Monsoons were in...... after the trip to Kerala, it was now time for another weekend of relaxation; the monsoons had breathed in fresh life to the jungles around Bangalore. Morover after the Himachal trip two years back, this would well be the last trip by the four of us together – Me, Balaji, Praveen and Sinu, before Sinu packs off to Germany! The nearest was Bheemeshwari around two and a half hour journey from Bangalore, it was not a dense jungle thus a one day trip seemed to be fair enough….
Roadside view along the way to Kanakapura
Ideal place to have our breakfast
Dining quite far from the city!
We started off quite early at 0600 Sunday morning towards Kanakapura; Out of Bangalore, enroute to Kanakapura the roads are lined by numerous water bodies. Had packed up our breakfast, and as soon as we sighted a perfect spot - a small pond and clusters of banyan trees, alighted there for food….it was as if someone had prepared the settings just for us.
After entering the village; near the fields
There were a few unmanned checkposts....deserted roads
Another hour passed by and then we saw a sign board that read 18 kms to Mutathi. We had to take a left turn into a village where we could see elegant ethnic houses, the architecture which none of us had seen in
Nothing much in the fields to capture, so why not us!!!
Trek gets a head on, Balaji needs to catch up a bit...
The vegetation remained the same for another ten kilometers, the entire stretch was a thin stretch of forest on both sides and in the distance one could see the hills. Surely the rains did help bring in color to the region! Once we reached Mutathi, we took a ticket from the locals there and went towards Bheemeshwari. We had enquired the day back about the trip and were advised by the forest officials to pay the fees at Mutathi and then proceed to Bheemeshwari. However we couldn’t find any booking centre and so took off to Bheemeshwari.
The initial stretch was less wooden.
Walking towards the hill...puff! pant!!!
Once there, we went to the adjacent Jungle Lodges camp where we inquired about the treks. The moment we said we had called up the forest officer a day back, help was on the way. We paid 100 each for the forest pass and 50 for the guide, but were not quite sure whether the person would actually pass it to the forest office. Actually, anyone can just get along without a guide and paying the money, there were a few unmanned check posts on the way, maybe because it was the start of the monsoons the guards might have thought it better to get along with a nap!
Thats a huge discovery mate!!!
On the dried river beds; there were numerous ones all around...
We were provided a boy in his teens to guide us along….The Cauvery whirled through the entire forest area, and in many places we had seen boards warning people of whirlpools in the river and we had also heard that some stretches were infested by the marsh crocodiles. The walk all along was invigorating but other than a few monkeys and deer there was nothing much to be seen and the reason was we never ventured in deep.
More wooden and fresh grass lined all along the tracks
Higher up the hill, there was thick vegetation
In the beginning the vegetation was distinct with bushes interlaced all along. There was a road which crisscrossed the range, and on the way towards the hill the vegetation started to get denser. We were to climb to the top from where we could see the entire forest range and then move down to the Cauvery.
Another steep climb....
Wonder whats lurking behind all that grass!
C'mon old man, just a few more steps up'....Me with our guide.
Up the hill, there was bountiful fresh green grass all along and the view from atop was really amazing. We could see the Cauvery zig zagging all along, it was not yet at its best, but that was good for us as we could tred at least to the middle of the river. The trip from the hill down was a bit scary, there was no way to support ourselves amonst the rocks and stones and slowly we had to trudge down.
Ahoy! We made it...Cauvery from the hilltop
'Wat makes you think I am not wild'...Sinu trapped in between all the grass
'Oops!!!' ; Balaji seemed to have a tough time climbing down the hill....
It started drizzling as we reached the river and a perfect invitation to jump into the waters. Spend around an hour there and got back as soon as the flow downstream suddenly started to increase. The Cauvery was not brimming, and we were amazed to see that once fulled to capacity, it would immerse most of the trees along the banks. That would be a perfect time to visit Bheemeshwari, at the peak of the Monsoons.
Cooling off in the Cauvery; Someone watch out for the Crocs!
Me and Sinu climbed up this one mid afternoon....Hot indeed!
Once back at the camp, we found a deserted elephant camp except for a small calf which had been caught from around
"Whats there in your hand; Come nearer, lemme have a closer look"
The calf seemed more interested in the twig I had in hand!
Balaji and Praveen decided for a nap and the winds there were too good a reason for that. The climb to the top was really an adventurous one, this along with the Cauvery were the better parts of the trek. Climbed almost three forth of the hill and then we could move up no more. It was so windy at the time and it did remind me of my trek to Shivadurga with Shivaraj Maddapura Siddhappa from Infy. No more stoppages but for tea and we were back at our flat by 1700…….
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