Today was one of the harder days at work, not hard from any particular thing that I could point out, it was just one of those days when you feel very tired of it all, you feel sapped of all your energy, more mentally than physically...all this said, it doesn't mean it was an unproductive day work wise, that is the funniest or strangest part of these kind of days. It was a very productive day work-wise, but I was mentally as tired as I ever can think of.
I don't know if you get what I mean...these kind of days don't happen often to me, it usually happens when I'm a bit stressed, anyways, that is not the point of this blog.
The point is, how do I snap out of this kind of a day, where one feels totally down for no explicable reason. Simple. Thanks to Radhesh, I watch his Sar pass photos compilation with the divine music on my superb speakers with full volume, it is almost as if the combined effect of the beautiful photos and the music enters the tired body and drives all the negativity and stress out.
Sar pass trek has probably been the best 10 days of my life ever, and thanks to technology, we are able to relive it again and again and again, and each time, I feel the same way as I felt when I was trekking in Parvati valley onto Sar pass. Anybody who has experienced something similar totally understands what people mean by Himalayas being divine., they truly are. I have been to some really beautiful places during my treks, but each time I recall my Sar pass trek and see this video I get goose bumps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qPWh0v72NU
Do watch it if you have not, if possible, watch it with the volume up, the experience is truly divine, it is a communion with nature, I feel truly one with nature.
And if you have never been to the Himalayas, do go there. It is an experience that has to be...well experienced, it cannot be talked about. You can talk about it with someone who has experienced the same, with no words exchanged at all. It is almost as if there is a secret language of those who have been to the divine mountains, you mention about the Himalayas to anyone who has been there and I can bet that without another word exchanged, both will feel amazingly good and relive the experience in a second.
Experiencing the Himalayas (or even reliving it) kind of a communion with nature cures all.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Ettina Bhuja
Various circumstances led us on a trek to Ettina Bhuja, this is a hill which is shaped like the back of an ox (ettu=ox in kannanda, bhuja=shoulder). This is in Charmadi Ghats, accessible from a town called Shishila near the famous pilgrim spot Dharmasthala. The original plan was to go to Ballalarayana Durga via Bandaje falls, but lack of planning scuttled the plan(pun intended).
The original plan was for 9 of us (Mithun, Vikas, Satish, Rasool, Radhesh, Naveen, Praveen, Chethan and myself), tickets were scarce to find on the Sankranti long weekend , so we were split over two buses, then Vijay joined in, prompting the need for a third bus.
The bus Satish, Vikas, Chethan, Vijay and I went in, reached earliest at Dharmasthala. This is the 2nd time in a few months that we were in Dharmasthala (last time being for Amedikal trek, incidentally Amedikal and Ettinabhuja are closeby). Off we went straight to Saketha guesthouse, this is probably the farthest among guesthouses, a good kilometer's walk from the busstand, as a result accommodation is always available here. A room cost us Rs 105, yes Rs 105 for all of us!!!! A room can easily accommodate 6 people, we needed it only for freshening up. The others joined us soon and we were off to the temple to seek the blessings of Lord Manjunatha before we began the trek. We rushed back to the lodge and packed up, divided luggage and set out in search of a jeep to take us to Shishila. See the photo of the lodge Saketha, it gives you an idea of the facilities in Dharmasthala, it is an amazing place, a family or group of 6 can manage a day for around Rs 300 (food+acco)...
As we walked down the sloping road from our guesthouse, we got a jeep, haggled with him on the rent, and agreed for some money around 600. It was at this time that we realized that it was impossible to cram in 10 adults with their oversized rucksacks, 3 super big tents etc. But then, a 2nd jeep was out of question, so all of us somehow fit in, the driver was sitting outside the jeep almost and driving it!!!
All the luggage was just piled on the people sitting at the back, imagine 5 people including the driver sitting in the front seat!!!
The journey in the jeep was my worst till date, as it is, I suffer from motion sickness if I sit in the rear, add to that the bad roads and the driver getting lost...it was horrible.
Anyway, after suffering the journey as dictated by our karma, we were at Shishila. We met Gopu Gokhale on the highway near his house, he told us that our guide would be Channappa...we were delighted to have him as our guide, for he was with us when we went to Amedikal sometime back. We bid goodbye to Gokhale and took the same left turn (left when you come down from Kokkada, towards Shishila bus stand) as that for Amedikal from Shishila...the track for Ettinabhuja starts a good 2-3 km further down the jeep track from where Amedikal track starts. The jeep track was as dusty as anything could ever be...and we sitting at the back of the jeep were badly exposed to the dust being kicked up by our own vehicle...and since Vijay and I were sitting last, we bore the brunt of the dust.
The road is predictably pretty rough, with rocks having been exposed by the torrential rain that frequents this place and the driver brought the jeep to a halt some 1km before the trail starts saying he cannot drive any further. A little distance from this point, Channappa told us was a house of his acquaintance where we could leave the excess luggage and clothes. We wanted to minimize the luggage we had to lug up the hill. Even though it was January, the sun was blazing down as if it was summer. Infact, the grass on the hillsides had already turned straw color. We decided to leave the tents behind, it looked like summer, so we figured that we could do without the heavy tents, our guide also concurred. Besides, it was already 1pm, and assuming the climb would take 5 hours, we would reach the peak at 6pm, we did not want to miss the sunset. So we offloaded excess clothes and the tents and off we went.
The view from the place where we started our trek is shown above, and shown to the right is a zoomed in view. It is easy to see why the hill is named as Ettina Bhuja. We were told that the trek is around 8+ km from Shishila, and we estimated that we would need 4-5 hours, 5 because some of us were way off our usual fitness levels.
At the end of the farm we walked through, we came across a river which one has to wade across. The river area was very picturesque, and most of us felt like spending sometime there, but we were hardly a few minutes into the trek and we had committed the cardinal mistake of starting late. So we pressed on. After wading across this stream, there are two more streams to be crossed, these can be crossed by hopping from rock to rock .
From the stream, one can catch a beautiful view of Amedikal at a distance, it looks so so imposing and impossible to climb that it is hard to imagine that just 6 months back we were camping on top of Amedikal.
After crossing the streams, the real trek starts. The initial part is as it is in any western ghats trek, a slow incline jeep track kind of path (tracks made long back for timber industry apparently), stone cobbled, most of the stones having been loosened by the torrential rain common in those parts and now covered by dry leaves shed from the massive trees. In short, this is a sure fire recipe for an ankle twist if one is not careful. I hate this terrain, for you have to watch where you keep every step. This means, you have to keep looking down all the time and simply cannot afford to look around unless you stop at one place. If one were to come early, say in Oct/Nov, the dry leaves problem will not be there but the leeches will keep you on the run. In hindsight, strange as it may sound, I prefer leeches to stones and dry leaves.
We climbed for about 45 min without a break, and the first time we took a mini break, there was a beautiful waterfull gurgling in the valley to our right hand side and a beautiful view of the majestic Amedikal to our left.
We would've loved to trek down to the waterfalls, but we were told it would take us an hour and as I mentioned earlier, we were already running way behind schedule. We hurried on, taking a break every half an hour or so. The frequency of breaks was very high, but this was expected. We had an amazing view of EttinaBhuja after about 2-2.5 hours of trekking.
When we started out, we had the view of the entire ridge that ran up to the peak, now having walked for a few hours, we were facing the peak face on. At around this point which was ideal for photo-ops, we took another break. Naveen was thoroughly exhausted...so much so that he had stopped talking!!! Here's Naveen capturing a few winks of sleep...
When we started out, we had the view of the entire ridge that ran up to the peak, now having walked for a few hours, we were facing the peak face on. At around this point which was ideal for photo-ops, we took another break. Naveen was thoroughly exhausted...so much so that he had stopped talking!!! Here's Naveen capturing a few winks of sleep...
I started counting time till nightfall so that I could hit the sack, I was pretty much at the end of my energy levels 3 hours or so into the trek. Chocolates and loads of glucose perked me up to some extent. We had not had lunch. This was a big mistake, we should have accepted Gokhale's offer of lunch at Shishila, but since we were hard pressed for time, we declined his very kind offer.
As I mentioned earlier, I was feeling the heat and getting very tired having erred in my effort estimation for the trek...
