Tadiyandamolu Trek - June 3rd and 4th, 2017

Second highest peak in Karnataka was still pending on my list, and I decided to finish this one by making it the first one among the series of monsoon treks that I have planned for the year. With help of Niranjan, I organized this trek through Bangalore Adventurers, and a total of 20 of us were all set to leave on Friday night.

The most special thing about our group was that we were 13 women among 20 - something that happened for the first time with me in these 2 years of travel saga! There were also 3 kids among us, (under 18 I mean) and it was a kind of family group. After introduction and some briefing, we settled down on our seats in the minibus for sleep, while the bus moved towards our destination - Virajpete.

Day 1, June 3rd: (Trek to Tadiyandamolu peak and back)

We reached Virajpete at 4:20 AM. We had to pack breakfast and lunch from a hotel, and we had to wait till the hotel opened. We thus slept in bus till 6 AM. W then got the food packed, and we continued the journey in our minibus to Nalkunaadu Palace. We hired a jeep for all our backpacks and cooking items, and a couple of girls went in the jeep, while the rest of us walked till Thammayya's house, which was about 3 km from palace. We reached his house around 10 AM.

Virajpete to Kaakabbe road

Nalkunadu palace from where trek started

A small water stream while walking to Thammayya's house

Road to Thammayya's house

On the way 

On the way

We got freshened up quickly, had breakfast and got ready to leave. At 11 AM sharp, we started our trek. It was cloudy and cool, but it wasn't raining. Initially for about half km, it's jeep trail, and then it was open grassland. It started drizzling, and the visibility was too low because of fog all around. We kept trekking up, and it was not steep or difficult, and thus the group was fast enough.

Group pic before start of trek

Initial smooth road

Amidst grasslands

With a couple of rest times in between, we reached the forest trial, which lasted for about 500 mts, and this stretch was the steepest one. It wasn't that difficult, but it did provide us some protection to the non-stopping rain. We finally made it to peak at 1:10 PM. (Could not take any pics on peak since it was raining continuously)

On the way to peak

Almost neat the peak

Weather was too good, and it was very cold, but the fog was so thick that we couldn't even see 50 mt beyond where we stood. We thus didn't get slightest chance of the seeing view form the peak. Kind of disappointed, we had our lunch, and since it was raining still, we decided to start the trek down, though we had enough time in hand.

There was water now flowing on the trek path, and we had no choice but walk along with the water. It was now slippery almost all along the route, and thus our progress was a little slow. Anyway, we all came back to Thammayya's house at 4:30 PM. We changed into fresh clothes, and settled in the kitchen for a chat and a round of snacks. We then got things ready for cooking. Most of the girls involved in cooking, while the rest of them started playing cards. It was 8 PM when the bisibelebath got ready. By the time we finished dinner with a lot of laugh and chat, the rain had finally given a break, and the weather was clear and cool. We thus went out for the campfire set up by Thammayya. Our junior most members - Kumar's daughters danced and sang for us, and we spent some time chatting. No stars were seen, since it was too much cloudy. Everyone started to get inside the house to sleep, while few of us decided to go for a short walk, and we went not more than 100 mts from house (it was pitch dark, and the jungle around was also thick) We spent some 20 minutes, and came back near the house, and finally when it was 10 PM, we went to sleep.

Thammayya's house

Kitchen on Thammayya's house

Day 2, June 4th: (Visit to Talacauvery temple and back to Bangalore)

We woke up at 6 AM, freshened up and got things ready to cook Maggi. We were ready by 9 AM, and after putting our backpacks in jeep, we walked to the palace. After 30 minutes of walk, we reached our bus, and started our short journey towards Talacauvery temple. We reached there at 11 AM.

Thammayya's garden's flowers

On the way back to minibus

On the way back to Minibus

Talacauvery temple

The location of this temple is just too good, with amazing view around and hills right behind. Though it was cloudy, it wasn't raining .The temple was decently crowded, and we came out after darshan in 30 minutes. We then had a few road side stuffs like cucumber, mango, chips, bajji etc since the cold weather had made us hungry, and also the weather was too tempting for hot and spicy items. We then started towards Madikeri at 12 PM.

