Fantabulous Rafting Adventure at Shivpuri (Rishikesh) : Himanshu
Fantabulous Rafting Adventure at Shivpuri (Rishikesh) - Himanshu Sharma
White water rafting is gaining a lot of popularity these days in northern India, earlier only the adventure enthusiasts used to go for rafting by now with the rising safety standards more of office crowd is seen on the rafting escapade.
Pic 1 Safety Gadgets, a must to survive the rapids
Tourists in large numbers from within the country and abroad throng the Shivpuri in uttarakhand and the Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh to enjoy adventure sports like white water river, cliff jumping, body surfing rafting and camping.
There are numerous vendors offering camping and rafting packages and with the rising competition the standard of services and basic amenities are improving.
Pic 2: Rafts heading from the Marine Drive(rishikesh) with our camps in background
If you are a tourist looking for either adventure or respite from heat or if you are a professional who is tired of life spent in four walls then I insist you explore the Ganga and Beas River which offer immense possibilities for white water rafting and other water sports in the valley.
Pic 3: Our raft when it crossed one of the grade 3 rapid
I recently went to shivpuri in a group of 8 enthusiastic people and it was once in a life time thrilling experience. Navigating through the considerably rough waters on inflatable boats, rafts, through the valley was a memorable experience for me. I become really excited even today when I think of the time just before the grade 4 rapid when our guide told us “In this rapid there are 80 % chances that the raft may flip and 20% chances that it may not, I can only do 20% to save it from flipping and the rest 80% is with you all, so be silent in the rapid and strictly listen to and follow rowing instructions – Jai ganga maia” this gave us an adrenalin rush and we though the rapid was tough, one person was almost thrown out of the raft by a wave but then we manages. At the end we we all shouted like victorious soldiers returning from a war.
You can go directly to shivpuri and do it or if you are in a group you can get a package from various providers.
Pic 4: This is the awesome river ganges
There are almost 70 adventure sports clubs that have emerged in the valley, with almost 200 rafts, offering river rafting facilities to tourists.
The operators of these adventure events provide requisite safety gadgets to the tourists. They are given life jackets and the rafting boats are not allowed to go beyond a particular distance.
We took a package from vxplor Adventure tourism. ( http://vxplor.com ). We were a group of 8 people and their services were good… they handled everything from transportation to camping and other sporting activities… I highly recommend them…
Along with the rafting we also got a chance to trek to neer water fall and try our hand at rock climbing and bridge slithering. By the time we were done with all the activities at rishikesh we were so much bloating with the feeling of accomplishment, adventure, delight and ofcourse
Here is a video of a part of our trip recorded and provided by vXplor people :
I recommend doing rafting to everyone
Details required about Mukhteshwar
\How far from delhi? how much time to drive ther, places to stay and possibly the map…anyone been there already please let me know…I have heard it is a beautiful place…can someone share some pics…?
Rajwinder
Tryst with Kumaon hills : Monday May 11, 2009
On the night of 6th May, we were busy packing our luggage and bracing ourselves for a journey to the Kumaon Himalayas. This was to be the most unorganized travel of my life as we had not made any hotel bookings and the itinerary was still open for last minute changes . We embarked on our journey at 7:30 am on 7th morning. It was the day of polling in Delhi and the city was quiet and peaceful moving at a sluggish pace compared to its natural momentum. Its seldom that one gets a chance to escape from the heat and the humdrum of city life and what better than to immerse ourselves completely in the natural beauty and landscape of hills.
We were carrying home-made food (sandwitches and poori Aloo) to survive during the day. Our first halt was at Country Inn, Bhimtal approximately 288 kms from Delhi. For all those planning to stay in Bhimtal (and willing to shell out a decent amount), I would recommend this resort as it combines the best of everything (luxury, comfort, relaxation and fun activities). We took off for Mukteshwar after enjoying a sumptuous lunch at Country Inn. We went via Ramgarh, famous for its apple orchards and stopped just 10 kms short of Mukteshwar at Shitla situated at an average height of 7000 ft. The place was surrounded by a thick forest of oak and rhododendrons and offered a very peaceful ambience to unwind oneself away from the hectic lifestyle of metros. In the night, just before dinner when we went for a small walk outside, we observed a cluster of sparkling lights in a hillock below. The hotel manager informed us that the lights of Almora city were clearly visible from Shitla. Also, our resort was quite strategically located at a corner of the cliff so we could get a wide angle view of the Kumaon Himalayas. During clear weather conditions, the snow-capped peaks of the upper Himalayan range are visible from here but we not fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of them . Next morning, we decided to visit the historic temples of Jageshwar dedicated to Lord Shiva. We had just enough time to explore the surrounding area around our resort. There was a small handicrafts shop (Kilmora) nearby selling locally made woollens and handicraft items and the manager informed us that these were displayed in Dilli Haat during Uttarakhand festival.
In a short while, we began our journey to Jageshwar. We crossed Almora in the first leg of our journey. We did not pass through the main city and the crowded Lal Bazaar but cut across the city through a bypass section. As we approached the outskirts of the city, and crossed the Narayan Dutt Tewari wall, cement and concrete gave way to a green cover of oak and pine trees dotting the landscape. On our way, we came across a number of marriage processions with menfolk dancing to the tunes of popular Hindi numbers and women adorning the traditional pahari costume and accessories. We had to cut through the busy Almora Pithoragarh highway and take a turn towards Jageshwar. From here onwards, we observed a distinct change in the flora. It was fascinating to watch nature unfolding its pristine beauty all around us with pine trees giving way to deodar. The sight was awesome and we felt like stopping over at every turn and spending some carefree time in the laps of nature. Situated amidst a flowing river and a thick forest of deodar, the historic temples of Jageshwar are an archaelogical site dating back to 8th century B.C. There were a cluster of temples dedicated to different Hindu Gods for the devotees to offer their prayers. The place smelled of purity and had an aura of timelessness. The natural beauty of the surroundings captivated our senses and and we experienced a state of bliss surrendering ourselves to the grace of the Gods. As we were running terribly late from our schedule for the day we had to bid goodbye to Jageshwar so that we could reach our next destination, Kasaar Jungle Resort before darkness descended on the hills. We retraced our route till Almora, and from there took the Binsar Road to stop 10 km short of the Binsar sanctuary at the Kasaar jungle resort. The resort was situated amidst a thick forest and a little below the Kasaar Devi temple. It was built on a hilly terrain and gave the feel of a typical mountain resort situated couple of meters above the main road. I would recommend this resort for those of you keen to visit the Kasaar Devi temple and spend some moments of solitude in the embrace of nature.However, food was a big disappointment as the choice was really limited and our desire of digging into a local dish remained unfulfilled. The rooms were well done with nice interiors and matching decor. Next day, we started our return journey to Delhi after having a decent breakfast at the hotel. Kosi river was flowing all along our descent from Almora to Garam Paani and was a wonderful sight to gaze at . We stopped by at Bhimtal to savour some mouth-watering pickles and squash made by local women and entice our taste-buds. We decided to take a detour to Naukuchiyataal and enjoy a boat ride. The stop-over at Naukuchiyataal was worthwhile as we spent almost an hour going around the lake in a row boat. The waters were cool and placid and we really enjoyed dipping our fingers into it. Also, the boat man had some interesting local tales to narrate and enough time to familiarize us with the dynamics of local politics. We discovered some beautiful bungalows and resorts around the lake and somewhere deep down I felt a desire for owning a summer cottage overlooking the tranquil waters of Naukuchiyataal.
