The Hidden Trails...

It was on a rainy rainy Saturday that we had set out to explore two of the lesser known waterbodies in the Western Ghats - the Sara Gundi and the Dalia Gundi.
Nestled in the lama village near Karkala, about a couple of hours drive from Mangalore, the Sara Gundi is a part of river whose end , alas, we could not explore. Nor could we find the name of the river. Visiting the Sara Gundi hardly requires a trek. A vehicle can go right upto the Parashuram temple that marks the beginning of the Amla village. As per the information we had received, from the village, it was to be only about a kilometer walk to the falls.

The various faces of Sara Gundi

 After hiking for only about 400 meters through the winding village pathways lined by areca nut trees and cocoa trees, we had to cross a wooden bridge to get on the other side of the aggressively flowing rivers and reach the falls.

The wooden Bridge

Areca nuts!

The adventurers that we are, we went in the opposite direction of the falls seeking a perfect place to enjoy the chilling water! (Cannot forget Sarvesh's scream on spotting a leech on her feet!!) However, the river continued endlessly and after a few photo shoots at some parts, we proceeded in the right direction.

Some Photography along the way!

It is amazing how we never tend to get tired of visiting waterfalls. It is also amazing how we are never tired of using adjectives like "Majestic", "awe-inspiring", "roaring",etc, etc. when describing waterfalls. Both the preceding statements are applicable for Sara Gundi. The strength of the waterfall fueled by the ongoing heavy rains, sent up sprays of water which, coupled with the gusty wind, made it difficult to look at gushing stream with our eyes open. We got in the chilling water and enjoyed every bit of it!

At Sara Gundi

After a quick lunch in the shelter of the school near the Parashuram, we headed to Dalia Gundi.
Somewhere hidden in the depths of the forests around Karkala, far from prying eyes and guarded prudentially by the locals lies a secret called Dalia Gundi.

The start of Dalia Gundi. 

After this we never got to remove our Cam!

 By the time we had reached the start of our trek to Dalia Gundi, it had started raining heavily. The snuff, dettol, etc.  which we had used to prevent the phenomenon of leeching was  getting washed off. We had a guide along with us; so that we could see the other treasure troves nature had hidden apart from Dalia gundi. We were told to move fast as the intensity of the rains was increasing rapidly. Then came a part in our journey when we had to cross a stream of water.
The water was flowing forcefully. We had to move very slowly if the stream was to be crossed. Moreover the place where we had to wait in order to cross the stream was severely infested with leeches. We decided that it was wiser to go back rather than attempt the risk of crossing the stream. But not before deciding to pursue this lost mission after monsoons.
We turned back and proceeded to Dalia Gundi. At these falls, none of us dared to remove our cameras... Such was the extent of the water being lashed at us. Moreover, we had walked quite some distance through thick thorny vegetation, slush and leeches. For sometime, we stood there marvelling at majestic (again!) waterfall until it was time to go back.
We halted at Soan's farm for a glass of fresh and delicious Pineapple juice; took a walk through their fruit orchard and Burma Bamboo plantations and then started back to Mangalore after a day well spent!

Pineapples galore at Soan's farm

Enjoying a glass of delicious pineapple juice

Dragon Fruits

One of the numerous proud birds on the farm

A lotus about to bloom

Some Glimpses of Soan's farm!

When: 20th July, 2013.

Agumbe Part 2: Kundadari Hills and Kavaledurga

Our next destination on 13th July,2013 was Kavaledurga fort. It was a forty-five minute drive from Jogi Gundi. The fort was constructed around 9th century A.D. and later reinforced with multiple level fortifications by the Keladi king, Venkatappa Nayaka when he conquered areas in and around Thirthalli during the later half of the 16th century. The driver pulled over under a tree upon reaching there.

Ascending the Kavaledurga

 We were more than glad to get down this time, owing to the discomfort of sitting in a packed vehicle with wet clothes and backpacks. We started walking towards the fort, with Nitin and Danny guiding us along the way. We passed sprawling acres of grasslands and small fields squared out with makeshift fences consisting of pieces of wood tied together with a worn out rope. Cattle grazed lazily under the grey skies covered with thick nimbus clouds. Soon we saw a stone wall and two turrets towering high up, a good distance away from us. We carefully tread on the stone pavement that lay ahead of us.

