Devarhole - at peace on my B'day

[April 11-12, 2009]

Devarhole is on the way to Ombattugudde

Fact File:

Starting point: Bangalore

Destination: Gundya gate (From Kempegowda bus stand, take KSRTC Sarige bus which goes to Dharmasthala via Sakleshpura, 10:30PM the best one.. it stops at Gundya gate)

Bus fare: Rs. 161.00 (one way)

Starting point for the trek: Walk along the highway towards Dharmasthala for around 3kms where one can see a bridge. Take the jeep track on the right side just after crossing the bridge.

Best possible itinerary: Start from Bangalore in the morning and reach Gundiya check post by 1:00PM. Start the trek by 1:30PM and then reach Devarhole by 5:00PM and camp there. Start the hike to Ombattigudde early morning the next day and reach there by noon. Camp there overnight again. Climb down towards Hosakere on the morning of 3rd day and reach Bangalore by night of 3rd day.

Essentials: Its a tough trek, rocky path, so have good shoes with strong soles. Water is a necessity after Devarhole, so carry enough water from that point on.
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The KSRTC Sarige bus dropped us at Gundya Gate (or Check Post) at 5:00AM. The maps came out. Yes, this is the place from where we need to walk along the highway going towards Mangalore and take the jeep track on the right immediately after a bridge. The surroundings were still dark, although the sky was as milky as it can be (it was the next day after full moon). The presence of tall trees on both sides of the highway was blocking the entry of moonlight. Torches were out and we started walking along the highway in search of the bridge. The air was a bit warm and humid, but the pleasure of walking along a silent and peaceful road in the night has a thrill of its own. We reached the bridge in 30 minutes and there was the jeep track which was going down on the right. But, we were not sure whether this was the right route since we could not see anything around in the dark, except for a few houses. After a bit of exploration in the dark, we were convinced that this was the right track for us to take. The time was 5:35AM on 11th April. The thrill was in the air and all of us were just raring to march ahead. We were making an attempt to do one of the toughest treks in the Kabbinale Reserve Forest and climb the elusive Ombattugudde peak. The trek begins here. We were 5 of us - myself, Pradipta, Ramakrishna, Rajesh and Gupta.

We started walking along the wide jeep track. There were few houses along the jeep track, but within 15 minutes of walking, the real forest area started. We could see huge trees with heavy undergrowth on both the sides of the road. The atmosphere was pleasant and invigorating for a nice walk - the air was slightly chill and occasionally we could get the sweet fragrance of flowers. There were several diversions along the jeep road, but one needs to just follow the widest of the roads (easily identifiable) and its usually the one which goes on the right. This part of the trek is not difficult at all and there are no major uphill climbs. At several places along the track, there were fallen trees which were blocking the route, but one can go around and hit the track again. At one place, we saw a huge dead tree which was burning. We were not sure whether somebody had burnt the tree or since the air was dry, the fire started by itself. By 6:30AM, it was daylight and we were able to see the forest very clearly. The forest was thick with several huge and tall trees. The track goes along the river which flows on the right side. Once in a while the river would be close to the path, but slowly it goes away farther. We crossed several dry stream paths on the way, which during rainy season would surely have lot of water. At one of the stream paths though, there was some water but it was stagnant. We continued our pleasant walk through the forest. The air was filled with the chirping of birds and an occasional call. All this time during the walk, once in a while the discussion used to divert to the presence of leeches along the trek, but since it was dry season, we did not expect leeches to be present.

After walking for around 2 hours, we reached a small clearing where we could see a forest milestone on the left. We decided to take a quick rest here. This is when people started to look at their shoes and socks, in case, there are some leeches which are stuck. Thats it, we have stirred the hornet's nest. The first person to notice a leech on his socks was Rajesh. And mind it, Rajesh considers the leech as his biggest enemy in life. In fact, all of us had leech on our shoes and socks, but not much blood was lost. Rajesh had all the possible solutions for leech attacks and all of us took turns to apply tobacco powder mixed with coconut oil on our feet and legs for further attacks. We continued our trek beyond this point and we could see a huge hill right in front of us. In another 30 minutes, we reached the sangam area, the junction which is supposedly the starting point for the real adventure. We decided to have our breakfast (sandwiches+biscuits+banana) here and then plan the further course of action.