We ended up travelling 1000 kms in a span of less than 3 days which sounds almost like a whirlwind tour of the Kumoan Himalayas. It was a bit taxing for our bodies but the travellers spirit steered us throughout the journey. Though each of our destinations had their own story to tell, yet one theme common to all of them was the panoramic view of the lower Himalayas that they offered. As we came back we rewinded the memories of the Kumoan Himalayas captured in our videos and still photographs to be shared with family and friends.
Stay is Mudfort Kuchesar
Located 75 kms from Akshardham temple, Mudfort offers an excellent option to unwind oneself in the countryside. We booked rooms for the night of 29th and prepared ourselves for the travel. When we woke up on 29th, it was unusually foggy outside. The fog got thicker and dense with the passage of time. At one point of time , we thought of cancelling the booking. However, I was determined to make it and motivated others to wait patiently. Finally, the weather gods listened to us and the fog got cleared by 2′oclock when we could embark on our journey. Outside, it was bright and sunny, much to our astonishment. As we reached the country roads, we could see mustard and sugarcane all around the fields. On the way, we stopped by to eat some raw sugarcane. We reached our destination at sharp 4 in the evening. As we entered the compound of the fort we could see a magnificent fort wall defining the boundary of the palace. The entrance was marked with a huge iron gate which reminded us of royal lineage.There was a big open courtyard with a fountain in the middle.
My son, Yuvraj was so excited that he kept running around it. We checked into our rooms and dumped our luggage first. Then we went out to explore the place and the best way to do that was to take a bullock cart ride arranged by the resort. The drive was unique as we were steered through the uneven village roads by Raju, a well-bred buffalo. The ride was quite bumpy but we enjoyed every bit of it. The village was dotted with mud huts having thatched roofs. It was a typical village sight which we are deprived of seeing in the cities. The place appeared slow and calm compared to the fast pace of life in our metros. People were just about winding up their day at 6′o clock and retiring to their huts for dinner. We could smell charcoal and bio-gas fuel in the air. As we returned back to the resort, we heard the sounds of Rajasthani music echoing in the courtyard. We felt like conossuiers of art patronizing music and dance performance. It was also captured in our video camera to be shared with friends and family. Our meals at the palace were marked with farm fresh vegetables and curd produced in the fort complex itself. It was a pleasure to savour these meals which tasted like home-cooked food and combined spices and condiments in the perfect proportion. However, the menu was limited so we had to be content with what was prepared for us and did not have options to choose from. The resort staff shared with us that it was a lean period for them and a lot of bookings by foreigners had been cancelled owing to terror attacks in Mumbai (26/11). On this particular night of 29th, we were the only family staying in the resort. It was our privilege and we got VIP treatment from the staff. Next morning, we spared some time to see the family photographs which narrated the royal lineage of Kuchesar. It was interesting to see how the family tradition was preserved generation after generation. We understood that the current royal descendant was managing the establishment and running the entire show. As we returned back we carried vivid memories of our royal retreat to cherish in the future.
Ruchira
Holiday in Bhutan By :: Mehroo Jamshed Billimoria
Holiday in Bhutan
Mehroo Jamshed Billimoria visits the kingdom of Bhutan with her daughter and is enthralled
Geographic Insight
The kingdom of Bhutan lies to the North-East of India and is nestled between Tibet on the North, West Bengal on the South, Arunachal Pradesh on the East and Sikkim on the West. For five years, we were trying to get details about Bhutan, writing to various travel agents and visiting travel exhibitions. Finally we found a trip, within our budget, for my daughter and myself.
On 17th October, we started on our journey by the Dadar Guwahati Express at 0755 hrs for New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in West Bengal. This train does not pass through Calcutta but goes via Barauni-Patna to NJP passing five states on the way. When we arrived on 19th Oct. at 0530 hrs, we were just a few hours behind schedule. We waited in the Ladies’ waiting room at NJP for our tour assistant to receive us. It was raining when we took the cycle rickshaw to Siliguri, to the TSA Guest House that had a neat and clean room with attached bath and hot/cold running water.
Entry to Bhutan
A permit is required to enter Bhutan, and can be obtained from the border town of Phuentsholing, 150 kms from Siliguri. They require you to present either an Election ID card, driving licence or passport. Indians do not require a visa. Do carry 8 passport photos and eight photocopies of the ID. On the next day, we went by public transport bus for the very rough and bumpy 150 km road to Pheuntsholing. On the way we passed the Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary and various tea, banana and bamboo plantations.
We also visited Kichhu Monastery, the oldest in Bhutan (7th Century), built by Sumchhin Gelpo who was then King of Tibet.
The Border
After crossing a huge wooden arch, which separates the border, we entered Bhutan and felt as if we entered a magical fantasyland. Unlike West Bengal, tea is not grown in Bhutan, but apple, orange and peach trees can be seen. The staff at Hotel Sinchulla were dressed in their national costume and like all the Bhutanese people we met, were very polite. The hotel helped in arranging permits for visiting Thimpu, Paro and Wangdiphodrong. Uttam, who had accompanied us here, bade us goodbye.
