Lost in Paradise - Part III

After contemplating accelerated on the-road-ahead with the gut feeling tat we are on the right track, we reached the CROSS-Road marked on one of the bill-boards "Way to KUVEMPU-University". Tat bought a sigh-of-relief n smile on our faces for obvious reason, JLR is at 14th KM towards Kuvempu University. As we drove ahead the road was narrow, less curvy n more bumpy. There was no sign of any info abt JLR on the route, not even a single bill-board. Finally we reached Lakkavalli, the much awaited destination in our minds!! still JLR wasnt in the vicinity. We were juss 1KM far frm the 14th KM mark. Voila!! "Way to BHADRA RiverTern" was spotted, we invaded the territorial waters by entering the narrow bridge crossing the flowing BHADRA!!

It was untarred muddy road with a 25-degree-gradient towards the River-Tern; towards the right side was the barrier holding on the water!! on the left it was Bhadra Jungle which will join the forests of KGundi. As I parked my voyager, it started to drizzle. There after entire ambience was transformed within minutes. It was arnd 11.45AM, as there were not many ppl at the JLR we cud get cottages with very good views!!

We were priviliged to get a White-Eye n Bee-Eater, well names of the cottages :D!! as soon as entered the cottage was awestruck with the panoramic view!! it was heaven-on-earth, m short of words to describe!!

The cottages were on the foot-hill of Bhadra Wildlyfe, its juss a perfect landscape looked as if painted-by-GOD. Huge area with water n water everywhere, amdist it were many small islands. We heard from the in-house-keepers there tat they make trips to those islands during summer, wonder how it wud be LOST IN AN ISLAND :D. At a far sight u can visualise the clouds kissing mountain ranges of Shringeri n horanaaDu!! The best part of the mountains there was its imploring-cloud-abilities, which makes the sight a blissful. The gusty wind on the other hand was leaping the water causing small waves, from a far sight one could visualise the small white patches as a result. At the same time the contrasting light due to dark clouds abstracting sun rays reflected on water would change colors consistently from blue, green n ofcourse those white patches of small waves. Was indeed a phantasmagoric picturesque!! the next 2 hrs juss admired the nature n SNAPPED to glory :D, basking the soothing effect of water with all this exotic ambience. la-heaven!! With all this we could figure out lots of birds, esp the kites/cranes/ducks. Brahminy Kites were fishing out, guess they were very hungry!! they gulped fishes one after the other in air. While one of them was busy collecting the stack for their nest.

Arnd 2 PM we were out for GOL-GHAR to savour the hot lunch served. No wonder its a small world, i cud catch up shrikz; who was out with his buddies for same reason as we were :)!!. Next thing in our skejule was Safari on open jeep inside the Bhadra Abhayaranya, which was @ 4.30PM!! We were back to our balconies after a short hibernation :D!!

As tvp was hooked to his lappie n official mail chking process, mez n sv decided to stroll down the foot-hill to meet the waters n those flying brahminy kites. There were waves from both the directions clashing n gushing by sprinkling the water, was fun to SNAP them as well :D!! On the other hand the kites were enjoying their Fish-Hunt, juss wonder how sharp their eyes were!! whisking-off with a free fall n was grabbing up a fish nowhere from the water, although on few occassions it missed by fraction of a second!! i was juss thinking lucky fish was that...!! it was great pleasure watching it!!

It was 4.30 n we were ready for the Open-Jeep safari, we were very eager to meet the wild-lyfe!! The guide/local-tribal was giving information abt the wild-lyfe n his experiences. As we entered the restricted-jungle-area we could spot few peacocks, as we entered the heart of the jungle light was abstrused by the tall evergreen forest trees. We could feel the serene ambience with chirping of birds occasionally!! As it had rained the track was very skidy!! We cud spot shy-spotted-deers/lazy-gaurs/jumping-langurs/quick-jackals on our safari!!

After returning from the safari we had a small documentary on human-intervention-with-nature being played!! moral-of-the-story was its juss tat selfish motive of human being today many creatures have endangered n few are on the verge of!! also this intervention has caused imbalance in the eco-system.

