Friends and being friends...

God chose your parents... you choose your friends!

Well, I've been blessed with some to the best I could wish for and our journeys have been nothing short of being adventurous and memorable.

Friends constitute an important part of my life and this post an ode to the best of my buddies!

(we have traveled far and wide... to the jungles)

(here at KGudi-BR hills)

(and in pursuit of many falls...)

(here at Magod falls, Yellapura)

(through the streams...)

(here at a stream in Sakleshpur trekking from Rottikallu homestay, Sakleshpur)

(commuting by train...)

(train journey to Londa, near Ganeshgudi)

(rejoicing on accomplishment...)

(here at Sathodi falls, Yellapura)

(helping hands in water...)

(here, river rafting on river Kali, Karnataka)

(for the conversations and discussions...)

(here at Bandipur National Park)

(relaxing times after a long day...)

(here atop Kodachadri peak)

(rejoicing moments...)

(here on a break en-route conquering Kodachadri peak)

(wandering through the fields...)

(here wandering through a field in Sakleshpur with Gaitonde, hero from Karavali region)

(posing with the best buddy...)

(here with Raja...a prince in true sense)

(going downhill with backpacks...)

(here descending from peak KumaraParvatha)

(the camping spirit...)

(our best camping atop peak KumaraParvatha)

(together in search of the elusive tiger...)

(here at Tadoba tiger reserve...)

(moments of joy and togetherness)

(here with Guru... a guru for us for many things!)

(for the joy of sunsets...)

(here at Jenukal view point, Yellapura)

(and during the fatigue of climbs...)

(here ascending a steep cliff en-route KP)

(visiting heritage places...)

(here at Doddamane-Malgudi house, Agumbe)

(or on a trek...)

(or helping out to relax...)

(rejoicing in unison over an accomplishment...)

(here at Hidlumane falls, Kodachadri)

(friends are forever... an extension of yourself... truly!)

 

All I can say is thank you for being a part of me!

A trekker for once…

Sid, is one of the unique personalities I have met so far, an unexplainable phenomenon, a simple yet complex down-to-earth person and a good friend. He is probably the only competitor I have had over these years in being ‘lean’ and mean and just being inches shorter than me. Routine work and an occasional visit to his native is all his life about.

On a trek I had planned, I invited him to join and having no inclination, he refused to undertake such strenuous activity and after being constantly pursued, he agreed reluctantly. As the days got closer, the excitement of this challenges and relishing it no end for once kept him occupied.

Well, he almost missed the entire plan by missing the bus and luckily hopped on in the middle to be received gleefully by us, a firm decision that would change him and challenge him over the next couple of days. With the initial stuffing’s and preparations, we started off slowly on the almost level gradient path and within walking a little distance, I turned around hearing a thud and he was on the ground, a slip and a fall.

(a trekker for once...)

Getting him up, we moved ahead and he was always in between some of us, not to lose sight of him and lest he has a fall again and as I was thinking of the same, he dropped once more now slipping on a stone with another thud. Offloading some of the weight from his back, we moved ahead in conquest of the peak we had set our sights on. The breakfast had fast disappeared and with the sun rising up, the hungry demons in our stomach had started squealing no end.

After the break, we pursued further and now the gradient became a little more steep and we were trekking right out in the open under the mercy of the sun god and it was an all out effort to keep ourselves cool and balanced carrying all the weight along. We passed this and entered a forest patch and then out into an open green meadow, Sid started to hop and jog in a way to get ahead of us and yet again landed on his back with a thud. Now, instead of the moans, he started laughing and everyone joined in (well, we were holding it back for a long time now) and the teasing started and in the process he was challenged to be stable and not fall for the rest of the trek.

Being a confident fellow, he instantly hit upon it and accepted the challenge and got lost in thoughts of the alive is awesome moments once he would have defeated us and the thought of a further fall free trek kept us going.

(a sunset view of a lifetime...)

We reached the top without any more falls as Sid was relishing the challenge and had been more careful stepping in the right places and avoiding slippery stones and carefully moving ahead balancing himself well. Tired bodies and with a little rest, we moved to a nearby hilltop for an amazing sunset view, probably one of the best so far.

Time flew as we spent our time amongst the clouds and clean, fresh air and soon we had to head back the way we came. Now betting had started on Sid’s challenge and he was to gain a lot of praises / favors if he would win the challenge, he surely was now relishing the challenge more and all the more determined.