The hike to Ombattugudde peak can be done through multiple routes from the Sangam and maps are available in blogs which show those routes. One of the most frequented trails is the one which goes along the river up to a point from where one has to take a diversion towards north and then reach the peak. But, we decided to attempt the one which goes straight up rather than the roundabout route along the river. When we were around at the Sangam, one more group of around 7-8 people also came and they were planning to take the river route. We spent around 2 hours at the Sangam, freshened up and then started the hike through the jeep track which goes right across the river stream. This route too goes along the river for quite a while (maybe around an hour or so). The trail is easily identifiable. All along the route, there will be quite a few diversions which goes on the right side, but one should not take that route. The correct trail is the one which goes to the left. On the way, we met a group of guys who were on their return trek. It seems they too wanted to take the straight trek route up, but could not make it. They had camped at a place called Devarhole. In just around 45 minutes or so, we reached Devarhole. At a certain place, one can hear the sound of the waterfalls and withing a very short 5 minute walking distance, a small trail on the right side leads to the river. This place has got a nice camping spot. Rajesh and Pradipta just explored the place, filled water and then we proceeded ahead for the climb. We reached another junction after 10 minutes of walk and we used the compass to find the direction towards north and started an uphill climb towards the ridge which will take us to the peak. We began climbing up the hill through the thick jungle (putting marks on the trees on the way) and occasionally we had to use our sharp weapons (courtesy Rajesh) to make the clearing for the trek as we climbed up. After ascending for more than an hour on the steep slope, we began to realise that there's no point going up like this as the jungle was turning out to be very dense. Further, I started getting problems on my feet due to heel cracks/boils and I was finding it very difficult to walk. After a short discussion, we decided to abandon the trek up to Ombattigudde this time around and planned to camp for the night at Devarhole. As we returned, the pain on my feet began to increase and it took us around 45 minutes to return to Devarhole. We took up a spot which was very close to a small waterfall and all of us just crashed on the rocks to lie down. It was around 2:30PM then. After a quick rest, we began to plan for lunch (maggi zindabad) and within no time, lunch was ready (courtesy rajesh, he was the only guy in total control) and everybody hogged. All of us were dead tired with problems on the feet and entire body and is there a better way to release the pain than to jump into the fresh and cool water of the river. We ended up spending a good time in the water. The air was very hot and moist and we were planning to sleep under the open sky, but suddenly, we could see clouds hovering in the sky and thats when we decided to bring out our tents in case it rains. We had brought two tents and both were assembled in no time. Rajesh insisted that the two tents be put side by side so that in case of any possible attack by wild animals, we should all be together to put up a fight. For such an eventuality, he also had other ideas - he collected sticks and kept between the tents, he wanted to tie waste cloth at the end of a stick and dip it in kerosene and keep and so many more... The sky was becoming dark and we spent a good amount of time chatting with each other before we started preparations for dinner - noodles again and fried rice. We finished our sumptuous dinner by 10:30PM, packed up everything and started the bonfire. We sat around it for sometime before guys felt that its time they go to sleep. Pradipta and myself decided to sleep outside the tent on the rocky surface whereas the remaining three slept inside the tent. It was a great feeling sleeping face up towards the open sky with lot of stars to gaze around. The moon was not visible but the sky was totally lit up - milky white. Slowly the time passed by and it was 12:00AM on 12th April... And thats my BIRTHDAY... I had never imagined that on my B'day this year, I will be in a jungle, lying peacefully on a rock in the middle of a river and watching up at the stars with the sound of the gushing water of the river to give company... What an atmosphere !! I would love to celebrate all my future birthday's like this, but can I be always fortunate like this time? I was awake for another hour or so just being myself in total peace - a silent spectator and a silent listener to whatever was around me !!