The last day @ JLR was too good fun, we went on boating, trekking(to near by foot-hill) n last but not least water-sports!! It was a total fun, everybody enjoyed till the last minute of our stay!! on our way back took the Tarekere--> Birur--> Kadur--> Arsikere--> Tiptur--> Tumkur--> Bangalore route!! The road was juss good with less traffic, was poised for a great drive!! As soon as we entered the vicinity of Tiptur we reminisced of good-old-college-days, place where we played/studied/watched-movie n all the fun we had!! we were struck with nostalgic moments!! The college has got a new face-lift, so as the Hassan circle n Tiptur!!

By 7 PM we were in Bangalore, tolled Tumkur road was juss too good!! as returned back to the city-lyfe was fully refreshed by the trip, 3 days flew lyke 3 minutes!! realized the need of these nature admiring trips :D!! Luckily made it on time to the Airport as my dear friend was flying to Tokyo, felt deep satisfaction of my drive :D!!

Watch on for the next, BR-Hills travelogue!! :D. Here I leave you with the collage of few JLR snaps!!

Hold On To Friendship!!

Dedicated to all my dear friends!!
Watta day it has been, a call from dear friend who is miles away across the seas truly made my day!! Physical distance doesnt really rip friendship apart!! The distance is juss in our minds!!
Happy Friendship Day....!! Have a great week ahead!! Walk the lyfe along...!!

Lost in Paradise - Part II

Tvp was reluctant to stay back after listening to the stories narrated by one of the cab driver abt 'staying-experiences' @ KGundi cottages. After driving 300+ kms on a terrible road to the one of the highest peaks I was almost tired, so was very much hasty to drive back to any of the places which we had on cards. At the same time returning back without spending couple of hours @ KGundi was the least expected by any of us n were against tat at the back of our minds. On the other hand if we even had to leave to a different place we were not sure about the facilities at tat destination as well. I felt it was better to have wats there on ur platter. Finally everybody was convinced that staying back was the good move under those circumstances.

We paid the advance amnt to the care taker n hired a cottage for that bizarre night. We were priviliged with a electicity-less cottage possessing 3 beds, unsecured windows and 2 candles to spend the entire night. The cottage was very lousy and to our wonder its roof was juss a wooden plank which had a crack already due to hit of dry branches being shred by the canopy of tall trees. It grew darker and along with the gusty wind, rain gained its momentum. Juss the sound makes u so scary at the night. Luckily there was a canteen near by which serves the food, we booked dinner for the night.

Since there were only 3 cots, we had to join them so 4 of us could comfortably dive in :D. Since we had skipped our lunch in the afternoon, hunger daemons had attacked our poor tummies. Thanks to aunty(sv's mom) for those chappathis, we gulped in one after the other :D. We started to chat on the processes followed by our respective companies. We discussed from the RCA to Audits to CM(Configuration Management) n all other problems, by then one of the small candles went down. Around 7.30 PM someone banged the door hardly. It wasnt any stranger but the care taker who had come to inform us abt the availability of the eletricity n we cud use it. Informed tat it would be there till 9.00 PM. Our discussion continued, it was arnd 8.30 when we went down to canteen for dinner. It was pitch dark outside and nothing was visible to normal eyes, rain still continued. The torches which we had carried was utilized to its fullest. Thanks to our mitigation-plan, we had carried a mini-home with us to takle the RISKS.

We took extra cautions while walking down, to escape from Leech attacks. Had our dinner and marched towards the cottages, as soon as we entered the power went off. We lit the candle n started to prepare the bed for sleep. Tvp unpacked his laptop n was trying to hook on to Internet. Somehow he got the signal from TataIndicom, he started to surf. Although it was bit slow but was more than happy to get the coverage. As I was damn tired, went into dreamland as soon as i hit the bed.

Suddenly heard a boisterous sound, i felt lyke a huge Dolby DTS system being played next to my ear drums. Choked off from my sleep, it was none other than sv's deep-profound-sound-sleep. Adding to it was the sound made by rain n trees. It was arnd 12.30 in the midnight, it took me sometime to go back to sleep again. Early in the morning sv started to wake everyone up, by 6.00 AM or so things had returned to normal. But the mist n fog was so dense tat was not permitting us to go out for sight seeing. So had to cut short our visit-list. Around 7.30 we got the hot water supply, everyone were thru with there early morning activities after initial hiccups as tvp occupied bit too long which caused problems to sv, who was in the queue :D.