We reached Hotel Atithi in Madikeri city at 1:30 PM and had lunch. Then a few people went to shop for some spices, while we had ice cream and waited for them all to return. It was 2:45 PM when we were all back to bus and we started. We then had a feedback session, asking everyone to share their experience of the trek. Many of them were first timers and all of them had enjoyed it very much. With that, we all settled down for a round of nap, while a few of them were chatting. We gave a short break at Adigas in Maddur at around 6 in the evening, and then we reached Bengaluru at 9:45 PM.

Another destination in western ghats was thus accomplished, with a bunch of awesome people!

Drive to Devarayanadurga - February 25th 2017

A free Saturday was all mine to do what I liked. I had planned the previous day that I will go somewhere, though hadn't really decided where. I got up lazily at 10:30 AM, and then after having second thoughts if I should really go or not, I finally decided to head out, convincing myself that I didn't have anything else to do at home. I thus quickly took a shower, had breakfast and started at 11:30 AM.

Just before leaving, I checked the distance of Devarayanadurga from my home, and it was 90 km. Round trip would be 180 km, and I thought it should be okay for my Activa too. I did not have any thoughts of any other place, and just started without thinking much. With music on, it was specially good to drive for the first 30 km on Outer Ring Road since there was no much traffic at all :-P. (Surprisingly, I didn't even stop at KR Puram signal, and crossed it without any delay. I felt very lucky and proud :-P)

I reached NH-4 in an hour. From there, the road was smooth with no much vehicles. The drive as always was awesome. All the way I maintained the average speed of 65 - 70 kmph, though at times I touched 85 - 90 kmph. I reached Dabaspete and took a deviation, and another 15 km from here was my destination. Stopping only to fill my tank, I reached at 1:30 PM.

Bhoga Narasimha Temple

I first went to Bhoga Narasimha Swamy temple, the one at the foothills of Devarayanadurga. There were quiet a few people - something that I never expected (All the way I was hoping that it won't be too secluded and isolated- which would be a trouble for me as a solo girl). Seeing so many people made me too happy, and I parked the vehicle. Within 10 more minutes, I was out after the darshan, and now headed to the other temple, Yoga Narasimha Swamy which was on the hill. A few U pin bends up the hills and I was there. The view of the town around was good from here, though it was not that a huge hillock. Here also it was a little crowded, and I climbed those 100+ steps to reach the temple. This temple was also good, and I was out after the darshan in a mere few minutes. Next to the temple there is a pond, and next to it there is a path which would take one to the peak. It was only another 100-200 mt walk, but there were no much people there (To be frank, only about 6-7 guys were there) and I thought it was not safe enough for me to go there all alone. (The only thing which gives me second thoughts about going somewhere alone - "safety issues") So I returned and took my vehicle and went towards the IB and came back the same road, to reach the main highway road.

Devarayanadurga town, at the foothills of its hillock, with Bhoga Narasimha Temple at the center

Road to IB from Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple

From one of the view points near IB

A right from here would have taken me back to Bengaluru, but the sign board said that taking a left will take me to Goravanahalli Mahalakshmi Temple - 20 km away. I checked my watch and it was still 3 PM. I thus turned left, and headed to Goravanahalli.

This road particularly was good since there were only farming fields all along, and the road was narrow but well maintained. All around I could see rocky hillocks. There were hardly any vehicles on the road, and the drive was easy and a relaxed one, except  for the annoying speed breakers about every 3 - 4 km. I reached the temple at 3:30 PM. There was a small queue outside the temple, with about 50+ people in the line, but it took no more than 15 minutes to get the darshan of Goddess Mahalakshmi. Once out, without taking anymore time for anything else, I started the journey back on the same road.

Road to Goravanahalli from Devarayanadurga

With the music still on, I was enjoying the ride and in 30 minutes, I reached Dabaspete. It was 4:30 PM and I decided to even visit Hesaraghatta lake on the way, which I wanted to visit for a very long time now. Before continuing the journey, I stopped for an orange juice on roadside, and then without giving anymore break, I headed straight to the lake.

