Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri trek

Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri are peaks near Chikmagalur town in south west Karnataka. Mullayanagiri is the tallest peak in Karnataka, though, not the toughest. This was a long awaited trek for me since I was mesmerized by the beauty of Chikmagalur after seeing some photos in web. I have gone here a couple of years ago. But it was in April when the landscapes were dry and not at all attractive. Moreover that was like a picnic and not a trek. The van took us till the peak. But this time I went in September (27,28,29 weekend) after a heavy monsoon of 2013. And it was purely done by walk in a single day. The trek was organized by Bangalore Mountaineering Club (bmcindia.org). There were around 30 members including me and 5 of my friends.

This is one of the rooms at the home stay.

FRIDAY, 10:00 PM
We all started from Bangalore in two non-ac vans with push back seats. Journey was via Nelamangala, Hassan. Roads were pretty good and I had a nice sleep till we reached our home stay.

SATURDAY, 4:00 AM
We reached the home stay in Chikmagalur after a long journey. I forgot the name of the home stay but it was away from the town and in the middle of the forest in Attigundi road. The location of home stay was somewhere between Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri peaks. It was a chilling outside with the mountain ranges visible if you open the door.

The room in which I stayed was an ultra big one where around 12 beds were arranged in two rows, each adjacent to other. It could fit around 20 members. One other room (as shown in the pic) could accommodate 2 people. There was another similar one for the ladies too. Immediately we all started sleeping.

SATURDAY, 6:00 AM
After the short nap, one by one started waking up and got fresh. Breakfast was served at the homestay. I don't know what that was called. It looked like some rice balls. We had it along with sambar and chutney. Since I was so hungry I ate a lot. After a brief introduction session, we all proceeded towards Sarpadhari in our vans.

This is shot during the initial parts of the trek. It was treeless and steep.

SATURDAY, 9:00 AM
We reached Sarpadhari which is the starting point of the trek to Mullayanagiri. Within no time all of us started the climb. Initially it was steep and many got tired. Moreover this hill doesn't have any tree cover. So you will be exposed to the sun all the day long. Luckily the day we trekked, it was cloudy and cool. Sun was not much of a trouble for anyone.

SATURDAY, 11:00 AM
After two hours of hard work, we reached Mullayanagiri peak. There is a temple on the top which is usually a bit crowded by the tourists who reach there in hired cabs. For adventurists, there is a cave which you can explore. I along with another trekker tried it. We kept going inside but it was not ending. After some point we encountered bats hanging there. We felt there is no point going further and we returned.

SATURDAY, 11:30 AM
After taking rest and a few snaps, we started towards Baba Budangiri peak. This was the most beautiful part of the trek where we came across some stunning views. Moreover the weather was very cool and misty which made it a comfortable trek. Some of the best photos I took, were also at this time. A few of them are below.

from Flickr

This was how misty the weather was.

SATURDAY, 1:00 PM
We reached a Ghat road where we all had lunch. I am not a big fan of vegetable pulav/biriyani or whatever you call it but my friends liked it very much. I had a very light lunch and took rest for a while before we could proceed.

SATURDAY, 1:30 PM
After taking rest for sometime and refilling our water bottles, we proceeded towards Baba Budangiri. At this stage, the peak (a tower) was visible and anybody will get discouraged to continue since the tower appeared so far and it indeed was very far. According to our guide it was 8 kms. Those initial routes were interesting. We were walking on top of a hill where both left and right sides were steep downward inclines. You fall either side, you're gone. In none of my previous treks I have come across such a path. It continued for something less than a kilometer. Then the steepness increased but only on the right side. At some stage it was literally vertical where one could perform some bungee jumping.

SATURDAY, 3:00 PM
Yes, it was the peak which looked very much reachable. But I didn't want to reach there so soon because of the dazzling green landscapes. This is one of the stages where you can take lot of breath taking mountainscapes in your camera. Only obstacle for me was the cloud cover because of which I couldn't get much from the sky in my photos.

from Flickr: Baba Budangiri peak from a distance.