Due to bad weather we cut short Z point, RajBhavan gardens n Hebbe Falls visit. Was a boon in the disguise for tvp was he was scared of overflooded leeches at RajBhavan. We planned to visit the KallathiGiri Falls which happend to be on the way to LingadaHalli. Last night rain had made the place very beautiful, greenary at its best and the combination of red soil n water was making the look even more exuberant. KallathiGiri falls was juss too good, on the banks of the flowing water we can find the abode of Lord VeeraBhadra. To reach the temple one has to cross the flowing water. After spending some quality time there left for the BHADRA-RiverTern, yes JLR(Jungle Lodges and Resorts). The soul reason for this trip being organized. We started to descend slowly the KGundi range of hills, on our way back we could spot the Hebbe falls. It was gorgeous, felt bad for missing it. Surely gonna cover it in the next visit.

After some enquiries and the route map we had to JLR we decided to take the route LingadaHalli--> TariKere and then to Lakkavalli. Maneuvered my voyager towards Lingadalli, on the way enquired with many villagers abt the route which we were heading was right. The journey started to become lengthy n we had not reached our actual destination. Finally we reached Tarikere, but still there were no traces for Lakkavalli. We started to doubt our track, no person whom we contacted could give us the proper detail. Tvp was in more doubt saying we have surpassed the diversion n travelled much ahead. Also we had some confusion with the map, finally we had no choice left than to call up BHADRA JLR's contact person. Unfortunately his mobile was switched off, then we tried ringing JLR Bangalore Head Office but there was nobody to pick up n answer the call. We were in a dilemma whether to go ahead on the same road or to go back. Watch out for next on what happend to our JLR trip.

Lost in Paradise - Part I

Ringed by chain of mountains with lush green vegetation, blessed with rich flora and fauna. Colossal trees standing tall imploring the clouds carrying mist. Compounding to this affect is lots of phantasmagoric water falls, wild-lyfe and scenic trekking routes. Bringing down the paradise on earth!! Truely a feast for all your senses!! Yes its none other than "malenaaDu"... translated to "land of mountains" in kannada. Which was the source of inspiration and admiration to many poets. Clusters of this dense region are Kemmangundi, Baba Budangiri, Mullayyanagiri and many others.

The best part about this paradise on earth is very few people know about it, due to its tough roads n lack of good facilities for tourists this has been less explored compared to other spots in Karnataka. Tat retains its rawness n freshness of Eco-System.

We started off on a Friday early morning towards the destination. Was teamed up with my 3 other friends; after initial delay in the starting due to certain expected circumstances :D!! tvp m not blaming u... hehe!! felt sorry for samir as his waiting for the voyager was dragged a bit!! finally picked up samir around 5.40 AM and drove towards SV's abode arnd 6.15 AM.

Our destination was to reach Chikmagalur and then decide about the further plans, as we were aware of many places in and around we didnt plan precisely which one to take first. Bangalore-Kunigal road was damn good, the speedometer needle was always on the right-hand-side. As we were hungry our first pit-stop was Kunigal for breakfast!! Mez being cautious abt the drive n holding the responsibilities of other 3 people in my voyager decided not to have heavy breakfast so would not sleep while driving :D. Hit the road towards Chikmagalur whisking with the air overtaking many huge trucks n buses. On our way towards Chikmagalur stopped at a dam called as Yagachi. Not so surprisingly we were at the Chikmagalur ahead of our planned time.

On our way we planned to halt at Kemmangundi. Since we had the doubt about availability of accomodation at Kemmangundi's. We needed some backup plan if we dont get any cottage for stay. Thus decided to enquire about few hotels at Chikmagalur, infact we literally blocked the rooms for that night's stay at CM and moved on towards KGundi. After certain distance we entered the Hilly region of KGundi, from there onwards it was just ascend and ascend towards 4000 Mtrs. The scenic 'sarpadaari' which we opted for to reach KGundi was at the cost of bad roads but worth it. At few places we were dumbstruck by the beauty of scenic-mountain-juxtapositions!!

Driving towards the destination thru bends n curves, was a shear pleasance and great concentration involved. Not to miss mentioning about my navigator SV, lots of indications abt the roads and cautioning my mind!! In a way he was speaking what i had in my mind as we were seeing the same wat our minds wanted to see :D!!

