Adventures at Sirsi

It had already been 2 weeks since my last trekking trip to Kodachadri. The excitement was growing and I decided to go to Unchalli falls and Benne Holle falls near Sirsi. Tuesday was a holiday on occassion of Labour day. I wished to take a leave on Monday so that I could make a 4 day trip. But unfortunately most of the guys were going home and I was starved of any company. Finally I got my old buddy Mahesh. We both were graduation classmates. He didn't want to apply leave on Monday so we reduced the 4 day trip to a 2 day trip. We booked the tickets quite early and managed to get front seats both during onward and return journey.

On Friday evening, We caught the 7:00 PM bus after a quick snacks at Majestic. Reached Sirsi old bus stand by 5:30 AM. Took a double bed room in Jaishree Lodge(120\-). Jaishree Lodge is close to old bus stand but is not that well maintained. We were told that Hotel Panchavati on Sirsi-Yellapur road is the good one. Anyhow since we didn't had any vehicles so this hotel close to bus stand was a good choice. We freshened up and took the Bus to Heggarane(it is supposed to come at 7:15 but both days it came close to 8:00 AM).
Heggarane is a small village between Sirsi and Kumta. One has to take a deviation to the left from Aminalli. From Aminalli it is 26 km inside. One can see very nice views on the way between Aminalli and Heggarne. From Heggarane it is 5 km walk to the Unchalli view point. Few buses will travel further 2.5 from Heggarne so that one has to trek only for 2.5 km. The falls was not as impressive as it will be post monsoon but it was good enough.
From the view point there are steps to go down till another point. From here one can trek to the base of the falls. It is tough, treacherous, tricky and thus in my terms it is fun. One has to jump, bend and hop on these rocks. At one point, there are huge boulders and the way down seems impossible. Here take few steps to the right and there will be a small valley. One has to make their own way to reach this valley. From here it is just jumping over the rocks and cliffs to reach the base. Mahesh was finding it difficult and I carried his bag as well for some distance. In monsoon it should be close to impossible to trek down this route. We went to the base and bathed at the stream. The view on the way down and even at the base was amazing. Took lot of snaps here.

Climbing up was real fun. We took another route which seemed to be a short cut. As is always, nothing comes for free. This route was more riskier then the first one. There were almost vertical cliffs with just enough crevices to hang on with our fingers and toes. This reminded both of us of MI2 scenes. The whole weight of the body was on a single toe of a leg. One has to push his whole body to reach another foothold. This is dangerous but with good shoes, balance and some confidence, one can have fun.

It took 1 hr to go down and 1 hr to come up. Rock climbing was real fun. More then the waterfall itself. We took bath at a nearby pump and had lunch of bread and biscuits. We Walked back till Heggarane (But actually bus will come inside till a foest checkpost at 5:00 PM. This will cut short ur walking by 50%). At Heggarane we had local cool drinks called "Number one". It was awful and helped me to get the cold and cough after a looong time.
We took the bus back to Sirsi at 5:15 PM. Reached Sirsi by 6:00. Had bath and visited Marikamba temple. The statue of Devi is carved in wood. Had dinner at nearby Hotel (Didn't liked any Hotels in this town, Perhaps the one which I went were not good.) and fell fast asleep.

Next day we got up by 6:00 and checked out the Hotel by 7:00 AM. We took a bus to Kumta which will go via Kasage and also has a stop there. It seems most of the Kumta bound buses don't stop at Kasage. From here we walked nearly 2.5 km to reach Hosur village. We saw a house on the left, someone told us that we have to walk straight till we reach a board which shows the direction to Benne. The board never came and hence we returned to this house at Hosur. The person living there gave us the directions and warned me not to go alone (Mahesh gave up trekking at this point.). He tried his best to scare me away from trekking to Benne alone.

Me and Mahesh rested for some time there and then I tried to convince Mahesh to come along. But he didn't budge, He felt too tired, weak, physically and mentally worned out. I thought for a second and told Mahesh to go back to Kasage and wait for me there till evening. Then we bid good byes and I ventured into jungle alone. I was always afraid of trekking inside dense unknown jungles alone. Anything could be lurking in dark corners of these Jungles, ready to grab you from behind. But the feeling of giving up to the fear and abandoning the trek would have haunted me for long long time. From this house at Hosur we have to go straight till a second telephone pole with a Y junction is encountered. Take the right turn here which will lead u to a Jeep track. Take left at the Jeep track and go straight till u reach the Benne Holle board. I took two pieces of wood and kept it in my hands for protection. Took my pocket knife out of the bag and dropped it inside my pockets.