Luckily, just when we thought that some of us would break down from fatigue, we came out of the thick forests we were walking in. The forests are stuffy, no breeze, no wind, no views...coming into the clearing after a walk of 4 hours was an instant elixir for me. The peak was right in front of us, we were in touching distance, or so it seemed.
The peak as is obvious in the photo, has to be rounded to reach the beginning of the ridge, one can then walk along the ridge to reach the peak, it is suicidal to even contemplate scaling the peak on its face.
We continued walking and a valley covered with thick forests separated the Ettina Bhuja hill from the hill we currently were on. At this point, it looked like we might have to descend into the valley and then climb up to reach the beginning of the ridge. This looked an impossible task for me, I hated climbing down when the final destination required climbing up. Chennappa consoled me saying we would go round this hill, there was a narrow path that connected the hill we were on to the hill on which the peak stood, this was a great relief for me. With new found energy, I marched on. We soon reached the grassy slopes of Ettina Bhuja, we were on the Bhuja, the shoulder of the hill, i.e. on the ridge. On both sides, it rolls off into a valley, the ridge itself is more than 100 feet wide. We planned on camping at this point, it would be impossible to camp near the rocky peak. The sun was rapidly setting, I had no idea of how rapidly the sun sets or rises till I saw it here.
The time elapsed between the two photos is hardly a few minutes!!! It was simply an amazing experience, watching the light change colors, white to orange to yellow and then darkness gradually enveloping us, and when the sun was still to set completely, the moon had risen, it was truly an unbelievably beautiful sight.
The gang was famished by now and were in favor of sleeping wherever each was lying around!!! We were out of water, that is a very very scarce commodity on this trek. Each had started with a 2 litre bottle, and now we had just 3 full bottles. Chennappa then offered to fetch water from a valley, the way the localites locate water leaves us awe struck. He told us that if we insisted on accompanying him, it would take us an eternity and darkness was fast approaching. He insisted on going alone carrying 6 empty bottles, we were happy to oblige. He was back in about 20 min with naturally chilled spring water that can be available only in the hills, all of us gulped down water greedily. Soon, it was time to devour the food. The menu was Obbattu (chapatis stuffed with a mixture of coconut and jaggery, very filling, very nutritious) and Nippattu, both from Subbammana Angadi in Gandhibazar. After wolfing down the food, we started looking for a place to sleep. Chennappa pointed a place, and out came the sleeping bags. He set off to look for firewood which would be required to keep a fire going all through the night.
In no time, Chennappa was done gathering all the wood required and he was trying to start the fire. All he needs is his sickle(to cut some wood) and ONE match stick to get a raging fire going. For people who dont get the enormity of the task am talking about, try lighting a camp fire on a hill top, you'll know what am talking about.
In no time, we were all huddled around the fire. Another idiotic mistake I did was not carrying my jacket, the heat was so oppressive when we started that I totally forgot how drastically different the conditions will be at an altitude near the peak. Luckily for me, Satish had his shawl in addition to his jacket, so I borrowed the shawl.
We met some people from Bhairpura, this is the town on the other side of the hill. If one approaches EttinaBhuja from Kottigehara side (Charmadi ghats), Bhairapura is the last town before the hill, the town is famous for a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva which is visible from the peak. The temple and the town are just a 2km trek downhill from the peak, and most of the movie shooting that takes place in EttinaBhuja is done approaching the hill from this side. The localites advised us to go with them to the town and sleep peacefully there, for the wind would build up after 11pm and it would start howling like crazy and the temperature would drop drastically. We did'nt heed their warnings, they wished us good luck and walked away at around 8:30pm. So all of us in a joyful mood, in the anticipation that we'll finally get some shut-eye we so richly deserved went into our respective sleeping bags and slept under the clear starry sky. I saw a shooting star and made a quick wish. If I had seen one a few hours later or given the option to change my wish, how different it would be! By 10pm, the wind started picking up, the howling sound of the wind pierced our ears and the drop in temperature passed on the chill through the sleeping bags right down to our bones. And to top it all, some 3-4 sleeping bags had a gaping hole at the end where the feet go, and hence the bag was inflating like a balloon with the very air it was meant to keep out!!!! I cursed my luck and wore my shoes to provide some warmth to my feet, the sleeping bag was way too short, about 5'6". I had to sleep in a huddled portion, turned to one side through out the night. It was impossible to turn to the other side without opening the sleeping bag. Stretching my legs was a luxury that was completely ruled out. The cold was getting to me, I was clenching my teeth and somehow bearing the cold, trying to force myself to sleep. The more consciously one tries to sleep, the more impossible it becomes to sleep. I spent about 2 hours this way, my mind kept going back to the wise words of the people from Bhairapura...had we heeded their words, we'd be in the temple premises now. Satish was awake I realised, he was talking to Channappa, both were by the fire. Soon, everybody, save Mithun, Vikas and Naveen were awake...this was around midnight. We all toyed with the idea of waking them up, for sheer sadistic pleasure...but then let them be. After 30min or so chatting around midnight, some of them managed to sleep. I too managed to sleep for an hour or so. I woke up again arnd 1:30am. How I wished time would fly...when am in Bangalore on a weekday, time simply flies, I lie down to sleep and before I know it, its morning. And here I was, atop Ettina Bhuja, time was at a standstill. It was around 3am soon, and I decided enough was enough, I got up, removed the useless sleeping bag, put my rucksack on it to prevent it from being blown away and joined Satish near the fire. Gradually, one by one joined us, all except the sleeping trio, Naveen, Vikas and Mithun. Naveen it appeared was in some kind of a trance, unless one had a generous shot of rum or something, I just could'nt understand how he/she could sleep. BTW add the wolves howling in the night to all this, and you have one eventful night !!!
Very soon, the sky towards the east started lighting up. It was around 5am. The fire was still burning, keeping us warm, the wind showing no signs of letting down.
Everybody was up at around 6am, and the gang minus Satish, Naveen, Vijay and myself started for the peak to catch the sunrise. We felt that the windy conditions made the climb to the peak dangerous. Its a 300m or so climb, its a very narrow path, around a foot wide, one side will be the rock and the other side is a sheer drop. This is totally off limits for anyone suffering from vertigo. The rocks provide good grip, for the feet as well as support for the hands, simply lean towards the rock face as you walk. So its not exactly dangerous, but it requires complete concentration and even conviction, there should be no hesitation.
The sun soon rose, we were sitting at the base of the final climb waiting for the wind to subside.
Luckily for me, Vikas had taken my camera and managed to capture a few beautiful shots of the sun rise from the peak. The sun rises really fast, in a matter of minutes, it was halfway up the horizon. The peaks beyond us were now half bathed in orange light. It was a treat to the eye. Below is a photo of Amedikal illuminated by the first rays of the sun and in the snap next to it are Nara, Rasool, Vikas and Mithun bathed in the early morning sunlight.
We who were sitting down at the base of the final climb, decided that it was now or never. Naveen and Vijay were hesitant, but Satish and I started off and they joined us too. One of worst feelings is the one associated with not completing a trek...and for me, I had more than my share of it when we recently went to KP. So I was determined to go up. We started up but were soon unsure of the route. Luckily for us, one of the localites gang who camped with us near the peak was descending the peak. He offered to come up with us again to show us the way, and in about 20min of climbing, we were at the summit!!!! The wind was crazy...if one held a heavy blanket, it was getting stretched completely by the wind...see this photo below of the other gang...you'll get an idea of the wind.
The sun bathed peaks all around us, including Amedikal were looking glorious now. The sun itself having risen fully was looking most brilliant, and the warmth and light were most welcome considering how the night had been. We were able to see the temple in Bhairapura which the two men from Bhairapura had talked about.
Seeing Amedikal and the shadow of Ettina Bhuja next to it was an amazing feeling...we have now climbed two of the most well known peaks in this part of Charmadi ghats. Amedikal looks very imposing now from this angle, if we had seen Amedikal from this angle before climbing it, we probably would never have attempted it. It looks nearly impossible to climb. I was told by Gokhale that till some time back, only one route was known to Amedikal, and that was very very tough, somewhere through the areas we saw while climbing Ettina Bhuja. The new route through which we climbed is supposedly comparatively a cakewalk compared to the older route...and that itself knocked the wind out of us all!
We started the climbdown from the peak, the climbdown is somewhat tricky, its not difficult by any stretch of imagination, it just is...well...tricky, one mistake can mean a hugely embarrassing fall or roll down the slope...and in some parts, it can even result in serious injuries. We had another group snap with our guide Channappa near our camp before beginning the 2 odd hour climb down.
