Ramnath Kamat

Day 4 started with our visit to Ermayi waterfall. Vadya's friend had joined us for the day on his Duke. He had previously been to the waterfall which requires a bit of off roading.

As we headed towards the Charmadi ghats, we need to take a left turn at Mundaje. There are no road signs available for this waterfall. So, you need to turn on the maps or ask locals. The access to this waterfall covers a stream crossing,  ride through some farms and a small 1 km trek in the jungle. This waterfall is pristine and untouched.

Ermayi Waterfall

Blue Mormon

Day 3 started with the chants of shlokas at Vadya's place. I woke up, had the yummy breakfast and decided to roam around Kasargod.  I had the time till afternoon. So decided to cover as many places as possible.The plan was to leave to Puttur after lunch. 

Mom's wish was that I should visit the centuries old Edneeru matha. Couldn't say No.. So the first visit was to Edneeru matha. This Matha is situated in Kasargod Taluk. Its followers are spread around south of Dakshina Kannada and Kasaragodu Districts. They speak the Tulu language. Unlike Shivalli Madhava Brahmins the affiliation of Shivalli Smartha Brahmins to the Smartha mathas is not exclusive. People can be followers of more than one smartha matha. In some parts of Kasargod and southern Dakshina Kannada the Madhava mathas also yield some influence.

Edneeru matha, photography isn't allowed inside

 

The second pitstop was the Bekal fort. The fort is about 20kms from Kasargod town. The fort is situated on the sea shores which reminds you of  Chapora fort in Goa. Bekal Fort (Malayalam: ബേക്കല്‍ കോട്ട), is the largest fort in Kerala, situated at Kasaragod district, North Kerala and it is 67 km from Mangalore spreading over 40 acres (160,000 m²). Some important features of this fort are the water-tank with its flight of steps, the tunnel opening towards the south, the magazine for keeping ammunition and the broad steps leading to the Observation Tower, which is a rarity. From there one has an ample view of towns in the vicinity like Kanhangad, Pallikkara, Bekal, Kottikkulam, Uduma etc. The nearest railway stations are Bekal Fort, Kotikulam, Kanhangad,and Kasargod. This observation center had strategic significance in discovering even the smallest movements of the enemy and ensuring the safety of the Fort.

Bekal fort

The wave hits the shores

I also find some butterflies..

The fort was huge and took a lot of time to cover. So, I decided to head back for lunch. On the way, I visited one more temple called Madhur temple.

Madhur temple was originally Madhanentheswara (Shiva) Temple and as the lore goes, an old so called "low caste" lady "Madaru" discovered an "Udbhava Murthy" (a statue that was not made by a human) of shiva linga. The Ganapathy statue was drawn by a priest's son, a small Brahmin boy, on the walls of the Garbhagriha(sanctum sanctorum) while playing. Day by day it became big and fat; so that the boy called Ganapathi as "boddajja" or "bodda ganesha". The legend of Kumble seme says Tipu Sultan wanted to demolish the temple like Adooru Mahalingeswara temple during his invasion of Coorg, Tulunadu, andMalabar. But after drinking water from the well of the temple, he changed his mind on attacking and demolishing the Garbhagudi and marched towards Malabar. But to satisfy his soldiers and Islamic scholars he made a cut with his sword symobolising the attack. The mark is still visible on the building that is built around the temple well.

Madhur temple

Being Sunday, the temple was crowded and I had reached just for the mangalaarati. After the aarti, I left to Vadya's place for lunch.. 

After lunch, we started riding to Puttur, to Vadya's home. The ride being small there weren't any pit stops inbetween. Though we stopped for ice cream after reaching Puttur. 

Gadbad

Vadya's house

Night we tried to utilize the dark sky before rain struck and moon rose over the horizon. Had a little success..Day 1 Ride: Kasargod -> Edneeru -> Bekal fort -> Kasargod -> Puttur

Route Map:

National Parks covered: None
Waterfalls covered: None
Total distance traveled: 110 kms


Ramnath's happiness index: 5/10.

Nandi Hills or Nandidurg (Anglicised forms include Nandidrug and Nandydroog) is an ancient hill fortress in southern India, in the Chikkaballapur districtof Karnataka state. It is 10 km from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from the city of Bengaluru. The hills are nestled near the town of Nandi. The hills are the origin of the Arkavathy river, where you can find a small  pond even today.

The long pending ride to the Nandi Hills was planned on Friday after Hari stepping into the shoes of Kinshuk. We planned to take our bikes in Airport Volvo bus to save energy to climb up the hill. The first Volvo starts at 3am from Electronic city to the Airport. We had to catch the bus at KR Puram.

We started at 3am from Hope farm. Cycled 10 kms to KR Puram, we were there by 3:30am. Bus came to KR Puram at 4. Bus driver agreed for carrying the bike in bus but told us he will charge 100Rs per bike.  We were expecting that but to our surprise he gave us ticket for the bike. Airport bus reached airport by 4:45am. We got down just before the airport and started cycling to Nandi Hills, which is 35 kms from the airport. Before the dawn broke we were at the foothills. To our surprise, there were many runners already lined up to run up the hill. Ofcourse, there was also the weekend crowd, thousands of bikes and cars but the gates were open so we didn't have to wait in a jam.

