4th time that I've been within 5-10 kms of Jog and have not had the inclination to visit it. Off we drive to Sagar after a brief stop ( for pictures, not my fault ). Sunday evening, pleasant weather. What's up ? An RTO inspection exercise that has stopped a few hundred vehicles on the highway. 30 more mins gone. 8 PM : Shimoga. Already sleepy and hungry. Wasn't sure how I was going to do it that night back. But I'd to be in BLR at any cost and at work the next morning. Should we head towards Thirthahalli and stay at Vihangama that night ? And start early the next morning to be on time for work ? No, didn't look like it'd work. We decide to drive on, folks in the car somewhat frustrated about the prospect of driving back late in the night. Chug Chug, Tarikere -> Break. Pepsi. Caffeine. Chug Chug, Kadur. -> Break. Pepsi. Caffeine. More nakabandis and "where are you from" questions later, ah, Tumkur at last. 12.30 AM. Now, my mind was racing : is it safe to take the Doddaballapur road that late? Not sure. Decide to play it safe. Head towards Nelamangala. Bad idea again. Traffic jams at that hour, fighting to stay alert, sleepy truck drivers and "bang in the middle of the road halted trucks". Struggle to find the turn to ORR towards Bahubalinagar. OK off the highway now. The ORR at night is probably the riskiest road in Bangalore City at night, esp when it's raining, IMO. Vehicles zip around from blind corners into the intersections! Finally back on NH4 towards Hoskote : Home ground! Reach home well past 2.30 AM to a rousing reprimand. Feel like a hero, but totally unnecessary stress. But the trip had gone well till that evening atleast! 3 days, 1350+ kms. Another day, Another story. A few moments lived well. We don't live forever, the best we can do is to live the moment.


All philosophies, photographs and words in this blog are mine, unless I explicitly attribute to someone else. These have also been posted on team-bhp portals by me as airguitar

CHANNABASAVESHWARA SHRINE, ULAVI



October 31, 2010

The idea was to drive through Hassan-Belur-Chikkamagalur-Muthodi- Attigundi - Kemmannugundi - Lingadahalli - Birur - Tumkur - Bangalore ; the highlight of what was going to be the Mallandur/Muthodi-Attigundi-Kemmannugundi drive.

I always tend to get the air pressure checked when I start after I've done hard roads : the previous day was Bisle and the tiring Mudiger-Belur road that was hard on the car. Left back wheel showed 26 while I set it to atleast 2-3 higher than prescribed : usually at 36. That looked bad, while the petrol pump guy explained his theory of that could be because of the cold weather, but there was no way it could have been that low, filled till 38 and left. Started playing on my mind if I should really take the Muthodi/Attigundi route : the family insisted we should ( surprise, surprise ) but wasn't too keen to spend time in the middle of nowhere if it worsened on that route. The other option was to change it before I left Belur ( didn't feel like it either as it was a late start already from hassan, maybe I was a bit stupid here ). Decided to deviate to Mullayyanagiri instead ( made sense to end what could be my last trip as a bachelor, atop the state ).

Belur - Chikkamagalur road good at times but patchy at many other times. Flawless roads from Chikkamagalur to the top of Mullayyanagiri. A bunch of guys dancing away to blaring music at Seethalayyanagiri point ( not a good thing to do in my opinion ). And then a couple of bikers reveling up the hill, nearly crosscutting my car and honking ( to what looked like a movie tune , irritating me a bit). And then it started, it was the Rajyotsava weekend and there was a lot of traffic. The road up the hill is doable alright, but with traffic on the narrow road, it's always standoffs ( folks unsure of their lefts and rights simply parking in the middle and refusing or scared to move left or right ) was a common scene. An innova brushed an M800 L-Boarded vehicle as it ran out of options. Clutch burning everywhere and worse, a not so-mini bus up the hill . Despite numerous warning boards that it's a plastic-free zone, there were chocolate wrappers, empty chips packets, empty supari covers etc lying around. But it was a minor thing to overlook : the steepest part is the last 50-100 mts to the parking lot.

The final ascent of a few hundred steps to reach the Mullappaswamy temple : sit there for sometime feeling on top and then trudge back.