Up the stone pavement

 One wrong step and we could slip and fall and hurt ourselves badly. All of us concentrated completely on our climb, avoiding areas covered in moss and other slippery spots. A few of us stumbled and a few of us fell but we knew we were safe because each person was on the lookout for the other. We saw some engravings of, ahem, “those kind” on the stone arch at the entrance and made some dirty jokes about it. :P  It helped lighten the mood and take our mind off the effort we were putting.

We continued climbing until we reached a temple. The fog enveloped the temple boundary, giving it a more mystical aura. Inside the shrine was a stone Linga and Nandi.

The temple

As we walked around the sanctum sanctorum, observing the frescos which were perhaps put there thousands of years ago, we felt a sense of spiritual meaning; an understanding that is neither apparent to the senses, nor obvious to the intelligence. Soon, hunger and tiredness became overwhelming and it was time for us to binge on those buns and dry snacks and revitalize.  From the temple, we could see a lone piece of huge rock jutting out towards the left side of the hillock upon which stood another small structure, probably another temple. We climbed up towards that direction and found an awesome spot for clicking group photos. Ideas came pouring in for the different types of poses we could give. All of the photos came out well, courtesy the expert photographers and proud SLR owners (Anindya,JK and Giri)  we had amongst us.

Exclusively for the shutterbugs!

The protruding rock looked peculiar with too many ridges and grooves on it and we decided to climb and have a look at the other temple as well. We saw a stone idol of Mahavishnu and Lakshmi when we peered inside with great curiosity. Again, the view from the top of that rock and the surrounding flora and fauna numbed our senses. Since we had time constraints we had to get down quickly and start walking further inside the fort. A few metres away lay a massive hall like section with plenty of beautiful stone pillars along its periphery. Some stood despite the harsh weather that would have weakened the structure over the years and some lay scattered around, crumbling into layers of dust. We let our imaginations run wild. Perhaps thousands of years ago the king enjoyed live dance performances there or his sons played cricket in that open space or it was probably a courtroom where judgements were made, with the commoners watching. We saw two more such open halls.

 The architecture was complete with a huge pool (the queen’s bathtub, it was called) a proper toilet and other basic amenities. During those times, maybe these were luxuries that only a king could afford. There was more beyond the point till which we had gone but we decided to turn back. Our descent was even more difficult. We took the support of the massive stone walls covered in creepers and overgrown weeds. Slowly and one by one, we all made it downhill. I turned back to look at the imposing structure for one last time, and wondered how much technical expertise and organizational skill one would require build something that massive and majestic during the ancient times.

After that we all had an intense desire to hold a cup of hot coffee between our hands and to sip and savour its taste. Dheeraj, Malur and Buvi gave voice to our thoughts and discussed this at length. This desire heightened when we drove to a viewpoint at Kundadri. The weather over there was extremely cold. Teeth chattering and constant shivering ensued. Everyone’s “brrr’s” were almost audible. We made our way up pretty fast this time and reached the viewpoint. The visibility was very less, and while we all waited for the fog to clear we jumped up and down and did some funny exercises to warm ourselves up. Then it happened…for a few seconds, the wind drove the fog away and we caught glimpses of the surrounding hills and villages down below. The view was epic. All of us experienced a wow moment right at that time. We couldn’t contain our excitement and all of us shouted in happiness. Our deafening screams came echoing back to us. We then walked to the entrance of the 3000-year-old Jain Temple located there. Hunching, we stepped into the narrow dark doorway and saw the idol of a Jain Thirthankar. The priest carried out a small Aarti and told us strange stories about evil spirits and praised god’s might and glory. We listened in complete silence and with rapt attention. Once he was done, we prayed and came out together. We headed towards our vehicle and we were done for the day. Three beautiful places, all in twelve hour’s time. It felt awesome. We smiled to ourselves in satisfaction.