We slept outside till around 2:00AM or so and then went inside our tent. The guys in the other tent were in deep slumber. As time progressed in the night, the sky was totally white and it was a wonderful sight. Everything around was very clearly visible. We were all awake by 7:00AM the morning of 12th and we started getting ready for the trek back towards civilization. The tents were re-packed and the rucksacks assembled in no time. It was time for another dip in the river now and we spent around 30 minutes or so living the time on hand. We started walking back around 10.00AM and within 45 minutes we were back at the Sangam. We had taken soda and lime with us for the trip, so it was time now to prepare sweet lime soda. Wow, that was refreshing. We met another group of trekkers at the Sangam who were also on their way back. After a short rest, we resumed our trek back with regular stoppages for refreshments in between. Just before we hit the main road, we spent a long time along the river. I was having a tough time walking with sores and cuts on both my feet. All the others were also tired and somehow we all managed to drag ourselves to Gudiya checkpost by around 2:30PM. There were frequent KSRTC Sarige buses going towards Bangalore and we boarded one of them. Rajesh was getting hungry and he wanted to go only till Sakleshpura, get down there, have lunch and then proceed towards Bangalore. But, once inside the bus, he was bullied into traveling till Bangalore. Just before reaching Sakleshpura, the bus stopped for a quick break. Rajesh was personally informed by the conductor that he should have his lunch there. Rajesh and Ramki went ahead for lunch and rest of us had snacks. In about 15 minutes, the bus started towards Bangalore. Suddenly, we realised that Rajesh was not in the bus and we had to rush towards the conductor to inform him of his absence. The conductor told that the bus is going to stop at the bus station which was around 10 minutes from that place and Rajesh can come and board the bus there. We were not sure whether Rajesh had money or mobile with him. We reached the bus station and Ramki decided to take an auto and go back and search for Rajesh and conductor assured that the bus will wait. Ramki had just left in search of Rajesh when from nowhere Rajesh came rushing inside the bus. Now, we have to get Ramki back. We made a call to Ramki and asked him to come back. He had already reached the place where Rajesh was left behind and was searching for him. It took another 10 minutes to come out of the confusion and Ramki was back in the bus again. The rest of the bus journey was boring. The driver was driving dead slow and the passengers were getting irritated and they were shouting at him once in a while. But then, you cannot force a person to do something which he doesn't want to do. We reached Yeshwanthpur at 10:30PM and walked back to IISc. Had dinner at GYM cafe and thats it. Yes, we could not reach the peak this time, but we had a fabulous time during the trek and we are planning to again go back sometimes soon and finish the trek...

The plan to Ombattigudde was finalised at the last moment due to logistics issues. Earlier, we were planning to go to Charmadi ghats with the help of a guide, but that did not materialise. We boarded the KSRTC Sarige bus from Kempegowda bus stand, Bangalore to Gundya gate on 10th April night. One has to take a bus which goes to Dharmasthala via Sakleshpura to reach Gundya gate. The best bus is probably the one which leaves Kempegowda bus stand at 10:30PM.

Till the next trek.... Adios... Santanu

Trek to Brahmagiri - from Iruppu side

[December 2006]

Brahmagiri was very enchanting when we trekked there earlier this year from the Thirunelli side and during that time we had decided that sometimes again, we will return to this place. And little did we realize that the day would come so soon. Probably, the best time to trek in Karnataka is from November to March when the rain gods would be taking rest. We planned to visit Brahmagiri again during the first weekend of December but this time from the Karnataka side in Iruppu, near Coorg. Brahmagiri is a much frequented place from the Iruppu side based on the numerous blogs available on the net. We collected two important points from all such available informations: (a) one needs permission to do the trek from the DFO at Srimangala and (b) the trek can be a one-day trek or a 2-day one with the possibility of an overnight stay at Narimale, almost halfway between the base and the peak. We planned to do the two-day trek and so called up the DFO office at Srimangala to book accommodation at the Narimale rest house but were dejected to know that the place had already been booked. But they told us to come down there and check for the availability as there were chances of last minute withdrawals.

