Dauntless Adventure in Kaginahare

A little bit of fear, and a little bit of enthusiasm, but determined to have a dauntless adventure. Ahhaa yes! This trip started and ended with all these mixed feelings inside me, and I hope the same with my tripmates as well.

The places that we visited, the way we visited, and the way we stayed there all adds on to this mixed feeling. I know, I am creating curiosity, hang on, and read it further to know more!

 Day One

We, the stout-hearted people started our journey on day one, early in the morning at 6.30 a.m. We were all set with the Nomad things and accessories that were required for this trip. We reached Kaginahare (also known as Kagenari) near Sakleshpur by 2 p.m. for lunch.

Kaginahare is a small village of approximately 15 families residing in. Cardamom, coffee, pepper, and paddy are the main plantation here. This village is the end of the cultivational land, Yes after that, all we can see is the Western Ghat forest land. 

On having lunch, we all headed to Kari Gundi, a small river stream with a natural pond. A continuous stream of water with a cool big pond in between is the highlight of this place. The tadpoles and small fishes were in many for the kids to enjoy. My children enjoyed catching tadpoles in their hands as an adventure, and I tried it too 😊

The sun was setting, and the shelter was needed, ohh no, the shelter was supposed to be prepared! This sounds better 😊 Yep, after playing in the pond, we all gathered small wooden logs for campfire, and then started building tent for us to spend the night in the open land. Thanks to the nomad expert, Satish for building a resting place for us before the sun goes down to rest.

The moonlight, campfire, chitchat, and vlog by Ashish and Sushruth added excitement for the special Maggi prepared by me using the campfire. Hold on, how can I forget about corn and sweet potato. Special thanks to Satish for making me to taste the smoky flavor of sweet potato.

A big tent with four adults and four children inside. All the children had good sleep, but we managed to have a cat nap as it was first time for us. The increased wind speed in the early morning, around 2.30 a.m. had made the tent straps loose. Used our car as a wind break and tightened the tent straps. It would be injustice if I do not recall the dog, which stayed with us all through the night near the tent entrance. This is the pet dog of the family who provided food for us. This dog made us more confident to stay in the tent. The fear was that of a wild bore, which we had heard from the local people. But we did not face that throughout our stay.

 Day Two

Fresh air, cool breeze, green hills are the start of day two. We climbed one of the hills and visited the ruins of a small fort built by Tipu Sultan. The hill-top view is like the milky-white clouds hugging the green hills.

After packing the tent and having breakfast, we headed to a small waterfall in a plantation field. A good massage for the tired body when we stood in the waterfall. A day well spent in Kaginahare, and with the cherishing memory, continued our journey towards Bisle Ghat. We had a look at the Ridge point in Mankanahalli, where the rainfall gets divided and it either ends up in the Arabian Sea or in the Bay of Bengal. This stone is laid by British officers, and has inscribed Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal on it as it determines which way the rivers or streams likely to flow. Interesting isn’t it!!

After having lunch in a hotel in Kudrashte, we wanted to unwind, and hence booked a homestay known as Malnad Homestay in Attihally.

A decent stay with comfortable accommodation and basic facilities. Do not expect more options in the vegetarian food menu. Children had a nice companion here, Sharsha, a friendly golden retriever dog, who used to always have a ball in its mouth as a time-pass toy. Sharsha loves playing with a ball. She used to get the ball to us and wait for us to throw the ball for it to catch.

An evening well spent with activities like a small walk, dance with party music, dumb charades, and campfire.

 

Day Three

Never expected such an adventurous and happy ending of the trip. Yes, a hidden gem amid the forest, the Mookana Mane Abbi falls. It has broad, highly photogenic waterfalls. Reaching the bottom of these waterfalls with children was an adventure for all of us. But it is worth taking risk to see this silvery-bright waterfalls.

Having filled with the beauty of the western Ghats, we headed back to our home, and reached home by 9 p.m.

2020 Breakthrough

 

An extraordinary breakthrough for all our family members in getting connected with each other in this pandemic era. The year 2020 started with a relaxing trip to Andaman, and is ending with a breakthrough trip to Chikmagalur. 

Happy to share the experience of a get together trip to Chikmagalur that we did in this week. My heart still sinks in disappointment as my list of places to visit in Chikmagalur is still incomplete. Four families in four cars were all set to hit the road to reach one destination.  