The desire was coffee was the only thing that wasn’t fulfilled yet, which brought us to a small home café on the countryside. We emptied our bladders and made ourselves comfortable over there. Plates after plates of “goli bhaji” kept coming to our tables and cups of piping hot coffee followed. It was 7 pm when we decided to leave for Mangalore. We sang songs, talked and carried out the Gypsy ritual of relating the whole trek experience during our journey back home. We stopped at Bittu Da Dhaba in Mulki for a yummy dinner and the world’s best lassi. Finally it was time to say our goodbyes and head home. One of the most memorable days of our lives came to an end. “Until next time”, I thought to myself as I waved to the others and walked towards home.

When: 13th July, 2013.

Agumbe Part 1: Jogi Gundi

At the crack of dawn on Saturday, the streets were empty except for a few stray dogs and the occasional newspaper boys donned in rain jackets, braving the cold winds to deliver the morning daily at people’s doorsteps. I stood under a shed, sheltering myself from the rain, passing time clicking photographs of streetlights and closed shutters of small shops on the roadside. I checked my watch. 5:50 am. We were already fifty minutes behind our scheduled time for the trek. At 6 am, I was relieved to hear the sound of the honk from the Tempo Traveler, which was supposed to pick me up an hour ago. As soon as I got in, the vehicle sped off towards the direction of Udupi, carrying fourteen puffy eyed and sleepy trekkers in it.
Our first stop was at a place called Someshwar, somewhere beyond Udupi. We found a certain decent “Hotel Nandini” on the roadside and decided to hog on breakfast and down cups of morning chai/coffee and get energized.

Breakfast Halt

 It wasn’t soon before all the enthusiasm crept back into the group and we started clicking random photos. From the eat-out, which was at the foothill, we could see the cloud kissed mountains and a tiny stream of waterfall located at the top right portion of the hill, which added beauty to the stretch of greenery that was spread out before us.

On the way to Agumbe

 We took a few minutes more to buy bottles of water and check and count the money we had. One by one we clambered back into the vehicle and began our ascent to Agumbe Ghat. From JK we learnt that there were thirteen hairpin bends we had to cross in order to reach Jogi Gundi, some of which belonged to one district of Karnataka and the rest to another. The view just got better and better, the higher we climbed. Although we were running short of time, we couldn’t resist getting down at one spot on our way, called the Agumbe Sunset Point, just to check out the breathtaking landscape of the Ghats.  We got a bird’s eye view of the idyillic villages around the Udupi countryside. There was a nip in the air and chilly winds blew against our faces. It was beautiful.

On the way to Jogi Gundi

A few more minutes of driving uphill at Agumbe and we found a signboard to our right. Painted in bright red Kannada letters, the green board read “Jogi Gundi Jalapataga. Rs.5 Entry Fee”. A faded arrow symbol pointed towards its direction. All of us got out of the vehicle, stretched and prepared ourselves for the small hike through the woods. First Aid kits were packed, cameras were covered in waterproof bags and we set off, following the stone path snaking through the dense forest floor. The slow drizzle, the puddles of mud, the uprooted trees, the drops of water on the leaves and the eerie sound of the cicadas were a few of the many things that surrounded us. After our ten-minute walk, we heard the sound of gushing water at a distance. When we finally reached Jogi Gundi, we were awestruck by the might and the beauty of the sight that lay before us.

The Jogi Gundi

White and clear, the water fell from a height of about 18 meters or so (not very high as compared to a regular waterfall) but with such force that anyone who stood under it, not anchored properly to a nearby rock or a piece of trunk would probably get washed away, never to be seen again! We ventured into the cold waters and experienced the force of the currents with every fibre of our body.

 We had to hold onto to each other to stay at one place, but it was worth all the hassle. After we were satisfied with the amount of fun we had getting drenched, we found our own little spot on the rocks that were strewn hither-tither downstream and sat silently, letting our minds wander and linger on the thoughts that haunt us everyday, pondering over which one was worth that particular moment, the moment we felt so one with nature.

When: 13th July, 2013.

Kodekallu and Barekallu again!

