Basic tenets of trekking

I have been hearing about this for a while and i thought that this deserves a post for sure

1)I have heard from a lot of guides and people who offer their place/food for trekkers being left high and dry since folks from "bangalore" dont turn up

It is a shame that people dont care about time and effort .Most of these guides live on daily wages,so if you are cancelling your trip ,inform him by calling him up,that stands true for people who painstakingly prepare food and folks dont turn up

Remember all it takes is 1 phone call ,please do it

2)Another interesting thing that i find is the so called first time trekkers go in for tough treks like ombattu gudda and the like and get lost

Well it is high time the so called trekkers have some sanity and think before making such blunders.It is suggested that trekkers take guides and have done some amount of trekking before heading for such tough treks

Amedikal Part-2

One of the family members Gopu Gokhale had come to pick me up in his scooter .I reached there place ,got ready by 7:30 am.They served me breakfast-hot and steaming idlies with some delectable chatni.I wanted to start as early as possible.By the time the packed lunch was ready it was about 8:00 am.Again he went out to check with the guide and arrange for the auto.I headed to the nearby bus stand by which time -my man friday was waiting for me-Channappa gowda.He parcelled some sugar and tea powder for the trip.We took the auto to the starting point.So by around 8:45 am we started on our trek.

Below : View of Gokhale's house
The intial part was through some bamboo forest,there was forest cover which made the trek easier.We soon made some quick ground.At around 10 am we took a small break ,had some oranges at this point.The sun was coming out and it was getting very sunny.The forest cover had vanished and we were into the grasslands by now.The sun was really harsh on us .The next couple of hours was uneventful with channappa prodding me to keep moving along.The sun was getting really tough on me ,finally we were running out of water by now.We soon reached the water point at 12:30 pm.I was totally exhausted by now.I was sweating profusely now and was dead tired now.I told channappa that we shall rest here for sometime before we start again.By the time i had finished having some water,the whole scene changed in just about 10 minutes flat.Clouds were hovering around and we could hear the thunder of the clouds.We both looked at each other.I told channappa ,we are moving now to the next place where could have some shade and probably rest for the day.


Above : A strange looking mushroom

First view of Amedikallu peak

He agreed instantly.As we were approaching the next point a rock cave,i vomitted.I was down and out completely.The heat and the exhaustion was taking its toll on me.Channappa also reminded me that the lack of sleep the day before could be the cause .Channappa was now worried ,but the good part of it we were very close to the rock cave ,so in the next 10 minutes we reached the cave.It started raining once we reached the place.Channappa was glad we made it.This was a big relief for me since i was pushed to the limit and we had to beat the rain somehow,and we did it.Channappa soon began collecting firewood for the night.The place was quite cozy.



Above :The giant tree infront of our cave

Soon the rain started getting heavy and i was too exhauste and i had slept for about 3 hours now.I got up at around 4pm and saw that by now it was raining very heavily all around.I checked with the guide if he had his lunch and he said that he was waiting for me -i was touched.Soon we opened our packets and had the idlies with the pickles.


Above : The huge cave where we stayed for the night

Channappa was a tea freak,he soon prepared some hot black tea,it was soothing.I checked with him if could now go up the peak since it had stopped raining for a while now.He told that there is no way we can stop inbetween if we started now.Also i had rained heavily and slippery now.The peak was not visible and i told him that considering all this we should put of the ascent to the peak for the morrow.Within 30 minutes it started pouring heavily and we just cozied up in the cave.


Above : The view infront of our cave when it rained :)

The only place where we could have had a safe place to be dry and cozy was this cave.Channappa and me were really glad now.All through the noon we had enjoyed some amazing display of entertainment of the rain god.It was just like sitting in a auditorium and watching a movie.



Above : The fireplace is ready :)

By around 5:15 pm it had stopped raining briefly,we went out a little to check out the place.Took a few snaps and we were back once the sunset.


Above: Just after it had briefly stopped raining

We couldnt catch the sunet due to the clouds.Channappa was sad that we couldnt make it to the peak on this day.I kept reminding him that there are somethings we dont have a hold on.We soon headed back since it was getting dark now.He lit up the fire ,soon both of us cozied near the fireplace and it started raining heavily again.

