Truind - A trek in the Himalayan Trails

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Out Of Office - Triund Dharamshala


Five days of work and 2 days of 'break from work' has become a routine for most Engineers. Each individuals choose their way to take rest. If some go to restaurant, some sit and drink, some simply sleep and some watch movies. There is another category and I mostly belong to that - The Travelers.

I have traveled across Karnataka in past couple of years. From difficulty level - very easy to tough, I have trekked a lot of mountains and hills in Karnataka. But, I was always fascinated by looking at the photos of North Indian hills. The snow covered peaks, the sharp tipped trees (unlike the ones here where they look like smooth curve), the temperature, the view and mainly because of the name - The Himalayas. Everything together made it difficult to wait for my first trek in the Himalayan Range.

Me and 5 of my friends (Abhilash, Preethish, Gautham, Veena and Rashmi) had decided for a North India trip. Jotted down 2 plans before we left from Bangalore. But no plan was concrete when we boarded our flight from Bangalore. Triund was kinda dream spot in the plan but we were not sure if we can do it since we planned it during December and we were not sure about weather conditions. After a lot of uncertainty over deciding whether to go to Dharamshala or not, we were finally in Dharamshala after making sure that the weather is not too harsh. 

Triund was the only reason why we went to Dharamshala and today when I sit and turn back, that was one of the best days of the travel life. Because, hiking in Himalayan range is a different level of fun all together. 

We reached McleodGanj at about 11 o clock. Quickly checked into our hotel to dump our luggage. Booked a guide since we did not want the pain of arranging food and stay in hill top. Finally at 1.00 pm we started our trek. 

The trek distance from McleodGanj is around 10 kms. We were already 1 km away from McleodGanj since our hotel was on the way. So, it was around 9kms trek for us. Vehicles go till Gallu temple which is around 4 Kms from McleodGanj. However, we covered those 3 kms by walk itself in a trekking trail avoiding the normal vehicle road (Just because vehicles can be taken there, I call it a road. They are very narrow and the road condition is very poor even if you want to take your vehicle). 

The long pine trees in the trek route created a different atmosphere and we started feeling the excitement. From gallu temple, there is only a trekking path and no vehicles can reach top. There are shops even in hill top and they use donkeys are used to carry everything - from Biscuit packet to Gas cylinder. 

We bought some mineral water and biscuits near Gallu temple and proceeded further. The trek route was not very difficult but we felt we walked a lot more than what we had actually done. Preethish was tired of asking "aur kitna kms baaki hai" with our guide. Every time he asked, guide has only one answer - "4 kms" and a wide smile. Almost half a way from Gallu temple was our major break where we had Maggie and Egg Omlet. Maggie is omnipresent in all these places. It is like if you wish to have it, you get it kind of. A plate of Maggie costs Rs.50 there. But, the price is justifiable one since they have to carry it uphill. Especially after paying similar prices in Malls of Bangalore, I did not feel bad paying so much there. 

We were seeing the snow covered mountains from far and we could not wait to reach the peak. As we were walking we started getting some snow and it was exciting to see snow naturally. (For me, naturally or artificially, it was the first time I saw snow and I liked it!). It started getting dark by 5pm and our guide started pushing us to move faster. He had his job to be done in the peak which we realized later. He had to arrange tent for us. However, we were little reluctant to move faster because we had already trekked with not much breaks. Finally at 6 or 6.15 we were in the peak and the cold weather had already started changing the mood. It looked like 10.00pm by then itself. There were no artificial lights were there to change the mood. We were into the nature's one of the most beautiful peaks.
Our tents were ready in sometime and once we settled in our tents, our food was ready in the tea shop. It was one of the best food in our entire trip of North India because we got Rice and Curry! South Indians just love rice and its hard to make them live on Parathas. :D
It was time for playing cards now. We had that dynamo torch to light up our tent. Feared of hypothermia and other dangers of cold, tiredness and for 'n' other reasons, Bhai (Preethish) did not join us in the game. We had a big time champ (Rashmi) who shuffled the cards for us and we played until we had no more strength left to turn the dynamo torch and no more interest to do anything but sleep!