For most of the treks, our team remains the same and we travel on bikes. As always, myself and Kunal were there and this time we had a new member, Samy for the trek. Unlike earlier occasions, when we used to start from Bangalore in the afternoon, this time we decided to start in the morning instead and reach Iruppu, which is more famous for the Iruppu falls by afternoon. This will give us sometime to rest and then do the trek with full energy the next day. Iruppu is in Kodagu district and it’s around 280 kms from Bangalore on the way to Madikeri, the headquarters of Kodagu. Iruppu can be reached from Bangalore by two ways, one via Mysore and the other via Hassan, the Hassan one being a bit longer. Either way, one has to reach Hunsur and from there proceed towards Gonikoppa. At Gonikoppa, one has to take the road going towards Nagarhole, Srimangala and Iruppu Falls. Based on the inputs from one of our friends (who had gone to Coorg a few weeks back) regarding the road conditions on the Mysore-Hunsur highway, we decided to take the Hassan route to reach Iruppu. Although our plan was to start around 7:00 o’clock in the morning on Friday, 8th Dec., it was already 9:00 when we actually hit the Hassan highway at Nelamangala. We traveled at an average speed of around 60 kms an hour and reached the Hassan city bypass around 11:30AM. We need not go into Hassan and proceeded on the highway going towards Mangalore. We took a small break just close to the bypass for a quick tea and hit the road again. Just after 4 kms, we came to the circle where we are supposed to take the left to go towards K R Nagara and further towards Hunsur. The roads were in excellent condition except for small patches which were under construction. We reached Hunsur pretty soon via K R Nagara and from there we were on our way towards Gonikoppa. Around 5 kms after crossing Hunsur, we reached a road fork. For people traveling to Madikeri, one can take any of these two roads. The one on the right goes straight to Madikeri, whereas the left road goes via Gonikoppa and Virajpet. We took the diversion on the left for Gonikoppa, which was around 45 kms from this fork. Very nice village road with open land on either side gave us company till the entry point of Rajiv Gandhi National Park. A brief stretch of road (around 10 kms) inside the forest before reaching Gonikoppa is in pathetic condition with potholes spread out like bubbles in water when you blow with a pipe. We had a tough time negotiating this part of the road and with lot of pain in our hinds and back, we reached Gonikoppa. Samy, on the pillion with me had a really horrible time. But still more was in store for him. After filling our petrol tanks at Gonikoppa, we took the road going towards Nagarhole. The road on this stretch was even worse. It’s difficult to understand why roads inside a forest area are always in bad shape. We took around an hour’s time to reach Srimangala which was just around 20 kms from Gonikoppa. We directly reached the DFO’s office at Srimangala and enquired about the trek. The office bearers in the office spoke good English and Hindi, so we had no trouble in conversing with them. They told us that it would not be impossible for them to provide accommodation at Narimale since it was already full. They gave us the option of doing a one-day trek which would be slightly strenuous. We had no other option and we decided to go for the one-day trek the next day. After paying our trek fees at the office, we started enquiring about the accommodation for the night and we were told that some accommodation would be available at Iruppu which was around 5-7 kms from Srimangala. We had not taken any proper food since morning and all of us were very hungry. We started to look around the Srimangala bus stand for some solid food, but it was not available. We had ice-creams and cookies and immediately proceeded towards Iruppu. We reached Iruppu in around 15 minutes. Except for a temple and an eating place, there’s absolutely nothing in Iruppu. As told to us, we contacted the eating place for a place to stay the night. The temple had a small resting house called the Lakshmanateertha Guest House just close to the waterfalls and it seems only one room was vacant at that time where we can stay for the night. We were more than happy at getting a place. The eating place can provide dinner also if informed in advance. We asked them to prepare dinner for three people. It was already 5:00PM then. We dumped our baggage in the room, took a quick shower and then went to Kutta which was around 7 kms from Iruppu to buy some necessary stuff for the trek. By the time we came back, dinner was already prepared. The dinner was simple with two chapattis, potato curry, rice and sambar. We needed good rest for the trek the next day and lo, we were in bed immediately after dinner.