At around 7pm ,i suggested that we have a early dinner.Channappa agreed.This was another icing on the cake which was waiting to unfold.I opened up the MTR and heated it in the vessle which channappa had bought,i added some water to it (that is my way of doing it :) ).Channappa was curious to know why ? :).I just asked him to wait and watch.Meanwhile i had got some chapatis ,so it was chapati with pickle along with MTR which was getting heated.Channappa was curious as to what i was upto.It is not over yet,i opened up the lijjat pappad and roasted it in the fire.And lo the dinner for the maharaja was ready ;).

This is one of my best dinners i have had.The MTR was hot,yummy ,had some pickles to it.With chapati and pappad,it was simply an awesome dinner.To add to this nature was continuing to entertain me with the rain :) .With me and channappa we chatted through,this has to be one my best dinners i had :).

I decided to hit the bed early ,channappa was not sleepy ,suggested that he put a small fire on the other entrance ,just to ward out any wild animals just in case.Soon i had slept and it was pouring heavily even i headed for sleep.Fortunately the cave gave us very good protection.


Channappa had warned me that there might be some bandicoots.Somewhere in between i woke up to some sound around me.It was just one of the plastic cover moving around.Channappa was still awake since he told me he wasnt sleepy,turned around to see that the rain had stopped and i could see the stars clearly now.The got up couple of more times in between.Soon i woke up in the morning and saw the time it was 6:30 am.I saw that channappa was asleep,woke him up ,he was stunned as to how he was asleep since he had promised me that he would wake me up at 5:30 am.I told him not worry much.A tea freak he soon began making tea religiously.Told him i shall skip tea since i wanted to reach the peak soon.He suggested that i start heading up the hill and soon he will join me in a moment.


I started heading up capturing some amazing landscapes with clouds all around.Although the sunrise couldnt be seen due the clouds which were still clearing,it was setting some amazing displays hiding behind the clouds.Started of the climb with my hawai chappals,which is one of the wackiest things i have done on treks.The ascent was tough,climbing through was difficult.The sun climbing up quickly by now.Somewhere in between we spotted civet cat droppings.Channapa told me the previous night that we was woken up twice when there was a fierce fight between 2 civet cats as he could hear the noises very well very near from our place.

We reached the peak finally.The sky was clear and the views from the peak was simply out of this world.Spent some time clicking snaps.One can view Ethina Bhuja,Gadaikallu,minchukallu and ombattu gudda from this peak.After clicking a few snaps ,we rested for a while enjoying the nice breeze.After spending almost 45 minutes to an hour we decied to head down.The decent was a bit tricky and i slipped at two spots.Soon we reached our cave at 9am spending about 40 minutes in the descent.


Above : View towards dharmasthala side



Above : View of Minchukallu as seen from Amedikallu peak



Above: Amedikallu peak

Channappa soon decided to make some tea,i just didnt want to say no :).We both had chappatis and pickles.We had hardly had the breakfast and tea when he checked the time,it was 9:30 am .Both of us were surprised since we just couldnt understand how half an hour had gone by.We soon packed things in no time and started the descent.

The descent was quite quick since i wanted to make it to the forest cover part .The sun today was really harsh and was getting hotter than the day before quickly.We soon reached the first forest cover by 10:30am,channappa told that the descent was really fast and it this place we could reach the base by 11:30 am.We decided to slow down a bit after we entered the forest cover clicking some snaps on the way down.We reached the base by 11:45am.A cool 2:45 minutes was the climbdown.Sun was very harsh,we reached the bridge where we started in 10 minutes back.Channappa ran and called the auto ,while i freshened up and drank some water.I decied to give Ethina bhuja a skip since i was drained out completely and will come back again to cover the peak :).

I was eager to make it to the shishila temple which i was told would close at 1pm.I reached Gokhale's place at around 12:10 pm and told them that i would take bath and head to the temple and then have lunch once i am back from the temple.Again i must mention the kind nature of the gokhale's.The grandmother in the house gave me water as soon as i came .When i told that i would have lunch later,she got me butter milk and told me there is nothing stopping you from having this :).Gulped down about 4 glasses of buttermilk in notime :).Had bath and again i must mention the kind nature of the gokhale's ,he dropped me till the temple.