(trekking in the mist...)

Trekking down a hill is faster but more painful as your legs have to have more balance and lot of pressure is exerted on them. It’s always advised to trek downhill in a cross manner as that helps you balance better and good shoes/sandals that do not slide also help. 3/4th of the way, Sid was just perfect and looked all set in winning the accolades, way to go.
After a small break as we resumed on a fairly even path, over a heated conversation, I cursed him to fall and in the next 10 steps, he slid and fell with a thud again and this time all of us almost fell down laughing and rolling. He had braved all the slopes and slides but had this fall on a flat surface when anybody least expected. Cursing me back, he too joined the laughter and it became so loud that our stomachs started to ache no end. Gosh, that was some wonderful moments in those days!

 (a long walk back...)

From there till the end, he had two more falls and with each fall, the laughter’s became louder and the fun part was that it was from everybody including him. All of us had relished the challenge and enjoyed it to the hilt and he almost soaked in his glorified alive is awesome moments, just missing it by a whisker.

Nevertheless, keeping aside the challenges, we all soaked in our successful completion of the trek, conquering one of the mighty beautiful peaks in the Western Ghats infused with a lot of determination, pride, laughter and team bonding. We surely relished all of this and were soaking in our own alive is awesome moments.

Birding places around Bangalore

There are many birding spots in and around Bangalore (Bengaluru) which is worth a visit for the birdie lovers.

1. Lalbagh botanical gardens: Right in the heart of the city is the Lalbagh, which provides garden and wetland habitats. Experience: Avoid weekends and holidays and choose secluded areas away from the crowd. Plenty of bird life if you have a keen eye and lots of butterflies too and also look out for the majestic trees.

2. Madivala lake: Located near BTM layout on the peripherals (this lake has now reduced drastically in size owing to urbanization all over) is another option. Experience: A promising place with diversity of bird life but the lake gets suffocated fast!

3. Hebbal lake: Just beside the Hebbal flyover is the Hebbal lake, a nice birding place. Experience: A hotspot for Pelicans, Painted storks and other waterfowl.

4. Valley School Road: Lots of places on the Kanakapura road. One of the hot spots is the valley School road. On the Bangalore-kanakapura road, Valley School road is around 15kms from Bangalore, you need to turn right after the NICE flyover coming from Bangalore. Experience: Has become our favorite jaunt for bird watching, already have been here countless number of times, lovely place, wonderful ambiance. Do not venture alone deeper else you would get lost.

5. Manchinbele: Around 30 kms from Bangalore, just before the Tippagondanahall reservoir, on the Bangalore-Magadi main road, take the left turn at the signpost towards Manchinbele dam and subsequently Mysore road. There’s lots of greenery surrounding the hills in every direction serving as a good birding spot. Experience: Lovely place and good for a morning birding session. Access is restricted, beware.

6. Tippagondanahalli (T.G.halli): 35 Kms east of Bangalore, on the Bangalore-Magadi road, you will find T.G.Halli. Experience: Wonderful, lovely, saw many bird species out here but missed the many raptors. If monsoon fails, water levels do down drastically revealing secluded places.

7. Savandurga State Forest: Savandurga is around 60 kms from Bangalore towards the town of Magadi. Manchinbele, T.G.Halli and Savandurga are all in the same locality and can be covered in a day. Experience: Yet to go birding here...

8. Nandi hills: 50kms away from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Hyderabad highway. Experience: Visit here regularly and you wont miss being in the Western Ghats. The sightings every year outdoes the previous years, multiple visits and patience will yield and enviable list from here.

9. Devarayana Durga State Forest (DDSF): Located around 60Kms from Bangalore on the Tumkur highway, this place is quite famous for the Yellow-throated Bulbul. Another must visit place for Birders and nature lovers. Experience: Have made religious trips here, none of birding till now.

10. Bannerghatta National Park: Scrub and forest habitat especially if staying in the Jungle Lodges inside the forest area. Experience: The alley of flycatchers never disappoints. Any time, any weather you still come back with a decent list.

11. Kokkarebellur: Popular for the pelicans (strictly during the "seasons" only, otherwise its a normal village. Its 80kms southwest of Bangalore near Maddur on the way to Mysore. Experience: Had been here twice, once off season and once just the start; 2nd time around saw mostly pelicans in huge numbers and black ibis for the first time.