An eye-catching coffee and tea estates, favourable weather, mesmerizing hills, off-road drive, transparent river, friendly host, innocence of children (of course drama as well), and most importantly connection with family are the highlights of this trip.

Getting up at 4.30 A.M for me in this peak winter season is a challenging task, which was done successfully by Mahesh, and managed to reach Nelamangala highway-Mangalore junction point by 7.30 A.M. It would have been a mistake if we would have thought that we are the only family who is coming out of home for a trip. The highway was no more a high way as it was completely jam packed with four wheelers, oh yes! It would be injustice if I do not add bikers and bicyclers.

Forget about the distance between vehicles, there was no social distance between people around in the hotels on the highway. With great difficulty, had breakfast at hotel Sambram and joined with all family members to continue the journey towards Chikmagalur district. So here goes the list of milestones with the good road condition.

Bangalore > Yediyur > Hassan > Belur > Mudigere (Banakal)

We crossed Belur and took an entry to Mudigere by 1.30 P.M. A fresh coffee at Malnad café at Banakal, Mudigere gave an instant energy for driving in the Western Ghats to reach the destiny, Balekhan estate. The temperature drops when we cross Kottigehara as we were driving upward the hill with more greenery and scenic beauty to enjoy the ride.Yes, here goes the small milestones. 

Banakal > Kottigehara > Balur > Javali > Kelagur > Hirebyle > Marasanige > Balekhan estate

The Balekhan estate is just 6 km behind Kalasa. We reached here by 3.30 P.M as we had taken almost 2 hours break in the middle of the journey. I would recommend this homestay for a friendly hosting and delicious food with comfortable stay.

Rian, a young host was a part of our team in guiding us throughout the two days trip in his homestay. We had a wonderful experience of walking in his coffee estate in the dusk. We walked in the rivulet and some had an experience of blood sucking leech. The night ended with a warming campfire and a chitchat session.

Day 2 started with a good breakfast, and headed towards a hill view and tea plantations. Since children were least interested in these places, we were forced to move to see clear Bhadra river as they all wanted to swim and play in water.

The rush by children was worth enough to spend more time in “Amba theertha”. The transparent Bhadra River gushes out from the black rocks and flows as gentle streams etching the rocks.

Amba Theertha is named after goddess Parvathi, and is one of the five major water spots of Kalasa.

No wonder that my hubby enjoyed a lot more than children in this place as always he is fond of water. Look one of the pics down 😉

 

 

Nothing would have conquered our time as does the Kyatanamakki hills did. We all were stunned to see the mesmerising beauty of the lush green hills. A beautiful scenic view of Western Ghats.  

An hour of off-road 4X4 jeep ride to the Kyatanamakki hill view was a thrilling experience to watch the sunset. The hills are situated at an altitude of 1400 m above sea level. A wonderful breathtaking off-road drive experience ended in an upland of round-topped green hills and cool breeze of air.

We wouldn’t have moved from this place if the sun wouldn’t have hidden in the hills surrounded by us.  This place bagged the crown of our two days trip. I am sure that you will be in agreement with me by seeing these photos!

Next day morning, we had a visit to Annapoorneshwari temple in Horanadu followed by Kalaseshwara temple in kalasa by 11.30 A.M and headed towards Bangalore. All managed to reach their home by 10.30 P.M even in peak traffic of vehicles starting from toll booths to Bangalore.

It’s going to be a week now since we visited these places, but still I can feel the freshness and cool breeze of Kyatanamakki hills, which keeps pulling me to explore Chikmagalur completely into contentment.

Kudos to my bro-in-law, Prasanna for yet another well-planned and coordinated trip.

As an end note, this trip to Western Ghats is just a beginning, and a lot more to explore. The list is already getting pinned!

A true inspiration statement of Karnataka as "One State Many Worlds" indeed 👌

Blue Serene Andaman

Beach, Beach, Beach, Beach… ahaa.. what else is required for a long and relaxing vibes. Yes, the blue sea as clear as mirror made us to unwind for five days. The five days just flew in the Andaman Islands.
An amazing experience of beautiful, different shapes, and different size corals, breath-taking scuba dive, under sea world view, children enjoyment, and finally a lovely family get together. A perfect start of the year, 2020 with a successful trip. A very good weather, enthusiasm, and good co-ordination by Satish with the trip agent made the trip successful.
You know what? There are 572 islands in Andaman. Each with different identity is scattered all over Andaman just like an unsolved puzzle. The serene beauty of Andaman attracts 5000 tourists in a day in the best season time.
Let me summarize the five days trip as a day-wise breakdown.