I forgot to take my camera :(.The place is very peaceful and it was arati time at 12:45 pm , the pooje was very good and soothing.The murthi is taken around in procession inside the temple which is another interesting part of the pooje.I came out to see the fishes in the river ,they were amazing.Spent some time on the hanging bridge,then headed back to gokhales house.Got a drop in the bike from a guy,was glad since it was very hot.

Had lunch when i was reminded that there is a bus at 2:45 pm,i had intially planned to leave at 4:30 pm bus and had decided to change the plans with this piece of information.

Reached kokkada at 3:20pm .Was lucky to get a rajahamse heading towards bangalore at 3:30 pm.I hoped to reach bangalore by 10 pm.Soon shiradi ghat started.This was the first time i was covering this place in the broad daylight.I was in for a surprise ,there was a huge tusker blocking the road.Quickly took out the camera and was trying to take the snap.The driver seeing me with the camera ,asked me to get down and take the snap .I was delighted with what i heard.Quickly captured some shots.There were about 10-15 vehicles piled up on either side.The elephant had strayed out from the kempu hole nearby which flows nearby.


But one thing which i was glad to see was that all vehicles were atleast 400-500 meteres away and nobody were teasing it in anyway.The tusker saw both ways crossed the road and headed back to the kempuhole much to the relief of all of us.

The rest of the journey was uneventful,reached bangalore by 10:30 pm

Amedikal-Part1

This trek has been by far the most eventful,a tough ,sweet and one of my best treks yet.

The intial plan was to trek to Amedikal and then to Ethina Bhuja.I started of from bangalore on a thursday night.The bus had only about 6 people and by the time it departed had about 20 people onboard,thanks to some indegenious marketing by the driver cum conductor of the KSRTC bus!!!.Soon the trouble started with a small baby started crying.I was concerned when the baby didnt stop crying even after an hour.

I was getting really impatient by then since i couldnt sleep,time was around 11pm.The worst part of it was the child was sitting the same row as mine and it was like a surround sound.But i couldnt say anything.I realised that nothing much could be done,it was after all a kid and really felt sorry for the baby.The guy then later told that it was a 10 month old baby and it was travelling for the first time.

The nice part of it was at around 1am everybody started started trying to help out the couple in giving ideas of put the kid to sleep,the lights were on all through now.At around that time the guy decided to head towards the cabin .Lights went off at around that time.I decided to sleep ,but somehow couldn't sleep.The ride was getting bumpier now .Somewhere at around that time the bus stopped for dinner.The bus started again.Just when the bus had left sakleshpura and just when i was catching with some sleep,i was woken up once again!!!.This time an old man -(a part of a family with his wife and daughter both of whom were asleep) had got down without informing the driver!!!.This was realized by some person who had now cozied up in the cabin-again some 6 people in the cabin- i dont know what was the reason.And the stranger part of it was he informed the driver after about 20kms from sakleshpura!!!.There was commotion and driver was angry as to why folks get down without informing him.There was no signal -finally they managed to contact that old man ,he told that he is in another bus and would join the family at dharmasthala .And then it was the famous shiradi ghat -the bumpy road made sure that i couldnt sleep.

Meanwhile i had by now told the driver about my intention of getting down at Kokkada 3 times lest he forgets in this commotion and i know the pain of not getting down at the right spot.Soon i arrived at Kokkoda.time was 4:30am ,was surprised to see a shop was open at that time!!!.I had nothing to do ,so was chatting up with guy.He confirmed that there would be a milk van which would take me to shishila and it would arrive at 6am.Spent my time idling away.The milk van arrived at 6:20 am and he took me shishila by around 6:55 am.

Kaidala Temple

I decided to head to Kaidala after completing Fort Madhugiri.From Madhugiri Kaidala is about 50 kms.The roads leading to this place was under repair,so had a tough time navigating to this place.
The main vigraha of Lord Channakeshava is quite impressive.Legend has it that famous sculptor -Jakkanachari had built this impressive vigraha in his left hand.

Apart from the main vigraha ,there are a few sculptures worth seeing.I asked the poojari if i could take a snap.I was waiting for almost 30 minutes to pop this question to him.