By 11 am the next morning, we had started for Thimpu, 171 kms away, in a Toyota Coaster. Thimpu’s summer temperature ranges from 8 to 20 degrees C. Being sparsely populated it has no traffic jams. We arrived 6 hours later crossing rivers, bridges, chortens and colourful religious flags printed with prayers, at every turn of the road. Chubby, cute little children going to school waved at us. We passed several Bhutanese men in their `kho’ and women in their `kira’. Reportedly Bhutan is free of robbers, pickpockets, tipsy men and roadside romeos.
We reached Hotel `Tandin’ about a km away from the bus stop by paying Rs. 20/-. to the taxi. The walls of the Hotel were cheerfully painted with various signs and symbols related to Buddhism and Bhutan, including the auspicious and friendly Bhutanese dragons. At the time of our visit, there was no television in Bhutan, and we did not miss the TV at all.
We arrived 6 hours later crossing rivers, bridges, chortens and colourful religious flags printed with prayers, at every turn of the road. Chubby, cute little children going to school waved at us.
The Color of Bhutan
Bhutanese affiliation for colour is evident in the multi-coloured walls and roofs of buildings and monasteries. The `kho’ worn by men is colourfully striped and handwoven, costing about Rs. 2000/-. It reaches upto the knee, folded at the waist to make a pouch The dress resembles the Scottish kilt. Women wear `kira’, a long overlapping, tight cloak upto the ankle, with a wide sash fastened at the shoulder by a silver broach.
A bit on Locals
The locals are fond of Indian film music which can be heard in buses and taxis. The languages spoken are Dzonkha and Hindi and some speak good English. Education and medication are free and hospitals are well maintained. However, it is advisable to carry your personal medication. There are now 35 post offices, but earlier there were runners to deliver messages
The commute
We found that transportation by taxi was expensive. Rs. 400/- for sightseeing in Thimpu, Rs. 1200/- from Thimpu to Punakha (return), Rs. 500/- from Thimpu to Paro and Rs.1200/- for sightseeing in Paro inclusive of Chellila Pass. There were no local sightseeing buses at Thimpu but nevertheless we visited the Stupa and the Changanga Gompa containing the statue of Lord Buddha. The transmission tower point offers a panoramic view of the valley. When we visited the Queen Mother’s palace we found that entry within is restricted.
On the 23rd, we started for Punakha sharing the fare with 2 other passengers. Punakha is the ancient capital of Bhutan and located at a height of 5,000 ft. On the way we had to cross the 10,000 ft high Dochulla Pass through a thick fog which prevented views of the scenery. After crossing the pass, we came down to Punakha. On the way we passed the Pho Chu and the Mo Chu (Chu means river). They later meet at Sankosh Chu in Punakha. Near Sankosh Chu is the Dzonchung Monastary. This monastery is a 4 storied building with the top prayer room housing the statue of Lord Buddha.
On our return journey we took a diversion to Wangdi and Phodrang. We needed a separate permit, which was arranged by our hotel in Thimpu. Though it was only 1800 hrs it was pitch dark and it was good to have an experienced driver who drove us safely through Dochula Pass to our hotel. Our diet consisted of fried rice, `ema datshi’–a Bhutanese dish made of cheese and chillies, `kewa datshi–a boiled potato and cheese dish and fresh fruit cocktail of peaches and apples with cream.
Next day, we left for Paro by taxi and checked in at Tiger Nest Resort. Paro is 65 kms. away from Thimpu at a height of 7,200 ft. Due to the mountainous winding roads, the journey took 2 hrs. Paro is colder than Thimpu and is a beautiful place with the hotel consisting of small cottages located at Satsum Chortem, overlooking the famous Tiger Top Monastery. The beautiful flowers and birds, the winding Paro river, the green rice fields and the entire area surrounded by fog-covered mountains makes it a paradise on earth.
Diet
Our diet consisted of fried rice, `ema datshi’–a Bhutanese dish made of cheese and chillies, `kewa datshi–a boiled potato and cheese dish and fresh fruit cocktail of peaches and apples with cream.
The next day we went for local sightseeing in Paro by taxi for Rs. 550/-. We also took another taxi to Chillela Pass for Rs. 650 . In Paro we visited the Drukgyel Dzong
(Druk=Dragon=Bhutan, Gyel=Victory). It is a fort cum monastery to commemorate the victory of the Bhutanese over the Tibetans. Finding it in a dilapidated condition we did not enter. From the Dzong we could see Mount Chomolhari’s peak, the highest in Bhutan (24,000 ft.) and a gateway to Tibet. Chillela Pass is located 33 Kms. away at a height of 11,964 ft. As the fog cleared, we saw the distant snow covered peak of Mount Chomolhari.
The Chillela pass divides Paro village and Haa village, from where one can go to Tibet on foot. There is a bus till Haa but a separate permit is required. The Paro museum is open on all days except Mondays and closes by 1600 hrs. It contains several photos of the Bhutanese kings and their dynasties, a huge collection of Bhutanese stamps, majestic `thankas’, hats, swords, dresses, silver and copper vessels The most gorgeous of the exhibits was the 4 sided carved alter with statues of Lord Buddha with rows of lighted oil lamps and incense. The ambience of the room filled our hearts with joy and piety.
We also visited Kichhu Monastery, the oldest in Bhutan (7th Century), built by Sumchhin Gelpo who was then King of Tibet.
Next morning we left Paro with a heavy heart. We lunched at Hotel Sinchulla in Phuentsholing and stayed the night at Jaldapara Forest Resort, Cooch Bihar, West Bengal. After seeing Jaldapara Forest Museum, we proceeded to the same TSA Guest House at Siliguri, where we had stayed earlier. We visited a tea factory at New Champta, Gulmar District before boarding the Guwahati-Dadar Express. Because of chain snatching incidents we were advised to keep our windows shut during the night. It was a stark contrast to the paradise that we had visited. We offered a silent prayer that the Kingdom of Bhutan remain unspoiled forever.
Kemmangundi Trip - Jayesh Prakash
Life is a big occasion…made up of few good moments…moments which make you feel alive…moments which make you feel wild…or, perhaps moments which make you feel small, destructible, powerless entity. The concept to feel alive is exhaustively but wrongly used…people go to party and say they felt alive; I disagree with them. This term is not to be used loosely but respected authentically. This term is my motto of live; it’s my GOD. Thus, I shall consecrate the term "alive" through this travelogue of Kemmangundi for all.