The forest was very thick and beautiful. I saw a woman coming from opposite direction who told me that Benne Holle board is just around the next corner. She asked me If I am going alone to which I nodded in "yes and no". Soon I was delighted to see the board. We have to take a right from here and it will be another 2.5 km from here.

I just kept walking on this route. There were lizards on the way. On hearing my footsteps they made a quick exit towards the side. The soound of running lizards alerted me now n then. After 0.5 km, the forest cover gave way and there was opening above me. After few more steps, I came across a small farmhouse. The house looked deserted but the farm land seemed to be in good condition. I looked for people whom I could ask some information about the falls. But there was no one here. I trekked ahead where the forest cover again engulfed me and I could not see the sky above. It seemed that no one had walked here for long long time as the whole route was completely covered in dry leaves. There were ferocious mosquitoes here which inspite of constant movement, stuck to my legs. I still have itching sensation on my legs (3 days after the trip). Anyhow, I just kept walking here till the route ended at a tree. There was a small marking on the tree. It pointed to right. There is a small route here and one has to continue down the hill for another 0.25 km. After walking for some time, I got little worried as there was no sound of waterfall and the route was getting narrower. I had no idea about the distance from here and was afraid to lose the way back. It is easy to forget the route here as the route itself is coverd with dry leaves. I didn't wanted to get lost in this jungle. I devised a plan whereby I cleared the ground at each doubtful corner and made the arrow marks there with a stick. Thus when I returned I hoped to find the arrow marks directing me to the correct way. Fortunately after little distance I reached my goal, The Benne Holle. Though there was no water at this time but I could easily imagine the marvellous waterall it would be just after monsoons.

I enjoyed the trek back as I was fully aware of the path, distance and the feeling that I made it to Benne Holle. As said, fear is not outside us but within us. Fear which slowly creeps inside us and makes us vulnerable to anything. It is just a matter of conquering our fears. It didn't took me much time to trek back. I wanted to reach Mahesh as fast as I could so that he could stop worrying about me. I crossed the Benne Holle board and for a while was doubtful about a right turn. After a km, found the right turn I was looking for. I even found the little stick I threw away earlier. I bid goodbye to the other heavier sticks which I was carrying all along the trek. Content and happy, I reached the house at Hosur. The trek from Hosur to Benne is not that difficult and one can easily reach it within an hour. I took some rest at Hosur and left for Kasage. Reached Kasage and found Mahesh sleeping in the small shop by the road. The shop owner asked me If I was not afraid to go into Jungle alone. I smiled and said "NO". I luv jungles and why should I be afraid of something I luv. I Just sat at the shop for some time till Mahesh woke up.

We had few oranges and boarded the bus back to Sirsi. Once again (perhaps 1001th time), I lost my heart to a beautiful lady in the bus. She was very gorgeous and was accompanied by her father. Our eyes met for for a second but it felt like eternity to me. Allright, The last statement was a lie. :) Who would want to look at a trekker with his shabby and dirty clothes. But anyhow, My urge to get married grew stronger.

By the time we reached Sirsi, It was only 3:30 in the afternoon. With lot's of time to kill we decided to watch the "all time hit" kannada movie Mangaru Malhe. This was the second time I was watching this movie in theatre. Guess what, Never before I watched the same movie in theatre twice. What a way to break this record for a Kannada movie. But giving back the credit, Mangaru Malhe is a real good movie with it's breathtaking locations (obviously, western ghats in the monsoons). I plan to watch the movie again after it is remade in Telugu. We came out by 7:00, Killed some more time in a small temple. Finished our dinner at Kamat and then waited for the bus. The bus was scheduled at 9:15 but it turned up at 10:15 (Hail KSRTC). Reached Bangalore by 7:00 AM on Monday morning.

For me, The adventure in this trip was amazing. Be it the amazing rock climbing at Unchalli or lone trekking in the dense jungles towards Benne. Both Unchalli falls and Benne Holle falls are good places to see in post monsoon. Benne gets dried up by Feb end and not worth visiting unless u just luv to trek inside nice jungle.

Destination: Sirsi
Distance: 370 km (approx),
Best Time to go: Post monsoon (Nov to Jan end). Unchalli has water thru out the year. Benne gets dried up by Feb.
Transportation: Frequent KSRTC buses are available to Sirsi. For Unchalli take a bus to Heggarane (30 km), Trek to Unchalli (5km). For Benne, Take a bus to Kasage (36 km). Trek to Benne (6 km).