Asking people for directions, I reached there at 5:20 PM. It was a peaceful destination, with a few people who came to visit the temple there. There was no water in the lake at all. But the cool breeze was soothing for the evening. I sat there, staring at the empty land, and I could see frequent flights that was heading towards Devanahalli for landing, like one in 5 minutes. I spent about 30 minutes there, and exactly at 6 PM, I started again to reach home, which was about 40 km from here. The traffic was a little much now, and I reached at 7:45 PM. When I checked the meter reading, I realized I had driven for 270 km for the day, and felt a little proud (for setting my record for driving maximum km in a day in my Activa :-P ) and happy for having completed it safely :) I also decided to never miss a chance again and go for a drive, whenever I get another free weekend like this.

Unchalli Falls and Burude Falls Trek - February 11th and 12th, 2017

With too much uncertainty till the very end, this trek was finally happening, since there were a lot of chances of it getting cancelled because of less number of people. Anyway, on Thursday night it was confirmed that we would be heading for this trek. We all left at 10 PM from Majestic on Friday, except Guru - the organizer and his friend Chiranjeevi, who joined us near 8th Mile. We stopped for a tea break at around 11:30 PM on the highway, had a intro session and we started our journey again. We were 10 in all; 7 guys and 3 girls.

Day 1, February 11th: (Trek to Burude Falls and then to Campsite)

We reached Sagara at 5 AM. We went to IB and the caretaker provided us a huge room with a huge bathroom :-P We were not in a hurry and were relaxing since we had lot of time. We freshened up one by one, and our guide Sandeep came to the IB, and along with him we went to the nearby hotel at 8 AM. We had breakfast, took our packed lunch and started the 1 hour journey towards Siddapura, the point from where our trek would start. We reached there by 10:15, and with some quick info and rules by Sandeep and after a group pic, we started our trek by 10:30 PM. 

Before the start of trek

The route was completely jeep route, until we reached the falls. But to get down to the base, we had to get down a steep patch of land. In between at one point, we got the full and first view of the falls. It looked beautiful and we couldn't wait to get into water and play. We reached the base finally at 11:30 AM.

Sandeep leading the group

The steep patch to get down to the base of Burude falls

Full view of Burude Falls

We all changed into other set of clothes to get into water. It was a little dangerous at some places since it was too slippery, and we were careful enough. After a mini circus of climbing the slippery rocks, we all managed to go beneath the falls, where the water was too forceful and provided a good massage for the back and head. We enjoyed there for almost 2 hours, until Sandeep forced us to get ready and move on towards our camping site since we were getting late. We were supposed to have lunch and leave by 1:30 is what he had said initially, but we actually started at 2:30 PM.

Lowest part of Burude Falls

Struggle with the slippery rocks to get near the falls

Climbing the steep patch again and a few steps, we were back on the jeep road at 3 PM. We had to hurry up, and everyone made an effort to walk fast. We walked through a village, and then a patch of forest, and then a farm and finally another stretch of forest until we reached the river. We had to cross this river and camp on the other bank. It was a huge river, but since there was very less water, we could cross it without getting wet beyond our legs. Though we had crossed 3 streams in the day, this was a relatively a bigger one, and since the current was more, it was a little difficult one too.

The river that we crossed to reach the campsite

Aghanashini river

We reached the campsite finally at 6 PM. We were yet to go another 2 km to reach our TT, and get the sleeping bags and cooking stuffs. 5 of them including Guru and Sandeep decided to go and get those stuffs from our TT, while rest of us got the firewood ready. They left at 6:20 PM, while we relaxed after a 13 km trek, until they came back at 8 PM. Till then, we were sharing and hearing to some interesting stories and experiences of each other.

We then started cooking. Though Sandeep was very reluctant to take any help from us, we managed to cut some vegetables for him. We were chit chatting and taking rest, staring at the sky, and the moon was about to rise up, behind the hills. The place we had camped was surrounded by hills on all sides, which had a little higher altitude than the river bed, thus blocking the horizon alone and giving a limited - yet wide view of sky. It was a full moon day and the moonlight was enough to light up the whole scene. It was a beautiful place to spend a night at.