He said -"just dont ask-you may click the snaps".I was just delighted at this and went ahead to click couple of snaps. :)

Another hoysala temple of Sri Gangadhareshwara Temple is just right beside it.I clicked a few snaps here as well.The priest here seemed to be quite rude.A small kid 7- 8 years was just holding the pillar and he admonished him badly for that.I was sad and left the place after praying to Lord shiva.Headed back to bangalore.Had lunch on the way back @Kamat and reached home by 4pm.

Another fort,another temple ,another day,i am just loving it :)

Fort Madhugiri

Well i had been covering forts in the tumkur district and one major fort eluded me in my quest -Madhugiri fort.After Nijagal, Devarayandurga, Channarayandurga, Midigeshi and Madakasira,finally Madhugiri is conquered :)

I parked my vehicle in front of the fort which coincidentally also houses a court complex.Started the trek @ 8:30 am.The climb is relatively easy and made good ground.
At the first level of the fort,one can spot a huge kalyani which is now dry unfortunately.There are some interesting rooms -the entry to which is dificult since there is some thick undergrowth.However i managed to check out these places.They seems to be massive granaries -since the there were no doors to these places ,except for a small opening for one person to enter.

The huge watchtower near the granary is simply majestic.As one climbs this watch tower ,one feels like a king literally :).Proceeding from here ,one has to climb a series of steps carved out of the rocks.The iron railings are missings/worn out and there are none now.The steep climb from here ,leads to a place which is the trickiest part of the fort.
One has to be very careful,since this climb to the entrance to the next level of the fort ,might be fatal if one slips from here.Meanwhile i noticed a few abonded footwear and i assumed somebody should be on the fort.While climbing this stretch it is advised that one climbs with barefoot.
After reaching level 2,the steps vanish,all that remains is faint carved steps in the rocks which again is very slippery.Thinking that i might be very near to the summit i reached the next level 3.Again the entrance to the place is a bit tricky and slippery.I reached this place thinking that i had reached the summit when i heard some voices,it turned out some local people had climbed the fort ahead of me and they were returning back.They posed for the snaps and i carried on.From here it becomes even tricker where one has to climb only on steep rockface.Due to rains recently there was some algae around and i had my heart in my mouth.


Finally i managed to reach the level 4 and the topmost level of the fort.Spent about half an hour clicking snaps and resting which is when i realised that during my climb i hadnt drank any water :) .Quickly had some water since i was very thirsty by then.I had delayed drinking water thinking everytime that the summit was just around the corner.

I climbed down slowly by around 11:30 am ,on the way i saw many people climbing up the fort.The climbdown-i enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing and took multiple breaks to enjoy the view from the fort.

I also liked the court complex below,which also houses a watch tower :).One the way back i decided to visit Kaidala

To be continued..

Charmadi ghat trek

Alekan falls-Balekalgudda-Kodekalgudda-Anadka falls

To start with i havent trekked much in the charmadi ghat ranges and was wondering about it.Thats when my friend Aravind GJ's blog caught my attention.After making all the enquiries me and my friend Mahantesh decided to go for this trek


I booked a Rajahamsa thinking that i will get down at Kottigehara in the charmadi ghats but my plans were squashed when the conductor mocked at me saying that rajahamsa dont go via the charmadi ghat.Nevertheless we reached dharmasthala at 5:15 am in the morning which was a blessing in disguise for us.As soon as we got down we got a bus headed towards shimoga via the charmadi ghat.

Checked with the conductor and the driver and they didnt know where the falls come ,i decided that we will get down before kottigehara and walk downhill instead of uphill.The morning was very pleasant and the walk was too good.We met a guy who scared us telling us not to venture into the gudda.He guided us to Alekan falls.We finished our morning ablutions and had breakfast which we had got.