12. Shivanahalli: A must visit place located on the periphery of the Bannerghatta National Park. The resident swamiji at the Ramakrishna Mission encourages people to visit and offers guides and food. Experience: Seen a lot of bird life on the couple of walks done here, must go regularly.

13. Gulakamale lake: Not only the lake, a little walk around and you will be amazed with the diversity that you will see. A wonderful place a little away from the city. Experience: Mixed bag, seen a lot of raptors and land birds too. Overall, excellent.


Pack your cameras and Happy Birding!


Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!

FIVE years

5 years of blogging
A journey that began this week 5 years ago, a journey into the unseen virtual world, a journey of tales and tribunals, a journey to showcase the hidden splendors of the nature, journeys of joy and fun, journey of togetherness, journey of friends, journey of bonding, friendship and togetherness.

The saga of Huchchara Santhe is now at the step of completing ‘five’ years (let me clarify, this journey is only the virtual ‘web’ journey) and believe me, it’s been a fantastic ride all along.

5 years ago, a little known, shy, outspoken introvert decides to pen down his tales, his experiences, and his travels with his friends, egged upon by a like-minded friend, not aware what the virtual world has in store and thus came into existence in the virtual world, ‘Huchchara Santhe’.

A different name, something unique, something crazy… well, its all that we have done, been doing and will do ahead as well, I have received quite a few curious glances and expressions whenever I utter the name of my blog.

Blogging opened up new avenues, new dimensions, new thoughts and ideas came in and the articles started building up and after a slow beginning, the blog started having people follow and some would wait for an update! Humbled!

From only travel articles, new genre crept in with more photo blogs coming and now the blog caters to travel tales, treks, photography, wildlife, nature topics and much more.

With around 1.5 lac page views and about 100+ followers/readers on the blog and Facebook, the blog has tremendously grown much to our surprise and the ‘mouth of word’ reference has been a powerful way in this.

Heartfelt thanks to my boys, the close-knit group without whom probably I would have had no tales to even think of writing upon. Indiblogger.in has been a godsend site with a strong community of bloggers from different genre’s uniting together as a family. Networking sites are an important tool in reaching out to people and they have brought plenty of readers too.

Also, a great set of people who blog, who have fantastic blog to their credit, who have critiqued, appreciated, commented on my blog also have helped it grow tremendously.

A big ‘high-five’ to all of you and hope the support and encouragement continues. Thanks!


On this special occasion, I take privilege in hosting guest blogs of some of the best bloggers whom I’ve been following and who all have a different way of conveying their story to their audience.

Watch out folks!!!

Thanks and Keep Visiting :)

Unknown falls: for that awesome adventure

Place: Unknown falls

Located deep in the Western Ghats, near Yellapur town, Karnataka

(lovely inviting streams...photo by the author)

It’s quite common for people to visit known locations and famous tourist spots, but how common is it to go to an unexplored place, deep in the jungle, miles away from civilization, on the quest of an unknown falls, for that thrilling adventure, to explore the uncharted territories, to unravel the hidden secrets, for that alive is awesome epic!

(off we go for those awesome moments, photo by the author)

On our adventurous visit to a remote hamlet deep in the Western Ghats, after a mammoth river crossing and trekking through the jungles in the night, we reached the remote hamlet Shivapura with barely few settlements here and there and their plantations and fields in between. Almost an island surrounded by water on 3 sides and delicate connectivity on the 4^th primarily as the hamlet being in the backwaters of a major dam nearby.

(enjoying the cherished moment, photo by the author)

We had a local guy who would be our guide in the quest to the unknown falls. Rains had just stopped and the lush green cover all around made us nostalgic and with no vehicles at all, it was ‘pure’ air that we were inhaling that tickled our senses too. The trek was a fairly long one as we crossed multiple streams, made our way through dense forests, being bitten by numerous blood sucking leeches, chartering through the rocky terrain, climbing uphill and sliding downhill, treading on non-existent paths in many places, a real adventure in real life.