Full moon seen through the branches of the tree

Sandeep prepared Rice, Rasam and Vermicilli Kheer, which was very tasty. Too much rice was left over, and we decided to make puliyogare out of it for next day. We finished our dinner and everyone settled to sleep. Sandeep, Varun, Guru and I went near the river, to see the small falls that was lit in moonlight. It was a beautiful sight. We were lying on sloppy rocks, with our legs inside water, and the whole scene was lit in moon light. We all insisted on being silent, and to enjoy the blissful view. Sandeep and Varun left after a few minutes, and went to the camping area to sleep. Within a few more minutes, Guru slept there on those rocks, and when I insisted him to go and sleep in the sleeping bag, he denied because he would not let me be there alone. And since I didn't want him to sleep on those rocks, I woke him up after some time and we came back to the camping area at 1 AM. I was staring at the moon for a while with some pleasant music in my ears and then I also slept.

Day 2, February 12th: (Trek to Unchalli falls)

We had lot of time, since we had to trek only for 5 km today. Sandeep said we will be leaving by 9 AM and everyone woke up by 7 AM. But I was up by 4:30 AM, and couldn't sleep anymore and thus I was staring at the moon again, watched him go behind the hills, and by the time he disappeared, it wasn't dark anymore - the time was around 6 AM.

We prepared coffee and savored it hot. Pleasant morning inside the forest, next to the river and a hot coffee - a perfect moment. Sandeep got busy in cooking, all other guys went to play in water, and we girls spent our time sitting next to the river. It was 9 AM when Sandeep called us for breakfast. He was cooking Upma for lunch while we had our breakfast (Puliyogare). We later sat there and waited while the lunch got ready. We then cleaned the entire site and packed up and got ready to leave. It was 11 AM when we started.

Campsite

Aghanashini river

2 km trek inside the forest took us to a road, and another 1 km took us to the main entrance of Unchalli falls. Our TT was supposed to be there, but he was not to be seen. We called him up and he reached in 15 minutes. It was 12:30 PM already and we had to start as soon as possible. We kept all our bags in the TT, took only packed lunch and water and started the trek, after a group pic.

Main Entrance to Unchalli Falls

In 300 mt, we reached the view point. The very first view of the falls was breathtaking. I just held my mouth in awe; it was just that beautiful. The water seemed to fall in a weirdly cross direction, a little off the vertical-down, because of the structures of the rock. Everyone was taken aback and was surprised at the first view, since nobody had expected it to be that beautiful. (One never knows what the nature has to offer, unless you go see for yourself) There are 3 view points, and only from the 3rd and last view point, the falls can be seen in full.

Unchalli Falls from 3rd and last viewpoint

Group pic at Unchalli Falls 3rd viewpoint

We took some pics and then came back to the road. There was a small path inside the jungle which would take us down - not to the base of falls though, but some 100 mt ahead of that. We made all effort to reach there as soon as possible and in an hour we came down, and another half an hour jumping and climbing over the rocks, we settled in a spot which was quiet closer to the falls, to have lunch and to play in water. It was too sunny and the rocks were hot. We played in water, and the current of water was too high and was pushing us away. It was fun to play and it wasn't deep at that particular spot. After almost an hour, we came out of water. Sandeep would have hit me if I had taken some more time for taking photos :-P He had already been insisting for 30 minutes now, to have lunch and leave soon, while I kept saying 'just few more pics' or 'just 5 minutes more' :-P. To get the complete view of falls, we had to climb further up, and thus Guru took my camera and started the climb. Nobody noticed him leave (not even Sandeep). I was still having my lunch, and while doing so, I silently followed him, successfully stealing the sight from Sandeep, and then Pradeep also followed us. In just 10 minutes, we reached a point from where the falls was completely seen and had the most spectacular view. It looked very gushing and aggressive from the top, but from here it looked so pleasant and serene. We would have missed something big, if we hadn't come here. We took a few pics, and came back to the spot where we had stopped for lunch, but there was no one to be seen there. At a far distance, ,we could see a few friends who shouted at us that everyone left. Pradeep also packed up and left quickly, while I waited for Guru since he was not yet back. In a few minutes he was back, and we packed up quickly and walked fast, to catch up our other friends.