Above the blue skies

what a way to start my frist trekking trip, Making it to the top of Kumara parvata. We had been doing lot of biking trips, The adventures of which are available at HiwayRebels.blogspot.com. But a complete trekking trip...This was my first. We did hear about KP from friends. THE most difficult trek in entire Karnataka, people giving up in the middle...stuff like that. So it was already an interesting and challenging endeavour. Something to test our physical endurance levels.

The plan was made a week ahead. We shall be taking a bus to Kukke on friday night, Trekking on KP on saturday and sunday before taking a bus back to Bangalore on Sunday night. I got Ankur and Mudit as fellow trekkers for the trip. We booked the tickets on Monday and were eagerly waiting for Friday. We were looking for tents but unfortunately they were already booked for the weekend. So we just arranged a car cover (with no idea of how to make a tent out of it) of one of our teammate (Murali Bathina). Atleast the car cover could give us some respite from the rains while sleeping in the open.

The day dawned when we will be commencing our big adventure. We all packed our bags and brought them directly to office. In the evening we started from office in an auto. Just before it reached Majestic, I realized that I left my camera at the office reception. It was a disaster for me...Trekking all up to KP without capturing a single photo...I would instead jump from the top of KP. At such a disastrous moment, I called one of my best buddy Suresh, who was still in office. He rushed on his bike and brought the camera just in time. Certainly a friend in need is a friend indeed (Suresh dhakkan, r u listening). Finished our dinner at Majestic and took the bus to Kukke Subramanya. Inspite of booking tickets well in advance we just managed to get the last row seats. This promised a bumpy ride for us. Once our bodies got used to all the bumps, we managed to get little sleep.

I guess, It was nearly 7:00 when we reached Kukke. Kukke Subramanya is one of the beautiful and religiously auspicious place, located amidst hills of western ghats. Lord Subramanya is the deity worshiped in the form of a Cobra in the temple of Kukke Subramanya. The lodges here are quite cheap (compared with Bangalore standards). We took a room for freshening up. The Hotel manager/owner was surprised when we vacated the room within 1 hour...."Hee Hee Hee Dhakkans from Bangalore have come".

After a good breakfast and little shopping (torch, tobacco powder etc.) we started our trek. The route starts just in front of the temple. One has to take the small street to the left before the temple. A km from this point we shall get a Y turn...Keep right..Few steps from here..u will see sign boards which will point towards a path to KP. This will end up at a house. The trekking trail to KP starts on the left. It is quite clearly visible. Just keep walking on it..The initial trail is quite steep and could be hard especially with the bags for city dwellers like us.

After 2 hours of trekking like this..One will reach the grasslands. The sun will be harsh in summer seasons. Just stick to the path visible and after another hour you will reach the house of Bhatte. He arranges food for hungry trekkers. We called him from Kukke itself (u can get his phone number from the Hotel near the temples). Food is good (not 2 many varieties) but after along march it is good enough.

After little rest we marched ahead. The forest dept has a small camp here. The gaurd stopped us and didn't allowed us to do a night stay on top. He allowed us to go ahead except that we have to come back to the camp for night stay. This was kind of blessing in disguise as we didn't carried the tents and were afraid to sleep in the open. We dropped all our luggage at the camp and just started towards the Mantapa. After climbing a km or so, It started to rain and we have to come down to the camp. We could see the clouds covering the mountain. It was very beautiful view. So with nothing much to do that day, We just relaxed at the camp. We started a nice chatting session, Mudit told us about his misadventures with girls. We sympathized with all the girls he cheated. It was a warm and cosy place to sleep.

With a hectic trekking waiting for us in the day, We got up early in the morning. It was still dark and we could see the stars and moon. It was clear sky and I could see the countless stars in the sky. By the time everyone got refreshed, daylight was just starting. Mountains covered in green and getting engulfed by clouds created a verdant display of green and white. I pesonally feel that the best part of the day to trek is early mornings. With fresh morning mist still in the cool air and all the elements of nature revived n refreshed, it is certainly a good feeling for the body, mind and sprits. It is simply beautiful and refreshing experience. We left all our luggage at the camp and packed water bottles and snacks in a single bag which we planned to keep rotating among us. After about 1 to 1.5 km we just turned and looked back, That was the most beautiful scenery I had ever put my eyes on. It felt that we were above the clouds. Everywhere around us were clouds. It was like a sea of clouds (many ppl who saw the photos mistook it to be a sea).
After clicking few snaps we headed towards the mantapa. It was tiring. There is a small stream, few steps before Mantpa (don't think it will be flowing in summers). We reached Mantapa and took some rest. Clicked some photos and then began trekking uphill. KP was another couple of hours from this point.
We had to cross few more hills before a patch of forest comes. It was pleasant trek over these beautiful hills. The trail inside forest will lead to a large rock. It is difficult to cross this rock and people give up here. It might be quite tough in monsoon as the edges of rock will be slippery but if the rock is dry then it is manageable. So we climbed the rock carefully. Now there was a patch of dense bushes in front of us. With some more efforts(crawling on both hands and legs) we finally reached the other end of the bush. A few more steps uphill and we were on KP. A feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction is so good that it makes the efforts taken worthwile.