Sunrise at an altitude of 2800 Mts from Sea level
Sunrise was what we were all probably waiting for. Not for the view, but because we did not get good sleep. We were sliding within the tent all through the night since the tent was put in a slant place. (There were hardly any place which was absolutely flat there)
Sunrise was brilliant and it is an amazing feel when the sun rays hit you but you feel so chilled if you take your hands out of the gloves. Overall, it is an experience that cannot be put into words.
Our breakfast was ready. We had it and took a walk around to spend some time in snow. After that started trekking back to the base. In between I got my knee twisted. For the first time in any of my treks, found it difficult to complete since I had got the knee twisted when I still had a couple of kms to complete.
Overall, a trek to cherish for a life time. After all, it was a trek in the Himalayan trails. How can one forget :) But, definitely this is going to be just a start of it. It has fueled the fire more. Waiting for my next trek in the Himalayan ranges.

Information - 

Difficulty Level - Medium

Must Carry Items - If you are not hiring a guide, then carry your own tents, sleeping bags etc. If you have a guide, then sleeping arrangements will be done by them. Additionally, carry warm cloths based on the weather condition. During December, it was pretty cold there and late in the night the temperature had dropped below -2 or -3 degree Celsius. Carry scarf to cover your face. Very much required since breathing becomes difficult if you do not cover your nose.
Carry money in cash and not in cards. No swiping machines available in hill top, but you have some small tea shops to buy food :)

Guide Charges - As of December 2015, we paid Rs 1500 per head for the guide. (Included a guide, 2 tents for 6 people in the top, dinner - dal chaval, chapathi and subji and breakfast in the top - Maggie and tea)

There is no need of a guide as such since both food is available in small shops  in hill top and same shop guys will provide you will tents and sleeping bags. However, sleeping arrangements are not guaranteed since they will be on availability basis. Hence taking a guide along is advised if you are planning to stay in hill top. (If you are not planning to stay in hill top, then it might turn out to be a pretty normal trek)

Trekking up hill late in the evening (It was around 5.30 but almost dark there)

Evening, valley, trekking and what other reason do i need to try this pose. :) 

The team... (Off course I was behind the camera :) )

Don't know what made a couple of dogs be there in that peak. But found quite a few!

Complete group :) 

Just after the sunrise

Vastness..!!! In spite of being far away, looks so majestic.

Tried some poses since we had a uniform but ended up getting some pics totally out of sync

And again.. :D

Early morning walk in the hill.

How can one miss walking in snow filled mountains. That too while seeing it for the first time in life.

This was one of my best trek and definitely the one with maximum photos of this pose!

Special thanks to Karthikeya Bhat who designed the Tshirt for us :) 
Videos
For the first time adding videos to the blog. These videos were shot in mobile. View in higher resolution to get a feel of it.
The quality of your work only gets better with time. These are videos shot without any knowledge on how to shoot it. Pardon if it turns of to be just a waste of your bandwidth and data. :)

Shettihalli church

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Out Of Office - Shettihalli Church


Some places do not have anything special yet so are power full to an extent that the very moment you leave the place, you decide to go back to the same place again. For me, Shettihalli is one such place.

Is there an architectural master piece for display? Is there greenery to fill in your eyes? No, there is nothing of that sort. But there is something special here which struck the chord for me. It may or may not to you as an individual.

We had a marriage to attend in Hassan. Me and my 4 friends from office rented a self driven car from Myles and headed to the function. After a heavy meal, we felt we had enough time before we leave to Bangalore. A quick check on bucket list got me Shettihalli and there was no second thought on the place. We headed towards Shettihalli.

Do not ever rely on 'Here Maps'. It almost asked us to jump into Gorur dam and swim to reach Shettihalli church. (Google maps cheats at times as well but not this much. :P )

We had a celebrity photographer in our group and none of us had camera except him. But that was more than enough.

To speak about the place, it is a calm and cool place. Did not see many people around. May be because it was a Friday. Ample place to walk around. The water level in dam was pretty low during November and I would say perfect time to visit. If the dam is totally dry, then I do not see any reason to visit the place. Ruins of the church is present and that is the only reason you should visit there. The ruins look amazing and makes a fantastic background for photos. The church was submersed in water due to construction of the dam. The ruins still remain. However, it is just a matter of time that the ruins disappear completely. Do give a visit to the place before that happens.

