Kanoor Kote Conquered

The plan to trek upto Kanoor Kote was made because my manager from Geneva was coming down and I had promised to show him the unexplored, little known parts of India.

After some discussion with my friends, we decided to do the trek with Sharavathi Valley Group.

As always we left on a Friday night and headed out towards Jog Falls. How could one visit the region and not stop at Jog.

While I didn’t expect Jog to be overflowing with water, the sight that I saw was disappointing. There was hardly any water and one could hardly hear the falls. The only thing in abundance here was tourists. After some hot cup of coffee we headed out to Kanoor.

When we reached there a hot breakfast of Idly , sambar and kasaya awaited us. We quickly freshened up and attacked the food.

Once satisfied, we were ready to scale the hills. The plan was to cover some waterfalls on day one and then do Kanoor Kote the next day.

We had to go through a steep descent to get to the falls. Some of the first time trekkers found it really hard and took a lot of time getting down. Once down, it’s a treat to all the five senses: sound of flowing water and birds singing, breathtaking waterfalls (Haaragere), sweet tasting water. Most of us were ready to spend the whole day there. While the swimmers took a dip here, some of us climbed to the next level of the falls and cooled our feet; this was supposed to be the place where we stopped for lunch.

The best thing about going with this group is the fact that you get freshly cooked, hot food. Eating rice and sambar with papad in between a dense forest is an awesome experience.

Post lunch, we walked along the stream towards Vasugatti Waterfalls.

Most of the walk involved hopping and skipping on rocks. The final climb was at an 80 degree angle from Vasugatti Falls and was the toughest. By the time we were done, we were hungry and could eat anything. Luckily for us we were serve hot bajjis and tea. The day ended with Hot bisibele bath, Chapati and Palya and Payasam.

Though the plan was to start early the next day, since we asked for Rice Rotis it took longer to make and we started at about 9 am. Though the trek upto Kanoor Kote was not a difficult one, it was mainly through flat road, paddy fields and small stretch of forest; it was a long one.

The fort suddenly appears out of now where and has creepers and plants growing all over. The complex has been looted by treasure hunters and is in a bad state.

With all this the fort and the temples in it still had a charm. It talks of an era thats bygone. There are some very pretty carvings around.

While some of us walked around the fort, the guide went looking for water to start cooking. Since the water source had dried up it was decided that we would head to a tribal hut close by and cook there. It was heavenly to eat freshly cooked food in the middle of a forest.

Soon after lunch we started off again as the walk back was long. Since we had some first time trekkers we were taking twice the amount of time to cover the distance. As the shadows got longer we started getting worried as the region was known for sloth bears. It was decided that Mike and the guide would walk ahead and bring the TT into the forest. When this happened it saved us walking 5 kms of the trek in the dark. By the time we reached back it was well past our departure time. After quickly freshening up we headed back to Bangalore.

Pictures in the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/belliappaaishwarya/KanoorKoteTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCITBl9b68N3cHg

Lesser Know Hoysala Temple – Nuggehalli

When visiting the famous Belur and Halebidu temples, I was told that there were other lesser known Hoysala Temples around Hassan and Bangalore. Then in 2010 a friend of mine visited about 17 of those and after looking at the pictures I was waiting for a chance to visit those places.So when Nuggehalli was suggested for a day trip, I was eager to go.

We decided to take the Magadi road to avoid traffic on the National Highway. This turned out to be a scenic drive and Sachin kept narrating interesting pieces of history as we passed couple of old temples and Magadi Fort. I spent time spotting birds and requesting for stops every time I saw some bird close enough to be photograph.

All the birding stops and 2 stops to eat meant that we took 5 hours to reach a destination that would ideally take max of 3 hours.

We reached Nuggehalli by 1 and headed straight to the Laxmi Narayana Temple. The first look of the temple was not impressive.

It looked just like other temples from more recent times but once you walk in you realise it beautiful. While we waited for the priest to come and open the main temple, we started exploring the sculptures on the outer walls. The carvings were similar to other Hoysala temples, with different rows of elephants, horses, people, mythological creatures and creepers.

Most of the bigger sculptures were of Lord Vishu in different forms, depicting stories associated with that form.

When the priest came we went in to take a look. Ceiling of the temple was beautifully decorated with different designs of lotus. The Idols inside was of Krishna, Narashima and Lakshmi. On the whole the temple was worth the visit.

Next stop was Sadashiva Temple.

Though this is a Hoysala Temple, the outer walls is not decorated with carvings like the others. The pillars are quite plain.