(A flip-flop somersault dive, photo by the author)

As we reached the falls after all the adventure in getting there, we were greeted by crystal clear cold water and the sun lashing out in full glow but the breeze being still pleasant. The real adventure had just begun, a few somersaults, dives, flip-flops, thrills of energetic activities and all the fatigue and tiredness was washed away and the pure natural spring infusing us with freshness and loads of energy, a real alive is awesome moment to cherish. Sitting under the falls, the cool water engulfing you all over, those slippery rocks and sudden shivers, with a no-care attitude in the world, with the only idea of ‘living the moment’, with friends to share and friends to live for, life couldn’t be more adventurous, more bliss, more awesome, surely alive is awesome. The thrills of adventure bathing filled us with life and laughter and what better way than not to 'live' the alive is awesome moments with your friends :)

Meenmutty waterfalls

Going through the new set of ‘Alive is Awesome’ concept ads on the Television and the Internet, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of déjà vu as fond memories of our similar experiences are bought alive again, true blue moments of adventure, craziness, excitement and friendship.

I will post a series of such ‘Alive is Awesome’ real life bathing adventures that would enable you to decipher the déjà vu feeling I’m going through.

Enjoy and have a blast :)

On an unexpected detour to a less visited waterfall nestled in Kerala,

traversing on a foot track that never existed;

negotiating slippery slides and withstanding numerous bruises that we took;

with no souls around and in midst of lush green forest;

with the sun rapidly going down and the winter chillness setting in;

only sounds but no signs of any waterfall nearby and the never ending downhill climb;

meeting a lone group advising us to backtrack;

fearful minds and wanting hearts;

all for the desire of been there-done that;

all for that adventure gene hyperactive in our self;

all for that sense of déjà vu that is just ‘priceless’.

Finally after negotiating all hurdles and the steep downhill climb, a valley view with a pristine virgin waterfall appears in sight out of nowhere offering itself in complete to you with no other souls around to be seen or heard, the only company you have is the roar of the intimidating falls and the distant music churned out by the birds around.

Haunting us the familiar question in a familiar situation: We plunge in or not?

The adventure gene is back in action and in an instant we are in the crystal clear, cool waters wading away to glory splashing around every ounce of water we can. As we near the thundering shower (where the water jettisons upon you with a thundering roar from the top), the heartbeat pumps up, unable to open the eyes, hands held together and with loud shrieks we take the plunge below the drop, we are jettisoned with water that seems being pumped out of a canon, we are lost in the moment…, we take a while to be back, to feel the aura of alive is awesome, we live to tell the tale, we live to say ‘Alive is Awesome’.

(Photograph by the author)

Just before departing, standing in the cool waters, all drenched and after the alive is awesome moments, with the cool breeze hitting you hard, we look back in awe at the intimidating falls that keeps on plunging, that brings a smile upon you, that makes you evoke, that was a Alive is Awesome bathing experience we had, a natural pressure bath that makes you feel lighter, better and happier.

Location: Meenmutty waterfalls, Wayanad, Kerala, India.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, I will be back with more such moments…, in the meanwhile have a look at this Alive is Awesome waterfall bathing video here.

Jalamangala (Narayanagiri hill)

(the first view... the spot on the top is the temple and the tree)

 

Mid hot April and myself and guru decided to go on a short hike to Jalamangala, near the town of Ramanagara close to Bengaluru. I got pointers to this location from Aravind’s blog post on the same (http://aravindgj.blogspot.in/2011/04/jalamangala.html). I presume this is also known as the Narayanagiri hill.

Directions: At the Ramanagara town signal take the right turn, a little ahead take the left at the Y junction. 20kms from here and you will reach Jalamangala village.

As you near the village, take the broad road toward the left and proceed for a km or so and park your vehicle at the base of the big tamarind tree. A clear trail leads you all the way to the top as we realized later. This is the easiest and best way to reach the top.

Else, at the fork, turn right and reach the village. You can park at any of the houses here and ask for directions to the cliff. This path is tricky and you may have to find out ways yourself and it takes a longer time too.

I and guru rode on my bullet first to Ramanagara to have a peek at the vultures. After some scouting, finally we saw a lone individual at a far distance away, noticeable was the absence of any activity on the cliff. Boards indicating ‘Vulture Sanctuary’ have been put up near the tar road (Latest update: the area is declared as a protected area for conservation of the very few Long billed Vultures left). After a good one hour we moved towards Jalamangala. As I had read, it hardly takes less than an hour for the ascent, so we took it easy and moved without any hurry.