I was chosen to lead the descent (having cribbed my way to the peak earned me that right)...and to my credit, I was walking at a good pace leaving people behind...and the descent was largely uneventful, except for one place where a part of the gang encouraged by Channappa to take an alternate path seemed to have got lost.
We spent a lot of time at the river we first cross. Satish and Channappa went to the house to call for the jeep, the rest of us sat by the river. How nice the cool mountain water feels when you are just back from an exhausting trek!!! We wanted to enter the water there for a swim, but then the dusty jeep journey that lay ahead of us to reach Gokhale's house convinced us otherwise. The jeep was soon there, a nice sunny lad no more than 18yrs old I dare guess was our driver, unlike our driver who dropped us for the trek, this fellow was quite some driver...he'd make a good rally driver, the way he went through streams, rocks etc, without complaining, always wearing a smile and look of concentration on his face.
At Gokhale's house, he was waiting for us with lassi, it was like drinking divine nectar...it certainly had the same effect, bringing back us from the (nearly) dead! We then went to the river in Gokhale's backyard(literally :D), the walk through the arecanut plantations to the river itself was so soothing, the river Gokhale had told us had a lot more water compared to the last time we had visited him. And indeed it did!!! The river was so so inviting, its unfortunately not deep enough to swim, but its good enough to have fun, relax, fool around...after 30min or so, the pangs of hunger caught our attention and off we went to Gokhale's house. Hot delicious lunch was awaiting us, there is a Sanskrit proverb, "Anna daata sukhee bhava" meaning, may the person that feeds us be happy (or something to that tune)...and it could not apply better to anyone than Gokhale. We lazed around the house after lunch while Satish thoroughly wow-ed our hosts with his photography and flute skills.
As I mentioned earlier, I was feeling the heat and getting very tired having erred in my effort estimation for the trek...
Luckily, just when we thought that some of us would break down from fatigue, we came out of the thick forests we were walking in. The forests are stuffy, no breeze, no wind, no views...coming into the clearing after a walk of 4 hours was an instant elixir for me. The peak was right in front of us, we were in touching distance, or so it seemed.
The peak as is obvious in the photo, has to be rounded to reach the beginning of the ridge, one can then walk along the ridge to reach the peak, it is suicidal to even contemplate scaling the peak on its face.
We continued walking and a valley covered with thick forests separated the Ettina Bhuja hill from the hill we currently were on. At this point, it looked like we might have to descend into the valley and then climb up to reach the beginning of the ridge. This looked an impossible task for me, I hated climbing down when the final destination required climbing up. Chennappa consoled me saying we would go round this hill, there was a narrow path that connected the hill we were on to the hill on which the peak stood, this was a great relief for me. With new found energy, I marched on. We soon reached the grassy slopes of Ettina Bhuja, we were on the Bhuja, the shoulder of the hill, i.e. on the ridge. On both sides, it rolls off into a valley, the ridge itself is more than 100 feet wide. We planned on camping at this point, it would be impossible to camp near the rocky peak. The sun was rapidly setting, I had no idea of how rapidly the sun sets or rises till I saw it here.
The time elapsed between the two photos is hardly a few minutes!!! It was simply an amazing experience, watching the light change colors, white to orange to yellow and then darkness gradually enveloping us, and when the sun was still to set completely, the moon had risen, it was truly an unbelievably beautiful sight.
The gang was famished by now and were in favor of sleeping wherever each was lying around!!! We were out of water, that is a very very scarce commodity on this trek. Each had started with a 2 litre bottle, and now we had just 3 full bottles. Chennappa then offered to fetch water from a valley, the way the localites locate water leaves us awe struck. He told us that if we insisted on accompanying him, it would take us an eternity and darkness was fast approaching. He insisted on going alone carrying 6 empty bottles, we were happy to oblige. He was back in about 20 min with naturally chilled spring water that can be available only in the hills, all of us gulped down water greedily. Soon, it was time to devour the food. The menu was Obbattu (chapatis stuffed with a mixture of coconut and jaggery, very filling, very nutritious) and Nippattu, both from Subbammana Angadi in Gandhibazar. After wolfing down the food, we started looking for a place to sleep. Chennappa pointed a place, and out came the sleeping bags. He set off to look for firewood which would be required to keep a fire going all through the night.
In no time, Chennappa was done gathering all the wood required and he was trying to start the fire. All he needs is his sickle(to cut some wood) and ONE match stick to get a raging fire going. For people who dont get the enormity of the task am talking about, try lighting a camp fire on a hill top, you'll know what am talking about.
In no time, we were all huddled around the fire. Another idiotic mistake I did was not carrying my jacket, the heat was so oppressive when we started that I totally forgot how drastically different the conditions will be at an altitude near the peak. Luckily for me, Satish had his shawl in addition to his jacket, so I borrowed the shawl.
We met some people from Bhairpura, this is the town on the other side of the hill. If one approaches EttinaBhuja from Kottigehara side (Charmadi ghats), Bhairapura is the last town before the hill, the town is famous for a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva which is visible from the peak. The temple and the town are just a 2km trek downhill from the peak, and most of the movie shooting that takes place in EttinaBhuja is done approaching the hill from this side. The localites advised us to go with them to the town and sleep peacefully there, for the wind would build up after 11pm and it would start howling like crazy and the temperature would drop drastically. We did'nt heed their warnings, they wished us good luck and walked away at around 8:30pm. So all of us in a joyful mood, in the anticipation that we'll finally get some shut-eye we so richly deserved went into our respective sleeping bags and slept under the clear starry sky. I saw a shooting star and made a quick wish. If I had seen one a few hours later or given the option to change my wish, how different it would be! By 10pm, the wind started picking up, the howling sound of the wind pierced our ears and the drop in temperature passed on the chill through the sleeping bags right down to our bones. And to top it all, some 3-4 sleeping bags had a gaping hole at the end where the feet go, and hence the bag was inflating like a balloon with the very air it was meant to keep out!!!! I cursed my luck and wore my shoes to provide some warmth to my feet, the sleeping bag was way too short, about 5'6". I had to sleep in a huddled portion, turned to one side through out the night. It was impossible to turn to the other side without opening the sleeping bag. Stretching my legs was a luxury that was completely ruled out. The cold was getting to me, I was clenching my teeth and somehow bearing the cold, trying to force myself to sleep. The more consciously one tries to sleep, the more impossible it becomes to sleep. I spent about 2 hours this way, my mind kept going back to the wise words of the people from Bhairapura...had we heeded their words, we'd be in the temple premises now. Satish was awake I realised, he was talking to Channappa, both were by the fire. Soon, everybody, save Mithun, Vikas and Naveen were awake...this was around midnight. We all toyed with the idea of waking them up, for sheer sadistic pleasure...but then let them be. After 30min or so chatting around midnight, some of them managed to sleep. I too managed to sleep for an hour or so. I woke up again arnd 1:30am. How I wished time would fly...when am in Bangalore on a weekday, time simply flies, I lie down to sleep and before I know it, its morning. And here I was, atop Ettina Bhuja, time was at a standstill. It was around 3am soon, and I decided enough was enough, I got up, removed the useless sleeping bag, put my rucksack on it to prevent it from being blown away and joined Satish near the fire. Gradually, one by one joined us, all except the sleeping trio, Naveen, Vikas and Mithun. Naveen it appeared was in some kind of a trance, unless one had a generous shot of rum or something, I just could'nt understand how he/she could sleep. BTW add the wolves howling in the night to all this, and you have one eventful night !!!
Very soon, the sky towards the east started lighting up. It was around 5am. The fire was still burning, keeping us warm, the wind showing no signs of letting down.
Everybody was up at around 6am, and the gang minus Satish, Naveen, Vijay and myself started for the peak to catch the sunrise. We felt that the windy conditions made the climb to the peak dangerous. Its a 300m or so climb, its a very narrow path, around a foot wide, one side will be the rock and the other side is a sheer drop. This is totally off limits for anyone suffering from vertigo. The rocks provide good grip, for the feet as well as support for the hands, simply lean towards the rock face as you walk. So its not exactly dangerous, but it requires complete concentration and even conviction, there should be no hesitation.
The sun soon rose, we were sitting at the base of the final climb waiting for the wind to subside.