SATURDAY, 4:00 PM
We reached the peak and after a short rest we started descend to the other side. This is a shot which I took at that time.

From Flickr

After 1 km of descend you can see a couple of tea shops. We devoured everything we could and waited for our cab. For those who reach this spot early, you may go a bit further and see the Manikyadhara falls. We didn't feel like going since it was too much for us that day and usually Manikyadhara will be crowded since this place is accessible through road. After some time the cab came and we got into the cab and it took us to our home stay in an hour.

SATURDAY, 8:00 PM
All of us got fresh and waited for supper. For our surprise there was chicken curry even though it was not there in the itinerary. Although I am a pure non-vegetarian, I don't generally like bird meat, especially chicken. But according to everybody else, it was well prepared. Then there was a campfire where we played musical chair for some time and later when the antakshari started we felt it's time to sleep. Due to the tiring trek, we all got a nice sleep.

SUNDAY, 9:30 AM
Next day morning, one by one got up and whoever wanted to get fresh, they did. We all started packing our bags to leave the homestay. We finished breakfast (poori) prepared at the home stay and left for Dab-Dabbe falls which was a half an hour journey from the home stay.

SUNDAY, 10:30 AM
Dab-Dabbe falls is situated in the middle of a coffee plantation and you have to walk 1 km downhill to reach there, which means you have to walk uphill while coming back :P.The water was so cold. But it was a fun shower. This falls has multiple layers where you can climb each layer and explore. This is one photo of the falls which I have taken. Note the layers.




SUNDAY, 1:00 PM
After spending an hour in the falls, we continued our journey to Bangalore with a scheduled stop at Hassan for the self sponsored lunch. Most of them got into a pure veg restaurant whereas around 10 of us walked a little bit further and found a bar attached restaurant with good ambiance. I forgot the name of this place but it starts with S. If you have any plans to eat here, never miss the starters especially the mutton pepper fry. DON'T try any Biriyani here. It's not good. Better option would be to go for fried rice or some roti. The quality of food (except Biriyani) and the service was very good and the cost was reasonable. I had one beer too which gave me a nice sleep for the next 3 hours in the van.

SUNDAY, 6:00 PM
We reached Bangalore and that ends one of the best treks I have ever had.

All over it was a wonderful trip where we could witness some stunning landscapes. The trek itself is not so difficult and anybody can make it, although it will be tiring. And as always, BMC organized it excellently. From the photography point of view, until that day I was very poor in taking landscapes. This trek was the first where I shot reasonably better landscape photographs. If you are also into photography, make sure you carry a wide angle lens. You will be shooting mostly in the 15-35 mm range (crop sensor body). A tripod will come in handy at the waterfalls. If you have an ND filter, carry that too since most of you will be at slower shutter speeds at the waterfalls.

POINTS TO REMEMBER
1. Never mind about luggage. Take whatever you need. While trekking you may keep the unwanted stuff at home stay and carry only what's necessary.
2. Carry 2 liters of water per person.
3. Carry glucose and some eatables like biscuit or chocolates. It might come in handy. It was the mistake we did. We didn't take those.
4. Carry some cash while trekking, to eat at the tea shop.
5. Swim suits might be useful in the falls. Or at least have some clothes for change.
6. Leeches are not there since tree cover is not at all present. So don't worry.
7. If you have an electric kettle, carry it to heat water for bathing. I am not kidding. Water in the homestay is damn cold for bathing.
8. Mobile network will not be there except for BSNL.

Antaragange trekking and cave exploration

Antaragange is arguably one of the most stunning and eventful trip I ever had. Almost all the articles I have read online prior to going there, only mentions about a temple and a short trek to the peak. But what most of them don't highlight is the cave exploration. So, I write this blog so that some of you guys will be inspired to take up this challenge rather than simply trek an hour or two and come back.