I had had plan to visit this place since long, but thanks to hectic schedules that did not yield and the plan remained unfulfilled. I was eagerly waiting for an extended weekend to come. Believe me folks that the day I go to heaven I will bless the GOD for giving me one extended weekend. And then we tried very hard to rope in as many friends as possible. But, however we tried, we couldn’t convince any one. Well, our economics went lose then and there. Anyway, remaining undetterent, we booked a cab; rented some camping gears (knowing that that was the busy time for tourists and shelter was scarce in Kemmangundi); grabbed some cookies, juice packs, bread, jam packs, water bottles and few other essentials. Special attention to be paid that I took a long knife also, hahahaha.
Due to all these preparations we couldn’t start our journey before 3 PM. Amidst this all I purchased one digital camera; till now this has been a great companion to me.
Although I don’t remember much about the 6 hours of journey, but it was certainly tiring. Added to that fatigue was another tension that we wouldn’t find a place to stay there. But, thanks to our plan to bring camping gear. There were few good places and sceneries on the way. We stopped at few and tried capturing sunset view from one. We reached Kemmangundi around 9 PM. And, as we had guessed, the place was full of tourists and the only reprieve to hunger there, the horticulture guest house canteen, was out of food. Many tourists were planning to sleep in there vehicle. And for us, the place where we had decided to camp, i.e.
Horticulture Guest house garden known as Rajbhavana, was also full of campers. Then, facing the dreadful combination of hunger and quest for another place to camp, we flew past 1030 PM. Luckily, the horticulture guest house in-charge was quiet helpful and suggested another probable place for camping to us. We decided to give that a look. And, to our surprise that was a wonderful spot; it was clean, plain and surrounded by mountains. Just the kind of place we were looking for. However, we were a little concerned about animals. But, after weighing our options, we declared ourselves "beggars"; and beggars are not choosers. Thus, we ate bread-jam-lays, arranged the tent and then took, I declare, the best sleep of all time.
The morning was very cold, but still relaxing. Please never ask how we arranged our morning chores…. :-)) the cup of tea provided to us by the dhaabawala was refreshing. Then, again to our consternation the fight for breakfast at canteen was big. But still, we managed some 2 plates of khara-bhaat, a masala dosa for each of us. Finished and bingo! It was time to start for Hebbe Falls. Ten kilometers of nerve-racking and undulating journey was good and bad both.
Good for the reason that the beauty of mountains are treat to eyes. Bad for the reason that complete body was in pain. Added to these, the jeep driver once, without warning, nose dived the vehicle downhill. And, least to say….we all were shouting!!!!!!! The reason for this was too hilarious- he wanted to overtake the jeep in front, hahahaha. The jeep dropped us 3 kms before the falls. From here we were to trek till falls. The coffee-garden here was delight to senses.
Gradually, the noise of falls hit our ears. Already, the scenes of beautiful jungle were enchanting us and then we saw, from a distance, the mighty falls. WOW!!!!
Having decided not to waste time, we, like innocent kids, plunged into spine-chilling (I mean this), pristine water. The water was clean enough to drink!! But, the flow was dangerous and water was too cold. It was getting tough to remain in that water for long. So, we went out quickly. Then, had some quick snacks and started back. This time again, the small streams enchanted us. And, guided by my photographic instincts, took some ‘bole-to-mast” snaps.
Quiet satisfied, recharged up, mesmerised, and craving for more, we begun the trek to Z-point, the ‘bole-to-zhakhaas’ sunset point. Kya karein savere jaldi uthana hota nahin, isiliye sunsets hi dekh lete hain…hahahah!! The trek was not arduous but was certainly rewarding to fallibles. The reward, of course, is a roller-coaster journey down to the huge valley. Perhaps, you may find some animals as well.
Anyway, the prize of that trek was just beautiful. Standing on the top of peak, watching whole world as small as ant, we planned to build a bungalow there, funny huh!! That moment was enough….I was relaxed till last cell of my body. Then in the snap
of a second I knew what Sir. Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norway would have thought at the
pinnacle. We all chatted there and took some snaps till the Sun showed us its red glow.
And when it did, it did with its utter, unique wavelengths. Hues incomprehensible; incomparable; and nowhere else to be found…In short, THE
BEST. Everything else around there also glowed in red to celebrate the beauty. The grass turned reddish-green, the mountains glowed red.
And my memories got unforgettably painted with those rays
We said bid adieu to our ally- the Sun- and started trekking back. At 8:30 in night we savoured the averagely cooked sambhar-rice at canteen and camped again. This time, the wind wasn’t as fierce as previous night, but dew added another point of exclamation.
But all in all it was another great sleep. In morning, we started back towards Bangalore at 7:30. On the way, we stopped by Halebidu, which will be remembered as another beautiful place.
Surely, if I am any judge, I have discovered the way to live life….the way– to feel
Trek to Kumaraparvat :: Shashank Misra
Last weekend I and seven others from my team at office went on a 2 day trek to a mountain in the western Ghats. One thing I learnt from the trip and it is that one should not trek in the monsoon. Anyways it began like this – we boarded a bus on Friday night – we traveled all night to reach a place some three hundred KMs from Bangalore. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we were greeted by a steady drizzle ( Indr upto his tricks again). On querying the local people we found out that in these parts it rains like this for months, clearly this wasn’t an encouraging prospect for us as we were planning to camp on the top of the mountain and cook.
Anyways we went into a restaurant, while we ate some idilis the scene outside changed, we could see streaks of sunshine through the clouds. Soon the gloom cleared both from the skies as well as from our faces. We hit the trek I had a 5 kg gas stove in my backpack and also the regular things one takes on treks I guess in all my backpack must have weighed something north of 13 kgs. Soon we were in the dense deciduous forest, these are really dense forests the sunlight rarely hits the bed of the forest which is scattered with decaying leaves and is damp. Damp and moist places are the best places for leeches and there were plenty of them there, we had barely gone for 15 mins or so and some of us had leeches on there shoes on ankles inside socks and various other parts where they could get to.