Did not feel it as a good place to swim/take bath in the backwater since the water did not look clean and also mud in the banks were sticky, overall did not give a feel of it.

The vastness of the backwater area and an old church is all that can be seen there. Overall, a must visit place if you are anywhere near Hassan.

How to reach?

From Bangalore, Shettihalli church is around 200 kms in distance. A 4 hours drive from Bangalore. The road condition is excellent. The destination is 25 kms away from Hassan city.

Take Bangalore Mangalore highway, take deviation to Hassan city and move to Hassan-Periyapattana road. A few kms (~10kms) before the Gorur dam, take a right. Proceed for around 5-6kms and there you are!

Photos
None of the photos below are clicked by me. Credits to Kartikeya Bhat. 

Panoramic image of Shettihalli Church

How can I miss this photo :P

Add caption

Man behind all the photos - Karthikeya.

Myles car and Shettihalli. A vehicle in front of the church makes a perfect photo here.

Burde falls/Burude falls, Unchalli falls and Gudavi Bird santuary

Adding to the list of must visit falls' in Karnataka!

I always feel proud that I have covered most of the places in Karnataka. But, to hurt my ego, I get more places in Karnataka feeling that I have not really seen all important places of Karnataka!

I always remain wonder stuck whenever I go to water falls'. The amount of water that gushes from a cliff makes me feel - "we are so weak and small in front of nature". The way the rocks beneath the water fall manage to stay strong, the force of water, the beauty, the reverse waterfall that the winds create, the mist, the tiny drops of water that spread entire area, the rainbow formed due to water droplets, everything makes me stay back in the place for long and admire nature. 

After missing all the falls views in Mumbai trip, I got to know that there are a couple of wonderful falls in Uttara kannada district. Could not wait to visit them. But, we had to postpone this for a couple of weeks when we planned it for 1st week of October due to rain. Finally, in the last week of October, we - (Me, Preethish and Mayank) decided to go. 

Burde Falls. 

The day I visited Didupe and Ermai falls, I was left in deep thoughts like "How did I miss visiting this for 24 years of  my life in spite of staying so close to the falls?" But, after visiting Burde falls, I am sure that there are more falls to visit and it will take a lifetime to witness all remote falls in this country. Burde falls is one such falls. It is remote. It takes some effort to reach there. But once you are there, you will definitely not feel that you have wasted your energy.
We reached Siddapur from Bangalore and with a quick check with local people, found that the lodges were not good but the Govt. IB was! Also got to know that they provide stay if rooms are free. So we went there and luckily we got the stay (Just for INR 300 with 24 hours hot water and decent room.) Again we were lucky enough to get a omni van owner who accepted to take us to Burde falls and Unchalli falls for just INR 1200. If not, we would not have been able to complete both in single day. 

The falls lies in Kumta road. After around 15kms, take a deviation towards right while travelling from Siddapura and again travel for 5Kms in mud road (Construction of road was going on when we visited. So it may not be mud road the next time you visit :) ) Initially there are steps to go down hill and after steps, the path is very clear till the falls. At times you may need to take help of tree branches or walk on 4 legs to reach. :) 

Important: It is very hard to find frequent public transport to Burde falls and even on manage to get one, you will have to walk over 5kms just to reach the forest area from where you start trekking down hill to reach falls. So hire a vehicle/go in own vehicle. 
Avoid rainy season as the route looks slippery. However, its up to individuals to decide how challenging a life should be :) 

Unchalli Falls
Our next visit was to Unchalli falls. Due to a broken bridge on the way to Unchalli from Siddapur, had to take a long route via Sirsi road. But again, worth travelling a distance. Could not go till the base as it was 4.00 pm and we were told at least 3-4 hours is needed to go to the base and come back. Was not a right option. But, it is still worth visiting the falls even if you cannot go till the base. The water spreads in the rock and then falls creating a wide stretch of waterfall. The greenery around is a treat to eyes. 