I knew about BMC, Bangalore Mountaineering Club (bmcindia.org) but never had a chance to go for any trip that they organized. This time I thought I will give a try. I searched their website and out of the many treks in their schedule, I thought of going for Antaragange since it was about cave exploration which I never did before. Since, I have lot of loser friends who are lazy and care about saving money, I had to go by myself. Initially I was skeptical of being alone but there were 30 young participants (around 15 men and 15 women). It was very easy to make friends and have fun.

The trip was completely organized by BMC. They charged a fee of Rs. 850 which included travel costs, sleeping bags, breakfast, guide and first aid. My pickup point was at Domlur around 8:30PM on Saturday and we reached the foot of the hill at 11:00PM which included stoppage for dinner. After a short intro session, all 30 of us plus 2 guides from BMC started trekking up the hill around 11:30PM. Comparatively the trek was easy. None from our group found any trouble climbing.

I was somewhere in the front and I along with other 10 people followed a dog and lost our way. Then the guide came and informed that this is the end point of the trek where we would be sleeping that night and that we bypassed the cave. He led us back to where we took the wrong turn. There we could see the cave entrance. Then began the most awesome part of the trek. It was full of jumping, crawling, rolling, sliding in the pitch dark cave. Some parts were so narrow that you have to exhale in order to squeeze through it. At many places, you have to be careful so that you don't knock your head on the roof of the cave. It doesn't require stamina but it requires some climbing skills. And after around 1 or 2 hours of being in the darkness and full of acrobatic performances we were finally out in the open (the place where the dog led us before, and he was there waiting for us :-P). Time was around 3:30AM.

All of us started searching for a place to sleep. I found a rock which was almost flat and along with 4 others, I prepared to sleep. Cold wind was blowing so I had to cover my head and ears. I also put on my jacket and crawled into my sleeping bag. I lied down for a while facing the stars and boy I must tell you, that was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. I don't know when I slept but around 5:45AM I was woken up by a cacophony from the nearby rock. It was "antakshari" by another gang. But thanks to them, I woke up at the right time to see the sunrise.

Here are some snaps that I have taken. This one was shot some 30 minutes before sunrise from the rock on which I was sleeping. The lights that you see are from the Kolar town. (Click on the image to see the full size image in my flickr account)

from Flickr

Due to the clouds we could see the sun only for a brief time. Here is one such shot.

sunrise from the top of antaragange hills

Here are some views of the land from the mountain peak.

bird's eye view from the peak of antaragange hills

bird's eye view from the peak of antaragange hills

We started descend soon after. We reached the base in an hour. While you reach the foot of the hills you can see a bunch of monkeys in pursuit of their breakfast. If you have any food pack with you, be careful. Those monkeys are shrewd enough to snatch it from you. One gentleman who was not that rude, is this.

from Flickr

We started our journey back in no time. On the way we stopped at Kamat for breakfast which was part of the package. We were free to order anything we want. Kamat was too costly that I spend around Rs. 200 for my breakfast. Then we headed for Bangalore and reached here by 10:00AM.

Some of my suggestions for your planning.
1. Without cave exploration, Antaragange might not amuse you especially if you are an experienced trekker.
2. Go with BMC, or make sure one from your gang already knows the cave paths. There are many detours inside the cave where you can get lost.
3. Torch is a must inside the cave.
4. One litre of water per person would be sufficient.
5. If you're trekking at night, make sure you protect yourself from cold wind at the top. Also carry sleeping bags.
6. Wear pants and shoes with good grip. Gloves also might come in handy.
7. Take no luggage, or as less luggage as possible since having a bag will make it difficult for you to squeeze through some parts of the cave.
8. Have food before you start. Taking food to the top might not be a good idea because of monkeys.
9. If you are taking camera, ensure proper protection for it from the cold winds.
10. Claustrophobic people should stay away.