I must tell you these leeches are remarkable creatures, you cannot kill them by stamping your foot on them, also they are very persistent also they will get to you no matter what you do. After donating probably 50 ml blood to the leeches and 2 long hours we came out from the forest and come to the clear part of the trek, after climbing nonstop for 2 hours because of the fear of leeches we took a long deserved rest. So we trudged on, the clouds had cleared and sun was beating down upon us. After another 2 hours we reached a forest guard camp. They informed us that a hiker has been missing for the last 8 days so would not let us go any further. This was disappointing because we came so far and still would not be able to make it to the summit.
Anyways we decided to pitch our tents there for the night also after a lot of haggling with the guards we were allowed to go upto a stone structure called the mantappa which was another 1hours hike from this point, we left our backpacks behind and went ahead. Without the weight of the backpacks we were literally flying, the scenery was breath taking in all directions the forest stretched out lush green. Clouds hovered besides the mountain tops as we climbed we hobnobbed with a few low clouds. I slowed down the pack by stopping often to capture a view. We made it to the mantappa soon. As soon as we got there the clouds closed in menacingly, and thanks to Mr. Indra it started raining, no make that it started pouring. The visibility came down.
The path we took to get here soon was converted into a mountain stream with half foot deep water and very slippery indeed. Anyways we started back, thinking twice before placing a foot anywhere, I got plenty of scares as I slipped often. We did not try to rush but we were further impeded by one amongst us who was a rookie who thought 5 times before placing his foot forward and still managed to place it wrong. Did I mention we had no raincoats at that time, so we descended back to camp while being beaten by rain and some really harsh winds for over an hour. Now looking back I guess it was the most fun part of the trek. We returned to find out tents washed out and moist.
Also no sign of the rain letting up, so it seemed we would have to eat moist food sleeping in moist tents and enjoy the patter of the rain all night long. Thankfully the guards allowed us to sleep and cook inside there tent, and boy did we sleep. Next morning after cooking and devouring a quick breakfast we began our hike down. The leeches were apparently washed away by the last nights rains hence we had a relatively safe passage back to the base of the mountain, where we boarded a bus, driven by a maniac, to Banaglore. By 12 at night I was sleeping on my cozy bed although with paining shoulders, legs, arms, neck, back, etc………
Shashank
Bike trip to Bidar (Karnataka) from Hyderabad (A.P.) :: Gagandeep Virk
This weekend we had gone on a very nice and pleasant bike ride to a place called Bidar (Karnataka).
Some details-
All us friends were free on that weekend and free to roam around with the ‘boys’ so we thought something different should be planned. So we came up with the bike ride idea and planning. After going through a few options arounnd HYD we settled on a place called Bidar – just across the AP border and a district in Karnataka. Basically it has a large gurudwara and an old fort and all- so it would be nice to spend few hours there and route was main BomBay highway only so road would be good too and lots of Punjabi dhabas along the way.
Total distance Hyd-Bidar= 130 kms. Going coming = 270kms.
Boys=5 (me (Gagan), Verma, Mohan, Sahu and KLN)
Bikes=4 (Karizma, Enfield, Pulsar and Discover) Sahu would be riding with us 1 by 1. We got all our bikes serviced an all by Friday evening so we were ready to leave on Sat early morning.
Left at 5am sharp and met up with KLN at a common point and then left HYD city- first 1 hr was heavy traffic and bad road but we took a break at arounnd 6.30am and had yummy chai at a Khalsa dhaba. Oh- and some pics to..
Kuldeep Punjabi Dhaba
Bikers
After that- road was great and we could let the bikes rip. All the bikes were in tip top condition so we all were in a carefree and comfortable mood. Made very good time n in the next stretch of 50 odd kms we were averaging 80kmph and my Pulsar touched 108 kmph odd . But all bikes were hovering arnd 90+ all the time. Mohan touched his new max of 125 odd on the Karizma (man- that bike can really rip it). Verma was cruising leisurely at 80odd while we were ripping up and down
Made next stop at 7.30 for brekker at next Punjabi dhaba- good aloo paranthas and chai- freshened up and got ready for the last stretch to take us to Bidar.
Guru da dhaba
Had to pass thru a crowded town (Zaheerabad) and traffic was quite heavy here- careful riding was needed- then turned off the main highway and turned towards Bidar- this was 25kms away and road was also pretty good- up and down kind of ride. We were stopped at the Karnataka border by some cops- papers an all- but no issues- only Driver’s Licence was needed and they were very pleasant- small talk and we passed through.
Bidar town was reached at 9am odd- headed straight for the gurudwara- matha teka- darshan kiye- parshad khaya (visited the gurudwara/sat for a bit/listened to the hyms) and left..
By now the sun was well and truly getting warm- went to the Bidar fort next and clicked lotsa pics there- it was good fun and clicked some crazy poses too
By now- we were a lil tired and after chilling for some time- thought we should head back.
All bikes were running in ship shape condition- so no worries on that front. Also, we were drinking water like hardcore camels, haha- at every halt we used to finish 2-3 bottles in a few gulps between the 5 of us.
Heading back Sahu was riding with me and after a lil while, he took over the wheel and I became the pillion. Then began the scariest 30mins of my life. Sahu was transformed from a sweet, simple boy to a crazy speed king who insisted on ‘taking pangas’ (fooling around with) with every lorry, bus and big vehicle within a 1km radius. And at no point did the speed dial go below 80kmph and he touched a top speed of 100+ with me behind him. But it was great fun and I left him rip it, coz he was riding very well. Of course, all the others were also doing similar speeds and were ahead of us and around us.
The return trip was nothing much to write about- weather was very hot and we stopped frequently for water and cold drinks. Also stopped at 2.30 at a dhaba for lunch. This was some local AP dhaba and not too good- but we were very hungry so we hogged a lot. Then we reached the city by around 4 and got back home pretty easily by 4.30pm.