Gudavi Bird Sanctuary
The luck we had on day 1 betrayed us on day 2 and it was kind of boring day. Mainly because we opted to travel in public transport. Our initial plan was to go to Yana but it did not happen since we could not get buses to Yana. Changed the plan to go to Gudavi, Banavasi and then to Jog falls. 
Gudavi bird santuary would be worth visiting provided you have a super zoom lens, patience and also luck. You have to be there during right time. We went during the right time but birds had already flew back to their places due to less rainfall in this season. 

Reaching Gudavi is again a challenge if you opt public transport. We got some goods auto towards Gudavi from Gudavi cross in Sirsi-Shimoga Highway. Return was again a challenge but luckily we got a drop. Thanks to the couple who gave us a drop in their car. :) 

Right time to visit Gudavi : August, September, early  October.

We had been to Banavasi as well but I would not suggest the place to anyone unless you are so interested to see the land of Pampa. The architecture is not really a great one. Did not feel it exciting even if I love visiting heritage places. 

That amazing feel!

One part of the Burde falls 

Burde falls. Taken from a distance. But this is where it looked best.

Way back from Burde falls. A little strenuous path, but worth it.

Unchalli falls. Look at the place where water touches the ground!

Lush of greenery near Unchalli falls.

Banavasi - Pampa Kavi "Nadedaadida naadu"

Green bee eater in Gudavi Bird Santuary

Gudavi - Ibis birds.

Must visit places near Mumbai - Lonavala, Matheran, Malshej Ghat

A land of hope for millions of people flowing in every month to the city - Mumbai. But is it only that much? No, it is one of best tourist destination in the area. The Sahyadris provides so much to the nature lovers that we fall short of time to finish the places even for the places we have planned. After visiting multiple places of Malenadu, I was very eager to visit the Sahyadris. It is hard to visit these places alone since these places are hard to reach by public transport and being from a different place, it is hard to take my bike too. (Off course it would be different level of fun to ride in these places.)

Note - This post is going to be little lengthier than my regular posts since it is of 4 days and loads of photos. Filtered a lot but felt i cannot skip any of the below. But I promise, you will like the photos if you love greenery and the first glimpse of it is here. :)

View in Lohaghad fort - Lonavala

Was planning to visit Sahyadris from long time but this time it happened suddenly. Had a long weekend on week ending October 2nd, and asked my friends to extend it for 1 day, checked for flight rates and found it cheaper than bus rates during peak season. Booked immediately. 7 of us were there as per initial plan but unfortunately one of my friend had to miss it (we missed him equally) as he was down with dengue.!

Had flight at 5.30 am from Bangalore and we were ready in airport by 2.00. The plan for morning was not ready yet except that we would be getting our Zoom car in Mumbai. 

A quick cell phone selfie in airport. Security came to us before we could take out our camera.. :D

At about 7.15 we were in Mumbai and the feel of Mumbai heat could already be felt. Zoom car pick up location was 25 Kms away from Airport and we headed to get it. The best thing in the trip was having a self driven car with us so that we did not have to depend on anyone. Thanks to zoom car :) 

By then also we did not have the plan ready! We decided to go towards Nasik, spend a day there and then go to other places. But the good thing we did at that point was we dropped that plan half a way and decided to go to Matheran. 

The champs(Not we, the horses. Fell in love with them!)

Its a wonderful feel when you control the horse and owner does not come with you. 

Unfortunately, the weather was not that pleasing in Matheran but horse ride experience saved us from disappointment. That is the best experience in Matheran and do not miss it. Horse owners ask for over thousand bucks and we finally managed to make him agree for INR 400. (Agreement was to drop near Matheran market after all view point visits. Around 9-10 Kms) After getting the feel of riding horse, we had no reason to leave a chance of riding for 3 more kms from Market towards the base. So paid 100 bucks extra and came till base. The view points are excellent. Wish the climate was little mild and wet. Nevertheless, it was a good experience. Did not try train ride. Probably would not have been worth wasting a few hours. 