Playing in water

Within 15 minutes, we reached the point from where we had to start the climb inside the forest, and all others were waiting for us here. From there we all started together, the last climb of this trek. We spoke all the way up, without a break, to pass our time and thus forget our tiredness. We took 50 minutes in all to reach the view point, which took more than an hour while getting down the same distance (It was very steep). After taking rest for few minutes, we walked towards the entrance and reached there in 10 minutes. It was 5 PM, and we changed to fresh clothes and had tea in the only shop at the entrance there. We then started our journey towards Sagara in our TT.

It was 7 PM when we reached Sagara and Sandeep dropped out himself near the hotel where we had had our breakfast the previous day. We spent some 20 minutes there, chit chatting and we decided to have our dinner in Sagara itself, than waiting for another hour or so for Shivamogga to arrive. We thus insisted Sandeep also to join us for dinner, and we went to the nearby Dhaba that was suggested by him.

We had our dinner along with the feedback session, and it was not surprising to know that each one of us had had their one-of-the-best experiences. The group was awesome, trek as well and those falls - even better. We then started our journey, at close to 9 PM. Everyone were tired and settled for sleep. I was also sleepy, but the last seat in the TT was uncomfortable for me and couldn't sleep properly. I managed to have only about 2 hours of sleep, and then reached Bengaluru at 4:30 AM. We bid goodbye to each other, recalling those wonderful moments and places and headed back towards our homes. One of the best treks of my life thus ended with a heavy load of sweet memories :)

Bandaje Arbi Falls and Ballarayanadurga fort Trek - November 26th and 27th, 2016

This trek was decided at the end moment, since the initial plans was to go Kumaraparvata, and with that being cancelled due to some reasons, I and my other friends who were up for KP now turned to Guru, who was organizing Bandaje trek for same dates. He said there are seats available to accommodate us, and we ended up for this trek. We thus started from Majestic at 9 PM, 20 of us in the minibus and headed towards Ujire.

Day 1, November 26th: (trek to Bandaje Falls and camp for the night)

We reached Gowdara mane at 6 AM. We were a little late though, and we quickly freshened up, since the owner warned us about other two groups who were yet to come. We had breakfast and we got ready for the trek. The forest department officer came to collect the fee and complete the formalities. We were late already, and with a small formal intro and guidelines, we started the trek at 9 AM.

Intro before the start of trek

It was a 8km trek till falls, and the guide said it's a moderate to difficult trek. Taking everything that we need for two days, our bags were relatively heavy, which made it a little difficult for us to trek. Initial 4 km was inside the forest. Though it was steep and a little tiring at times, all those trees never made us realize the heat of the hot sun above our heads. There were few water streams to cross, and in one of them, we took a long break to relax as well as to take some pics. It was relatively an easy trek for these 4 km, and we reached the end of the forest line. It was 12:30 PM and we stopped here for lunch.

Initial forest route

Water streams in between

Lunch point

From here, it was another 4 km walk. No more forest and it was a plain grassland. Just another walk of 100 mt gave us the first view of the falls - that is where we need to reach for today. It never looked it was 4 km away, nor it seemed difficult, since it wasn't that steep as well. But the sun was waiting to drain all our energy, and with those heavy bags, we found it too difficult to trek. We took repeated breaks wherever we found trees and didn't want to let go of that small shade the tree provided. We stayed there for as long as possible, but we had to move ahead to reach our destination. There were no clouds as well to relieve us, and we somehow continued to walk slowly and steady. We finally reached the last stretch up, where the grassland ended on the edge, and from here it was full of trees, with a small way down for about 100 mt to reach the falls. This was a little steep and we then had to cross the stream, and another 50 mt on those rocks took us to the tip of the falls. We were here finally, at 2 PM.

