KUDREMUKH NATIONAL PARK - SHOLA FOREST

    Kudremukh National Park . Going to this place was like a dream to me. Since when I come to know about this place I wanted to see those shola forests and do the climb on a hill which is higher than Kalsubai peak ( highest in Maharashtra). I never knew it can be realized last week.
 I was planning to go there when my friend also asked me he wants to join and two more friends also joined. So all four couples ( 8 no. ) were finalized till Friday night.

horse shaped cliff. That horse really took long time to show its majestic look. The walk was worthy of it. Going through rolling hills in early morning was truly like a walk in paradise. Kudremukh is not like a regular jungle walk. It is much more fun . Especially for those who wants to see unending green carpet.

to reach there we have to reach rajappa,s house first. His small bungalow is the last human settlement .

when we left belur the beautiful temple town typical western ghats scenario started to lead us ahead into the green hills. River, paddy fields, coconut trees . And it slowly started turning into coffee plantations. After sometime road winds up like snake till we reach the destination. It offers some sneak preview of blue mountains. You can't get enough of this. Still one has to reach on time. All of a sudden you stumble across a tea estate. It looks so beautiful. But ! We were late. You be there at least for 5 to have a small walk and visit a temple of the estate.

until you tech kalsa the time is for lunch. From Bangalore it is around 300kms.

there is one small eatery opp. Police station. We got nice food especially fish. And surprisingly its cheap! So you can really save money and have good food. Ambience is not very god. do taste fish and the local rice. Ok ur belly is full. It's time to lose some extra weight. After kalasa lunch program from the hotel we went straight down. And reached to belegal . Its hardly 10 min but not that close. Mind it ! People will confuse due to the similarity between. Balehonnur and belagal. So be clear! The road is really scenic. From a close y village you can see a church. And just behind that is beautiful Kudremukh peak. Towering over other hills gently rising.

I was just bewildered. Beautiful surroundings and a long lost village mid of the forest with loads of coffee estates. But that was the beginning of a journey. We saw a small shop on the road. The lady waved us hand and asked that you are the guest for rajappa tonight for trek. I was relieved from the burden to find our contact person. There we saw a clean jeep parked near shop and a fit military like man with pleasant smile. On some blog i read the journey upto the base is torturous. So was scared a bit. It was dark until we started . So the thrill in the dark increased. Slowly the jeep climbed up and going through dirt road cautiously. Till today I have never seen such a precise driving. While returning back Rajappa told me the secret that this guy drives on the same route every day. Indeed a great job!

so enjoy your ride in future. it was around 30 min ride for 9kms approximately. Indeed thrilling! when we reached there we could hear sounds of other enthusiastic trekkers. There was darkness and rajappa emerged with a torch. Hello sir! Don't worry electricity will be back by 7.p.m. And it was so dark by 6.30 here. We went to the rooms in he dark.

This Tea eastate comes from Bangalore to Kalsa road. It is the only tea estate which we spotted. One must take a stop at least 10 min to have a look at it and visit the estate temple.

After reaching Kalsa and having our lunch we come to know that there is a beautiful place called Amba Teerth. We were supposed to go to Hanuman Gundi a beautiful waterfall in the lush green forest. But due to time restriction we went to Amba Teerth . It's hardly 3/4 kms from Kalsa.
We really loved the place inside the forest. The road leads to this place is small mud road. If you have time walking is recommended. ( It's thrilling). The picture above is of carved deities ( long back).

The formation of rocks is unique because of water currents and small pebbles trapped in pot holes.

Ahem! Of course none other than my beloved wifey's feet. Crystal clear cold water tempted her to dip her feet. And I seized the opportunity to capture it.

Here is the wide angle shot of this beautiful place. When I told my tema mates that we are going to climb more than this huge hill above by tomorrow..... they said Yes! we can do it . So do I . But I heard it is very long trek. Forgetting about tomorrow we all enjoyed the view offered by the nature.

Natural Forces

Whenever I go to the beach / river / on a hilltop my heart feels the exalted sensation. The flowing fresh air passing over my body , sound of waves , fragrance of the jungle coming from the hills. The fury of the natural forces scares my mind ; still I cannot control the curiosity . They are behaving in their natural way . The crackling thunder strike , striking clouds on a hilltop and roaring waterfall all are mystic and living proof of the God is here with us and within everything in miraculous way. Every one is different , decorated in different colours, shapes , sizes ..  It maybe a tiny delicate fern leaf or a grand cliff.
One thing is sure the sheer size makes an impact. And none can beat the Kokan Kada of Harischandragad, Sandhan gorge, mountain wall of Alang , pinnacle of Lingana , Kaas (flowers) pathar . Every one of them is unique and casts a spell on me for lifetime. When I go there "i" melts and become the place itself. The collective beauty of elements created these landscapes over centuries. What I have is the mind to appreciate it . Somewhere deep down this I is also part of this bigger landscape ( us ) . Collective formation of elements or clashes attract my mind. Obviously it is made from them only so it is bound to drag me there to be a part of it. But sometime I am too much scared to see the dark depths. The fear of the unknown.
The deconstructed constructions of modern world always takes away the peace. Only the silence of night brings back peace. On the contrary when we go in the sanctuary of nature I return to normality .

Dubare Elephan Camp

DUBARE ELEPHANT CAMP , KARNATAKA

I read a lot about it on the internet and in tourism guides. So I thought let's visit it. Anyways my dear daughter was super excited to wash elephants with her hands. It was our second day of the vacation. And we were staying in the palace city Mysore. We woke up early to leave the city.  Climate was really pleasing. I was in no mood to leave the city. But we had many more surprises throughout the day.  As soon as we left the beautiful city we saw these pink coloured mangoes in line on highway.
We bought some to our ardent mango lover daughter. And again vroomed the car. The road is absolute dream. So smooth like butter ! ( don't take it literary ) I was having the pleasure of driving in the countryside.

The countryside is a peaceful change to my eyes. And being from the village I love the farms , trees , farmers is nostalgic. Even though we are a nation of villages our life is so engrossed in the work; that hardly get time for rustic life. So this was a slice of that life.

House structure also changes en route to Dubare. This is a high rainfall zone so roofs are slanted. And a few houses I saw covered with mud in a different pattern. Indeed photogenic! And yes utilitarian rather than show off.

We reached there around 8.00 a.m. I read in the guide book that we have to be there before 8.30 a.m. to witness the bathing ceremony. So here we reached. Looooong long line was there on the river bank for waiting to cross the other side. Some rubber boats and launches were ferrying the river to help people cross the river Cauveri. The charge is somewhere around 50 rs per person. Also there is parking charge for your car in the bustling place.

She loves to see to travel ; it maybe boat or a railway. A die hard traveler. Every bit of the journey was fun for her. My driving was fruitful when she first touched the baby elephant. Their bath was just concluded. Fortunately we reached there to see the ceremony .

Afterwards we climbed up to the campsite. There were more than 10 elephants. Some where just freshly bathed. Other were enjoying their breakfast. So many people standing in the line to have an elephant ride. We avoided that.  Anagha had a chance to touch elephant and his huge tusk. It was father's day. I was delighted to gift her an opportunity to spend time with elephants.

This place is close by to Mysore on Coorg road. You can see coffee estates en route  and also Bylkuppee ( Monastry of Tibetian Buddhists ). A one day tour from Mysore can be easily done. But two days will be ideal and relaxed. You can shop fruits, food products ( local ) , fruit wines etc.... 
Having own vehicle is the best on this route ; so you can stop anywhere to enjoy the scenery. There is one lotus pond in between Bylakuppe and Dubare. 

Namdroling Monastery