Luckily for me, Vikas had taken my camera and managed to capture a few beautiful shots of the sun rise from the peak. The sun rises really fast, in a matter of minutes, it was halfway up the horizon. The peaks beyond us were now half bathed in orange light. It was a treat to the eye. Below is a photo of Amedikal illuminated by the first rays of the sun and in the snap next to it are Nara, Rasool, Vikas and Mithun bathed in the early morning sunlight.
We who were sitting down at the base of the final climb, decided that it was now or never. Naveen and Vijay were hesitant, but Satish and I started off and they joined us too. One of worst feelings is the one associated with not completing a trek...and for me, I had more than my share of it when we recently went to KP. So I was determined to go up. We started up but were soon unsure of the route. Luckily for us, one of the localites gang who camped with us near the peak was descending the peak. He offered to come up with us again to show us the way, and in about 20min of climbing, we were at the summit!!!! The wind was crazy...if one held a heavy blanket, it was getting stretched completely by the wind...see this photo below of the other gang...you'll get an idea of the wind.
The sun bathed peaks all around us, including Amedikal were looking glorious now. The sun itself having risen fully was looking most brilliant, and the warmth and light were most welcome considering how the night had been. We were able to see the temple in Bhairapura which the two men from Bhairapura had talked about.
Seeing Amedikal and the shadow of Ettina Bhuja next to it was an amazing feeling...we have now climbed two of the most well known peaks in this part of Charmadi ghats. Amedikal looks very imposing now from this angle, if we had seen Amedikal from this angle before climbing it, we probably would never have attempted it. It looks nearly impossible to climb. I was told by Gokhale that till some time back, only one route was known to Amedikal, and that was very very tough, somewhere through the areas we saw while climbing Ettina Bhuja. The new route through which we climbed is supposedly comparatively a cakewalk compared to the older route...and that itself knocked the wind out of us all!
We started the climbdown from the peak, the climbdown is somewhat tricky, its not difficult by any stretch of imagination, it just is...well...tricky, one mistake can mean a hugely embarrassing fall or roll down the slope...and in some parts, it can even result in serious injuries. We had another group snap with our guide Channappa near our camp before beginning the 2 odd hour climb down.
I was chosen to lead the descent (having cribbed my way to the peak earned me that right)...and to my credit, I was walking at a good pace leaving people behind...and the descent was largely uneventful, except for one place where a part of the gang encouraged by Channappa to take an alternate path seemed to have got lost.
We spent a lot of time at the river we first cross. Satish and Channappa went to the house to call for the jeep, the rest of us sat by the river. How nice the cool mountain water feels when you are just back from an exhausting trek!!! We wanted to enter the water there for a swim, but then the dusty jeep journey that lay ahead of us to reach Gokhale's house convinced us otherwise. The jeep was soon there, a nice sunny lad no more than 18yrs old I dare guess was our driver, unlike our driver who dropped us for the trek, this fellow was quite some driver...he'd make a good rally driver, the way he went through streams, rocks etc, without complaining, always wearing a smile and look of concentration on his face.
At Gokhale's house, he was waiting for us with lassi, it was like drinking divine nectar...it certainly had the same effect, bringing back us from the (nearly) dead! We then went to the river in Gokhale's backyard(literally :D), the walk through the arecanut plantations to the river itself was so soothing, the river Gokhale had told us had a lot more water compared to the last time we had visited him. And indeed it did!!! The river was so so inviting, its unfortunately not deep enough to swim, but its good enough to have fun, relax, fool around...after 30min or so, the pangs of hunger caught our attention and off we went to Gokhale's house. Hot delicious lunch was awaiting us, there is a Sanskrit proverb, "Anna daata sukhee bhava" meaning, may the person that feeds us be happy (or something to that tune)...and it could not apply better to anyone than Gokhale. We lazed around the house after lunch while Satish thoroughly wow-ed our hosts with his photography and flute skills.
We decided to give the Shishila temple a skip this time, its a beautiful place but the lazy and tired guys were in no mood to walk in the searing heat at 4pm, so we just took a bus to Kokkada from Shishila and from there we got another bus to Dharmasthala (Kokkada is on the Kukke-Dharmasthala route). I had an eventful journey with a rather affable localite sitting next to me and giving me info about the local places etc, this is one of the things I love the most about travelling, talking to the localites.
At Dharmasthala, we had 3-4 hours to kill, Satish took off to Ujire to visit someone, Radhesh had gone home directly from Shishila and the rest of us just parked ourselves outside the Vijaya bank infront of the old bus stand in Dharmasthala, sitting on the roadside like vagrants and chatting...we were too tired to think what anybody thought of 8 ppl sitting around on the roadside with all those rucksacks etc. We had chaats and gobi manchuri at a bakery down the road, and sugarcane juice on the roadside...we had the very same things to eat the last time we came, to relive the experience took us back in time, it was fun. I must add though that Dharmasthala is big letdown when it comes to eating out, compared to Kukke or Udupi...ofcourse, the free food at the temple apparently more than makes up for the lousy fare available outside, next time we're there, its the temple food for us.
Satish, Naveen and myself went to the Ganapathi temple inside the main temple premises, this is a very nice, small temple, only localites know about this temple, as a result, its not as crowded as the main temple...it was very nice visiting this temple, if you visit Lord Manjunatha temple next time, be sure not to miss this.
We walked to the new busstand carrying our heavy luggage, some of us wanted to take an auto, but the walking lobby prevailed. The Rajahamsa, the official carrier of our gang was waiting and we gratefully went in and were soon fast asleep. I woke up only when the bus was in Rajajinagar, Bangalore the next morning !!!
Key Details:
Bangalore - Dharmasthala - Bangalore
Day 1: Night leave Bangalore for Dharmasthala
Day 2: Morning went to temple, afternoon reached Shishila, started trekking, reached peak in the evening, stayed there at the peak
Day 3: Back to Shishila for lunch, then to Dharmasthala by evening, boarded bus to Bangalore in the night
Day 4: Early morning back to Bangalore
For people who want to visit Ettina Bhuja without the physical workout, go to Bhairapura from Kottigehaara and from there, its a mere 2km walk to the peak.
Estimated cost of the trip: Rs 1000-1200 per head max
Key things: Water is scarce, pls take windcheaters regardless of how hot it is in Shishila, take a guide(contact Gopu Gokhale), start early (latest by 10am ideally, but this is hard if a temple visit is planned in Dharmasthala as we did), Check sleeping bags before using(for holes that let in air), take glucon-d, chocolates and loads of oranges/musambis.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Read the Jim Corbett Omnibus
The original intent was to use this space to write about our frequent treks and outings, but this blog is a detour...not an entirely unrelated one.
Ever since we visited Satoddi falls last summer and saw black panther's(acc to a localite there) pug marks near the backwaters of the Kodsalli dam, my obsession with big cats has been on the rise. It was nearing dusk, we had finished fooling around in the water under the glorious Satoddi falls and were making our way back to the place where the jeep was parked. Those of you who have visited Satoddi will know that there is a small walk through the forest to reach the falls, and on the way, there is a small restaurant cum teashop in a hut run by two brothers. It is a beautiful place, idyllic surroundings overlooking the serene backwaters of the Kodsalli dam. The scenery was a million dollars to the eye, and having ordered tea etc, we walked down to the water front to take in the sun set over the backwaters. We came across what looked like pug marks, none of us were very sure initially, but very soon, it became clear that a big cat had passed by that very area where we were all standing !!! This is the closest I have been to a big cat in the wild (that i know of).
It was an absolutely amazing feeling...excitement, uncertainty, a tinge of fear...it was mixed emotions...and as it was dusk, getting dark rapidly...the fear started dominating ! We went back to the hut and had piping hot tea, we casually asked the hotel owner if the pug mark indeed belonged to a big cat. He told us it was a black panther which had passed by the previous night. The brothers had two dogs, and the panther had made off with one earlier, it was now coming back for the other. He calmly told us that it was not a big deal and the dog was safe as they would lock it in the hut along with them. Imagine sitting in a flimsy hut in a forest with a dog which the big cat is stalking !!! Imagine a new moon night and the panther walking around making low growling sounds....It was too much to imagine...we all scooted from the place, having thrown out any ideas some had of staying back to spend the night in the beautiful cottage like hut near the backwaters !!!