Second half of trek in grasslands

The first touch of the water sent chills through our body. The water was too cold for the temperature of the day. It was surprising, but the fact is that the sunlight never touched the water since it is well hidden beneath the trees of that small patch of forest, keeping it cool always. We went to the tip, and came back and thought of playing in water. We all hesitated to get ourselves soak completely, since it was too cold. But we wouldn't even give up, since it will be very refreshing after a tiring trek. Once we were all in, it was an amazing feeling and all the pain and weariness of the trek disappeared. It was a rejuvenating feeling when we sat under the water, while it gushed forcefully on our heads and our backs. We played in water for an hour, took some pics and then went near the tip of the falls to take some more pics :-P We also took a leap to find out the length of the plunge the water took from that tip, and we estimated it to be about 100 mt. We rested there for a while, and we went to set up the tents and cooking area, and then prepared coffee. It was close to sunset, and coffee was an awesome drink for the moment.

Siva, trying to take a look down the falls

Playing in water

We had to set up tents in the open land, next to those trees and on the tip of the grassland. About 50 mts away, there were a few rocks and we made arrangements to cook our dinner there. Moon was no where seen since it was going to be a new moon day 3 days later, and thus a million of stars in the sky could be seen clearly. All were sitting near the cooking area, and while we cooked bisibelebath, we had a formal intro session, and talked about various other topics, since we hadn't got a chance to do that with the entire group for the whole day. At around 9:30 PM, the dinner was ready and we all had it and walked towards the tents to settle down to sleep. After settling down, Guru, Vatsa, Siva, Adithya and I decided to spend some time near the cooking area and watch the sky for a while, and we went there along with our jackets and sleeping bags. Vatsa also did some star photography, and we slept around 12 I guess. At 2 AM, Guru woke us up, asking us to move inside tents, since it was getting too cold. We thus crept into our tents and slept peacefully.

Campsite

Day 2, November 27th: (Trek to Fort and back to falls, and then to homestay)

Not everyone wanted to come to fort, which was another 5 km trek in the plain grassland. Thus only 9 of us out of 20 decided to go till fort and come back. We woke up at 6 AM, and though Guru had said strictly to start by 6:30, we were late by 15 minutes when we started. The guide didn't accompany us, saying the route is clear enough to figure it out for ourselves.

Despite the guide saying there are no deviations, we somehow missed the route initially and went for about 300 mts and realized we were on wrong path. As per the guide's say, there is only one route - true, but the rock patches in between will not tell you in which direction you need to go. Coming back, we figured out the correct path and we continued the trek without giving up. Thanks to Guru, who volunteered to find the route by going beyond the hills to check for the correct route, while the rest of us were too tired to do it.

View around, on the way to fort

After a walk for another 30 minutes, we got the first glimpse of the fort. It looked far, and there was yet another couple km to cover. But the path wasn't steep, and the view was beautiful. We also found a herd of Bysons far on the other hill. Kuduremukha peak was also visible on the left side. We walked along the flat land, with sun above us and making us tired, though  it was just 9 AM. With some up's and down's here and there, we reached the final hillock upon which the fort was situated. It was a climb for another 200 mt to reach the fort, and we finally made it.

Ballarayanadurga Fort

View from the fort

Group pic at the peak

It was 10 when we reached the fort. It had a couple of trees inside, below which we rested for a while and then took a look of the view around the peak. We took some pics, and we started to trek down again at 11:15 AM. All we had had was a guava, which Guru had bought along. We walked down those inclined grasslands, and without taking any breaks, we reached the campsite at 1:15 PM. All others had rested well, and had had Maggi for breakfast, leaving some for us as well. Meanwhile, the group which didn't come till the fort left with the guide, while we prepared second round of Maggi. We then had the breakfast cum lunch, packed our bags and started our trek around 2:30 PM.

We had to be fast enough to reach Gowdara mane before it got dark. Thus we didn't stop anywhere much, and were making sure everyone was together. The guide had left marks for us in the deviations, making it easy for us. With all the effort put, we finally made it to gowdara mane at 5:30 PM, and we were too hungry now, and had our lunch.

We decided to start the journey at night, since we would reach Bengaluru somewhere in midnight, had we left then. We thus took time and relaxed, and also took bath in  hot water and got ready to leave at around 8:30 PM. We decided to stop near Kottigehara for neerdose, and it was 10:30 when we reached there. Neerdose was too good and ending the meal with coffee, we started the journey to Bengaluru. We had the feedback session, recalling all those wonderful moments, and then slept while the bus made its way to our city.

Yet another destination in Western Ghats was thus accomplished! :)