Get down and turn towards Lingadahalli ( you can do good speeds here ) and the downward hairpins to the plain land. Then a quick diversion towards Kemmannugundi - no serious staying there - just a quick "touch" and return to Lingadahalli and then begins the gradual change of landscapes from "malnad" to "bayaluseeme" ( Hilly region to Plain region ). Not in a mood to stop at the usual stopover at Kamat near Dabaspet. And back home.

PS : I just changed the wheel yesterday ( my first change since I bought teh car ) and now looking to either buy a puncture kit or roll the punctured tyre to the puncture angdi.

All philosophies, photographs and words in this blog are mine, unless I explicitly attribute to someone else. These have also been posted on team-bhp portals by me as airguitar.







I promise to up the frequency of the posts right from now. Keep your comments coming.

October 30, 2010

Begin from Hassan at 8 AM. Drive through to Sakleshpura. Just before you enter the town is the Ossoor Hotel, My defacto eating place whenever I travel this way. Saturday morning, so no vehicular traffic yet, hotel near empty ( visit this hotel on a Sunday evening to believe how crowded it can get ). There are no words to describe the feeling of sipping coffee standing outside the hotel watching vehicles groan up the slope.

Quick move towards Byakravalli road the left deviation near the Manjarabad fort board. Just before that was the road entrance on the right to Mudigere, for a second the thought of taking that road towards Hosakere for a glimpse of Ettina Bhuja Peak was flickering, but suppressed. Bisle, the goal. Reasonably narrow roads with the side soil washed away by the rains leaving 0.5 - 1 foot jumps off the tarmac. Patchy road, I got a curt "gaadi kelage iliayalva" ( won't your vehicle get off the roads ) from a local Omni driver coming from the opposite side. I never heard anyone say something curtly to me in the Malnad parts of Karnataka - so a first

Average to below average road condition till a few kms past Byakaravalli circle. From then on until Hettur the roads are very good and after that begins the vagary. Good stretches, horrible stretches. Looking at the surface texture you can say how much it rains in these parts. The heat, the dark green leaves of plants, the humid air makes it inevitable for me to draw a comparison to the Agumbe/Hulikal areas. The roads of course, the Bisle road and the Agumbe road are chalk and cheese.

4 spots not to be missed for a stop and soak-in :

1. The forest dept run, "Beauty Point"
2. The downsloping hairpin where you can park your car for eternity on the roadside and keep watching the hills yonder
3. The bridge over the river ( see photos in installments before ) - This river is called Addahole and joins Kumaradhara river
4. The temple at Boodhi Chavadi at the fag end

Much of the road belongs to the Yasalur Range. All along I could see what looked like Elephant dung ( but there was no way an elephant could have crossed from left to right unless it was some tamed elephant that was made to walk those roads ). Turns out that elephants have traversed/lived in the past here. So! . ( Here's more : http://www.deccanherald.com/content/99614/wild-jumbos-destroy-crops-sakleshpur.html )

At one point you see that a small stream decided to take it's own course and cut the road, awesome sight, no one controls Nature.

Of course, I've to mention that my car's bottom scraped twice ( once my fault I didn't do slow enough and the other, I couldn't do much ) .

The last 5-6 kms belonging to Subramanya zone are smooth and you do it in no time, took a right at Subramanya into Gundya, and then to Dharmasthala. I always like as well as dread the Gundya Dharmasthala stretch. Drivers enjoy the good road as well as the sharp cuts at the bends a slight error and it can go boom. Esp there are 3-4 points where the road ascends/descends and simultaneously turns sharply to the left or the right so it's not uncommon for folks to end up on the wrong side centrimetres away from a speedy oncoming vehicle. I consistently honk on this stretch whenever I'm here.

From Dharmasthala to Ujire to Charmadi ( my vehicle suffered a bird hit some bird from no where flew in and crashed into my car, recovered and flew away ) to Mudigere. 6th time drive on Charmadi in as many months. All vehicles went honk honk right through. Frustrating, but probably required. Usual stop at the Annappaswamy temple for pictures and then move on. On that horrible stretch between Mudigere and Belur. This is a beautiful stretch when you do it in the mornings through Gonibeedu and Cheekanahalli, but it has worsened drastically. Was frustratring to miss the potholes time and again and crash into it at that time ( 6.30 PM ). The road oscillates betwen bad and worse till about 5-6 kms before Belur ( Tholalu ). Back to Hassan from Belur, the road is a dream. Dinner at Sri Krishna, a deluxe meal and all set to float into sleep.

