This is one of my initial treks organized & an
unforgettable one.
MISSION:
Our mission was to trek uphill from Olambara Narayan Gowda
house to the top of falls, trek to Ballalarayana durga fort and conclude trek
at Sunkasale…But we did trek to top of the falls & concluded the trek back at
Narayan Gowda house.
ATTRACTIONS IN VICINITY:
Bandaje Arbi (waterfall)
is one of the most beautiful falls in Charmadi ranges of Western Ghats, falling
from a height of 200 feet.
TREK DATE:
This trek was executed on 24th, 25th
& 26th of December 2008.
TREK LENGTH:
Mundaje Narayan Gowda House to top of Bandaje
falls is 11kms.
ROUTE:
Bangalore >>>Hassan
>>>Dharmastala >>>Ujire >>>Mundaje >>>Narayana Gowda House >>> Bandaje Falls Top >>> Return in same route.
OUR TEAM:
We had a pretty big team of 10 People. From Left to right >>>Harish, Latha, Lohith,
Rekha, Sandeep (Me), Shashi, Shiva, Viju, Vishwa & Vishwa (Bhatta).
PREPARATION:
We did lot of preparations for this trek. We purchase 2
tarpaulin covers for tent. Took snuff
powder, First aid kit for leeches, Machetes, crackers, good life milk, Chapatti
& curry got parceled. We booked 9 tickets to Dharmastala & Bhatta was
joining us from Hassan. We searched some blogs and took them for reference.
JOURNEY:
The day of trekking came pretty fast. We 9 of us gathered in
Majestic. Unfortunately no one had brought a camera. So I again went back to
home (Yelahanka), took the camera & joined others at Jalahalli cross. We
got down at Dharmastala early in the morning around 6.00am. We finished all our
daily activities and hired a Jeep. In Ujire we had breakfast & purchased
cooking items, utensils, kerosene & proceeded towards Narayana Gowda’s house.
We visited Mr. Narayana Gowda’s house. He was very kind. He
is the local contact point for the trek. He enquired about us and asked for any
guide requirement. Lohith & Bhatta did this trek earlier also. So we
politely rejected, but took his contact no. in case of emergency. We started trek from here at 10am &
Lohith became the guide for us. Initially we crossed 3 or 4 houses. From here
one can see the glimpse of the peak. We preceded
further and entered Jungle.
Here there were many
paths in all direction. We got confused for a while (almost we lost an hour).
Suddenly an old man who was grazing his cattle’s came from the bushes for our
aid, showed the path & insisted us to follow the right side paths. We
thanked him for his timely help & proceeded further.
After an hour of trek we took a break for half an hour (1st
trek for 6 of our team mates), had chocolates, electrolytes & Oranges.
After a while of hiking we were in bamboo forest & a small stream flowing. Here
we saw lot of Elephant dung.
We further proceeded for an hour & we were near the
Bandaje stream which was flowing from the falls. As it was December there were
no leeches. Here we stopped for the day. The time was around 2.30pm. We
searched a good camping site for tenting, cleaned the area, fixed the tent and
collected lot of fire wood for night.
Lohith said he saw a Porcupine in the same spot in his
previous trek. So we decided that 2 of us should be awake in rotation system
& watch bonfire whole night. In the stream we played for an hour or two.
Around 5pm we started
cooking & Bhatta showed his exorbitant skills of cooking. He cooked biryani
which was mouthwatering followed by Tea. Around 7pm we had our dinner &
washed all utensils in stream, cleaned the area again to avoid smell as it may
attract any animals.
Bonfire was lit up & talked for a while, followed by
antyakshari. Shiva & Harish sang some beautiful songs. Shiva & Harish
were awake as per rotation system, rest went to sleep. Around 10pm the fire
wood was almost empty as everyone put lot of fire wood into bon fire while
antyakshari. Vishwa was bit feared (His 1st night halt in Jungle). So
Me, Shiva, Harish & Lohith went into forest & brought 4 bigger wood
logs & put 2 of them in bon fire. They burnt till 2am & as per rotation
system it was the turn for me & Lohith. We put rest 2 of the logs in bon
fire did some chit chat about 2morrows quest. In middle of the night we heard
some growling noise. Lohith & I took torches & searched for any animal
sign. We got bit tensed, so took crackers (Hydrogen bombs) to ward off any
animals. Suddenly we saw towards Bhatta & Harish. We saw Bhatta was snoring.