We didn’t need a wake up call the next morning. Our neighbors in the adjacent rooms were up pretty early and their loud talk regarding the availability of hot water for bathing cut short our cozy sleep. We were ready for the trek by 8 and we reached the eating place where we were supposed to meet our guide. Our guide was already there in full readiness, but we were told that another group would join us and so we had to wait for them. The other group was there in a short time – 5 members in their 40s. We started our trek from the restaurant at 9:00AM towards the waterfalls. On reaching the waterfalls, a path is seen going up towards the right and the guide mentioned that this was the trekking path towards Brahmagiri peak. We slowly started the climb. Having experienced the problem of leeches in this part of the region, we were in full gear. We had realized earlier that it was difficult to repel leeches with any of the available traditional solutions like salt etc. Since the most common path for the leeches to enter into blood territory was through the socks and shoes, we wore 2 pairs of socks with a polyethylene wrapping between them to prevent any chances for the leech to contact the skin. The initial stretch of the climb was little bit steep, but trekking was not very tiring. Narimale was around 5 kms up from the falls. We were truly amazed by the stamina of our co-trekkers from the other group who in spite of their increasing age were able to climb pretty comfortably. Leeches were definitely less this time, very few of them sticking to our shoes. This is the time when Kunal got a novel idea. By some thought he was carrying his deodorant with him and he wondered whether this would have any effect on the leeches. He sprayed the deo on some of the leeches on his shoes and to his surprise found that the leeches became immobile and it was easier to remove them. Life became very easy afterwards. Just spray deo on the leeches whenever you see them on you. The forest was not very thick and the climb was comfortable. Except for few obstacles in the form of thick shrubs on the way and crossing a bridge made of two bamboos with no sidebars to hold, we were in Narimale by 11:00AM. There’s a house at this place, where one can stay overnight if they are on a two-day trek. We stopped at this place for around 15 minutes, filled our water bottles from a small stream nearby and went ahead for the final onslaught towards Brahmagiri peak. Brahmagiri is around 5-6 kms from Narimale. The guide told us that the trek from this point on would be very easy and only the last stretch of around 700 meters would be the toughest. We kept on walking in the midst open grasslands. After crossing around a kilometer or so, we could see at a distance Brahmagiri peak on our left. In the meantime, 3 of the 5 “uncles” with us decided to drop out. They were having problems with their knee. This stretch was more like doing a long walk beneath the open sky and of course elephant dung gave us good company throughout. This was elephant territory and without the guide we may not be in a position to react if at all we encounter one of them on our path. In another hour or so, we were right below the Brahmagiri peak. As mentioned by our guide, the climb from this point to the peak was really steep. It was more like looking straight up towards the sky. At the base, another uncle dropped off citing knee problems. We started our climb slowly up the slope. We had to crawl also in between. We were surprised to see lot of elephant dung on this steep path too. We began to wonder as to how such a huge animal could go up and down this slope. The distance towards the peak was not much, but the climb was tiring. When we completed around 70% of the climb, we looked down to see how far we had hiked. Well, well, the next level of thought struck us. How are we going to get down now from the top? It’s so damn steep. Within a short time we were right at the peak. Another peak to our list. The view from the top was just amazing. Down on the other side, we could see the Thirunelli temple, the place from where we climbed a few months back. The entire Brahmagiri range spread far and wide was awesome. We rested for sometime here, had fruit juice and buns. From our other group, only one person could finish the trek. We started planning as to how to climb down. Maybe sliding would be a better choice with a very low risk of tumbling down, but our trousers would be scraped clean on the hind by the time we reach the base. Finally we decided that we would get down slowly with a sitting posture but with the bums not exactly touching the hilly surface. I was the first to climb down. I found a better technique instead. I started sliding on my shoes with my hands for support and within 15 minutes, I was at the base. Our guide was waiting for us at the base. He mentioned that he has become sick of climbing the peak everyday and so he usually drops off at the base. The others also came down without much of a problem in a short while and we all started our way back towards Narimale. While walking back, occasionally, we would turn around and appreciate each other on the steep climb upto the peak. We took an hour and 20 minutes to reach Narimale rest house through the same road. On the way, we passed a group of 7 students on their way to the peak. When we reached Narimale, we found that the place was full of activity. There were so many people. Everybody has the same urge to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life the moment they get a chance. A big group of BPO folks numbering around 35 were there to stay at the guest house in Narimale for the night. I strongly feel that trekking is probably the best exercise for building teams and enhance interactions amongst people. We rested for around 20 minutes at Narimale and then started our descent towards habitation. I wanted to climb down as fast as possible, so I broke away from the group and started walking down at a brisk pace. I reached Iruppu falls within 40 minutes from Narimale. In another 30 minutes or so, our other friends also arrived. This trek to Brahmagiri was the least troublesome of all the treks we did and we really enjoyed a lot. We bade goodbye to our friends from the other group and returned to our room at the Lakshmanateertha Guest House. During our interactions with the “uncles”, we came to know of something very interesting – it seems there is a Shiva linga just behind the waterfall before it falls to the bottom and during Shivaratri day, this place sees a festive atmosphere with pilgrims from several parts of south India gathering together to seek the Almighty’s blessings.

Our next plan was to leave Iruppu that evening and stay for the night at Gonikoppa. After a quick shower and a small rest, we started our drive towards Gonikoppa. It was getting dark when we reached Gonikoppa and we straightway landed at Hotel Nandanavanam (as suggested by our trekking friends earlier in the evening) for the night’s stay. We dumped our bags in the hotel room and decided to search for a nice eating place for dinner. We checked with the hotel reception and they suggested Silver Sky restaurant just opposite the hotel. Still we wanted to check out for any other better place. Gonikoppa is a small town and all the business activity is dominated on a 1km stretch of road on the highway. A quick search later, the only choice was Silver Sky. We had a sumptuous dinner and a long chat pretty late into the night and finally crashlanded for a good night’s sleep. The return trip was already planned. We wanted to take the Mysore route to reach Bangalore.