As we approached the village, we could see the cliff far away and made the mistake of going to the village instead of taking a left turn to the base. The villagers suggested I leave the bike near their house (it would be safe from mischief makers) and walk from behind the village to ascend the cliff. I nodded as I thought it to be a good idea and there would be no worry about my bike but we realized the hard part very soon. The villager guided us saying – “As you traverse behind the village, you see a lake and a small temple, take the path next to it and keep climbing to reach the top”. All seemed well till we reached the lake and took the path next to it going upwards. We soon reached a hill top only to realize there was a bigger one to our right with dense growth in between. We somehow made our way to the top of that hillock to find nothing there and we could see another bigger hillock now behind us and with not suitable path direction seen. The sun was now all bright and fury and was pretty harsh and we had exhausted our water supply too. It was becoming increasingly difficult and the hear getting unbearable. After pondering what to do and resting for some time, we finally made up our minds to figure out the way to the top however long it may take!

Taking a narrow path and crawling amidst the dense growth we joined a fairly used track going uphill only to realize that was the actual well marked path to the top from the other side of the hill closer to the main road (as I have indicated above). Relieved, we started climbing again now following the arrow marks (thanks to the person who has taken the effort to paint the arrow marks everywhere) leading to the top, Traversing to the top on the fairly notified path in pretty much easy and you get to pass through the edge of the cliff at one point (lucking iron rails are there for support) and steps carved out in the rocks. Finally we reached the top to see the similar sight of a temple and a tree that was the lone identifier of this place I had seen about. There were a few people inside the temple complex drunk and playing cards, in all probability they had camped overnight, prepared a non veg meal, drunk and were gambling. Felt very bad seeing the sight but a lone Egyptian Vulture soaring nearby lifted my spirits as we sat and rested for some time. The sun was right on top now and we had run out of water and were feeling the heat now. We could see lot of small dry ponds around and remains of fort walls (not sure though). The tree on the top was excellent providing good shade to relax under. The view from the top was good and you could see as far as you want being a sunny dry day.

We then descended following the marked route and traced back the route to the village. Back there, I literally gulped some 4-5 bowls of water but still was feeling very thirsty and hot. Hot weather, hungry stomachs and tired bodies are not a good combination on any day J We asked a villager about the activities on top of the hill and he replied – “Yes, they do go as it’s a cool place, its quite common”. I felt like bulldozing him right there but kept quite not to create a ruckus there. The journey back home was uneventful and was a good ride on the bullet.

Tips: Carry food and water, do not litter the place.

Use your instincts if you can’t find the way, simple rule being you need to climb and so figure out how!

Ride safe! Be safe!

Haddinakallu betta and Melukote temples

Haddinakallu betta (Eagle hill when translated directly to English)

From Markonahalli dam, we moved ahead to visit this place just located after Yediyur town that we avoided taking the bypass.

Route: 4kms after Yediyur, you will reach a village Tirumalapura. Immediately after this village, take the turn to the right (boards indicative of this place is put up on the main road), you will reach Byrasandra village and from there you can’t miss the track to the foothills of the cliff.

The temple at the village was not any big structure, temples dedicated to Lord Rama and Hanuman and lots of pilgrims from nearby villages visit here regularly (it seems by the development activity around). We just took a look and proceeded in the direction of the cliff. Except Dhiraj’s blog (http://teamgsquare.blogspot.in/2010/07/places-to-visit-around-bangalore-part-5.html), there was no other source of information about this place. Two things struck us as we approached closer to the base of the cliff – there were lots of raptors seen around (raptors are birds of prey) and we could see lot of sacrificed hen feathers strewn all around.

Yes, we realized that it was a place for animal sacrifice (mostly hens being butchered and taken away right in front of us) and that explained the presence of many birds of prey near that cliff. They got protective shelter in the cliffs and meals in the form of leftovers by the people who came there. But, what surprised me was animal/bird sacrifices to Lord Hanuman… never have I seen anything as such before? Just as we looked around, an Shikra perched close to us and up in the sky we saw the Egyptian vultures hovering near the edge of the cliff and also another of the raptor perched on a tree branch on top of the cliff. It was out of reach of my binoculars and camera and the only option we had was to climb up and go and see for ourselves what the bird that perched was?