I felt the grandeur of Hoysala was missing. Since we could not find the priest we could not enter the main temple.

On talking to a local at the temple, he mentioned that we could try and visit other Hoysala Temples closed by. As we drove around looking for the temples, we spotted on top of the hill that looked promising.

After being misguided for sometime we finally managed to reach the foothill. From here it was a 20 mins climb to reach the temple. After we reached there we realized though the scenic view was good, there was not much of the old temple left. The village authority was renovating the temple. Disappointed we headed back.

By the time we descended the sun had set and our tummies had started making rumbling noise since we had missed lunch. The focus shifted to getting food. Stopped at Mayur for a quick dinner and headed back to Bangalore. We stopped on the way to look at the stars and Sachin pointed out the constellations. We decided to drive via Nellamangala this time and the new elevated flyover was a joy to drive through and provided a perfect end to the day.

Route Taken

In order to reach Nuggehalli one has to take the Hassan Road from Bangalore and take a right at Hiresave (near the Telephone Exchange).

More Picture

http://picasaweb.google.com/belliappaaishwarya/Nuggehalli?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDKysX9st_k7AE#

Lepakshi – A Place Lost in time

Lepakshi was on my to-do list sincefor a long time. Since this place was only 175 kms from Bangalore, it was an ideal get away. Spur of the moment decision on a Friday was how this trip was planned.

Except the last 10 Kms the roads to Lepakshi is well laid and we were driving at a constant 100 kms/hr most of the time. The only drawback is that other than one Kamat Restaurant, there is no other place to stop for a quick bite.

Once we reached the temple each of us took our camera and walked in different directions. While I looked around for a guide, I found a group discussing about the temple and decided to join them. It was fun because along with history and details about the temple, they discussed mythological stories related to the sculptures.

The fascinating thing about the temple is the wall paintings on the ceilings. Each section depicted a different story, some mythological and some related to the people who built the temple. After I got back I realised I didnt have a single picture of the paintings

The other interesting bit is about the wall with blood stains from Virupaksha (the temple builder) gorging his eye out and throwing it on that wall to prove his innocence .

If one had a day to spare this definitely is a place to visit.

As we headed back, since we had time to spare, we decided to stop by at the birth place of Vishweshavraiah . There is a museum built here with collection of things like his Bharath Ratan and other awards, his pass book, his dairy etc. It is amazing to see the simple life style the great man lived and remember the great work he did for India.

We spent about an hour there and then we were ready to head back. The drive back was uneventful except for the slow moving traffic as we entered Bangalore.

The pictures are in the link below
http://picasaweb.google.com/aishwarya.belliappa/Lepakshi?locked=true#

Birding in My Backyard

When my parents were contemplating the idea of travelling to North India for 2 weeks, I opted to work from home during that period so that I could keep an eye on things there.

While I was not working I was hoping to experiment with my newly purchased camera. After the initial bit of resting I was ready to explore. Having attended NTP and actively followed the posting by the group, my knowledge about birds was slightly better. Its been a week since I arrived and this my account of what I noticed.

The first day when I managed to get up early I was greeted by the cries/calls of woodpeckers. Though at that time I didn’t know the call, I followed the direction it cam from and was glad to find 2 pairs of Common Golden Backed Woodpecker

After I chased them for a while, I gave up and was walking back when I found a Rufos-Backed Shrike sitting close by

At a distance I noticed some jungle Myna

The evening had some more surprises stored for me. As I walked around the property,

calling continuously was an Indian Rufos Babbler.

As I went closer I also caught sight of spotted dove

During the week in between my calls I managed to catch a glimpse of the following among the flowers and fruit trees

While I spotted a lot of birds, I was at loss when I had to identify them. I had left my field guide back in Bangalore, and from experience know that my sketches weren’t of any use in some cases. Luckily mom had a copy of Feathered Jewels of Coorg by Dr. S.V Narashiman and this proved handy in most situations

While I am extremely excited about all this, I can’t help but wonder why I took so long to uncover the beautiful of the place I grew up in

More Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aishwarya.belliappa/MyBackyard#