All in all, a memorable trip and with 70 odd pics to help us remember
A trip to Kemmangundi (the mountain of red soil) - Shashank
A three day weekend was coming up. Everyone that I knew was busy planning, someone was planning a trek to a remote mountain or someone a get away to Goa, what was common was the zeal to make the long weekend count. The reason for all this enthusiasm on the part of everyone is that long weekends don’t come often, if you happen to while it away doing nothing then you are regarded no less than a criminal! So it is natural that I and my group of friends were cooking up something as well. After rejecting a lot of rather popular destinations as they would become too crowded around this time, we zeroed on a rather nondescript place called Kemmangundi. It is one of the highest peaks in Karnataka, but surprisingly isn’t all that popular amongst leisure seekers, but does draw hordes of trekkers and thrill seekers all the year around. To make things a bit more interesting we decided to ride to Kemmangundi instead of being driven to it. I feel riding a motorcycle around is a better way of exploring, when you are riding you are one with the surrounding, on the other hand a window is all that connects you and the surrounding if you are in a four wheeler of any sort. Obviously bike is a certainly not all that comfortable or safe as a four wheeler, but we just threw caution to the winds and decided to ride.
It all started rather early, I guess around five in the morning when all the four motorcycles with their seven riders congregated at a common point on M.G. road. The morning was chilly I was happy that I had brought along my jacket as we cranked up the bikes and started our seven hundred kilometer journey. After what seemed like a rather long time of winding within city limits we found ourselves on NH-48, it is this highway that we were to take up to Hassan. This highway connects two of the biggest cities in Karnataka hence it is pretty good and is rather busy as well. Early morning however offered very little traffic and we wizzed along at 100+ speeds stopping occasionally for a butt break. One of the riders, a relative newcomer, had a spill early on the ride when he was forced off the road and lost control on the mud. Fortunately neither he nor his machine was damaged. It was nearly three hours later that we rode into the city of Hassan, it really isn’t a pretty town, in fact it is best to avoid it if one can, we however could not. We had a hasty breakfast there and rode onto our next destination, Chikkamaglur. Roads from Hassan onwards were excellent, well marked and surprisingly pothole free, once again we constantly nudged the hundred mark and before long we were in Chikmagalur.
One of the machines was having some problem and we managed to find a mechanic who fixed it, albeit temporarily. On enquiring the locals we gathered that there were two roads to kemmangundi, one a longer but scenic one and another shorter but relatively bland one. In true biker spirit we took the longer route, for us the journey was just as important as the destination. This is where the twisties started, people on bikes love twisties and we had a lot of fun throwing our bikes into the sharp turns. A rather tight turn coupled with my enthusiasm resulted in a close call that I somehow managed to get away with unscathed. The view as well was getting better and better, mountains, hills, and vast greens greeted us as we rode further. To mess up things however was the worst road that we had ever seen, we would however change our minds later on. After riding for hours on this relentlessly bad road we ended up in Kemmangundi. Here the department of horticulture maintains a forest bungalow that is rented out to whoever can pay up. We had not estimated that there would be a host of other people as well trying to get a night at this abode in the middle of nowhere. There were a lot of people all lined up to get a room somehow, the result was that we did not get a room, but we did get a Kitchen! Yes a kitchen, a non-veg kitchen at that. It wasn’t very clean; it had a lot of wildlife and surely would have made an entomologist go yippee. For the lack of anything else we decided to take it and moved on to witness the sunset from the hill top. I have been on this Planet for a good twenty five years but I confess that I haven’t really seen many sunsets and a rather miniscule number of sunrises, so this was if not the first but certainly the fourth or fifth sunset that I witnessed and it was worth it. I have the pictures to prove that it was a mesmerizing sight.
Night wasn’t all that great, but our tired body needed rest so we slept and slept soundly. Morning came early on this day as well, it was around six in the morning, when one of our enthusiastic friend began to prod all of us to get up, we resisted but in vain. We were all ready and packed to give the sights around this hill a “dekho” in a hours time. First we headed to Kalhatti falls. I have to say that this was the lowest point of the trip, we rode for about one hours to get to a pathetic stream falling from a five feet high rock, this isn’t what falls are supposed to be, are they? I am seriously considering suing the concerned authority for such gross misinformation. Having wasted a sizable amount of time on this fruitless pursuit, we decided to push off towards “hebbe” falls, half expecting a trickle leaking from a stone wall!
The ride to the falls was the hardest that I have so far encountered, we were riding on a road made up of loose stones and soil and that too down hill. It was a recipe for disaster, we were doing around 2 kms per hour only most of the time as it was all too easy to skid and fall. One of us managed to do exactly that, but thankfully nothing major happened, just some bruises. We pushed on and reached what I honestly regard as on of the most beautiful falls that I have ever seen. Water plunges some 150 meters and bangs against a huge rock that is continuously being shaped by this torrent. It was hot and we had no second thoughts before jumping into the cool waters and waded around for some 20 – 30 mins. Happy this time around we returned to our saddles and rode back to the highway. After a lot of discussion we decided to get back to Bangalore the same day, all agreed and started the 300 kms journey back. This time we took the shorter route back and had a blast on the twisties once again. It was almost dusk when we rode into Chikkamaglur hungry and thirsty. After a bit of looking around we found a joint and filled up on dosas and noodles. Then began the ride back to Bangalore, we stopped once for dinner and a couple of times for tea, it was around three in the morning when we were back in Bangalore. Too tired and completely exhausted we crashed as soon as we were back in our respective houses.
As I key in these final words about this journey of ours I think I did put my precious long weekend to good use.
Shashank Misra
Kudremukh Travelogues :: Jayesh Prakash
The number of things to be done in life is huge…but,life is short…
Things to be appreciated are many…but, the time to cover them all is stipulated….
Things to regret losing are countless…but, things to make you happy are few…
I may sound stupid to you right now; but, visit Kudremukh just once and you will know what I am talking about! I know that following days will be hard for us in exercising to forget Kudremukh and settling back into normal life after a nomadic one in Kudremukh.
The struggle to plan the trip was bigger than the actual ascent to summit [hahahaha]. But, however discouraging the factors were, we (Anshul, Shashank and I) eventually and stubbornly planned the trip. Then, we started on Friday night (16-Feb-2007) from Majestic, Kempegowda Bus Stand and reached at KIOCL settlement, Kudremukh in early morning of Saturday. But, reaching there in morning brought us no good because one has to wait ,till forest officer’s office(9:30AM or later) opens, to take a mandatory permission to enter Kudremukh forest area from the forest officials.