Well, this had made me very impatient to get my hands on Jim Corbett's writings. And last saturday, I went on a book buying spree visited the Strand book sale and Landmark where I picked up the Jim Corbett Omnibus. For anyone who loves nature, is curious about the big cats, Jim Corbett is a must read. I remember reading 'The Man eater of Rudraprayag', a gripping/chilling story narrated as only Jim Corbett can narrate when I was in school.
So far, in 2 days, I have read a third of the fairly bulky book. The Champawat man eater (450 victims),Chowgarh tigers (64+), Bachelor of Powalgarh, Mohan Man eater, Kanda man eater, Pipal Pani tiger and Thak man eater(this used to openly terrorize nearly a thousand labourers who were working in the hills, used to come out in the open and growl at them)...each of the narrations are simply amazing, if you get engrossed in it as much as I did, the story simply sucks you in, and you can nearly experience it...it is very very scary. I have heard of shikaris being unparalleled in their knowledge of nature, the local flora and fauna, survival techniques, mimicry etc...after reading these stories, I have begun to appreciate the skills these people have. I have been asking a friend of mine who happens to know some shikaris if we could accompany them in the night when they enter the forest...he said that they would never allow that, because if something untoward were to happen, they would be perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, while we would be left in the lurch. Now I totally appreciate the response, which I earlier did'nt understand.
The point of the whole blog is, to get you to pick up a copy of the Jim Corbett omnibus (Rs 550, Penguin) in case you already dont have it. It is a must read. It has a lot of subtle and some not so subtle lessons on how to conduct oneself in a forest. Some tips given by the author that shikaris use go on to show how keen their senses are, their observational skills are. The best thing I remember is the way the shikaris use the wind when they track big cats; on the surface of it, the battle seems heavily one sided, the tiger, the ultimate stealth creature, ideally adapted to life in the forest with unmatched strength and valor against a human with a gun/camera...its no match ! Apparently, it is the wind that evens up the contest to whatever extent possible. Tigers treat humans as animals and are hence extremely wary of giving away their presence by their smell, they dont realize that humans cant smell !!! Hence they always, always approach against the wind as they would approach any prey ! Is'nt it amazing ? There are many many more such amazing bits of info...they might not be of use to us directly...but it points out what it takes to survive in the jungle...how keen one's senses must be etc.
One more thing to show how gripping the book is, here I am, 3am in the morning of a weekday, reading the book...
The flip side of reading the book is, I'll admit, am a bit chicken to go on the next trek and pitch tent in the middle of the forest !!! We are supposed to go to Bandaje falls (blog will follow) in Jan 1st week...
Ever since we visited Satoddi falls last summer and saw black panther's(acc to a localite there) pug marks near the backwaters of the Kodsalli dam, my obsession with big cats has been on the rise. It was nearing dusk, we had finished fooling around in the water under the glorious Satoddi falls and were making our way back to the place where the jeep was parked. Those of you who have visited Satoddi will know that there is a small walk through the forest to reach the falls, and on the way, there is a small restaurant cum teashop in a hut run by two brothers. It is a beautiful place, idyllic surroundings overlooking the serene backwaters of the Kodsalli dam. The scenery was a million dollars to the eye, and having ordered tea etc, we walked down to the water front to take in the sun set over the backwaters. We came across what looked like pug marks, none of us were very sure initially, but very soon, it became clear that a big cat had passed by that very area where we were all standing !!! This is the closest I have been to a big cat in the wild (that i know of).
It was an absolutely amazing feeling...excitement, uncertainty, a tinge of fear...it was mixed emotions...and as it was dusk, getting dark rapidly...the fear started dominating ! We went back to the hut and had piping hot tea, we casually asked the hotel owner if the pug mark indeed belonged to a big cat. He told us it was a black panther which had passed by the previous night. The brothers had two dogs, and the panther had made off with one earlier, it was now coming back for the other. He calmly told us that it was not a big deal and the dog was safe as they would lock it in the hut along with them. Imagine sitting in a flimsy hut in a forest with a dog which the big cat is stalking !!! Imagine a new moon night and the panther walking around making low growling sounds....It was too much to imagine...we all scooted from the place, having thrown out any ideas some had of staying back to spend the night in the beautiful cottage like hut near the backwaters !!!
Well, this had made me very impatient to get my hands on Jim Corbett's writings. And last saturday, I went on a book buying spree visited the Strand book sale and Landmark where I picked up the Jim Corbett Omnibus. For anyone who loves nature, is curious about the big cats, Jim Corbett is a must read. I remember reading 'The Man eater of Rudraprayag', a gripping/chilling story narrated as only Jim Corbett can narrate when I was in school.
So far, in 2 days, I have read a third of the fairly bulky book. The Champawat man eater (450 victims),Chowgarh tigers (64+), Bachelor of Powalgarh, Mohan Man eater, Kanda man eater, Pipal Pani tiger and Thak man eater(this used to openly terrorize nearly a thousand labourers who were working in the hills, used to come out in the open and growl at them)...each of the narrations are simply amazing, if you get engrossed in it as much as I did, the story simply sucks you in, and you can nearly experience it...it is very very scary. I have heard of shikaris being unparalleled in their knowledge of nature, the local flora and fauna, survival techniques, mimicry etc...after reading these stories, I have begun to appreciate the skills these people have. I have been asking a friend of mine who happens to know some shikaris if we could accompany them in the night when they enter the forest...he said that they would never allow that, because if something untoward were to happen, they would be perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, while we would be left in the lurch. Now I totally appreciate the response, which I earlier did'nt understand.
The point of the whole blog is, to get you to pick up a copy of the Jim Corbett omnibus (Rs 550, Penguin) in case you already dont have it. It is a must read. It has a lot of subtle and some not so subtle lessons on how to conduct oneself in a forest. Some tips given by the author that shikaris use go on to show how keen their senses are, their observational skills are. The best thing I remember is the way the shikaris use the wind when they track big cats; on the surface of it, the battle seems heavily one sided, the tiger, the ultimate stealth creature, ideally adapted to life in the forest with unmatched strength and valor against a human with a gun/camera...its no match ! Apparently, it is the wind that evens up the contest to whatever extent possible. Tigers treat humans as animals and are hence extremely wary of giving away their presence by their smell, they dont realize that humans cant smell !!! Hence they always, always approach against the wind as they would approach any prey ! Is'nt it amazing ? There are many many more such amazing bits of info...they might not be of use to us directly...but it points out what it takes to survive in the jungle...how keen one's senses must be etc.
One more thing to show how gripping the book is, here I am, 3am in the morning of a weekday, reading the book...
The flip side of reading the book is, I'll admit, am a bit chicken to go on the next trek and pitch tent in the middle of the forest !!! We are supposed to go to Bandaje falls (blog will follow) in Jan 1st week...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The Waterfalls Trip
Visiting a waterfall is never boring, and no two waterfalls are the same ! In fact, no two visits to the same waterfalls are the same ! I discovered all these things recently when our emuzed trekking gang went on a rare sight seeing trip, as against a rigorous trekking trip. After the rigor of Amedikal trek, we owed it to ourselves to have a nice easy outing, and what better than visiting the beautiful waterfalls just at the end of monsoon ? This was a trip that was planned quite sometime back, when we visited the Magod, Satoddi and Unchalli falls last year at the end of winter. Magod hardly had any water, Satoddi was nice and Unchalli had a decent amount of water, the locals there (Satish included) told us how beautiful the waterfalls are just after monsoon, so it was then that we had decided to visit these waterfalls again.
So, a gang of seven (Satish, Vikas, Mithun, Vinod, Rasool, Praveen and myself) set out to visit as many falls as possible in and around Sirsi over a weekend(11th and 12th august, 2007). Our plan was to visit Gokak falls, Godachinmalki falls, Magod falls, Unchalli falls and the mother of them all, Jog falls. Satoddi falls is impossible to approach during the monsoons, the dirt track is unusable till mid winter. A Rajahamsa executive bus carried us to Gokak from Bangalore, a rather longish 12 hours journey did nothing to dampen our spirits. As we approached Gokak, we could see the floodwaters of river Ghataprabha all around, the muddy flood water seemed to dominate the landscape totally. Infact, the bus crossed a bridge on which water was flowing over. This was a precursor of things to come.
We checked into a hotel opposite the bus-stand for the basic stuff, we negotiated the room rent for just a day, we wanted to deposit our stuff there, we had no plans of spending the night at Gokak. After a quick breakfast, we were off to our first destination, Gokak falls.