There are few stone structures (temples) with some idols inside. Soon clouds covered us and visibility reduced. Getting engulfed by clouds...Feels like in heaven. We must have spent 40 minutes up there. Finished the snacks we brought with us and headed back. For a brief period we lost our way and could not find the rock through which to get down. Once it was found we realized that climbing up this rock was not as difficult as climbing down. It was little scary especially to Ankur who will remember it for quite some time. Then we trudged downhill with quick steps. Walking downhill is easy on ur lungs but harsh on the knees. We reached the Forest dept camp after taking few more wonderful snaps on the way. Packed our bags hurriedly and paid the forest personal. They didn't gave any reciepts and on asking they told that they will charge us for cameras if we wanted reciepts. Hmmmmmm I guess, these guys would be making lot of money this way.

We finished our Lunch at Bhatt's house and said bye to that pleasant Bhatt. Walking under the burning sun immediately after the lunch was very harsh. I felt it difficult and had to take some breaks now and then. Our knees were getting full punishment during the climb down. We soon met another party on the way. The trail downhill never seemed to end. We were amazed to find the distance we trekked uphill the previous day. Ankur's toe had some problem and it was more difficult for him. Trek...Trek...Trek...But when will it end. We took rest and had snacks at a large boulder which is kind of midway in the Jungle. Few feets after this boulder we saw a ferocious scorpion on the path which was in a "ready-to-strike" position. We all had to jump over it. Aaaah our knees were shaking and sometimes I felt that they will crumbple up. Still there was no respite. It was nearly 5:00 and started to get dark. We were afraid to walk in the jungle at night and started to move our "already tired" legs fast (remember that we had been trekking all the way with our backpacks on). At this time, I was amazed to see one of Bhatt's family members coming from opposite direction with a bag of groceries on his shoulder. It was already getting dark and he had to trek uphill through dense jungle with an uncomfortable load on his shoulder. I am sure this guy would be doing this most of the days if not everyday. I was thinking of the scorpion which we found on the path early. How the hell he could see that scorpion in the dark. These guys have amazing physical fitness and courage. We city walla's with our sky high ego levels are not even toe of this guy in terms of fitness and courage.

Finally after a long long trek, God heard our pleas and we saw the end of the trail. It was a feeling I will never forget....We "the first timers" have conquered KP and returned back after an arduous trek.

I threw my bag on the ground and fell on the ground. Our bodies were tired, exhausted and punished..But our spirits were high with a sense of accomlishment and pride. We then dragged ourselves to Kukke and took a lodge for freshening up. Had a nice and relaxing bath. Visited the Kukke Subramnya temple before having dinner and catching our bus back home.

Kumara Parvata is really an amazing place to visit. It will test your physical endurance but you will be more then rewarded with breathtaking views. I wish to come back. This time from Somvarpet after seeing the gorgeous Bidalli falls upclose.

Destination: Kukke Subramanya
Distance: 230 km
Best Time to go: I think November is the best time to go if you are terrified of leeches and still want to enjoy the breathtaking views from top.
Transportation: KSRTC buses are available to Kukke. I forgot the fare and timings :(

My Journey

Remember the day, while travelling with my mom to Dharmasthala, I was awe struck by the sheer beauty and glory of western ghats.

Monsoon was at it's peak. Netravathi river originating from somewhere in Kudremkuha ranges was in it's full fury, flowing just beside the road. The trees, plants, grass and everything visible around was covered in morning mist. Beautiful hills were covered in dense green foliage through which sun rays were struggling to enter. The crisp, cold and fresh mountain air, I was breathing created an aura of eternal bliss.

I realized that these are the most beautiful, unspoilt creations of god and being part of it draws me closer to god. Perhaps this is why people tend to find spirituality high up on these hills. The peace, solitude and tranquility on the hills could touch a man's soul.

Ever since, I wished to be part of this beautiful terrain. Hence started my long lasting relationship with the hills, jungles and waterfalls.