I became an admirer of BMC since this trip, the way they organized, the way things went so smoothly, the way they managed 30 members with ease, everything at a cost of Rs. 850. I will definitely go for further trips with them and I don't have to rely on my lazy friends anymore. Thanks a lot BMC.

Please feel free to comment if you require further clarifications.

Pichavaram mangrove forest

Pichavaram is a place near Chidambaram, in Cudallore district of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its mangrove forest. Some websites say it's the second largest mangrove forest in India after the Sundarbans. But others say it is the third, where as the second place is occupied by a mangrove forest in Odisha. Anyway, all that matters is how stunning this place looks. Those who don't know what a mangrove forest is, please google it first. Even I, before reaching this place, believed that mangrove forest is a forest full of mango trees. But it's not ;-)

If you are planning for a trip, you need to schedule only one day to cover this. I with around 10 of my friends went here on a Sunday. As a weekend gap filler, we spent Saturday in Pondicherry which according to me is one of the most over rated tourist destinations in South India. It might be because I was born and brought up in a coastal area of Kerala, the beaches are like an everyday sight for me. Early on Sunday morning we left Pondicherry in bus to Cudallore. It was around 1 hour journey to Cudallore, from where we had to travel another 1 hour to Chidambaram. From Chidambaram it takes another 20 mins in bus to reach Pichavaram. Try to reach Pichavaram by at least 3:00 PM because you will enjoy more during evening when the sun is not at its strongest.

The only activity here is the 2 hour boat ride inside the mangrove forest. Tickets have to be taken at the counter. They allow 6 tourists per boat. Since we were 10-12, we had to hire 2 boats. After settling down, we started our journey into the dark forests. Initially it seemed just like a normal place, as seen in this pic.

Then the width of the path began to taper.

The more we went, the more denser it became and we got to know what a real mangrove forest will look like. It was like a narrow strip of water with mangrove trees overarching us.

Almost all the 2 hours, we were rowing through these waters under the shadows of mangrove trees. The sky was barely visible. The scene was stunning. The breeze inside, the shadows of the trees and the calmness were so soothing to the mind and body.

At some areas, the path was so narrow that the guide has to get down from the boat and push it using his hand. And we had to lower our heads so as to not get knocked by the branches.

I tested the depth of water and it was only some 2 feet which means you can even walk on it. But it was too muddy. The guide also told that the initial scenes of the film Dasavatharam was shot there and he took us in the boat.

After 1 hour of rowing, the guide stopped the boat for us to enter inside the forest and take some snaps. My friends were interested in climbing the trees but I ventured myself a few feet into the marshy land for an exploration and found that it is very difficult to walk. My feet were sinking into the marshes. Also there was barely any space to place your feet since the mangrove shrubs were so thickly populated that their area outnumbered the sand area. Later we continued for another 1 hour of exploration and it was altogether a different experience for all of us. Such was the stunning beauty and calmness of this place that one will feel like going there once again.

Pichavaram is one of the less famous and under rated attractions in South India and I wonder why. As per me it is arguably the best tourist place in Tamil Nadu (I don't believe Ooty, Pondicherry or Kanyakumari are the best). This place is purely for nature lovers and who love calmness and serenity and who prefer less crowded places unlike Ooty and Pondy. Any age group people can try this place. If you are on the devotional side you can also visit Chidambaram Nataraj temple too.

Points to remember:
1. There is a fee for boating which is around Rs.100 and a nominal fee for camera too.
2. Once the boating has started you can give extra money to the guide so that he will take you to some more interior places. It all depends on your bargaining skills.
3. There is a closing time at this place which I believe is somewhere around 4:00-5:00 PM.
4. You can visit here any time during the year. But make sure it is not raining.
5. Buses to Pichavaram from Chidambaram are rare. Once or twice in an hour. So plan accordingly.
6. Have food from Chidambaram itself before coming here since finding a good place to eat is almost impossible.

Please feel free to comment here in case you need any clarification.