All philosophies, photographs and words in this blog are mine, unless I explicitly attribute to someone else. These have also been posted on team-bhp portals by me as airguitar.















































October 28th and 29th, 2010

Another of my travelogue I didn't post here but posted on tbhp under the name airguitar.


The plan was to start at 4 AM last Thursday ( 28th October ) from Bangalore. But came back home at 2 AM because of a late night dinner that ran even late and was in no position to begin at 4 AM. The trip started at 9 AM, 5 hours behind schedule and so the original plan of doing Ooty and getting back to Bandipur before nightfall was a tough call. Plus, it made sense to take the Safari that evening as opposed to the next morning and so, cut short the plans for that day.

9 AM : Hoskote

9.30 AM : Varthur. A 2 wheeler lady driver knocks a pedestrian down and the wailing pedestrian creates a ruckus. Ominous start, I thought.

10.15 AM : Stuck at E.City traffic, remember weekday morning 10AM, but not before I'd a pleasant drive from Varthur -> Ramasagara -> Heelalige -> Chandapura circle. Ambulances are wailing, huge crowds staring at what could well be a pot of treasure. Unfortunately, these are tell-tale signs of an accident. Not sure what had happened, but huge gathering though.

Brief hold up there, but get to NICE road ( this non descript entrance can always be missed in the traffic, gosh ). A breeze till Kumbalgodu and the nice part was no more weaving-through-the-gottigere-village near Bannerghatta. Quick early lunch at Kamat Drive-in and move on briskly till Mysore RR. Some work happening on Mysore RR, so some diversions, a brand new i10 lay with shattered windscreen and broken frontsides, at one such diversion that had a huge mound of soil. So much for safe driving.

Hit NH 212, and the travel travail begins, bad bad stretch till Nanjangud : saving grace the discarded railway carriages making for good pictures.

Then on, pretty smooth till Gundlupet/Bandipur. 3.15 PM Bandipur, JLR. Just in time for the 4 PM safari ( they have advanced it by 30 minutes to avoid fading light and they're not allowed to switch their lights on when they're off the highway on the safari tracks ).

4 PM sharp start on the safari and we see scared car drivers hurriedly parking on the road side. Elephants! The safari jeep driver drives to about 2 feet from the elephants, he knows them all too well, they're tamed elephants. The curious bunch of creatures put their trunks in through the window trying to grab anything they find. It's my hand. A brief arm wrestle and they mercifully let go of my hand not before spraying copious amounts of whatever they were eating on my T and jacket.

Safari itself uneventful, usual deers and sambars, a tortoise here a few peacocks there. The saving grace was the half-tailed massive tusker and the sloth bear who stood 2 feeted scraping his chest but deciding to coyly run away into the fading light.

Back for the night sleep over to JLR, there is another lodge a block or 2 away : Bandipur plaza and there is a small shop that sells essentials - chips, soft drinks, toothpaste, soaps etc.


Day 2 : Wake up to the "Oook Oook Oook Oook"s of the Greater Coucal. It's called Kembootha in Kannada ( Trans : Red Devil ). The bird is pretty elusive, although you hear it a lot more , you hardly get to see it. If you're from the Karnataka country side, chances are that your mom would have told you that if you see the bird, you would have the luck of getting to eat a sweet dish that day ( smart moms, really, it's very hard to see the bird usually ). Tell that to me now, and I'll laugh it off. The irony in life is that when you're a child you always want to grow up and when you grow up, you wish you were still that small child.