Crazy it may sound, but fueled not to miss the opportunity I started climbing briskly loaded with two of my cameras on my shoulders and Nag and Guru following closely behind with the binoculars and some water to quench our thirst. The sun was blowing hot and climbing a bare hillock on an uneven inclined path was not easy. We had to reach the top with the hope that the bird would not fly away and also before any other group of people ascended the cliff and lest the bird fly away! Panting and gasping for breath, we reached the top only to find the bird not on the branch that we had seen; in fact we could not identify which branch it had perched on! A few steps ahead and there I found it perched in the shade and I was quick enough to sign others to view the beauty. It was the beautiful Peregrine Falcon, an avid hunter and has the tag of the being the fastest flyer in the animal kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Falcon).

My first sighting of the elusive raptor and we sure will remember this for long. It just gave us a few seconds before it took off and we could not trace it there after. Happy for the sighting and disappointed of not getting a good shot of it, we moved ahead towards the edge of the cliff where a sort of temple is there. In fact we could not find any shrine inside the temple complex but a lone pillar stands with carving of Lord Hanuman on it and true to its name as soon as few other visitors ringed the bells tied over there, a horde of monkeys descended near the pillar from nowhere to feast on the coconuts and bananas offered.

The view from the top was good but the heat was getting to us. With the lone water bottle frisked away by the monkeys, we were all left high and dry under the hot sun. A lone Egyptian vulture soared next to the cliff which we were intently waiting for and it kept soaring and soaring and showed no signs of perching anywhere near the cliff. All of our tiredness was forgotten till the vulture was around and after a good fifteen minutes of soaring; he vanished from where he came! Alas, again we could not find out where he went. We wandered around the cliffs sneaking in all corners and all pathways available to try and see if we could find any of the vultures around but to no luck. After wandering around like lost souls, we came back down the cliff and towards our next destination Melukote.

Melukote (or Melkote)

Route: From Yediyur town, you need to travel up to Nelligere and then take a left towards Nagamangala and again a right towards Melkote temple (the best option would be to enquire the directions before proceeding).

Melukote had been on my wish list since long and I was more than happy to visit the place. For the first time visitors, reaching the place without having sufficient knowledge would be a little confusing as we found out. There are 2 temples here (the main temple at the base and another atop a hill).

Something about Melukote (from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melukote)

“Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka. The place is also known as Thirunarayanapuram. It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadweepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote is about 51 km (32 miles) from Mysore and 133 km (83 mi) from Bangalore. Melukote is the location of the Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, with a collection of crowns and jewels which are brought to the temple for the annual celebration. On the top of the hill is the temple of Yoganarasimha. Melukote is home to the Academy of Sanskrit Research, which has collected thousands of manuscripts.”

We first drove straight to the temple atop the hill only to find it closed, we had reached at a wrong time and the temple would open only by 5pm! Then we came down to visit the main temple shrine after visiting the sacred temple pond and passing through the small by-lanes of the village and looking at the ancient old buildings, I felt as being in a village centuries old. The old style buildings have some good feel about them that you stop and exclaim Wow! We took a quick darshan of the lord Cheluvanarayana Swamy and then halted for some rest, time to explore the Galaxy S2 phone of Guru, eh!

Time was running out and we had to reach Ramanagara to get a glimpse of the vultures around and had about 80kms to cover in an hour and add to that the busy Mysore-Bangalore highway would be choked with traffic returning home to Bangalore. Odds stacked upon us, we quickly moved from Melukote to reach the highway bypassing Pandavapura on the way. As expected, the traffic rush wash high and I had to slow down many a times owing to the slow moving vehicles and to give way to the super speeders! Unluckily it was almost dark as we reached Ramanagara and still I took them to the place as they had never been seen it before. Alas! We were late by about thirty minutes as the sun had already set and the few rays were diminishing very rapidly. From there on, it was a slow and steady drive back home negotiating the mad traffic and driving at leisure reaching home by 8pm.

What a day and what a drive! 335kms drive in a day and got to see a lot of good places never seen before :)

Thanks to Dhiraj (http://teamgsquare.blogspot.com) and my buddies Guru and Nag; 

Raja-we missed your colorful company.

