Somewhere around the end
of June when monsoon had just set in, we had this opportunity to experience the
splendor of the Charmadi in the section of Western Ghats along the way to
Chikmangalur. We were on our way to explore two of the peaks in the Charmadi
Ghats – the Kodekallu and the Barekallu…
The initial journey by
the tempo traveler to the starting point of the trek always includes the usual
Gypsy ritual of inducting freshers, stopping for breakfast, singing the Gypsy
anthem and a hell lot of fun… However as the Charmadi Ghats approached a
silence inspired by the nature descended upon the TT… The CharmadiGhat has one
of the most perfect sceneries I have seen… Mountain peaks enveloped by a thick
fog, lush green mountain slopes, and the soothing sight and sound of waterfalls
all over…
It is easy to get lost in
the laps of Charmadi in every way… The soothing surroundings will make you
forget everything that you left behind to come here. You will get lost in the
beauty of the Ghats! The lush greenery can ensure that if you enter the dense
forest for the first time…you will definitely lose your way at some point…! Let
me tell you that the starting point of our trek was from a point along the
highway that runs through the Ghats – through trees and rocks. However, I think
there may be several similar looking doorways to enter the dense forests. Thus
we hired a guide who knew the ghats inside out… And then after arming ourselves
with anti-leech weapons (socks dipped in Dettol and a mixture of snuff and
coconut oil…) This was going to be my first experience with leeches…!
The next hour and a half
was spent trekking uphill through thick grass, rocky slopes and loads of
leeches…Quite a few of us got them on our footwear and our feet and our legs…
And since 4 of us-newcomers were seeing leeches for the first time, we let one
leech stay in between a friend’s toes a bit longer just to capture it on the
camera!
The guide, meanwhile, was
giving us ‘historical’ information about the Ghats…information about
sensational murder cases where the victim’s bodies were found in the Charmadis
and the fact that we were standing then at the point from where the bodies were
thrown down… well, nothing gory or spine-chilling… Very few of us heard him, we
were too busy enjoying the nature’s beauty and clicking pics…!
Kodekallu is truly as the
name suggests, an “Umbrella stone”- A huge egg-shaped rock perched
strategically at the edge of a peak, looking like an umbrella from a
distance...A few of us went right to the edge of the peak where the distance to
the edge was only about a foot wide, and the ambience there was mystical- cool,
steady breeze brought along with it wisps of fog. The valley was as though
completely invisible in the mist and the road snaking around the mountain
played hide and seek in the smoky fog…! The underside of the umbrella rock
forms a cave-like structure where we had our next photo session…!
After “thodi-si pet
pooja” at this mystical place…We started towards our next destination – the
Barekallu… The way to Barekallu was long, went through a grassland (it took us
2 hours to reach) but it was pretty much easy minus the slippery rocks and tall
grass that we had encountered on our way to Kodekallu. We spotted a herd of
wild bulls munching their way up on the slopes of Charmadi to Barekallu… and a
prominent nest that belonged to Hornbills... And as though to welcome us, a
couple of hornbills flew right across the grey sky through the mist as soon as
we reached the peak. In that lush greenery and perfect monsoon sky…It was a
delight to watch them curve around the peak.! According to the guide, all the
peaks of Charmadi Ghats can be seen from Barekallu… However, the fog which was
becoming thicker and thicker prevented us from seeing a lot of what Barekallu
offered. (We did catch a sight of Kodekallu from there though!)
We had lunch at Barekallu
and then started on our way back to the base. The way back was an elephant
trail through a forest and a relatively easier way to climb down. Wild
elephants often inhibit the slopes of these ghats. Thankfully, we didn’t
encounter any. The monsoon rains, which
had eluded us till now, on this “Monsoon trek”, soon started pitter-pattering
and then after frolicking around in a waterfall nearby, we rounded off this
very beautiful day with a full-filled dinner at Cherry Square.
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