On the locals recommendation, we decided to take a KSRTC bus to Gokak falls, buses are aplenty and the falls is just 6km from Gokak. We decided to get down a stop before Gokak falls(or Gokak mills) and walk along the Ghataprabha which was flowing parallel to the road. The scene was very picturesque. We could hear the roar of the waterfalls, we did not realise we were that close to the falls. By luck, the stop we had gotten down at a park or garden that had a nice vantage point.
The horseshoe shaped waterfalls is said to resemble Niagara, Niagara or not, all I can say is that it certainly is an awe inspiring sight. The sheer fury of nature in all its ravaging glory is for all of us to appreciate. The quaint wooden bridge built for the mill workers to cross the river makes the setting complete. Most of us were itching to get on that bridge. After the mandatory "I was there" snaps, we moved on to the town of Gokak Mills. In the picturesque Gokak Mills town, we encountered an interesting bit of info. Sunil Gavaskar's father MK Gavaskar was a mill employee in 1926 and there's a Gavaskar sports park to mark this.
There is another viewpoint before we get to the bridge near the mills.
There is a beautiful temple on the Mills side of the falls and also another small temple on the far side. The entrance of the bridge was rather crowded, a board near the entrance to the rather flimsy wooden bridge warned that no more than a certain modest number of people be allowed on the bridge at a time, of course, one cannot dare remind that to the security there who were happily allowing everybody who dared to venture on the bridge.
As we started walking across, the view on either side is just amazing, words really fail me. I had never been "over" a waterfall, i.e. directly above it. On one side, the water is rushing furiously and on the other side, you can see it disappear with only the white spray visible.
I wish the sound could be captured too...the deafening roar and the savage kind of beauty held all of us in a spell. Nobody talked as we negotiated the crowds on the 200m bridge slowly, all of us were trying to take in what was in front of us. I had never seen anything like this before. The sheer volumes of water made us all awe struck. On reaching the other side, one can get down to the water, I mean, go near the water, any thoughts of actually entering the water are suicidal. We just decided to hang around next to the river, simply admiring the scene. There are several viewpoints if one climbs on. A perennial rainbow created by the waterfall spray is visible. A power station that generates electricity for the mills is nestled right below the waterfalls.
We spent nearly an hour polishing off the karadantu that we had packed from Gokak and fruits we had taken from Bangalore. After that, we were off to Godchinmalki. One of our colleagues is from Gokak and he had recommended that we hire a jeep to go to Godchinmalki from Gokak falls and have the jeep drop us back to Gokak later. So after haggling with one driver, we agreed for Rs 500. Godchinmalki is 16km from Gokak and the river
Markandeya takes the first fall into a rocky valley and then plunges again. Godchinmalki falls is around 2km from Godchinmalki village and is accessible only by foot. Its appeal is very different from that of Gokak falls, the terrain is such that the river continuously descends over a slope and hence there is no dramatic drop as there was in the case of Gokak falls. Nonetheless, it is still a very beautiful place. The walk to the falls from the village is a very beautiful one, the greenery surrounding us as we walked through wet farm lands was so refreshing.
As we started walking back, we realized we were running behind schedule. The original plan was to reach Sirsi or Yellapur by nightfall. This was just impossible, so we dropped the idea of catching a bus to Belgaum that goes via Hidkal dam and then going on to Sirsi through Dandeli forests. So the goal was just to get as close to Yellapur as possible by night.
We cleared our room at the hotel in Gokak and got on the very same bus we came to Gokak in, our stop was Hubli. The bus seemed to take an eternity to reach Hubli, and finally when it did reach Hubli at around 10pm, the last bus to Yellapur had long gone. So we were stuck in Hubli. It was Renuka lodge that we were destined to spend the night in. This hotel is opposite to the old bus stand and the restaurant is just phenomenal. A jowar roti meal cost us a measly Rs26 !!! We hogged to our hearts content and crashed ! We had to start early if we were to reach Yellapur and cover Magod, Unchalli and Jog with a stopover at Malalganv which is Satish's native place.
We took a bus from Hubli to Yellapur at around 6:30am after a quick breakfast and were there in about an hour and a half ! The ever reliable Gaonkar was to meet us at the bus stand with the Tempo Trax. He had showed us around the last time we went to Yellapur. All of us piled into the Trax and we were off to our first destination for the day, Magod falls. On the way, somebody suggested that we stop at Kavadikere (lake). The lake is simply beautiful, water is very very clean. A temple dedicated to the Goddess Parvati is situated on the banks of this wonderful lake. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. We saw two snakes, the first one disappeared hearing the commotion, the second one posed for a few snaps before slithering away. Both were fresh water snakes which are non venomous and quite harmless.
We headed onward to Magod, the drive was exhilarating, going through the dense forests. It had been raining all week and we were lucky that the rain had given us a breather. As we walked down the steps towards Magod falls, we could hear the deafening roar, however we could see nothing ! It was very misty and the spray arising from river beDTi plunging 650 odd feet made it impossible to see anything. The sun was playing hide and seek behind the clouds. Our only hope was a combination of sun that would clear up the mist and gusts of wind that could clear up the gorge. As we were peeking through the clouds, suddenly the haze cleared up and we had our first spectacular view of the splendid Magod falls. As we strained ourselves to catch whatever we could, somebody told us that there was a better view from further down. As we started walking down, to our right side, we had an absolutely amazing view of the BeNNe hoLe falls at a distance.
After admiring the BeNNe hoLe falls from a distance and resolving to go there sometime in the near future, we further descended the steps to have a better view of Magod and it did not disappoint us. Words fail me to describe elation of the gang at seeing Magod in all its glory, in full flow. In our last trip, there was almost no water. If one sees Magod as we did before rains and then after the rains, I feel one can appreciate it better. So, we were back at Magod as we had planned back then and seeing it roar menacingly brought up memories of the dry Magod rushing back.
It looks almost unbelievable that the two photos are of the same waterfalls, if seeing photos makes one marvel at the changes that the monsoons bring in the Ghats, imagine how it must be to view it in person !!! Obviously, it is impossible to even dream of trekking down to the falls. Last time in summer, we did try but we got lost and had to retrace our path. This time, the season we went in ensured that we do not even try, so there is good reason for us to return to Magod again, perhaps later in the winter, maybe Jan 2008 to try and trek down. The trek is supposedly fairly difficult, and ideally we were told by a friend who had been there earlier that one should camp down there, otherwise it becomes a really hectic one full day trek. Maybe we will be third time lucky !
I have never seen a waterfall where the surroundings changes as drastically as it does at Magod. From a personal point of view, there's something about Magod that is very very appealing. I will go there any number of times and can spend any amount of time.
Magod is very close to Malalganv which is a few km from Yellapur. Satish knew of a short cut to reach their home and it turned out to be some adventure ! We had to cross some private property on a dirt track and came to a bridge that appeared too narrow for the Tempo Trax. Thanks to Gaonkar and some of our gang who helped him out, the bridge turned out to be a mere centimeter on either side wider than the Trax, so we just about got on to the other side.
The scenery around the bridge was amazing (I think I have used the word amazing a zillion times, but then it really was amazing :-)). Much as we wanted to hang out around the bridge and soak in the greenery, we were again getting late as we had Unchalli and Jog to cover. It was already close to 10:30am. We had to get to Malalganv, have a bath and breakfast, spend sometime there and move on. A word about the breakfast, expectations were running high given the royal welcome we had had last time at Satish's place, the sumptuous dosas of different types (neer, plain, made of sugar cane juice etc) with fresh chutney, home made ghee, home made jaggery , home made curds was fresh on our minds. And it was just as good as last time, if not better. I got to taste dosas thats made from the local cucumber along with the normal dosa and it was just as heavenly. One reason our gang loves this part of the state am sure is because of the sheer hospitality at Satish's place, we have been made to feel amazingly welcome at their place and we'll remember visits to their place for eons to come.
For someone like me who's a pucca Bangalorean, to get a taste of the life in Uttara Kannada, I could have not hoped for a better chance. After a tour of the farm and picking up some guavas etc fresh from the trees, we all posed for a quick photo with our hosts and we were off to Unchalli and Jog. From Jog, the plan was to go to Sagar and catch a Volvo to Bangalore.