We came to the road and we met a guy who told us that he was from the estate nearby and told us that there would be a auto which would bring labourers and we could take the same auto towards bidurutala village.Soon enough the Auto came by and we took it to reach bidurutale @Rs 30 :) .We started climbing the place which was quite steep.It took us about an hour to cover the steep 3km stretch with our heavy backpacks.We managed to reach the village when one guy was heading out and he was in a hurry .We dumped bags at his house and told him that we will return back for the evening.
He asked us to stick to the "kal-dari" and we did so,but after about 3 kms,the the path abruptly ended with thick shola jungle.It was impossible to move ahead since the undergrowth was full and we even couldnt see anything due to such thick growth.We took a left turn and climbed a small peak.I checked all the peaks and managed to pin-point Balekalgudda-the tallest of them all.Next was to figure out the route.Small calculation of going over the small hillocks would lead us to the peak.But i was worried since i thought there might be a valley which i would not be able to see and i was sure that if there is a valley there would be a shola forest there.Luckily we managed to reach Balekalgudda.The weather was very pleasant .We took a few snaps and decided to rest for a while atop the peak.

After spending about an hour on the peak,it began to get very windy,we decided to get down and check out Kodekalgudda which is right opposite to Balakalgudda,but again one has to climb down and go through a circuituos route since there is cliff and a valley between the peak and kodekalgudda.We slowly trekked along and reached kodekalgudda in about 45 minutes.By now the sun was playing hide and seek.We were exhausted by now and decided to rest for a while.I was wary since the place looked like an ideal habitat of bear.Didnt want to take any chances.Besides it was getting overcast and hence we decided to head towards bidurutale village ,our basecamp for the day.

After loosing our way a bit ,we managed to reach the village by 4pm .There were some tense moments when we ran out of water for a while ,thankfully we made it in one-piece to the village.We headed out to dharmasthala the next day ,dumped our bags in a room and we decided to hire a jeep to anadka falls.The return trip cost us about Rs600 which was well worth it since the driver also came with us a guide to show the falls.From didupe village one has to walk for about 3 kms through the village ,mountains and the cross the stream in between to reach the falls.The falls is simply amazing and one of the best i have seen till date.We both had a bath for about 45 mintues ,before decided to head back.




Came back had lunch at guruprasad hotel in ujire ,before heading back to dharmasthala .We had a bath ,had darshan and then headed back to bangalore by the 11pm bus

Fort Madakasira

After a 3 week jinx ,i finally decided to break the shackles and was on tender hooks as to when will i get out of bangalore

Started early by 5:20 am and headed to dobaspet via the nice road.Had a quick breakfast at the now usual hotel at madhugiri and moved on.Even as i was heading towards madakasira as fast as i could ,i couldnt resist the photo oppurtunity with plenty of birds on this route

Spent almost 30-40 minutes enroute in clicking snaps of the kingfishers and the parrots.Finally reached madakasira at around 9:30 am ,quickly started climbing the fort.

The small town has grown inside the walls of the fort and one has to wade through the street before entering the fort.After a brief period of about 20 mintues climb ,reached the amazing staircase which is surrounded by two huge rocks which are very tall.There is a lot of shade here and the one can enjoy the cool breeze blowing over the rock face.

Relaxed at this point for a while before heading for more ahead.The next stop was at the the viewpoint where one can find the amazing vistas of the madakasira town.

After clicking numerous snaps ,finally moved ahead.Here one can see two huge towers ,one of the biggest in the forts that i have come across in my visit to the forts.Relaxed a bit ,enjoying the the huge towers and sinking in the moment-had some oranges.It was getting sunny and decided to move ahead to explore the temple and the fort ahead.There is a small kalyani here and temple of lord shiva.

There is a open space with rock boulders just behind this ,meandered through this place which finally leads to a flight of steps to the top of the fort,decided to give it a miss since there was a gang of monkeys and i have had bad experiences once before in shivagange.

There are no decent places to eat in madakasira ,i had packed mosaranna ,so managed to survive the scare.I had my food just outside hemavathy .It was simply blazing hot ,rested for a while under some tree shade.Hemavathy is about 35 kms from Madakasira and is home to panchaligeshwara built by Nolumbas in the 10 century.

The temple complex also has a ASI musuem.The temple has some intricately carved sculptures.One unique thing about this place is Lord shiva can be seen in the Manava Akara which is unique.Apart from this the giant Nandi in front of each of the temple complexes is another unique thing about this place.Headed back to bangalore,which was uneventful this time around