Start at 6.30 AM after a hot coffee; zoom past the Kakkanalla check post on the border where we are curtly told off to put our cameras away. Move on till Theppakaadu and into Masinagudi. Fuel up. Hit the legendary 36 bends. Quick stop at the Bison valley view point. Move on to cross the final bend, typical Ooty, dull, cold but green, spirit-lifting, colourful all at the same time. As is typical of me, just turn back at Ooty, no sightseeing, no touristy places. Think of driving through Goodalur, but chuck the idea away as the 36 bends beckon again, now downhill. Back at JLR at 10.15 AM. So typical of Tamil Nadu roads, not a blemish anywhere all along. Quick breakfast and head towards Sulthan Bathery at 11 AM. Odd patches aside, road good. Sulthan Bathery - Mananthavadi ( I was tempted to use the handful of Malayalam words to impress locals there, but finally decided not to ). Good drive through the Muthanga sanctuary. At Mananthavady, head towards Kutta. Mananthavady - Kutta road is very good.

2.15 PM Kutta. Head towards Nagarahole.

At the check post :

"Where are you from?"
"Bandipur"
"Where are you heading to?"
"Hassan"
"Bandipur to Hassan, why THIS way?"
"Naav swalpa Hange, Nagarahole drive madbeku anta aase" ( We're a bit like that, wanted to drive through Nagarahole")
and then we play nice "what's the way to get to hassan"?
"through Hunsur"

Right-o. Move on. The drive through Nagarahole felt very loooong. Deers, stags crossing the road, peacocks prancing. Uneventful. Until we saw 2 4-legged behemoths. a few hundred meters away. One appeared a tusker, and I've always been wary of them; they get cranky for new apparent reason. But were relieved somewhat to see a female with him. Yet, I wasn't willing to drive closer. Then luckily came local KA09 Trax. They laughed at me and asked me to follow them. Get very very close to the Elephant couple, there is not telling which way they can run. Suddenly the Trax guy decides to honk them away and the Tusker started runnign amok. Fortunately, not in our direction but into the bushes. The moment was a bit too overwhelming to shoot on a camera. Everything happened in a trice. Nevermind, good experience still.

The other end of the park is close to Hunsur. The stretch through the park is very good, no bad stretches.

From Hunsur through Katte Malalavadi to KR Nagar : roads patchy. From KR Nagar -> Hole Narsipur->Hassan : very good.

Stay overnight at the Southern Star.

All philosophies, photographs and words in this blog are mine, unless I explicitly attribute to someone else. These have also been posted on team-bhp portals by me as airguitar.



















 
 

I have always wanted to see the Himalayas, be amidst them. For long. As long as I can remember. Driving is a great way to see the mountains, but only so much. Nothing comes quite as close as trekking through them.

I missed out an opportunity to trek to Roopkund last year. That rankled in my mind for more than a year, especially after the guys who went posted the pictures. So when a chance to trek to Rupin Pass came up this year, there was no missing it.

Dates were finalized atleast 3 months in advance and most of the tickets booked. Then came gear-shopping, out of the group of 9, 3 were first-time trekkers ( including me ). After burning cash on Trekking shoes ( Forclaz 500), Rucksack ( Forclaz 70 ), winter-wear (customary quilled jackets, thermal wear, monkeycap, gloves ) and rainwear ( a poncho, a bag-cover for rain and rainjackets - we got the 3-in-1 from Decathlon ), we spent more on getting sleeping bags ( 5 degree rating ) and trek poles ( the trek pole was a savior, more on that later ).

Now being a first time trekker ( and not being the fittest ), I had no idea of what to expect, especially given the altitude of 15500 ft that we'll be ascending to eventually during the trek. Quite a bit of AMS scare-mongering happened. But it wasn't in my hands, I was told, so it wasn't worth worrying more.  My practice sessions started with running. First day, I couldn't jog 300m without stopping. Then gradually, over days, got my running and breathing pattern right. For 6-7 weeks I ran upto 5Km daily - it was heartening to see that I could run so much without stopping. This, I also complemented by running uphill and downhill on our parking ramp just to test out any muscle related problem ( I have a torn ACL in one of the knees ). Things felt fine.

The last week or so was spent wearing the trek shoes and walking 1-2 kms to get used to it. None of the practice treks really happened, except for a short one to Avani hills ( turned out to be nothing more than a picnic ).