I have already described this place in a blog post last year... We began our trek from the same point and we took the same route. Nothing had changed much in terms of topography - neither the huge rock we call Kodekallu nor the wild cows we saw last year at Barekallu! However,nature and time are reputed to never stabalize anything in its realm. This blog post will only tell you what was different about Kodekallu and Barekallu from last year - "bulleted"! 

The misty Charmadi - on our way to Kodekallu

• The climate:

Thanks to the rain gods, it was a true rain trek this year. Right from the moment we left Mangalore to the time we came back again, it was raining - not so heavily, but it was raining! The mist which enveloped Kodekallu and Barekallu allowed a visibility of about 15 feet. 

At Kodekallu admist rains and mist.

• The trail:

It was the same till we reached Kodekallu. From Kodekallu to Barekallu, we took close to 2 hours last year. This time we reached in just 45 minutes. The credit for this goes to the climate, precisely the mist, which made us miss the actual trail around the hill and we ended up climbing the hill. This resulted in us reaching the Barekallu peak much earlier at the cost of a little extra effort!

Climbing up the hill to reach Barekallu!

• The trekkers:

We had amongst us a set of trekkers (Achalesh, JK, JP, Karan,Malur, Karanth) who were among the first ones to explore nature under the name "Gypsies". They bonded over the old times throughtout the trek. We, on the other hand, simply enjoyed watching them bond! It's only rarely that we get to watch our seniors getting naughty! 

Missing: Achalesh, Rama, Gautam!

• The leaders:

Last year, we had a guide who took us through. This time we had Karanth and Achlesh who successfully led us on the expedition to Kodekallu and Barekallu.

• The adventure quotient:

Well, it was pretty much uneventful last year. This time we had almost lost our way while descending the Barekallu. We had to descend looking at the Kodekallu from Barrekallu, but the ist prevented us from doing that! We were contemplating spending a night on the peak with nothing to protect us from the chill and pouring rain. I was infact "hoping" for that - the fanatic that I am! Pleased to say that my hopes were shattered and we did find the way back! 

A view of Kodekallu from Barekallu

• The changes for me:

I started off trekking with the Gypsies with this trek and there I was - again!
Back then people were new and Mangalore was an alien land... Now it just feels like home!
I realized that there is a temple near the starting point of the trek. Never noticed it last year!
The leeches were so few!! Maybe because we went there at the start of monsoons!

Making our way back through the elusive hills

• The Goodbyes: 

To Karan Arora - who debuted as the first non-Kannada speaking Gypsy and who will be called an "Infoscion" for only a few more days!

When: 8th June, 2013.

With: Achalesh Jayaram, Jayakrishna K, Ashwin Karanth, Ramaprasad, Jayaprakash, Karan Arora, Karthik Malur, Soutonuka M, Ankit, Varun Iyer, Ketki, Monica Reddy, Buvaneswari R., Gautam Shenoy,Aditi Vishwasrao

Arshina Gundi Falls

The sweltering heat and intense humidity at Mangalore prevented us from venturing into the wilderness for almost a month.  The concern is mainly that trekkers become water guzzling machines in such climatic conditions. From past experiences, we have observed that any amount of water we carry, always proves to be insufficient. The dehydration caused by intense sweating and thirst results in muscle cramps which then makes even an easy trek seem difficult. We needed to trek to a place where we would find our need for water addressed, at least upto some extent.

 Kepping all of the above in mind, when we finally decided to hit the roads again, it was to Arishina Gundi - a waterfall situated in the depths of Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary near Kollur. At Kollur, we also took the necessary permissions from the RFO and made arrangements for lunch. The way to Mookambika wildlife sanctuary passes through the buzzing streets that lead to the Sri Mookambika Devi Temple - Kollur's most famous landmark.

Start of the trek - Mokambika Wildlife Sanctuary.

We started through the Mookambika Sanctuary gate .The trek to Arishina Gundi was supposed to be a long walk, albeit on a flat jeep trail. The last kilometer was to be a steep descend. Initially it looked to be pretty easy. It was only after we started walking that we realized how "long" the long walk was.