The day dawned pretty early for us on Sunday and we were on the road immediately after a quick breakfast. We reached IISc at around 3:30PM and dispersed. Brahmagiri is a nice place for trekking and all trek lovers would like it. We would suggest people to go for the two-day trek and make a night’s halt at the Narimale guest house. You can either take your own food for the night or cook there itself with firewood. The stillness of the night in a jungle with the constant fear of elephants giving company, the stay would be exciting and memorable.

ABOUT BRAHMAGIRI

Brahmagiri Hills can be accessed from Coorg on the Karnataka side or Thirunelli on the Kerala side. With a height of approximately 1600 meters, Brahmagiri is well known for the famous Iruppu Falls and the Thirunelli temple and also for the enormous opportunity to do trekking. On the Kerala side, Brahmagiri falls in Wayanad district with headquarters in Kalpetta. The entire Wayanad district is abound with natural beauty and has several places of historical importance making it the ideal place for nature lovers and bhakti tourists alike.

TREKKING FEES

Rs. 300.00 for 3 of us (including guide charges) to be paid at DFO Office, Srimangala.
PLACES OF STAY AT IRUPPU

- Lakshmanateertha Guest House near the waterfalls. They charge Rs. 100.00 per head per night from us. Only during Shivaratri, that place would be crowded. The charges go for the development of the temple.

- Narimale Rest House on the way to peak (5 kms from Iruppu Falls). To be booked well in advance at the Srimangala Forest Office.

TREK DIFFICULTY LEVEL

Moderate to slight difficult towards summit.

Muthati - A day's outing

[March 2006]

Muthati is a very nice place to go if you want to just get out of Bangalore for a day's relaxation. This place is best traveled on bikes. Go out early in the morning, do a short trek till noon time in the nearby hills with the help of the forest department people (a forest office is available there). Ensure that the trek ends at Bheemeswari, then walk towards the banks of the Cauvery at Bheemeswari after crossing the road, then start a walk along the banks of Cauvery from Bheemeswari towards Muthati. The walk is troublesome due to the presence of several rocks all along, but the cauvery flowing alongside gives you enough enthusiasm to go for it. You can take food along with you and you can stopover for lunch at some nice place along the banks, go for a short swim, relax and then start your walk balk to Muthati. All this can be done easily on a single day. If you are not interested for a trek, then you can reach there around 10:00AM or so and have a very relaxed time along the banks of the Cauvery. You can also cross over to the other side of Cauvery by coracles and enjoy your time there. The only important thing to keep in mind is to carry food with you...

The best time to probably go there is during December and January... One can go during other times also as long as it is not raining. But during summer, the trees are all dry and its gonna be hot if you prefer to trek.

My friend and regular trekmate, Santonu Ghosh again has a great write-up on this.. Do check out the link for some more details on the route and how we spent our time there:

http://santonu.blogspot.com/2006/03/day-out-to-muthati.html

Bandaje Arbi trek

[April 2008]

The trek to Ballalarayana Durg and Bandaje Arbi was one of the most exciting treks we have ever had. Santonu Ghosh has a nice trekologue on this particular trek and it can be accessed at the following link:

http://santonu.blogspot.com/2008/05/cherish-best-of-western-ghats_04.html

For all those people who enjoy trekking, this particular trek is certainly a challenging one and I would strongly recommend them to go for it. In fact, you will love the trek if you take the route from Bandaje Arbi to Ballalarayana Durg where the climb is steeper and also you have to overcome the attack by leeches which are available in thousands... You just can't stop to relax... You have to keep climbing continuously at a very steady pace otherwise you will have leeches all over you !!!!!

Have a go at it, folks !!

Cool Coorg - Trek to Tadiyendamol

[December 2006]

Partners in crime: Santonu and Santanu

Trekologue author: Santonu with some additions and limited editions by me

The same is available also at the following link:

http://santonu.blogspot.com/2006/12/cool-coorgtrek-to-tadiandamol.html

Blame it on Thursday! Yes, because that was the night we decided to disappear from the IISc campus and travel to Tadiyendamol. If you give a google search you will surely land up on hundreds of pages delivering several details about Tadiyendamol. Hence, it is quite evident that the place must be infested with trekkers. It was not good news because most of the times we become busy in collecting the plastics or other junks ‘sensible’ trekkers throw on the way. We had a different plan for the trip, we wanted to travel to Coorg by bike. It wasn’t an easy job since it was 300 km away from Bengalooru and major part of it was a drive through hills. Santanu is an able rider and was too confident about making it happen. Hence we caught a couple of hours of sleep and started out journey towards Kodagu district in Coorg.