List of Birds so far

House Crow

Jungle Crow

Red Cheeked Bulbul

Red Vent Bulbul

White Breasted Kingfisher

Jungle Myna

Indian Rufos Babbler

Rofus Backed Shrike

Large Egret

Twany Eagle

Large Pied Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Purple Sunbird

Black-Lored Yellow Tit

Great Tit

Pied Bush Chat

Indian Robin

Oriental Magpie Robin

Greenish Leaf Warbler

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Jerdon's Chloropsis

Black Drongo

Common Swallow

Common Golden Backed Woodpecker

Brown Headed Barbet

White Cheeked Barbet

Greater Coucal

Spotted Dove

Plum Headed Parakeet

Blue-winged Parakeet

Indian Pond Heron

Hanging Parrot

Velvet Throated Nuthatch

Eurasian Blackbird

Ashy Woodswallow

Chestnut Tailed Starling

Scarlet Minivet

Scimitar-Babbler

Scaly Thrush

Loten's Sunbird

Pale Billed Flowerpecker

Fleeting Glimpses of New York

This was going to be my first trip out side of Asia and I was excited. Since the whole thing got finalized in the last minute I didn’t have much time to do research on places to see and had absolutely, no idea what I was going to do once I got to New York except seeing Statue of Liberty.

A colleague and long time friend of mine (Tylsley) offered to take me around and I was glad that I was seen the city with someone I knew.

Let me start off with the area where my office is. It is in the Heart of Time Squares. I was apprehensive about how I would find it and when I walked on to 7th Avenue 45th Street, amongst all the signage there it was the orange (Thomson Reuters Color). All I had to do was walk under it and I found the office. To know that my company is among the ones on Time Square make me feel proud

As for the evening there was no fixed plan I was going to take it as it came. By the time I finished work and wound up it was about 7 and so Tylsley suggested we started with the areas around office.

The first places that we walked by was Radio City, NBC Studios and Rockfeller Building (a tall building with a little history). A stop for peace and serenity at the St. Patrick Church; the walk then took us through Diamond District, Trump building, Tiffiny’s diamond store, Plaza Hotel and Central Park. We then took the a subway to Broadway, peeked in to the WTC site, walk by St Paul Church, past city hall, that bought us to Brooklyn Bridge. The walk on the Brooklyn Bridge was beautiful. It was amazing the see the city whiz past was we walked by enjoying the view. By then I was tired and since it was late I headed back for some sleep.

The next free evening I had I wanted to see Statue of Liberty, at least from a distance. The plan was to take the Stain Island Ferry. But before the ferry, Tylsley took me to the Pier 17. The place gave us a awesome view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the waterway. We spent great deal of time walking around and getting pictures. And then we walked to the ferry. This is a free ferry that gave a great view of Manhattan and New Jersey city line. The ferry took 10 mins and went right past the Statue. The view is breath taking and cameras clicked non stop.

Then we walked to Wall Street, I could not leave New York without seeing the Big Bull. So the path took us there and then to the Stock Exchange and Trinity Church. After that Tylsley had a surprise planned. We walked past the WTC, New Jersey Station and then a Shopping Mall and we were at a Dock. From this place we could see New Jersey and since it was not crowded it had a calming feel to it. Since it was late, that had to be the last place I visited in NY for site seeing.

The good thing about going with Tylsley was that he told me lot of the town. He was open to answering stupid questions about the lifestyles and habits. He knew the place for the best cheese cakes (Juniors, wish I ate more of that), the place that had awesome Mexican Food, the little Italian place. The Other thing was that he knew these small tucked away places that gave the best view of the city line. If it hadn’t been for him I think I would have covered about 10% of what I did.

Hidden Beauty - Devaramane

Summer was just around the corner and I was dying to do a trek before all the water sources dried up and very thing turned brown instead of the usual green around the Malnad region.

Luckily for me I am part of the adventure club at office, so when decision had to be made between the popular trekking places and new places some of us managed to convince the group to explore a place called Devaramane.

An overnight journey from Bangalore bought us to a place called Mudigere. Dawn was just breaking when we go there and some of us who were awake staggered along with the driver to the only visible coffee shop. The warm coffee woke us up and while we waited for the coffee shop owner to pack breakfast for us we took short walk around. As the sun rose in the distant hills we were ready to head towards Devaramane. Since this was an unexplored place we had to stop time and again to get directions. Finally we were at a small village at the base of the hills. When we enquired about the trek routes in one of the houses, they promptly offered to send one of the estate workers to guide us.

To start out trek we had to drive another 5 kms more, initially through coffee estates and then through breath-taking landscape. The hills sprawled all around and the raising sun had given them a different gleam.

The trek was to start from a 300 year old Shiva temple. The sides of the door were decorated with terrifying demons carving. But the interiors were cool and calming. In front of the temple there was a huge lake and we decided to eat our breakfast here and then proceed.