So, untill it opened we took our breakfast and collected some information about the forest. And, took few snaps at forest office garden as well 
The trek path suggested to us, starting from Baragal and Mullodi, was unfamiliar to our ears. As per the info, it was “Baragal-Mullodi-RajaGowda Guest House-Tholali Anti-poaching Camp-Lobo house-Kudremukh Summit” and back in reverse order. And, as per the maps and legends the whole route is 13-15 KMs one way; taking one into number of dense jungles(enough to beat the scare out of body), bringing one near to many confusing and going-no-where trek paths, and guiding onto steep ascends and descends. In spite of all that, our determination was firm. And, yes thanks to Weather Gods; the weather was salubrious and wind was soothingly cold. But, relying solely on the forest officer’s information could be dangerous. And, this is exactly what we did. We were told that we could camp at Tholali Anti-poaching camp. We didn’t know that time would ask us to take unknown and unanticipated risks.
A bus ride to Baragal and from there a trek on jeep track to our first stop, Mullodi. This was just a small introduction to a new trekker like me.
For the first time I saw terrace farms out of my geography books. They must have been really green and soothing to eyes in monsoon or during cultivation times. And, I must say that these views are enough to bring philosophic or poetic part out of one’s heart.
“Inspiration does need a beauty”. There were too many panoramic views en-route to Mullodi to fit into this space.
And, every now and then I was guessing which the Kudremukh peak is.
And, to say the least, my most of the guesses were wrong. Meanwhile, if one keeps eye on cloud-sports, then one finds shadows falling on mountains and bringing beautiful contrasts. A view hardly left un-captured. Apart from that, the jungle alone presents many different colors, few new kind of vegetations(for Urban eyes, of course), and a serenity and calmness which for guys like us are eerie.
After walking for almost 2 hours we came to Mullodi village. Here we stopped and revitalized ourselves with chocolates and glucose drinks. This village is spread across a huge area and one must not get confused with this as different villages. Later, we took directions from few villagers for somawathy falls. Having had started our journey again, we came across many small coffee estates and supari plantations. The coffee plants, I must judge, are really colorful when the fruits ripe and the supari plants look like they are in race to scale heights. You know I hate when I don’t have time to stop at these places and reflect upon life for few moments. Crazy!! We are slaves of our own limitations.
Well, we kept on enjoying different colors of jungles, mountains and our thoughts. I must admit that we kept on losing time in all these stuffs. It could have made us too late to reach any proper place to halt for that night. But as we know, for a traveler destination and journey both are equally important. We remembered that:
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is never intent on arriving”
“A tourist sees what he has come to see, but a traveler sees and enjoys whatever is on the display”
Anyway, we trekked through jungle and crossed some small streams. Believe me that crossing streams was the most exciting stuff boss…
Soon walking got tough and we were still unable to find Somawathy falls. This happened not only because of numerous confusion trek paths but also no availability of directions. But, thanks to a nice old man who showed us the path to the falls. We were to trek down to the entrance which was fenced and entry was barred. So, like rogues, we jumped over those fences and then there was our firsts official stop. The journey till here was completed in 3 hours. Keeping our rucksacks down, we started preparation for cooking. I, serving as food-man, had bought packets of maggi and MTR. Shashank bhai started fire and put water on boil. Meanwhile, I , like a good boy, went for a bath in spine-chilling water and Anshul bhai went for some photography stint. I couldn’t manage many dips in that water, so, came out and helped in cooking.
Soon, Anshul bhai returned from his stint and helped us in cooking. The smoked maggi, about-to-rain like weather, and a waterfall near by — doesn’t this bring wanna-be-there-me-also-wanna do-that crave to you? I know, I know you also wanna do this. ?)
Tummies full, recharged, and ready to go, and so we were ready for next batch of journey. We started again around 1430 Hrs.
Soon, the trek became a little demanding on us and we saw the first of the dense jungles. Inside there the sunlight was barely reaching ground and it looked as if each tree wants to beat rest others to get its portion of vital sun light. One can always find a small fresh water stream inside these jungles. But, few treks through jungles are infamous for not having water falls. In one of such jungles we were demanded to cross a water stream on a rudimentary bridge. And man, It was fun because of the caution it demand!! But, it was not that tough either. And yes,I did this exercise for five times, Yahoooooo!!. Did I say I like it?
After that few plain terrains are there but they are not easy either. Unlike the belief, one has to take caution here as well because of the chest-high elephant grasses. There may be some reptiles sheltering in. One better be cautious! At this point our faithful sticks, namely Charhari, Dunali and Kantili [you guessed it right boy – we named each of them], came handy. “Jungles-plains with grasses,zig-zag paths along mountains” – this pattern kept on repeating itself for long. Useless to mention that we were walking in complete awe; enchanted by the beauty!
Two hours of trek since we left Somawathy falls and we still had no clue of Lobo House. The sun had already started to prepare its bed. I made an effort to capture sun’s laziness. See down. Worth an effort, right?
But then suddenly inside the next jungle, after a stream, the trek path was nowhere to be found. As a conventional thinkers we went inside the deciduous forests. The thick foliage of fallen leaves were certainly breeding places for many reptiles and other animals. We were really scared so kept on beating our sticks in foliage.
Suddenly, a small animal jumped out of nowhere[hyperbole, for that animal it was its home]. Everyone was like scared to death….few breathes inside and few in mouth..aak!!
But, it turned out to be a beautiful orange frog [don’t know whether it was poisonous]. Thanks to NGC and Discovery, we decided to get out of that area really fast, because frogs-snakes are like old bollywood film hero-heroine.
But, the question was to find the trek path back. We cleared some places, and brought down some shrubs to open a hole in thick leafy wall. We got out and finally after 30 mins of struggle found the trek path back. Relieved!! Then after 15 mins of walk we found a House, presumably Lobo’s House. But to our surprise [since we had information from many other blogs that there would be a family living there] there were no people. But since we wanted to camp at Tholali Anti-Poaching Camp, as instructed by officials, so we started for APC an hour trek away from that place. But, however fast and long did we walk, the APC was nowhere in sight. Instead, we found two more Lobo Houses. We reached the last Lobo house at around 1730 Hrs. And, presuming the APC to be another 1 hour away, we started our climb to Kudremukh peak. In the low light and with clouds around the peak looked symbol of eternal stubbornness.