Day One in Port Blair

Flight from Bangalore to Andaman at 6.30 A.M. I hate the flights only for the reason of getting up in an odd timings. Hmm, we got up at 2.30 A.M. and made sure to reach airport by 4.45 A.M to avoid sudden rush.
Andaman is just 2.5 hours far from us. We reached Port Blair, Andaman by 9.30 A.M with the aerial view of islands filled in our eyes.

As I mentioned earlier, the perfect co-ordination of Satish with the travel agent made us comfortable and facilitated to reach the already booked hotel known as Megapode Resort. Having breakfast in the hotel, we were all set to visit the Fisheries museum and the Anthropological museum. The fisheries museum exhibits huge variety of underwater species. The Anthropological museum has the display of  handicrafts, tools, weapons, photographs, and clothing of different tribes of Andamans. There are many tribes like Jarawas, Sentineles, Shompens, and the like in many islands of Andaman.

The historical landmark in Port Blair is the cellular jail. This jail was built for 10 years by 300 prisoners. It has 7 wings diverted from the main tower with 700 cells. Hence it is known as cellular jail.

Do not miss the light and sound show in the evening to get to know the history and the pain of the prisoners.





The sunset point at the Chidiya Tapu on the way to Munda Pahad beach is an awesome experience.

Day two in Neil Island

We reached Shaheed Dweep also known as Neil island by ferry at 12.30P.M. The Pearl Park beach resort is at Lakshmanpur beach. Staying in this resort made us easy to spend more time in Lakshmanpur beach. Our children enjoyed the whole day in the resort swimming pool, then beach, and then back to swimming pool. We also had a candle light snacks at the beach, which was located in the common place of the beach. An evening walk from the beach to the resort to see the full moon trying to pose himself in between huge trees above the sea is the memorable one.


Day three Neil and Havelock island

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and were all set to Bharatpur beach for the most awaited Scuba diving. I am the one who was the most scared to do it, but finally I managed to do it with strong determination. Darr ke aagye jeet hain 😊 This Mountain Dew quote made me to dive into sea and explore the wonderful world under seawater. This is one of the must do activity in Neil island to see and experience the beautiful fishes and corals around you.

We boarded the ferry and reached Havelock island in the afternoon to a private beach resort known as Havelock Island Beach resort. The cottages in both the beach resorts that we stayed were simply superb.
We spent the rest of the day in Radhanagar beach. The sunset over there was mesmerizing to see, and yes it is one of the seven best beaches in the world.

Day Four Havelock island

The last beach of our trip, and the most enjoyed with the beautiful scenic beauty is Kaala Pattar
We enjoyed a lot in Kaala pattar beach by trying out different photos, Games like kabbadi and kho kho.
Later we boarded the ferry from Havelock and reached Port Blair by 5.30 P.M in the evening. We spent some time for shopping and reached Megapode resort.

We missed Elephanta beach as two of our family members had already developed ferry sickness. We are suppose to travel by boat to Elephanta beach.

Day Five to Bangalore

Got up early in the morning as we had a flight to Bangalore at 9.30 in the morning. We successfully completed our trip and reached Bangalore by 12 P.M with lots of fun filled experiences and mesmerizing beauty.

The Stony Fort

Who guessed it right? Let me know in the comments.
Well! I am giving you all an insight about our Chitradurga. We all know that the moment we say Chitradurga, we all remember a song from the movie "Nagarahavu". Yes, It is about the fort.

Friday, 8.30 in the morning (we are known to leave at least one hour late than planned 😃), we started the voyage from home after dropping our children to school.
This time, the adventure over here is, we travelled in our bullet rather than car. Approximately 215 km from Bengaluru to Chitradurga. After biking to Mysore 10 years back, this was my second biking trip, I was bit tensed as it was a sudden decision taken by Mahesh. But he comforted me right from the start till we returned home.