 The jeep trail inclined upwards... most of the times steadily and  sometimes suddenly. This is one of those trails which tests your patience. You walk on and on with the only challenge being your fight against gravity to walk on an incline. It is one of those mundane trails which gradually seeps out your energy and makes you ponder about the purpose of undertaking this journey. Sooner or later, such trail makes every trekker feel like he/she is going through  torture!

The never ending jeep trail.

 We were told that we would need to enter the forest to our left and take a steep descend to reach the falls. We encountered many lefts on the way which led into the forest  and every time we felt that "this might be the one". But Malur who had visited the place earlier spoke of a board announcing the arrival of the correct left. We trusted in him and kept walking on the seemingly never ending trail. 

It was Malur who reached the sign board first and started screaming from there. We heard his distant voice and rushed ahead, relieved that the ordeal will come to an end when Malur comes into sight! And sure enough, tiredness left us when we saw the signboard pointing left into the forest said 'Way to Arishina Gundi Falls'.  We halted briefly here waiting for our fellow trekkers to join us and then rushed down on the steep slope, happy to hear the rhythm that is created when water plays around rocks! 

The signboard at last!

It was still a quite a distance from the signboard, but the mundaneness of the path was gone. Some more minutes of dodging fallen tree trunks, climbing over rocks and navigating along narrow slopes, we finally reached Arishina Gundi! 

On the last leg of our journey!

Arishina Gundi is a treat to the eyes after all that struggle to get to it. The plunge pool made by Arishina Gundi Falls is quite deep. The depth goes upto 30 feet in the centre. You cannot get into the falls if you visit just after monsoon as the water force is too much. During monsoons, it is advisable to avoid this trek mainly because of the last kilometer after the signboard, which will become extremely slippery and leech infested. We visited during late summer, hence the water was calm - waiting for the raingods to make it powerful again.

Arishina Gundi at last!

Reaching the flowing water was again a challenge for the non-swimmers. This time a much bigger challenge than the Onake Hebbe, as we were uncertain of the depth and one wrong move could prove to be dangerous. Those who could swim went into the water stream and started enjoying the bliss of being under a waterfall. The non-swimmers sat there staring, resolving to join swimming classes soon or get a life jacket the next time they trek to a waterfall!This time it was Balaji who showed the way to the non-swimmers. He found a way along the edge which was not very deep and had enough holds for a person to reach the water stream without needing to swim. Hannan was the first daredevil non-swimmer who attempted to take this way and cautiously reached the falls. Emboldened by Hannan's feat, the others followed suit helped by Malur, Balaji, Hannan and Nachiket. 

How the non-swimmers reached the stream...

Soon the entire Gypsy gang was under the waterfall and were elated at their achievement. This excitement showed in the way the Gypsies got themselves photographed, under the falls, in various dance styles - including our very own Gypsy style!

The famed Gypsy pose.

It was then time for a lunch consisting of chapatis with cheese spread, jam and namkeen rounded off with buttermilk and bananas. This was followed by some fun which came in the form of double ententres initiated by Charan and carried ahead by Anindya! 

How well do you know the Puma logo?

Spot the difference!

Diving into the depths - Malur

Diving into the depths: Abhilash

On his way to Fetch spring water - Anindya

On his way to Fetch spring water - Balaji

Very soon, we were set to go back, the same way we came. The descend we took while coming was now a very steep ascend. We struggled for 40 minutes to reach the signboard. Once there everyone threw down their backpacks and dropped down trying to get a hold on the heart beat and the breath! After this, we were on the long jeep trail again, hoping it should not seem so long as it seemed while coming. We were mistaken. It seemed to be precisely as long as it felt when getting to Arishina Gundi! It felt good though, to think of all that we experienced after all that struggle!

The victorious gypises!

Missing in this pic - Charan, the photographer.

When: 25th May, 2013.

With: Karthik Malur, Nitin Shettigar, Anindya Das, Deepak, Prachi Bhosale, Nachiket Velankar, Charan Walke, Gayatri Holla, Aditi Vishwasrao,Hannan Shaikh, Balaji Mohan, Madhu Ramaya, Abhilash Desai.