Unchalli falls is close to Heggarini (near Aminalli), around 25km from Sirsi. The dirt track to Unchalli was in a very bad shape after the rains, walking on that dirt track was very difficult given the slippery conditions. Last time, we had climbed down the steep steps which later becomes just a trail to reach the river Aghanashini. But this time, as expected, there was not even the remotest of chance of doing that. This trip was meant to savor the beauty of the waterfalls from afar, not go near them. It simply is too dangerous. I am reminded of the Seagrams punchline, "Those who appreciate quality enjoy it responsibly", I think this applies to trekking as much as it does to liquor. Unchalli waterfalls never really dries up the way Magod does, even in summer, there was a fair amount of water. But what we saw after monsoon was beyond our wildest imagination. The entire Aghanashini river is squeezed through a gorge few tens of feet wide before it falls spectacularly several hundreds of feet down. Again, as with Magod, the change was amazing. Unchalli in summer was impressive alright but Unchalli after monsoon seems very scary, very menacing, the sheer volume of water being squeezed down the narrow gorge and hurtling down several hundred feet, imagining the power of nature, one feels very humbled, one feels minute, small, insignificant etc.
As at Magod, the weather and the conditions there made it impossible for us to have a clear view of the entire falls, only the upper third was visible. We waited for quite sometime hoping it would clear up, but it was not to be. I had remarked to Praveen that the order in which we were visiting the falls was in increasing order of their splendor, starting with Magod, then Unchalli and now Jog remained., he told me that after he saw Magod, he thought I might be exaggerating about how impressive Unchalli is, but having seen Unchalli himself, he was waiting to see Jog at its peak !
As we headed to Jog, we had passed the ghats and were in the plains. The scenery shifted from dense forests to beautiful paddy fields. We finally reached Jog pretty late in the evening around 5pm or so near the guesthouse, i.e., at the top of Jog falls. There are two views at Jog, one is the frontal view and one is from the inspection bungalow. We reached the former first. It was a sunday and all the sluice gates at the dam upstream had been opened and Jog was in its full glory. The flip side was the crowds, which I think easily was over a lakh. It was impossible to get a clear view without getting jostled. It resembled Kumbh Mela more than Jog, whats more, our gang got split and we thought some guys (Mithun, Vinod andRasool) were missing (the Kumbh Mela story :D), we waited and waited for them, it started pouring, we got drenched. We had to get to the other side to take in the other view and it was getting late. Our guys had apparently chosen to perch themselves perilously next to the Roarer falls so that they could have a good view. Needless to say, they did get some amazing snaps, much better than the ones am posting here. Will try and post those snaps soon.
By the time we got to the place where we could see the Jog from front, it was nearly dark. We could not have as good a view as we had hoped for. Last year we came to see Jog after the rains, we returned disappointed as the dam had stopped releasing water a day or two before we went there. This time, it was much better. Though it was dark and the cameras failed to capture the falls properly, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
We went to Sagar (traffic jams from Jog to Sagar, preparing us for Monday in Bangalore) and had some time to kill before we could board our bus. We changed into fresh clothes and had dinner at a hotel near the bus stand. Our Volvo from Sirsi arrived late, we gratefully got in and crashed only to wake up in Bangalore.
We covered some of the most beautiful waterfalls of North Karnataka. We did miss Satoddi falls, given how much we enjoyed it last time around, it was a pity we could not go there, but apparently its impossible to go there in the monsoon season.
The trip was a success beyond our wildest dreams. Some had warned us that it was stupid to hope to see so many waterfalls at one go, that it was simply impossible to cover so much distance etc etc. Thanks to some meticulous planning by Satish (and Maruti) and the rain Gods who obliged us with some fine weather, our trip was a run away success.
I will post details of how much it cost us exactly and all other nitty gritty details. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me if you need any details.
So, a gang of seven (Satish, Vikas, Mithun, Vinod, Rasool, Praveen and myself) set out to visit as many falls as possible in and around Sirsi over a weekend(11th and 12th august, 2007). Our plan was to visit Gokak falls, Godachinmalki falls, Magod falls, Unchalli falls and the mother of them all, Jog falls. Satoddi falls is impossible to approach during the monsoons, the dirt track is unusable till mid winter. A Rajahamsa executive bus carried us to Gokak from Bangalore, a rather longish 12 hours journey did nothing to dampen our spirits. As we approached Gokak, we could see the floodwaters of river Ghataprabha all around, the muddy flood water seemed to dominate the landscape totally. Infact, the bus crossed a bridge on which water was flowing over. This was a precursor of things to come.
We checked into a hotel opposite the bus-stand for the basic stuff, we negotiated the room rent for just a day, we wanted to deposit our stuff there, we had no plans of spending the night at Gokak. After a quick breakfast, we were off to our first destination, Gokak falls.
On the locals recommendation, we decided to take a KSRTC bus to Gokak falls, buses are aplenty and the falls is just 6km from Gokak. We decided to get down a stop before Gokak falls(or Gokak mills) and walk along the Ghataprabha which was flowing parallel to the road. The scene was very picturesque. We could hear the roar of the waterfalls, we did not realise we were that close to the falls. By luck, the stop we had gotten down at a park or garden that had a nice vantage point.
The horseshoe shaped waterfalls is said to resemble Niagara, Niagara or not, all I can say is that it certainly is an awe inspiring sight. The sheer fury of nature in all its ravaging glory is for all of us to appreciate. The quaint wooden bridge built for the mill workers to cross the river makes the setting complete. Most of us were itching to get on that bridge. After the mandatory "I was there" snaps, we moved on to the town of Gokak Mills. In the picturesque Gokak Mills town, we encountered an interesting bit of info. Sunil Gavaskar's father MK Gavaskar was a mill employee in 1926 and there's a Gavaskar sports park to mark this.
There is another viewpoint before we get to the bridge near the mills.
There is a beautiful temple on the Mills side of the falls and also another small temple on the far side. The entrance of the bridge was rather crowded, a board near the entrance to the rather flimsy wooden bridge warned that no more than a certain modest number of people be allowed on the bridge at a time, of course, one cannot dare remind that to the security there who were happily allowing everybody who dared to venture on the bridge.
As we started walking across, the view on either side is just amazing, words really fail me. I had never been "over" a waterfall, i.e. directly above it. On one side, the water is rushing furiously and on the other side, you can see it disappear with only the white spray visible.
I wish the sound could be captured too...the deafening roar and the savage kind of beauty held all of us in a spell. Nobody talked as we negotiated the crowds on the 200m bridge slowly, all of us were trying to take in what was in front of us. I had never seen anything like this before. The sheer volumes of water made us all awe struck. On reaching the other side, one can get down to the water, I mean, go near the water, any thoughts of actually entering the water are suicidal. We just decided to hang around next to the river, simply admiring the scene. There are several viewpoints if one climbs on. A perennial rainbow created by the waterfall spray is visible. A power station that generates electricity for the mills is nestled right below the waterfalls.
We spent nearly an hour polishing off the karadantu that we had packed from Gokak and fruits we had taken from Bangalore. After that, we were off to Godchinmalki. One of our colleagues is from Gokak and he had recommended that we hire a jeep to go to Godchinmalki from Gokak falls and have the jeep drop us back to Gokak later. So after haggling with one driver, we agreed for Rs 500. Godchinmalki is 16km from Gokak and the river
Markandeya takes the first fall into a rocky valley and then plunges again. Godchinmalki falls is around 2km from Godchinmalki village and is accessible only by foot. Its appeal is very different from that of Gokak falls, the terrain is such that the river continuously descends over a slope and hence there is no dramatic drop as there was in the case of Gokak falls. Nonetheless, it is still a very beautiful place. The walk to the falls from the village is a very beautiful one, the greenery surrounding us as we walked through wet farm lands was so refreshing.
As we started walking back, we realized we were running behind schedule. The original plan was to reach Sirsi or Yellapur by nightfall. This was just impossible, so we dropped the idea of catching a bus to Belgaum that goes via Hidkal dam and then going on to Sirsi through Dandeli forests. So the goal was just to get as close to Yellapur as possible by night.