Suddenly our eyes caught a beautiful water-falls between the rocky region!! all of us were excited about its gushing flow. Water was crystal clear n was damn fresh. I was happy to take a break from the driving as my legs were tired of operating clutch-accelerator plates. At-the-drop-of-a-hat we were towards the falls; as I was busy capturing the ambience, tvp got his shoes off and was inside the water!! His sudden expression was "aaah its damn ice-cold here, my legs are numb"!! mez n sv were excited by his expression n were ready to get frozen :D!! After couple of minutes of stay in the flowing-water felt the chill up my legs!! But the stay in the water gave a lease of lyfe to my paining legs, suddenly realized the healing power of water!! It was getting late, so decided to leave the place.

Had to apply sudden breaks n stop my voyager, as we had encountered a Y-route... there was a faded board indicating the left-part-of-y as KGundi and the right part as BabaBudan Giri!! Although our plan was KGundi, reading the distance to BB-Giri was just 6 kms away we didnt wanted to miss this opportunity after coming so close towards it. As everybody vetoed taking KGundi, we took the obvious path.

We were unaware abt the conditions ahead which we had to face on the favoured route!! all we had in our mind was its juss 6 kms away. As we climbed the terrain, the situation got worst. It was fully covered with mist n fog, adding spice to it was the ruthless gutsy wind n poor narrow road which was blocking us to enter. Nothing was visible in front of us, all we could see was white sheet of fog-n-mist.

I had to take xtra care in driving, any small mistake would have been miserable!! my eyes was wide open juss lyke an owl...:D!! tvp warming up the back-seat was feeling 'puku puku' abt the drive n conditions, guess he woke up frm his sleep :D!! sv was over-cautious n was giving me all the info abt the track, samir had almost reached the dream land!! at tat cusp distance of 6 kms seemd lyke 60 kms under those horrifying conditions. It was lyke Enter-the-Dragons-mouth...the meticulous drive continued for around 45-50 mins bfore we stopped. Finally we cud c a huge fence n a huge bus being parked, we assumed tat we have reached the BB-Giri shrine.

The toughest part now was getting out of the car, the wind was so harsh tat wasnt allowing us to get out. On the process of getting out we managed to flew the Map/info holder out of the car, tvp ran behind to catch hold of it. In vain had to succumb for the wind god. Luckily the jungle lodges voucher was safe.

The most memorable n tranquilising moments were the Shrine of BabaBudan and Dattatreyaswamy peetha!! it was all worth the tough travel, felt a deep sense of satisfaction n happiness. The shrine is at the peak of 4000 Mts above sea level under the vault. Its were the boundaries of relegion being erased. The best part abt the vault is the warmth n positive energy radiating inspite of cold n breezy external environment. We felt as if we had accomplished everything, tvp was damn happy abt the visit.

It was arnd 4 PM when we started to descend, it was easy drive down the hill compared to ascend. From there on we moved towards K Gundi, our estimated time to reach there was 6 PM considering the road quality. By 5.15 or so we were at the foot of KGundi peak, was attracted by one of the scenic-spots and had to stop, KGundi was juss 3 kms away.

After the break we headed towards dest, all of a sudden felt some sort of itching in my left leg. When touched felt like a rubber being sticked to my skin, couldnt realize wat it could be. Tried to peal it off but was glued like a feviquik, then sensed it could be one of the blood-sucking worm. Yes it was none other than Mr.Leech who was enjoying my blood, stopped the car n got down. Without any hesitant pealed it off, though it hurt was lucky to plot at the right time. It had juss started to suck the blood. Was feeling sad to loose few drops of blood!! Now had the exp of leech attacks as well, a lesson learnt by all 4, not to hang arnd bushes n trees.

After all these we reached KGundi arnd 5.30 PM, it was fully covered with mist n canopy of tall trees. We needed a cottage for our stay, as we were enjoying the ambience tvp went ahead for enquiring. After some discussion with the care taker of the cottages tvp found n felt tat it was not safe to stay in the cottages here due to security reasons. It was getting darker, the cottages were shrouded by tall trees letting very less light. To our luck Mr Rain God started to bless upon us. At the same time due to one of the transformer burst there was no power supply. It was more likely from all these tat we had to return back either to CM or Tarikere. But driving back is not so easy under all those conditions, moreover it was pinch dark n no lights. Wat next, did we drove back or stayed in KGundi unsecured on a darkest night. Watch on for the next post!!

We were Lost-in-Paradise!!