Route outlay: Bangalore-Nelamangala-Kunigal-Markonahalli dam-Yediyur-Haddinakal betta-Nelligere-Nagamangala-Melkote-Mandya-Ramanagara-Bangalore.

Food: No food or water available near Markonhalli dam or Haddinakal betta. Melukote is self sufficient being a touristy place.


Other Info: Markonahalli dam suited for a family getaway, Haddinakallu betta for those interested in climbing and Melukote for all the pious people :)

Ganeshgudi JLR camp - Team outing

Part I of my long / mega trip of 2 weeks done during Nov-Dec 2011.

The highlight of the trip was that all 4 of us were present after a long time and all the more merrier as Raja accompanying us very soon after his wedding, thanks to his wife :)

Me and Raja went a day early and Guru and Nag joined us the next day. We took the KSRTC Volvo to Dharwad and NWKRTC local buses from there to Dandeli as I was keen on visiting the Timber depot for some bird watching. Thanks to the build up of traffic and a mini accident on the highway, we reached more than an hour late and after the mandatory breakfast at 'Hotel Santosh' and dropping off our luggage in the 'States lodge', we proceeded straight towards the Timber depot area.

The Pied Hornbills were all over the place, especially the fig tree at the entrance with loads of fig and probably we saw around 15-20 of these birds congregated near the tree and giving them company were the Bulbuls, Koel, Sunbirds, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Egrets and the Malabar Giant Squirrel - it probably was sort of a congregation of variety of birds on a single tree. As we ventured inside and around the park, the activity was few and far as the trees bore no fruits but a lone Common Kestrel kept us busy for some time hunting grasshoppers from the ground.

After a good session here, picked up our bags and went straight to OMH camp where Parshuram and team were waiting for us to arrive. After exchanging pleasantries and freshening, immediately started our birding activity. Winter time is always good as the birds are quite active throughout the day and they keep visiting the bird baths kept all through the day. Quick and heavy lunch later, I was all over the place trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive but beautiful and elegant male species of the Asian Paradise flycatcher that looks like a ghost flying around with its bright white body and long dual tail that always amazes me no end.

All along the light was good and sufficient but post 4pm, the light started dropping and it is a challenge photographing in low light conditions. The lights turns bad as the camp is surrounded by thick forests and high canopies thus preventing light to sneak through. If you closely observe, most of the snaps have got the noise effect visible on them (i.e., grainy pixels) and I also attribute this to the high ISO value I was using.

The next day as usual I was up early than the rest and was busy sitting out in the open and listening to the wonderful song of the Malabar Whistling Thrush as the Orange thrush was hopping all around me. Forget photographing, sometimes observing them itself gives you so much joy! Me and Raja opted for the boat ride post breakfast hoping to catch the elusive Great Indian Hornbill or the Black capped Kingfisher but to no avail! Back at the camp, Nag and Guru arrived travelling by the train and it was indeed good to see them there.

Presence of the Malabar Trogan made me run amok on a wild goose chase and finally got a sight of the elusive beauty and trailed it for more than an hour tracking amidst the thick canopy hoping it would pop out into the open, alas it didn't and preferred to stay in the thick foliage. In the meanwhile met Dayananda, Satisha and couple of other fellow birders and photographers from Bangalore and it was good meeting up them there. Birding was very fruitful with the Malabar Trogon making repeated appearances and the Emerald Dove, Thrushes and the Flycatchers posing for us. Post evening campfire, a sit out with snacks and then a heavy dinner ensured we all get sound sleep in the cozy bunkers of the camp. Slowly but surely the clear weather was changing and it was turning cloudy making light disappear all the more faster!

Next day after the routing early wake up and birding session and the breakfast later, we hired a trax to visit the "Syntheri Rocks" that I intend to cover in a separate post soon. Probably we were venturing out of the camp to any other tourist spot for the first time in our many visits. On our way back on the roadside, an lone Indian Jackal greeted us and vanished into the thickets hearing the sound of the trax we were travelling in. Jackals have always caught us by surprise and never ever have given us a good chance to spend time with them.

Post lunch, we met Dr Ravi, Sadat and Vinay all with big cameras and bazooka lenses out there to capture everything on offer. With clouds looming large, the afternoon was spent around the camp loitering around and birding, the session was a mixed bag as by now there were 8-10 of us shooting together and I personally chose to shoot from a distance w/o wanting to disturb the bird or venturing too close to it. Post evening again the campfire, sit out and snacks and finally dinner to close the day.