During the initial part of the trek our guide pointed out different peaks. Some which were familiar and conquered; and some never heard of before. Slowly we started breaking up into groups, the fast walkers leading the way with the guide and the rest huffing and puffing far behind. As we walked we would come across places where the view became even more beautiful. We would stop and take pictures. The Guide would tell us story about each of the hill we walked on.

(He told us about a man who had taken a walk down a cave (considered impossible) that led him to wise man who had granted him a lot of gifts. On return he had given those gifts to different people. When the last of person came for his gift, he was given chew betel nuts. He threw them on the floor with disgust and cardamom sprouted in the places where these nuts fell. Once can still see the opening of cave the man walked through.
Another hill (Buntkallu) resembles the walking stick he used when he walked down the cave)

As the sun climbed the skies we walked closer to Minchkallu, our destination. We were still 3 kms away from the peak when we decided to take a detour and stop by at the stream to eat lunch. The stream was by a bunch of trees between the shola forest. Water was almost drying up here. Another 4 more weeks and I doubt there would be any water left. We filled our stomach with Chappati, Chutney Pudi, Pickle and Corn Mixture Roll. A strange combination but when one is hungry you hardly notice.

While we ate our lunch the guide suggested that we head to the Gavi (cave) nearby instead of the peak. Based on our current pace he feared that if we went to the peak, it would be well past sunset by the time we got back.

Though one could not go into the cave the spot by itself was beautiful. After speanding about 20 mins there we decided to head back. Finally just as the sun was going to set we reached the temple. After some rest and a quick shower we got ready to cook dinner. The boys took charge while the girls looked on. As night descended the girls were asked to build bon-fire and help set up the tents. Since some of the sticks in the tents were broken it took a lot of time to have them up. By the time we finished dinner was ready, we had lemon rice and curd rice for dinner.

After spending some time around the fire we soon retired to bed. Everybody was up early next morning. After another round of cooking and eating we were ready to head back. Since the tempo we came in refused to drive all the way up we had to walk 5 kms. Having walked on the hills this walk on tar road was boring. After 2 hours we were back at the base.

Since we still had rest of the day left we decided to visit a waterfall near by. But when we reached there we weren’t given permission and had to return disheartened. Our final destination Horranadu, after a quick darshan and delicious dinner, we were on our way back to Bangalore.

More Pictures can be found in this link :http://picasaweb.google.com/aishwarya.belliappa/Devaramane#

Georgia Sunshine Village

Just completed 5 years in the company and the trip to Georgia Sunshine was almost like a celebration for this. It was a fun trip with friends from work and their families.

We had heard of the home-stay from a friend of ours and decided to give it a try since we were looking for a place somewhere close.

After a good breakfast at SLV in Banashankari 2nd Stage we headed out on Kanakapura Road at 9:30 a.m. Luckily for us the roads were good and we managed to reach Malavalli Junction by 11:30. The home-stay is about 10 kms from here.

We had to drive through a short stretch of gravel road to reach the place. Just as we got there, we found the road blocked by a tempo traveler. Since we could not find the driver anywhere, the men decided to push the TT to the side.

The home-stay is a quite tucked away place between 2 hills. The only sounds you can hear are peafowl and cuckoo cries at a distance. The bird watcher in me was excited about the prospect of spotting some. I decided to wake up early and go for a walk next day.

In the afternoon while the others slept I explored one of the hills. Remembering sessions from the NTP program, I watched out for signs of birds and insects. Watched some red cheeked bulbuls and jungle myna hop between shrubs. The sun birds and peafowl could be heard at a distance. The sight on the top was beautiful and I cursed myself for not carrying a camera and notebook. As just as I headed back to my cottage I saw a spotted owl, he was sizing me up and we looked at each other for a while. Then he got bored and flew away and I went to narrate my experience to my friends

Rest of the day was spent swimming, playing Table Tennis, Foozball, Pictionary, eating and drinking. For the priced charged the food was not great. I enjoyed my desserts but the rest of the food wasn’t something I would remember. We retired to bed by about 1 am.

Next morning some of us were up and about early. We decided to visit the canal nearby. It was a short walkand since it was early we managed to spot birds like Gery Horn Bill, Rose Ringed Parakeets, Owl Copper Smith Barbet and regulars like sun bird, myna and crows.

The other interesting sight was the butterflies. We saw some pretty ones and managed to capture some on camera (yeah finally). While we were not watching the butterflies some of us tried swinging on the Banyan roots, it bought back memories on childhood. After an hour of walking we headed back for breakfast. And before we knew it it was time to head back to civilisation

More Pics in the link : http://picasaweb.google.com/aishwarya.belliappa/GeorgiaSunshineShivanasamudra#