After our first unforgettable Himalayan journey, it was time to look back and pursue our ventures in Western ghats. How can we forget the place where we had spent our most valuable time enjoying the lush green, fresh morning fog, standing below the gushing water falls, walking on the wet paddy fields, drenching in furious monsoon rains. So we were back in business with our monsoon treks in western ghats. With monsoon around the corners, we chose to hike Nishani betta/motte (Motte in Kodava language means Hill) which is one of the prominent hill in Kodagu(coorg). It is 14 km trek from Talakaveri and 12 km trek from Bhagamandala. Heavy rain and some unavoidable conditions, forced us to choose the latter path. Now it was the turn to find good knowledgeable guide in the vicinity. We were fortunate enough to get the details of one of the humble and very simple guide, JayaKumar. He works as a guard at Talakaveri wildlife sanctuary. We contacted him over phone and fixed our itinerary.
Totally 17 members confirmed their participation, many of them joined us from Hyderabad and Chennai as well. Now our team is growing bigger and bigger barring the boundaries. We all love, respect and enjoy visiting the nature. So, I had to book a mini bus to accommodate all the fellow Trailblazers. Our usual travel partner Bluebird travels helped us in providing the best service. It was morning 4:30 am when we reached Virajpet bus stand. Pitch dark, light drizzle and cool breeze gave us the hint of elation we would be experiencing for the rest of our venture. We had not forgotten the majesty of charming Chelavara falls that we witnessed in our previous Tadiyandamol trek. So we could not resist our self from experiencing the elegance of Chelavara falls once again. At 7:30 am in the morning we reached Chelavara falls which gushes from the height of 150 meters. Rappelling on the waterfall would be one of the greatest adventure one could experience in the summer. But now the situation was entirely different. Water level was high and water was very cold. No one can imagine taking a dip in fresh, cool water. But how can we sit quietly in front of such a delightful appearance of mother nature..!? 😉😋😎. All of us quickly jumped into the water and for a moment every one felt freezing ordeal.
Majestic Chelavara Falls
Special Guest :
Majestic Chelavara Falls
Special Guest :
We started towards Bhagamandala from Chelavara falls by 8:30 am. Our guide JayaKumar was already waiting at the location which he had communicated over phone. We had breakfast at Bhagamandala and took the permission at Range Forest Office by paying forest entry fees of rs 200 per head. Finally we reached our trek starting point by 12 pm. We unloaded all the stuffs from the bus and packed our bag packs properly to protect from rain. Some of them applied anti leach solution prepared from tobacco powder and coconut oil. I did not apply as I knew it's not gonna save us from monsoon monsters (Leaches).
Our Troop at the Nishani Base
Initial terrain was not so steep and it was kind of jeep track for almost 1-1.5 km. After initial stretch, path unfolded into gradual ascent in the thick forest filled with mist. After covering 4-5 km in the forest, trail leaded us to open grasslands of Western ghats. Always the best part of the monsoon trekking would be walking on the wet grasslands experiencing light drizzle and alluring mist.
Fresh Flora
Every one was busy checking Leaches
Misty Forest
Following our guide
Entering into the grassland
Unpacked our lunch before proceeding to the final ascent of the trek. Enjoyed having lunch amidst light drizzle and dancing on the wet land to avoid blood suckers. After half an hr of lunch break again we started our journey towards Nishani Betta peak. Last stretch was very steep and slippery as well. After ascending for almost an hour and half we were on top of one of the glorious peaks of Karnataka, Nishani Betta/Motte.
Lunch for the day
Steep ascent
Final ascent
Nishani Betta/Motte peak.
After enjoying the astonishing beauty of Western ghats we started our descent by 4:30 pm. The path was completely filled with mist and we could barely see the ppl who were just 10-15 meters ahead of us. It was really a wonderful moment to witness the hide and seek between sun and cloud with added flavours of mist. Soon it started raining heavily, forcing us to take out our umbrellas and ponchos to protect ourselves and gadgets.
Descent to forest guard home
An ecstatic view of western ghats
Our night stay was arranged at the forest quarters for the guards. It was 6 pm in the evening when we concluded our trekking for the day. Our legs looked scary with blood bleeding all-over . Cleaned everything and settled inside the home. It was quite a small home with only one room and a kitchen. It looked impossible to accommodate 17 members. Then finally we adjusted somehow, thus not giving a chance to camp outside in the heavy downpour. We had fresh hot tea followed by sumptuous manchow soup. By 9:30 pm we had dinner and went to sleep by adjusting 17 ppl in one room 😂😁.
Next day morning we woke up by 7 am and started our journey towards Bhagamandala main road after finishing morning duties. It was a journey of 5-6 km descent from the forest guard home. It took 2 hours to reach the Bhagamandala main road. By 10 am we reached main road and our bus was waiting there for our pickup.
Starting from forest guards home
Path towards Bhagamandala main road
With our guide Jayakumar
Reached back Bhagamandala and took a dip in river Kaveri before having the breakfast. We headed to Talakaveri to get the glimpse of origin of Kaveri. Spent an hour at Talakaveri and started our journey back to Bangalore. On the way back we visited bylakuppe Tibetian monestry.
Talakaveri - Birth place of river Kaveri
Talakaveri - Birth place of river Kaveri
Bylakuppe Tibetian Monestry
Dropped few of them at Mysore railway station, who booked their train to Chennai from Mysore. Couple of them boarded the Hyderabad bus from Ananda rao circle. It was 11-11:30 pm when everyone reached their home in Bangalore with loads of monsoon memories 😉😇😍.
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