We cleared our room at the hotel in Gokak and got on the very same bus we came to Gokak in, our stop was Hubli. The bus seemed to take an eternity to reach Hubli, and finally when it did reach Hubli at around 10pm, the last bus to Yellapur had long gone. So we were stuck in Hubli. It was Renuka lodge that we were destined to spend the night in. This hotel is opposite to the old bus stand and the restaurant is just phenomenal. A jowar roti meal cost us a measly Rs26 !!! We hogged to our hearts content and crashed ! We had to start early if we were to reach Yellapur and cover Magod, Unchalli and Jog with a stopover at Malalganv which is Satish's native place.
We took a bus from Hubli to Yellapur at around 6:30am after a quick breakfast and were there in about an hour and a half ! The ever reliable Gaonkar was to meet us at the bus stand with the Tempo Trax. He had showed us around the last time we went to Yellapur. All of us piled into the Trax and we were off to our first destination for the day, Magod falls. On the way, somebody suggested that we stop at Kavadikere (lake). The lake is simply beautiful, water is very very clean. A temple dedicated to the Goddess Parvati is situated on the banks of this wonderful lake. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. We saw two snakes, the first one disappeared hearing the commotion, the second one posed for a few snaps before slithering away. Both were fresh water snakes which are non venomous and quite harmless.
We headed onward to Magod, the drive was exhilarating, going through the dense forests. It had been raining all week and we were lucky that the rain had given us a breather. As we walked down the steps towards Magod falls, we could hear the deafening roar, however we could see nothing ! It was very misty and the spray arising from river beDTi plunging 650 odd feet made it impossible to see anything. The sun was playing hide and seek behind the clouds. Our only hope was a combination of sun that would clear up the mist and gusts of wind that could clear up the gorge. As we were peeking through the clouds, suddenly the haze cleared up and we had our first spectacular view of the splendid Magod falls. As we strained ourselves to catch whatever we could, somebody told us that there was a better view from further down. As we started walking down, to our right side, we had an absolutely amazing view of the BeNNe hoLe falls at a distance.
After admiring the BeNNe hoLe falls from a distance and resolving to go there sometime in the near future, we further descended the steps to have a better view of Magod and it did not disappoint us. Words fail me to describe elation of the gang at seeing Magod in all its glory, in full flow. In our last trip, there was almost no water. If one sees Magod as we did before rains and then after the rains, I feel one can appreciate it better. So, we were back at Magod as we had planned back then and seeing it roar menacingly brought up memories of the dry Magod rushing back.
It looks almost unbelievable that the two photos are of the same waterfalls, if seeing photos makes one marvel at the changes that the monsoons bring in the Ghats, imagine how it must be to view it in person !!! Obviously, it is impossible to even dream of trekking down to the falls. Last time in summer, we did try but we got lost and had to retrace our path. This time, the season we went in ensured that we do not even try, so there is good reason for us to return to Magod again, perhaps later in the winter, maybe Jan 2008 to try and trek down. The trek is supposedly fairly difficult, and ideally we were told by a friend who had been there earlier that one should camp down there, otherwise it becomes a really hectic one full day trek. Maybe we will be third time lucky !
I have never seen a waterfall where the surroundings changes as drastically as it does at Magod. From a personal point of view, there's something about Magod that is very very appealing. I will go there any number of times and can spend any amount of time.
Magod is very close to Malalganv which is a few km from Yellapur. Satish knew of a short cut to reach their home and it turned out to be some adventure ! We had to cross some private property on a dirt track and came to a bridge that appeared too narrow for the Tempo Trax. Thanks to Gaonkar and some of our gang who helped him out, the bridge turned out to be a mere centimeter on either side wider than the Trax, so we just about got on to the other side.
The scenery around the bridge was amazing (I think I have used the word amazing a zillion times, but then it really was amazing :-)). Much as we wanted to hang out around the bridge and soak in the greenery, we were again getting late as we had Unchalli and Jog to cover. It was already close to 10:30am. We had to get to Malalganv, have a bath and breakfast, spend sometime there and move on. A word about the breakfast, expectations were running high given the royal welcome we had had last time at Satish's place, the sumptuous dosas of different types (neer, plain, made of sugar cane juice etc) with fresh chutney, home made ghee, home made jaggery , home made curds was fresh on our minds. And it was just as good as last time, if not better. I got to taste dosas thats made from the local cucumber along with the normal dosa and it was just as heavenly. One reason our gang loves this part of the state am sure is because of the sheer hospitality at Satish's place, we have been made to feel amazingly welcome at their place and we'll remember visits to their place for eons to come.
For someone like me who's a pucca Bangalorean, to get a taste of the life in Uttara Kannada, I could have not hoped for a better chance. After a tour of the farm and picking up some guavas etc fresh from the trees, we all posed for a quick photo with our hosts and we were off to Unchalli and Jog. From Jog, the plan was to go to Sagar and catch a Volvo to Bangalore.
Unchalli falls is close to Heggarini (near Aminalli), around 25km from Sirsi. The dirt track to Unchalli was in a very bad shape after the rains, walking on that dirt track was very difficult given the slippery conditions. Last time, we had climbed down the steep steps which later becomes just a trail to reach the river Aghanashini. But this time, as expected, there was not even the remotest of chance of doing that. This trip was meant to savor the beauty of the waterfalls from afar, not go near them. It simply is too dangerous. I am reminded of the Seagrams punchline, "Those who appreciate quality enjoy it responsibly", I think this applies to trekking as much as it does to liquor. Unchalli waterfalls never really dries up the way Magod does, even in summer, there was a fair amount of water. But what we saw after monsoon was beyond our wildest imagination. The entire Aghanashini river is squeezed through a gorge few tens of feet wide before it falls spectacularly several hundreds of feet down. Again, as with Magod, the change was amazing. Unchalli in summer was impressive alright but Unchalli after monsoon seems very scary, very menacing, the sheer volume of water being squeezed down the narrow gorge and hurtling down several hundred feet, imagining the power of nature, one feels very humbled, one feels minute, small, insignificant etc.
As at Magod, the weather and the conditions there made it impossible for us to have a clear view of the entire falls, only the upper third was visible. We waited for quite sometime hoping it would clear up, but it was not to be. I had remarked to Praveen that the order in which we were visiting the falls was in increasing order of their splendor, starting with Magod, then Unchalli and now Jog remained., he told me that after he saw Magod, he thought I might be exaggerating about how impressive Unchalli is, but having seen Unchalli himself, he was waiting to see Jog at its peak !
As we headed to Jog, we had passed the ghats and were in the plains. The scenery shifted from dense forests to beautiful paddy fields. We finally reached Jog pretty late in the evening around 5pm or so near the guesthouse, i.e., at the top of Jog falls. There are two views at Jog, one is the frontal view and one is from the inspection bungalow. We reached the former first. It was a sunday and all the sluice gates at the dam upstream had been opened and Jog was in its full glory. The flip side was the crowds, which I think easily was over a lakh. It was impossible to get a clear view without getting jostled. It resembled Kumbh Mela more than Jog, whats more, our gang got split and we thought some guys (Mithun, Vinod andRasool) were missing (the Kumbh Mela story :D), we waited and waited for them, it started pouring, we got drenched. We had to get to the other side to take in the other view and it was getting late. Our guys had apparently chosen to perch themselves perilously next to the Roarer falls so that they could have a good view. Needless to say, they did get some amazing snaps, much better than the ones am posting here. Will try and post those snaps soon.
By the time we got to the place where we could see the Jog from front, it was nearly dark. We could not have as good a view as we had hoped for. Last year we came to see Jog after the rains, we returned disappointed as the dam had stopped releasing water a day or two before we went there. This time, it was much better. Though it was dark and the cameras failed to capture the falls properly, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
We went to Sagar (traffic jams from Jog to Sagar, preparing us for Monday in Bangalore) and had some time to kill before we could board our bus. We changed into fresh clothes and had dinner at a hotel near the bus stand. Our Volvo from Sirsi arrived late, we gratefully got in and crashed only to wake up in Bangalore.
We covered some of the most beautiful waterfalls of North Karnataka. We did miss Satoddi falls, given how much we enjoyed it last time around, it was a pity we could not go there, but apparently its impossible to go there in the monsoon season.
The trip was a success beyond our wildest dreams. Some had warned us that it was stupid to hope to see so many waterfalls at one go, that it was simply impossible to cover so much distance etc etc. Thanks to some meticulous planning by Satish (and Maruti) and the rain Gods who obliged us with some fine weather, our trip was a run away success.
I will post details of how much it cost us exactly and all other nitty gritty details. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me if you need any details.
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