Matheran (In one of the view points)

Zoom car was waiting for us to come back and again we did not have an answer to the question "Where next?" Decided to go to Nasik via Malshej ghat. But with loads of humps in the road, after travelling for around 60Kms, we were sure that we will not make it to Malshej by sunset and also felt Nasik was not a good plan. So, a "U turn" and we headed towards Lonavala - our main destination.
We got a warm welcome to Lonavala with mild thunderstorm and rain. That is what we were waiting for and felt relieved. Lonavala is to feel the mist and rain and if its hot there then fun in the entire trip would have gone for a toss.
There are a lot of tourist destinations in Lonavala and a lot of them are different names for same place. (Tiger valley and Lions point are 200 mts away from each other and similarly there are many others listed that way.)
We first decided to finish places in Pune direction and hence went to Karla caves. Karla caves is stone carved meditation place and the architecture is pretty good. The place is too crowded and very commercialized. However, we found that a similar cave is present a few kilometers away, so decided to go there - Bhaje Caves
If you are visiting Lonavala then do not miss Bhaje caves. You need to walk uphill for some distance but its worth walking. The place is calm and less crowded. It rained heavily when we were in top. Believe me, its heaven on earth when it rains. And photos below will speak how they look when it rains.

Bhaje Caves

Architecture in Bhaje caves. The large dome in the center is believed to be used by Budha for meditation. 

It rained and all these falls started flowing. They were not present before rain. 360 degree greenery!

After Bhaje caves we were kinda satisfied by filling our eyes with panoramic greenery but we wanted more.
The next destination was Bhushi dam, but if it is not peak rainy season, then better avoid the place. Too much of crowd and no peace in the place. Clicked one photos for the pain of paying INR 100 for parking and left immediately!

Bhushi Dam

Did not want to waste time so we headed towards the celebrity destination of Lonavala - Tiger valley. It was a dreamy weather and we could not ask for more. It was raining and mist had covered the place completely. My dream image of Lonavala was in actual in front of me! Loved it.

View from Lion's Point Lonavala

Lion's Point Lonavala

While coming back it was hell lot of traffic but we reached Lonavala city by 8.00. Did not want to waste time next morning so we went to wax museum. Amazing work of art could be seen. Not to miss. If not all, most of the wax statues look exactly same as the personality and leaves you wonder stuck.

After trying so many times, this was the best pic we could get. This is our Gangnam style :P

Morning visit to Khandala is a must and Rajmachi view point provides you a breath taking view. You can see a waterfall in a distant place and I am not sure if that is reachable. All i heard about that water fall is that it contains all the drainage of the city and hence does not depend on rainfall.!!!

Rajmachi view point Khandala

On the way to Khandala, we clicked our photos with our main and best companion of the trip - Mahindra Scorpio of Zoooooooooom Car :) (With the MH number plate.)

Inspite of KK not accepting for a trek, we went for Lohaghad trek. It was once again a wonderful experience. The trek is an easy one and takes less than an hour to reach the peak. The view in the peak is good. Weather was little harsh. We cannot expect a good weather every day and hence accepted it the way it was. Did not have another option too..! Spent some good time there but delayed a bit there to screw up the next plan.

This was seen on the way to Malshej ghat. A majestic view of one of the peaks

Lohaghad fort as seen from peak

Colorful flowers in the peak have made the fort more beautiful

One of the view points in Lohaghad fort

View from Lohaghad fort

The next plan was simply a drive to Malshej which is ~150 Kms away from Lonavala. The drive was excellent and the weather added to it! But we reached Malshej at 7 and it was already dark and covered with mist. But the feel was amazing with absolutely no view but only sound of a small falls. Spent sometime there and started our drive back to Mumabi! (It was totally dry in Malshej. If it was raining, I even had plan of staying back in Malshej in spite of a room already being booked in Mumbai and returning early morning after seeing it)
The next morning, visited Gateway of India and Marine drive. Loved the roads of Mumbai. They are much well maintained compared to Bangalore. Had a good drive back to Thane and dropped Zoom car. Our flight was scheduled at 5.30 pm and we were back to Bangalore at 7.15!

The Taj!

Marine Drive Mumbai

Here I end my lengthiest blog post so far! I still have a lot of places left to visit in the Sahyadris and the next visit there is going to be full of trekking - the next season. (Hopefully :) )

Do not miss - Bhaje caves in Lonavala and Horse ride in Matheran. (the famous tourist destinations do not need a mention.)