It was 1815hrs when we decided that the trek on mountain either wouldn’t take us to APC in correct time or there is no APC at all. Thus, we trekked down back to last Lobo house and decided to append the night there. Now, here if I don’t write further about our life-critical decisions then it will be unjust. But if I do, then this write-up may sound extremely scary. We knew that that area was unsuitable for camping due to many factors – for ex, animals, naxals, weather. But, still having no choice we did camp there. We cooked our remaining food in pitch black night. Two of us were holding torch in different directions and the third was cooking. Every now and then we were shivering by our anticipation of any animal. Gosh!!! We decided not to bring our food stuffs in our tents. I must mention that our tent was 300 mts away from last abandoned lobo house, where we were cooking. Then we quickly ate our dinner and after leaving our food stuffs in house went for our tent. And my goodness, we were afraid like hell of sleeping in jungle. There is one more survival trick we used but that would remain censored between few of us?)
The first thing we did in morning was to congratulate each other on remaining alive till morning. Well, we winded up whole of the stuff and ascended on a 6Kms of trek to Kudremukh summit. That was 0700 Hrs in morning. The trek path to summit was full of zig-zag paths, jungles, steep ascends of 20-30 degrees, plain lands with elephant grass. This was the only way to go to summit. But, otherwise, a little more than a lifetime of period would have earned us this beautiful experience. Every time we circled a mountain on trek we came across surprises. One time it was beautiful sunrise and on another occasion was a view of complete mountain range.
We thought that we had covered the most arduous part of trek but we were wrong. Soon, a bamboo forest came, a forest so thick that one may even require a torch to walk during the day!!
The fear of finding a reptile was perennial in our mind. But thank god we didn’t find one. However, the action and excitement of finding one such could have been a lifetime experience. I remember that we did hear some noise made by animals when we were returning to this jungle from summit. We presume that those animals were monkeys.
The trek trail was easy to spot but the steep ascend was getting tougher and tougher. We took number of water breaks to avoid dehydration. Our bodies were so hot that we had to take out our jackets despite the cool breezes of mountains. We were getting really tired and every milestone read “KMP 2Kms”[or to say our eyes were watching every detail with aberration]. En-route we found many small water streams and didn’t loose a chance to dip our faces in few of them. The chill of water was very refreshing. Keeping aside our hypocrite urban-safety regulations, we drank and refilled or bottles from many of those streams. We were tired but the excitement was driven by largest amount of adrenaline in our blood. We didn’t make any big break. Instead we pledged ourselves a big break on return. But, sometimes the excitement and zeal are not enough to take you through some crossroads. At these junctures your fear for life, coupled with your logic, information and survival skills [there is nothing like instinct, I argue against having one and using it] must be used to show yourself day. One such juncture was when we got lost in a dense forest near the summit. Here there was no trail path available. The only ones in view were atrocities of some bison herds on tall grass fields. So, here we used our observation and knowledge to take doubtful decisions [which eventually made us through]. We found that the jungle was ending after a steep climb through some bushes. But, there was no clear path available. So we beat a path through bushes and grass fields to ascend to an open place we didn’t know if were correct. But, since the some grass fields were already beaten down few meters away so we thought our decision was correct. And, thanks to the God we finally made it only to realize we were on one of the other correct trek paths. We realized that that path was taking us to abandoned Lobo Church. But, thanks to our tiredness and thick forest that we didn’t see that[see the church in mid-left section of picture, and yes please see the jungle also]
And also to our surprise we came very near to the summit. We observed that this place had been used by few trekkers to camp and cook overnight. We continued our trek till be dropped tired like dead exactly below the summit. After having a small break of chocolates and glucose drinks, we resumed our trek to peak. To reduce our tiredness we left our rucksacks there only. The final ascend was another part of our treacherous trek.
And, then came the biggest moment of our lives [lives we had had lived till that]. We after a trek of 10Hrs found ourselves at Kudremukh peak, 1880 mts above sea level.
The view from there is too good to be put into words. We felt like mighty beings seeing clouds only below us….
I think that is what one call being on cloud nine.. Then, fuelled by adrenaline we decide to scale two other peak which looked higher than the Kudremukh. This left us confused about the authenticity of the peak we were on. We thought that we were not on KMP. So, we went to second peak. The trek path to second one was highly risky…We skirted the KMP mountain on a trek path which was cliffhanger. A step wrong and you are no where to be found. This path skirted the KMP with a 70 degrees of descend on our left. The fear of falling down didn’t deter us from taking some snaps.
Then finally we reached the second peak which was too small to accommodate 10 standing people. This peak was the most dangerous of the three. We celebrated our victory there and resumed our trek for the third peak. The name of the second peak was later found to be not known to even the forest official we met on gomukh peak.
Although, people say that KMP is the second highest peak in Karnataka but it really is not. The highest peak in Karnataka, as quoted to us by a Forest Officer trekking in another group, is Mullayngiri and second highest is Gomukh peak. Atop Gomukh peak we chatted with Forst official about wildlife to find that recently 24 Cobra eggs had hatched to freedom. And, bison can be found in a herd of 25 or so; this added thrill to our senses. He also told the actual heights of KMP, Mullayangiri and Gomukh. Gomukh being 1892 mts above MSL and Mullayangiri 1950 mts. It is important to tell that we covered the 15 Kms of this trek in 24 Hrs[12 Hrs of camping time included]. The Lakya Dam, prohibited area were naxals are found and KIOCL mining area were visible from Gomukh. Some also say that on a relatively clear day one can see Arabian sea at zenith.
Completely satisfied and having had learned the sense of physical strain and eventual win we started our way back. The only difference this time was that we didn’t get lost in jungles. We stopped by one of the streams and lit fire to have our Lunch. To my surprise descending was more challenging than ascending. The ankles and biceps are not only in more demand but also require more control. Our ankles were paining very badly. Once we applied ointments in our ankles.
On the way we were out of food so we had to stop by Rajpagowda guest house and ask for food. The villager were very humble in extending their help to us. We had Rice and Jack Fruit Sambhar and resumed our trek to Baragal.
In the end, I was thinking how though this trek would have been in monsoon when reptiles and leeches must have been in abundance. But, I am happy for all mistakes we committed en-route, wrong decisions we took, and the fear of life we felt. All these added a different flavor to victory.
A lifetime is really small to feel all these emotions………
Jayesh