There are different routes to reach Tadiyendamol. For the first route one can take a right diversion just after Srirangpattanam on the Bangalore-Mysore highway and travel towards Virajpet, this route goes via Gonikoppal and Hunsur. Once you are in Virajpet you have to take a left to reach Kakkabe. It is near 25 km from Virajpet. Kakkabe is well connected to Virajpet, though Bangalore is not so well connected to Virajpet. The second route is to go to Madikeri and from there you can come to Kakkabe through Nopoklu. This distance is 37 km. Madikeri is well connected by bus from Bangalore and currently the road from Bangalore is in excellent condition. Once you reach Kakkabe you have to look for the Naalkunaadu Palace! It’s not a very big one but this was sort of a mile stone from where you start your trek towards Tadiyendamol.

We took the Virajpet route. Kodagu district welcomed us after we crossed the Mysore industrial area; the forest check post announced the area to be under Rajiv Gandhi National Park. The road was beautiful; wide 4 track black tar road was tearing apart the green forest which soon ended up in the coffee plantation area. The area appeared to be quite rich; we were in Coorg after all. The beautiful coffee estates were really a treat to watch, from Virajpet the road turns up to the hill and nice valleys started appearing on the screen. Kakkabe is a very small village, typical Coorgy in nature and we reached there around 12:30PM. The Mahindra jeeps and different attires of females will surely catch your attention. One of the admiring sights was to see Coorgi ladies driving open jeeps and going around the place. We did not stop anywhere except for asking for the route, Jackies’s steady hands made the travel a comfortable one. We had couple of plans, either to stay at the hills or reach Madikeri and stay there. Near Kakkabe there are many coffee estates which provide ‘home stay’ accommodation, but most of these places were very expensive. We had planed for one such place called Honey Valley next to Kabinakad post office. The place is around 3km up the hills, and we found it difficult to take our bike to the top, hence we started looking for some other place, There is another place called Palace Estate near the Palace, it’s a beautiful place but very costly for our budget. Then we found a place slightly cheaper than the other cottages. Most of the cottages there bear a sign board but not this one! You can identify it as the cottage just next to a so called resort called Coffee County and named as Twins Cottage. The owners of that place, Mr. Ashok and his wife allow people to stay there and provide nice food too. We paid around Rs. 800/- for both of us for two days. It was a nice place and we found a shelter, now we had to arrange for our next days’ provisions for the trek. We decided to travel to Madikeri. The road which took us to Madikeri wasn’t the kind through which we traveled till then, it was quite worse, lots of hairpin curves, so it took us more than an hour to reach Madikeri. We had a nice lunch there, it was good and cheap, and since we had time we had decided to see Abby falls. Its not far from Madikeri, the road was good and picturesque for the forest and hills. We both had visited Abby falls earlier so not much charm was left for us, still it was nice to come back to find the same place. I came here with our TMS gang, and had a major game session in the open field near the Abby falls, unfortunately that open area no longer exists, there are plantation, it is hard to find that beautiful grass meadow. Then we started back to Kakkabe, it took us 1 hr. from Madikeri to Kakkabe and it was already dark when we came back to the warm shelter.