That was his noise. Our tension got bit relieved. We kicked him on his back.
Then he slept quietly. Around 5am we
woke up the girls for their turn & went to sleep. Around 8am we woke up. We
finished our daily morning activities. Bhatta again cooked breakfast &
Lunch (Tomato Bath) with tea. We had breakfast & tea, packed lunch &
started hiking towards tip of the falls around 10am. From here there are plenty
of markings on trees which were showing the way towards the peak. Trees
shredded its leaves & the whole path was covered with dry leaves, branches
& Mushrooms.
Still the place was
pretty dense and green. While ascending towards the peak, suddenly I saw some
movement in the leaves. We stopped for a while. Slowly a snake came out from
the dry leaves (Might be a Viper).
We took some snaps & proceeded further. After an hour
hike we came out of the forest and were in the grass lands.
From here we can see the glimpse of water falls & the
peak. We took rest for a while over here & had lunch. Here we made a
mistake. Everyone ate full stomach & emptied their water bottle. It was
around 1pm we started hiking again.
Afternoon sun was in his full fledge & burning. It became very
difficult to climb the grassland as it was pretty steep & the length of the
grasses was more than 3 feet & was like knife edge which was piercing into
the skin. There was no space or even a
tree to take some shelter from scorching sun & water bottles were empty to
hydrate. It took almost an hour and half to cover a distance of a kilometer.
Everyone knew the value of the water at that time. While ascending the peak we
saw plenty of rabbit burrows in the grass lands. Finally we ascended the peak
& there was a small descent towards the falls. While descending we could
hear the flow of the water. Everyone ran towards the water to hydrate. It was
like an Oasis in middle of nowhere. We were near the falls around 3pm. There is
very little place to put a tent near the falls (max. 3 or 4 tents). Before us
another team came from Sunkasale & pitched their 2 tents. We pitched our
tent, collected firewood & went to explore the falls.
Nothing is beautiful
than Nature…. The view from top of the falls was ultimate. We explored upstream
and there were 3 more small falls before this majestic one.
We played for a while in natural pools. Near the pool, Viju
& Rekha went to play in water. When they got down in the water….around 50
to 60 monstrous leeches bit them, immediately we went near them & put snuff
powder on the leeches. They fell & ran away. It was a bit relaxed after
they were okay. Evening Sunset was mind-blowing. The whole area becomes golden
color.
Around 7pm we lit up the bon fire. Again Bhatta cooked some
kind of bath & tea for night. We named it as Bandaje Bath. After dinner Shiva
& Harish said they will sleep on the rocks near the banks as the temperature was bit warmer in the evening. The night was
pretty cold & wind was blowing heavily as we were on top of the hill. Middle of the night they came
& slept inside the tent (Hahaha).
Bon Fire was watched as per rotation basis again. Morning Bhatta cooked Bandaje
bath for breakfast & lunch with tea, finished our morning activities, had
breakfast & packed lunch and around 10.30am started descending back in the
same path. While descending, we saw beautiful views of hills & ridges of
Western Ghats. It was ultimate.
Within 4 to 5 hours we descended the hill and were near
Narayan Gouda’s house. We concluded the trek over here & again visited
Narayana Gowda’s House.
He arranged a cab
back to Dharmastala. I & Bhatta went & booked tickets back to
Bangalore. We took bath in Nethravati, took darshana of Lord Manjunatha swamy.
We had dinner in the temple, boarded bus back to Bangalore & reached home
safely.
TIPS FOR TREKKERS:
Do carry strong backpack, wear hunter shoes (may cost you
300rs in army stores), carry hydration salts & electrolytes as you sweat
out your energy a lot, First aid kit, snuff powder for leeches, & do carry
a lengthy stick to make your way in the leaf letters as there are plenty of
snakes in this route.
PERMISSIONS:
No Permission Required. But do contact Narayan Gowda about
the permission. He can help in arranging breakfast and guide.
Mobile: +91-98456-93961; +91-98456-93661
Residential: 08256-274231/202354.
Office: 08256-232551.
Catch You soon with my next blog.
...........................................Adios.