Come the day of travel to Delhi, everything was packed, the bag + camera bag + tripod all came to 13.5 Kg. Which was a little more that what I wanted. This is my luggage and our initial list of things to be packed ( we dropped some shirts and pants, wasn't necessary to carry that many ). All pants were thin/lightweight, no jeans. I chose semi-formal shirts ( full-hand ), to ensure proper covering of exposed areas as well as being lightweight. I carried T-Shirts as well but that was just for travel, not trek. No thick cargo pants either : to avoid weight ( we had to carry all our luggage through the trek as this trek is unlike a few others where you come back to where you started from : if that was the case, we could have left off belongings at various stages/camps ). I packed in a lot of undies and socks, 8 each, but only after the trek did I realize that it was wasteful, I ended up consuming only 4 undies and 4 pairs of socks ( and I wasn't stinking, please ).


 
 

Read Part 1 here.

The flight to Delhi was alright. No delays. From there we headed towards Nizamuddin, to take our train to Dehra Dun. Initial idea was to use the Metro, but time didn't permit. We just took a taxi and we got quick glimpses of the bungalows of the Who's Who of India. Reached Nizamuddin much ahead of time. There was an hour to kill at the station. We finished our breakfast at Comesum, pretty neat to have something like this at the big stations. The Parantha-mania started for some of the guys as did the Lassi-mania for some others.

Train came on time and there began our 6 hour journey. Delhi - Meerut - Saharanpur - Roorkee - Haridwar and Dehradun. I'm personally not a fan of train travel, but it sure is a great way to meet people from all walks of life : Sadhus, vagrants, party-workers and teachers teaching at schools in remote Uttarakhand villages, families returning from Dubai to their homeland - it was a mini-India on the train. One of our friends was stuck in a different bogie, and not knowing Hindi, he was terrified traveling with totally unknown people - I went to get him - and it was a sight to see : he was clinging to his seat in a hilarious position ( not so for him ) as too many people had adjusted themselves into the same seat.

As the train chugged through the vast green tracts of Rajaji National park, conversations were had around philosophy, river systems and everything under the sun. At Haridwar, we were planning to get off to see the evening Aarti, but eventually we decided not to. The conversations veered towards to the rivers and river systems of Uttarakhand. One gentleman who was traveling from Mathura to Dehradun ( and lived near Gangotri for many years ) seemed quite knowledgeable about myriad topics.

When we mentioned to him that we were on a trek along Rupin, he mentioned that it is said that one should not drink the water of Rupin and Supin rivers as it is believed that it can cause Leprosy and that set off more discussions ( in the end during the trek, we did end up drinking off Rupin ).

The train reached Dehradun and we picked up last minute juices, electral packets etc. We had some really good food at Flavours restaurant and retired to hotel Crown Royale for the night.
 
 

Read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

7 AM sharp and our Tempo Traveler was ready. All packed up, it went past the busy market onto Vikas Nagar road ( we avoided the Mussoorie route as the guy said traffic jams near the Tiger falls can consume many hours ).

The ebullient Mr. Rawat led the conversations like an army general - accurate, empathetic, responsible, full of pride. He is a free lancer tourist operator. Some really engrossing conversations happened and eventually the discussion went towards the Chakrata murder of 2 tourists a few months back and he explained how the culprits were apprehended later. Tourism thrives on safety, he said, and the state takes extra precautions to keep the state safe.

Our first glimpses of the Yamuna river were memorable. Flowing green on rubble and gravel, it took a winding path, sometimes splitting herself and rejoining in a poetically inspiring way. We were told that the confluence of Yamuna and it's biggest tributary could be seen from Badwal, off Dakhpattar. We couldn't see the confluence as the road was a little away from the place. The drive continued along the NH 123. We crossed the Osho Ashram, the Hatiyari dam ( the biggest rock dam in the world ) , Vyasi Hydel project ( the tunnel is worthing seeing ).

We had our brunch at Hotel Devbhoomi, near Suman Khyari. Excellent, hygienic food.