We had a first break in Kyathsandra to have a plate of thatte idli and coffee, and headed straight in the highway. Well-maintained highway and the cool air made the journey very smooth.
In between on the highway, we had tender coconut to not get the energy drained off.
We reached Chitradurga and headed towards the stony fort at 1.15 P.M. I would recommend to see the fort with a guide as they share many information. But do have good negotiation with them for the price.

The fort is wide spread with the area of 36 km and has taken more than 200 years for the full built.
After the fall of Vijaynagara dynasty, Chitradurga was on its own. But, Hyder Ali always had an eye on this stony fort. He was successful to capture this fort in his third attempt.
Yes he made three attempts to capture this fort. In his first attempt, he tried from the front gate, and was unsuccessful because of tight security.(The fort has more than seven gates.)

In his second attempt, he tried from the small opening that was heading directly to the fort. The small opening was a secret passage used by the Chitradurga ruler to get the daily groceries from the farmers.

 Hyder Ali was unsuccessful in this attempt because of a brave women "Obavva".
A short write-up about her and the successful win of Chitradurga is " Obavva is a wife of a guard who was appointed to alert the fort in case of any unusual instances or activity.
One day as usual she called her husband for lunch, and found that there was no drinking water. She served him and went to get the drinking water. While returning she found the Hyder Ali's soldier entering the fort through the small opening.
To not to disturb the husband who was having the food, she took up the wooden log (in kannada it is known as Onakke, used for pounding paddy grains) and was all set to destroy the enemy troop.
She stood near the opening to hit the soldiers, the moment they came out of the opening one-by-one. Dragged the dead body all the way to the place where it is not visible for the next person who is coming out of the opening.
On finishing the lunch, her husband came in search for her and found her hitting the Hyder Ali soldiers with onnakke and was shocked to see the dead bodies piled up in a corner. As per the guide, she had killed 39 of them, and one got escaped as he entered the fort before she noticed.
On seeing this, her husband alerted all of the soldiers. In the mean time, here the guy who had escaped killed Obavva by attacking her from the back. In this way she made the second attempt of Hyder Ali unsuccessful. From that time onwards, that small opeing is known by her name as "Obavvana Kindi".

Hyder Ali successfuly captured the fort in the next attempt with the help of soldiers who betrayed the Chitradurga ruler. They opened the back gate of the fort and allowed the Hyder Ali's soldiers to enter the fort.
Let me share one more interesting fact of Chitradurga. Has anybody thought why this place is known as Chitradurga. Stop rolling your eyes and read further 👀
Chitra means an art, durga means a hill. The rocks over here is in different art shapes, if observed correctly. Hence this place is known as Chitradurga.

Elephant shaped rock

Rabbit shaped rock

Shanku (corner stone) shaped rock

Snake shaped rock, it is an exercise for your eyes to search in these many rocks.

Feet shaped rock
Oh yeah! this reminds me one more history related to this place. It is believed that
Hidimba, a 12-feet tall demon who was killed by Bheema was living in this place with his sister Hidimbi. 

The guide also shared the information on how they were storing oil and ghee for daily usage and for long term storage of weapons.

The wonderful design of the gate guard's place. This place is designed to have a fantastic acoustic phenomena. If the guardian speaks or sleeps then the snoring sound or whispering is echoed. Also, this place is used to do the fitness test for the guards. The guards are supposed to fit inside that place and their feet has to touch the ground. Well! that's my guardian sitting over there in the photo, and he passed the test too 👍.

They even had the rain water harvesting with the drinking water facility done at that time, which still feeds the whole Chitradurga. They had two ponds known as Akka and Thangi KoLa, named after the two wives of Madakarinayaka, the last Chitradurga ruler.

The cutting edge technology was followed by them using which they used to cut the huge rocks to build the fort.

This is built in remembrance of the animals that were died in the war.

Hmm... as usual I got lost myself with the hystory and significance of the place. On visiting the fort, we left the fort at 3.30 P.M to have very light lunch in the Chitradurga city. We started our journey back to home at 4.30 P.M and reached home by 9.30 P.M. We took a break in between on the way after Tumkur in the hotel Kamat for a cup of coffee.

The historical biking trip ended with the wonderful memory of the long lasting fort and the cool healthy air which I am really missing in my lovely city, Bengaluru.

This snap is my favourite, Isn't it the stunning place!