I personally love the time spent with boys during the evenings or while on walks cracking silly jokes, poking fun at each other, discussions and sometimes going overboard. We particularly had a good time there with the staff laughing the butts out of ourselves and stopped only when our stomachs started aching :) Good times and I hope they last forever...

Next day, prior to the departure of Raja, Guru and Nag, we were up early and visited a couple of other camps nearby, the Bison river resort and the Hornbill camp in search of the elusive Great Hornbills and raptors that were being seen there regularly, but with the dark clouds hovering we were to return disappointed after stopping over at the bridge area for some time.

Post breakfast, the boys departed towards home and I stayed back as I was scheduled to leave only by evening towards Mysore on the way to Bandipura. Dayananda and team also left the place as they had to drive back till Bangalore. Post lunch the light conditions dramatically improved and we got to see good display of the thrushes, flycatchers, emerald doves and the many other little one's around. 

A sudden call of the Trogon sighting made all of us run and the next hour or so was spent in tracking the elusive one. Rains hampered the activity as I hurriedly got back to leave towards my next destination.
Parshuram, Joma, Anand, Singh, Vinay, Mylari and the others have been very helpful to us as always and continue to do that whenever we are there. A heartfelt thanks to the team there from all of us, its a pleasure being out there!

From Ganeshgudi in the north of the state, I traveled to Mysore via Dharwad and further towards Bandipura National Park to the southern part of the state where I would be spending the next 4-5 days in wilderness :)

Bird checklist:-

1 Malabar Pied Hornbill

2 Malabar Grey Hornbill

3 White Breasted Kingfisher

4 Common Kingfisher

5 Grey Wagtail

6 Pied Wagtail

7 Brown Cheeked Fulvetta

8 Orange Minivet

9 Crimson Backed Sunbird

10 Purple Rumped Sunbird

11 Emerald Dove

12 Vernal Hanging Parrot

13 Rose Ringed Parakeet

14 Plum Headed Parakeet

15 Malabar Parakeet

16 Rock Pigeon

17 White Rumped Shama

18 Oriental White Eye

19 Wooly Necked Stork

20 White Cheeked Barbet

21 Chestnut Tailed Starling

22 Golden Fronted Leafbird

23 Chestnut Headed Bee Eater

24 Eurasian Golden Oriole

25 White Breasted Waterhen

26 Barn Swallows

27 Jungle Fowl

28 Banded Bay Cuckoo

29 Black Lored Yellow Tit

30 Velvet Fronted Nuthatch

31 Hill Mynah

32 Jungle Mynah

33 Common Mynah

34 Brahminy Mynah

35 Common Iora

36 Blyth's Reed Warbler

37 Ashy Drongo

38 White Bellied Drongo

39 Black Drongo

40 Racquet Tailed Drongo

41 Red Whishkered Bulbul

42 Red Vented Bulbul

43 Yellow Browed Bulbul

44 Ruby Throated Bulbul

45 Asian Koel

46 Black Headed Munia

47 Puff Throated Babbler

48 Dark Fronted Babbler

49 Scimitair Babbler (Call)

50 Jungle Babbler

51 Common Flameback Woodpecker

52 Rufous Woodpecker

53 White Bellied Black Woodpecker (Call)

54 Blue Capped Rock Thrush

55 Orange Headed Thrush

56 Malabar Whistling Thrush

57 Asian Paradise Flycatcher

58 White Bellied Blue Flycatcher

59 Tickells Blue Flycatcher

60 Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike

61 Asian Brown Flycatcher

62 Black Naped Monarch Flycatcher

63 Verditer Flycatcher

64 Kestrel

65 Malabar Trogan

66 Spotted Dove

67 Laughing Dove

68 Pond Heron

69 Brahminy Kite

70 Black Kite

71 House Crow

72 Jungle Crow

73 Indian Pitta (Call)

74 Little Cormorant

75 Darter

76 Common Coot

Mammals and Others

1 Malabar Giant Squirrel

2 Indian Jackal

3 Water Snake (unidentified)

4 Scorpion

5 Tarantula Spider

6 Barking Deer (Call)

7 Leopard (Call)

8 Draco Lizard

More images in my Facebook album here :)