We drove on to get close to Naugaon. Just before Naugoan was the fork, where you can head on NH 123 towards Yamunotri or head towards Purola ( we needed to go to Purola ). Just off Naugaon is the Yamuna - Kamal Ganga confluence. After Naugaon, we crossed the Yamuna a final time ( three times we crossed Yamuna during this drive ). We drove on to reach Purola, good-sized town on the banks of Kamalganga. There hotels to stay here and decent restaurants. We had a late lunch at Hotel Hillview. There is a Vedic excavation site here in Purola.

From there, we drove along to reach Mori ( Tehsil that Sankri is part of ). Mori is again a small-sized town and has a good market. From Mori, you can go towards Sankri or towards Rohru. The Rohru-Haridwar bus takes this route.

Off Mori, we eventually we came face to face with Tons, Yamuna's biggest tributary. Known to be really cold, but raftable. Continuing to drive, we came to Naitwar, the entrance of Govind Pashuvihar ( Govind Wildlife sanctuary ). We had to cross this gate before 6. We were much ahead of time. We paid the entry fees etc and moved forward. Tons flowed alongside for a while after which we lost it and came by Supin river one of the tributaries of Tons.

Eventually we reached Sankri, got housed in rooms in the village. Food was had at the small hotel next to the rooms, omlettes and roti-subzi. View of the hills from the terrace was amazing. That night there was also a fest happening at the next village Saud, and there was enough activity through the night.

Sankri serves as the basecamp for the Harki-Dun trek as well as the Kedarkantha trek. A good night's sleep awaited us.

                                                                    
                                                                         Yamuna River








                                                                 

                                                            Kamalganga river




                                                                        
                                                                     Tons River




                        Supin River ( you can see Supin more if you go on the Harkidun trek )

 
 

Read Part1, Part2 and Part3 before reading this.

Early morning Chai lifted the spirits as did a big spider in the bath room. The tempo traveler was getting read for our short journey to Dhaula ( which is the official base for many for this trek ).

Omlettes were downed ( extra mirchi omlettes for some until they ran out of mirchis ). Last minute shopping like rain covers etc were done in the shop ( emergency trek things are available in this small shop ). Ramlal kept reminding us that we were running late. He himself was getting for an expedition - his brother was going to accompany us as the lead.

Now, all of us were packed of into the TT like sardines. Our support team included among others the ever-smiling Mysore Singh ( we figured later that it was Maheshwar Singh, but let's retain the false name ) and Jairam the cook. These guys are generally in high spirits. In comparison, we are so moody in life : moods fluctuating with the smallest of variations of life.

The vehicle passed Naitwar, Supin river was flowing until now. Now past Naitwar, we get to see the Rupin - Supin confluence. There is a little shrine at the confluence. Now as we continue till Dhaula on the TT, we are now running parallel to Rupin river.

At the end of the TT drive, we were handed our sleeping mat rolls. A last minute briefing and we are on, the first crossing is a big bridge across Rupin. Post that it was flat trek for a bit and then undulating terrain. First stream crossing then came. Then came a big dog that walked along with us for a while. Some stretches in between were rocky and steep and the first drops of sweat broke through. Electral mixed water was had frequently. Water bottles were routinely filled up at streams.

At one point we lost the trail a bit and took a harder route out and struggled a bit for a few minutes but nothing serious. Finally we reached Sewa - 2 storey houses ( the first storey was the hibernation floor stacked up with food etc as during winter there is deep snow ). Beautiful kids on the roadside kept waving.  People ask for medicines ( for fever / back ache etc ) from visitors as medicines were not readily available.

Finally we reached the camp place. It was a shop which had some rooms on the first floor. We didn't take the rooms, but pitched tents in front of the shop.

Jairam and team rustled up a super meal with custard. The camping place is close to the Vasu ( Hanuman ) temple. It didn't have the deity and we were told that the deity comes once in a while to the temple but remains in one of the many villages for a year. The deity would stay here for a year when Sewa's turn came.

We left for a short walk and finished Mr. A's snacks from Mumbai. Later a party of Australian trekkers camped up in the same place. Their plan ran parallel to ours and over the next few days we were to interact a lot with each other - their passion for life was worth emulating. They were carrying 19+ kgs on the back : they had no guides or cooks : they carried a map and their own cooking paraphernalia.

Red seeded plants dotted the landscape - these were the Ram Daane plants.