Thick mist covered the whole valley the next day morning with flesh piercing chill that led us to start for the trek a bit late. The breakfast at the house was quite heavy and we, at once, realized that it would take some time to digest, but again I liked the coffee more. From Twins cottage, we had to travel to the Palace. The road is a tarred one and so one can take their vehicles upto the palace. My imaginations ran wild regarding the palace, but this palace was a small one and enough to disappoint me. So we practically started walking towards Tadiyendamol from there. There was a tar road where it was possible to travel by one’s own vehicle, but we decided to walk; calm, steady and experienced legs were moving at a speed we are so used to. The tar road is through a rain forest covered hill and goes by the side of a small stream; we were thoroughly enjoying the silence. The trek rout is very clear; in fact it is possible to travel by jeep for one third of the trek route. The tar road stretches for 3 km and then the mud road starts, there are diversions on the way but the trekking rout was very much in sight. After crossing a couple of more streams, we could see a glimpse of Tadiyendamol peak at a distance. We were right in guessing that it will be almost 6 km away from the end of the tar road. So we continued our journey on this bright winter morning though the endless grass land with cool breeze and nice sun to keep our tempo up. After an hour of walk we stood near a big stone and decided upon further journey details! You should remember that, at this stone, you have to take the trek route on your right to reach Tadiyendamol. Once we started climbing up, the wind started gaining speed. The chill wind became unbearable after half way climb, till we entered the jungle. This trail for trek never enters the forest except a small part and I can assure you these are the dense most forest in Western Ghats, once you are lost inside, it requires GPS or a mobile phone to track you down. 10 min walk inside the forest was enough to give us this feeling. It was very similar to the one we experienced during our trek to Agumbe. The time we reached near the peak it was too windy. We reached the peak around 10:30 a.m., it was breath taking, if there is a place called heaven, I sure it wont be better than this. We chatted for a while there; gossiping at 1748 meters was a rare opportunity. Airtel welcomed us to Kerala with a full network signal in the cell phone at the peak; it was a worse feeling to be in touch with the world even there. We were told by Mr. Ashok that on a clear day, one can see the Arabian sea from the peak. Unfortunately, we could not see anything because the far sky was full of thick clouds. The wind was not allowing us to sit there, so we started climbing down and planned to climb up the other smaller peaks in the vicinity of Tadiyendamol. It was too early for lunch. When climbing down, you will reach a place where a boundary wall of some sort is there. We decided to climb the hill on the left of the trek route adjoining this boundary wall. This hill is slightly steep, but not a difficult one to climb. Once we were up on this hill, we could see several other smaller hills joining this one. We trekked the hilltops around and had our lunch on a rocky hill top below which there is a steep gradient. It was standard lunch, cucumber! We couldn’t eat the bread or tomatoes we took with us. The breakfast was still going strong. It was probably around 1:00PM when we decided to climb down. We had plans to travel to Madikeri again and spend some time there. It was December 16th, Saturday; we expected several trekkers to be around, but we crossed a group of only 6 trekkers on the way back. We walked back to the foot of the hill and cleaned ourselves in a small stream inside the forest. We reached the palace around 2:30 p.m. Since Jackie was insisting we went to see the palace, it was disappointing and I was happy that now visitors are not allowed inside (it was under renovation). There is a school near to the palace and I saw some kids playing some game, I took the picture, can you guess the game? Hockey!!! Of course and amongst them, a small girl was playing better than her boy mates. Surely IHF will have a morale boosting. The night was very calm at Twins Cottage, except for some noise created by a small group of people who were playing Antakshari outside around a bonfire. We were also in good mood and we also started singing while lying on our beds. The only difference was that we were singing all old Kishore Kumar numbers, mainly the powerful sad ones. Mr. Ashok and his wife’s hospitality again touched us. It was a beautiful experience staying with them. The next day morning, we had breakfast again and started our way back to Bangalore. Jackie’s steady hands on the bike made the 300 km journey like a 20 km one; the tough roads didn’t affect him and his driving much. The bike did not give much trouble either. We came back to Bangalore by 3:00 p.m to witness India’s fight back in South Africa and my usual place where everyone was worried and complaining for disappearing without any information and there was somebody oblivious to all the happenings.

ABOUT TADIYENDAMOL

Tadiyendamol is the highest peak in Kodagu district with a height of approximately 1800 m. The nearest village to start the trek from is called Kakkabe. Kakkabe can be reached from both Virajpet or from Madikeri (35 kms) as per your travel directions. The roads from Virajpet and Madikeri to Kakkabe are not in very good condition. The Naalkunadu palace is the starting point of the trek. From the peak of Tadiyendamol, one can have a very good view of the valley and the hilly range.

HOW TO REACH

Route: Bangalore – Srirangapatna (on Mysore road) – Hunsur (take diversion towards Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary just after crossing Srirangapatna) – Virajpet – Kakkabe (on the way from Virajpet to Madikeri) [around 250 kms from bangalore]

Or

Bangalore – Srirangapatna (on Mysore road) – Hunsur (take diversion towards Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary just after crossing Srirangapatna) – Madikeri – Kakkabe (on the route from Madikeri to Virajpet)

Trek Difficulty level for Tadiyendamol: Moderate (one – day trek)