After having energy bars and drinks we started cycling uphill. Little we knew that its not going to be an easy piece of cake. There are about 40 curves, many of them being hairpin curves. They tested our endurance. We took rest but did not gave up. The runners cheered us up. By 8:30 we were at the top of the hill. And we were super hungry. We hogged masala dosas and idlis. And biked a little downhill to avoid the crowd and found a rock to rest.

After a quick power nap, we were recharged. Ready to ride back to the city. The downhill was indeed a piece of cake. And we biked easily till Devanhalli to be halted by a flat tyre. Yeah! Kite's first breakdown. The puncture shop was 4kms away. Chandrika as an angel came to rescue. I put my bike in her car and took to the puncture shop. After the fix, we visited the Devanhalli fort and had lunch at Chandrika's house and rode back to Bangalore via Hoskote route.

That's it. And if you have actually read the above story then care to ask for 2 toffees from me next time we meet :D

That's me

Nandi Hills as seen completely covered in clouds

Kite

Misty trees

Kite again

That's Hari

That's both of us with victory smile

Time for a power nap

They need rest too

Devanhalli fort

That's Hari coming out of Devanhalli fort

Route:


Total kms cycled: 115

Beware of: 
1. Dogs in your area because apparently you look like an alien to them in your cycling attire.
2. Animals who escaped zoos and somehow managed to ride a motorbike to Nandihills
3. Animals again who are driving cars to Nandihills.
4. Dehydration. Drink lot of water

Get inspired by:
1. Runners, who are running uphill early in the morning
2. Misty trees which have secrets to tell.
3. Masala dosas at the hilltop. [Yeah, surprisingly it was good].


Ramnath's happiness Index- 6/10.

The trip was actually planned last monsoon. But because of unavoidable circumstances I could not go for the ride. This year, I had decided I will either go for Spiti or if by any reason Spiti is cancelled I will go on a Monsoon ride in Southern India. Due to Nepal earthquakes, it wasn't advised to visit Spiti due to frequent landslides. So, I decided the Monsoon ride.

Instead of writing one giant blog, I am going to split this up to 6 daily blogs recording all the places I covered on this 6 day monsoon ride.

The first draft of the plan had many subsequent alterations. Finally, we settled down to cover Wayanad and almost all National Parks in Karnataka. The preparations were all in place with Kinshuk helping me out with saddlebag and rain covers.

We started early in the morning at 5:30 and took the Kanakpura road to avoid the irritating speed bumps on Mysore road. Morning time we encountered very less traffic and reached Kanakapura by 7 for breakfast in some Sagar restaurant.

Falcon loaded and ready

The ride continued till Chamrajpete with 1-2 pit stops for chai.

Neatly cut Banyan trees on the highway

As we were heading towards Gundlupete, we thought why not visit Shivanasamudra which is on the way. And we turned the handlebar. The genius person in me had kept the tripod inbetween the saddlebag and the raincover. The tripod came out of it and went into the wheel. I could hear the intense sound of spokes. So I stopped my bike and turns out the tripod is inside the spokes and one leg of the tripod is broken and stuck inbetween. I took it out and threw it before starting the journey again.

Gaganchukki waterfall

The Shivanasamudra did not have enough water but still it was a treat to watch. We spent 15 minutes there before leaving to Gundlupete.

After crossing Gundlupete, my bike petrol ran out. I was lazy to fill it at Gundlupete and lazier to go back after I found out about it after crossing Gundlupete. The next station was at Suthan Bathery in Kerala, around 60kms away. I did not want to take the risk in the Bandipur forest. So, got a litre of petrol from a local shop.

And soon enough we had reached the Bandipur National Park. That was some time for photography. Stopping the vehicle in Bandipur NP is not allowed because of wild elephants.  So, we had to finish our session soon. We saw deers and stags roaming around in the forest.

Falcon at rest

That's me, that's me.

We reached Sulthan Bathery by 1 for lunch. The whole trip was planned on the fly. So, we decided to goto Kalpetta and ride to the foothills of Chembra.  As we left from Suthan Bathery it started drizzling for 10 minutes. That was a perfect welcome to God's  own country. We had the blessings of the rain God.  We decided to dump our belongings to the hotel room. Found a hotel Misty hills.

After freshen up and a cup of tea we headed to the Chembra peak. The ride to the peak goes through tea estates.


We need to take a right turn and Meppadi to join the Chembra peak road. The road is narrow and the asphalt has come out. So, the bumpy ride of 6-7 kms in the tea estate begins. The Chembra is closed for trekking since there is a washout of the road inbetween. So, we had to take a diversion on roughly made steep climb. Two locals hitchhiked our bikes till midway and showed us the route.

A  log house at the foothills of the peak

Falcon at the foothill. Behind on right corner you can see the Chembra peak.

We spent some time at foot hill until the rain clouds gathered and warned us with a drizzle. The sun was about to set. Its always wise to enter man's land from noman's land before dark.

The ride back to the Kalpetta

Rainbow in the tea garden

As the sun settled we were nestled in the room with dreaming of the next day ride :)




Day 1 Ride: Bangalore-> Gundlupete -> Bandipur NP -> Sulthan Bathery -> Kalpetta -> Chembra peak.

Route Map:



National Parks covered: Bandipur NP
Waterfalls covered: ShivanSamudra
Total distance traveled: 325 kms


Ramnath's happiness index: 7/10.