The real drama was at night. Due to channels not being dug up properly atleast 2 tents flooded. One was really badly affected with bags etc getting drenched. We were evacuated to the portico of the first floor of the shop and we slept outside in the bags. Some folks showed more presence of mind while this happened.






 
 

Read Part 1, 2, 3 and 4 here.

This was going to be the trek day with the longest distance to cover. But 6 Kms of that was going to be on a gravelly road, so not really rocky terrain.

Morning ablutions were done by the wayside. A light breakfast and we were on. Walked along Ramdaane patches, and then through slughes and then finally over a beautiful bridge over Rupin, wooden. Trudged along through descents and ascents to finally reach a road. This is the Rohru - Jishkun road. You could see the odd commander jeeps and the maruti 800s plying. This place is called Gosango. There is a small shop where you can buy food etc. Then we just saw a couple of trekkers from a different group being evacuated via a car. One of them had acute AMS.

We continued along the gravelly road. Some waterfalls were seen on the roadside ; one of them even had a natural pool : we filled our drinking water bottles while the folks from Australia took a dive.

Then came a stationary jeep that was loaded with Pears. We were all given a pear each as a gift - the tastiest pear I have ever had. We were reminded that rains could kick in later in the evening and it would best for us to reach the camp as soon as possible. We continued and the first village we came to from there was Bawta. Here, there are shops : we had our meal of rotis and achar and sabzi. We also had some tea. Gathered ourselves and moved on. Not very far, we come to Jishkun : a beautiful, big sized village. This village has a school and a post office and fairly big shop ( Sooi se leke Jahaj tak sab milega idar ;) ). We fooled around with the kids a bit and then got going. Jishkun, BTW, is the camp for some groups.

The next few stretches were the steepest ascents of the trek : crisscrossing ascent over corners with some breathtaking views. This was probably a bit tiring. At one point, we had to cross a beautiful wooden bridge again and at around a dangerous corner, some mules decided to walk by :)

We were already instructed that when animals cross, we are supposed to take the hill side of the path and not the valley side, was a very useful tip.

We got to the step of Jhaka around 3.30 PM and than sat around chatting only to realize that it could start raining any moment. So we headed fast to our homestay, which is a wooden house on stilts in the village of Jhaka. The village is beautiful with hanging houses and apple orchards.

As we neared the home, we ran out of luck : it started raining and we got drenched a bit. We were greeted with Apples and tea and after usual light meals and long chats we retired. But boy, IT WAS COLD!












 

Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 here.

A quick breakfast and we started. The steep road behind the cottage was a sure demotivator at the start of the day. We trudged on. Limbs were aching a bit that day. Steep ascents and descents led us to a descent which was very steep : this descent would take us back to the level of the river. We also saw our first glacier here. I slipped a bit on loose foothold ; recovered but shook my confidence a bit for the rest of the day. The crossing of the river was tricky too ; we had to use a rickety bridge. Now this bridge is rebuilt every year based on if the river changes course or if the bridge is damaged. After the bridge, 3 of us were lost a little bit : there were 2 directions after the bridge and we took the wrong one. We had to wait for the guides ( who by the way leave atleast 2 hours later than us and reach the camp before us each day ) to rescue and guide us. And then there was another small bridge to cross for the day, where we had our lunch. From there, it was a steep ascent to the camp. Then we went past the Udaknal area. We were going to stay at the Saruwas Thatch, but cut short the plan to stay at the Bhuranskhandi patch. There is also a old hutment there, which is used by trekkers. That was used as the kitchen this time.

It was absolutely cold that night. Some of us cooled our heels ( in a literal meaning ) in the ice cold waters of the Rupin. The evening was spent wowing about the distant snowcapped peak and the now visible upper waterfall. Night was spent doing night photography.

Tents were double/triple checked if a similar problem could happen if it rained. No, it didn't rain that night.





 

Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 here.

This was the shortest day of trek and probably among the easier days ( if AMS didn't hit you, I mean )

The day was fairly uneventful except for the glacier crossing. Some of us got stranded at a wrong point on the other side of the glacier and needed a bit of help. We reached really early and there was a lot of time to soak up. Danderas is the base of the upper waterfall.



Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 here.

We were already told that this was going to be the toughest day alongside the Rupin pass day. From the thatch to the upper waterfall, it was three stage ascent. Very steep and very quick.

It's not eventful, but full of surprising and fast changing scenery. The end point for the day, above the waterfall, is breathtaking. We spent time at the top of the fall, looking down on how it fell downwards as well as the huge views of the valley below.

Now this is a sheep trail as many would already know. There was a huge flock of sheep transiting the place and it was a sight to see!

And then, there was a severe hailstorm, we just got inside. We were really worried about the bad weather for the next morning, the day we were going to pass the Rupin Pass. The hailstorm was unrelenting and we spent most of the evening/night inside. It was going to be a really early start the next morning.






 
 

Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 , 7 and 8 here.

It was a really early start around 6 AM. Thankfully the hailstorm had stopped but the ground had heaps of hail. So we had to wade through the hail for most part. Upto the pass, it maybe dry based on the overnight weather ( below are two pictures that were taken about a week after our trek, shows how the pass looks without hail/snow ) but just around the pass and after, snow was expected no matter what the overnight weather was.

This is a week after our trek shows the water on Rupin Lake and the gravelly pass, photos courtesy a friend.




Now back to our trek. We walked past the frozen lake and the haily pass. The ascent to the pass is 2 phase : a not so steep ( but still steep ) ascent, a midpoint and a super-steep ascent from there. The super steep ascent is where most people need help or handholding. It surely was the toughest ascent for most of us. One should be careful not to slide down.

At the pass there is a number of shrines and a quick puja is done with Dhoop for Bholenath. A quick break and some group photos later, we started the descent. The first few parts of descent are in deep snow. We just broke through the snow with heavy feet and then got to a point where we saw distant views of the majestic Kinner Kailash. And then the tricky part of descent started : it was slippery, melting fleet + ice and we had to be really careful at many places. Post that, the descent to Rontigad was prolonged and testing, if not arduous. Folks were really hungry by the time they go to Rontigad. There were many yaks grazing. The camp was at a much lower level : from there we could see the confluence of Nalgan river with Rontigad stream.















 

Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 , 7, 8 and 9 here.

Waking up to beautiful views of snowclad peaks hidden behind the bigger peaks was a great shot in the arm. The laborious descent to Sangla began. Farming patches, small villages on the way. More yaks were seen. Cellphones started their reception! We had carried a BSNL phone, but fortunately, here, other providers were also doing OK. It was a very long walk and for some, the pains in their limbs started resurfacing.

Closer to Sangla, we say a group of Govt surveyors that were there to check on Butterflies etc. We continued the descent along numerous Apple orchards and eventually to the swift flowing Baspa river which is tributary of Sutlej ( aka Shatadru ).

After reaching Sangla, it was still a big deal to get to the lodge which was near the market. At that point, even the best of the folks in the team started showing signs of frustration. After more steep climb through the town, we eventually reach the market. We stayed at the Baspa Guest house. It felt good to be back to civilization. Lunch and Dinner was had at the Himalaya Dhaba next to the bus stop. Finally normal food! Also someone in the group bought us all Kinnaur apples.

The evening was spent talking about the trek that was and some people nursing their aches and some, their blisters.

Our guides took leave of us and it was an emotional moment.

The night was comfortable under really think quilts. It was decided that we would take the bus to Shimla, the bus was at 6.30 AM.







 

Read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 , 7, 8, 9 and 10 here.

The bus trip was something that we were looking forward to. We got some good seats. I was particular that I sit on the right side so I could see the Baspa-Sutlej confluence at Kharchcham. The bus passes through some tough terrains ( may not be as tough as the Kalpa stretch ) but it was still fun. The bus was a Reckong Peo depot bus that was going to Dilli from Sangla.

We were going to Shimla! The biggest stop on the route was at Rampur. The entire journey lasted about 11 hours.

When we landed in Shimla, it was such a satisfying moment of having completed a trek whose memories will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Everyone should do a trek in the Himalayas, at least once in a lifetime!

We did a bit of sightseeing in Shimla - read this - and then headed to Amritsar - read this and finally to Dilli and back to our homes from there!




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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