Full Moon Night Trek to Channagiri

11:36 Swajit 0 Comments

Date-  29th August 2015

Organizers - Bangalore Ascenders

Location  - Channagiri -Known as Land of areca nut with an average elevation of 662 metres (2171 feet).Channagiri is a small hill located near Nandi Hill range, it is said that the hill was fortified by Rani Chennamma of Keladi (1672–1697), Queen of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom and town was named after her.

As a traveller, you are going to travel in spite of many changes in a day. Once a time, you will facing the direct sun on the path while sometimes the other way around. Now here is the biggest secret of all.Night trekking is the best if you are insecure of about your complexion getting a little bit of tan to dark. I am choosing the trekking that matters whether it is anytime, and If you are like me, nonetheless you will be less concern whatever time of the day. You are set to go..fill it, shut it and go.


After coming from the Financial capital of India to the southern part of India. The opportunity to be in the part of Hikers have increased of late, and I am looking forward at any chance. Unlike last time, this time I had a chance to be part of Night Trekking team and I was prepared mentally to have the physical and mental capacity to enjoy. 


Being a Chelsea Football Club fan and on the losing side on that particular day match, I was mentally ready with my trekking bag and leave for the meeting points. The change in meeting time from 1830 hrs to 2230 hrs made my schedule easy. Still I was in a hurry to reach without getting delayed in Bangalore Traffic. Finding  40 people on meeting point made me surprised rather than confused about the expectation of at least 27 people for the night trekking adventure after reaching there. 


Our Organizer (Achintya) confirmed in affirmative when I asked him about the group of people are all the part of Night Trek. Achintya invited few of his IISC friends for this adventure. Without a doubt, Achintya managed everyone by 2300hrs to be at the meeting point. 

Well, Sagar Patil, Here is the headcount = 42, If you were there at that day, It will be 43 ….isn't it? Never mind, we miss you sincerely and hopefully for next night trek, You are going to be part of the experience.

Achintya convinced the KSRTC people about the full occupancy of the bus. They were kind enough to let all of us board and agreed to drop at the base point of Channagiri.

We are all set for the adventure for night trekking with a bus full of excited Trekkers towards Channagiri.


The common theme of night travel is people sleep but for some people, it's not the case at this hour. I can hear people talking to each other including me. I was listening intently to the experience of Uttarakhand Rescue operation from Surya, A scientist by profession working with ISRO. The experience from someone who have been there handling the situations is totally different from what we see on Tv and read in the newspaper. The realization of tough times faced by those souls during those days can make you grateful for your life. I was humbled. The journey took 2 hours to reach the destination.
By looking up towards the Hill, my initial assessment was of not very big in size and able to climb efficiently without hassles. Achintya discussed the standard set of instructions after handing out on paper. I took a deep breath …Everyone was ready including me for trekking.

The Sleeping City

If you have gone on a school trip in the past, you can easily relate the need for the count to be same when it is related to some people. We are doing the same, ensuring we all are there. The path leading towards the Hill was not steep, more so like hiking rather than trekking. The lights during that hour were enough to see the path clearly visible for our route towards the peak.  I realized the peak came when every one of us came to the top after some brief moments of trekking. Achintya requested us to create a group of seven with a surprise just about to come. The surprise was offering the sweet “ Rabadi “ to each of the members.  Achintya informed us about the actual Channagirl hill that we have to reach. I was able to see the top of the hill through the dense cloud at that hour. With the usual process of headcount, everyone proceeded towards the top and within an hour, every one of us was able to reach.


There was a small Temple on the top that has two small rooms. Everyone was busy with their agendas in their mind. Some were exploring the area, a few trying to find shelter with some of us having a rest on the slope there. One of our group was busy in setting up the tent nearby as well.  There seemed a probability of having rains, but in actually never happened.  The cool breeze was enough to make everyone feel shivering. Most of us was busy in searching the place where they can take care of themselves from the cold breeze at this hour. Finally, I was able to find a place for a short nap around 0400 hrs nearby.  Hearing people’s commotion around 0530-0600 hrs, I woke up to find people waiting to see the Sunrise. It was not possible for us to watch the sunrise due to clouds on that particular day.

The Sunrise
I was walking to keep myself warm to avoid shivering due to cold breeze. I was surprised to find at least 20 people in deep sleep around a place with a small bonfire and a pond nearby.  The efforts to make our trek leader wake up from the deep sleep around 0700 hrs was successful.  The entire group of people were ready for descent from the top of the hill with a different route in place.

Achintya discussed the itinerary ahead with everyone assembled in a circle. Everyone was able to see each other in the morning light and been self-introduced to the group. We were ready for the descent after the group picture for the remembrance. It was little risk however everyone were safe during the time of coming down from the hill.  We were able to reach the base village around 1030 hrs with a next bus scheduled with half hours. Every one of had breakfast at Chikballapur and ready for Bangalore.


The Descend

It was a great experience with a large group of people and well managed by Achintya and Team. I am looking forward to joining them again in future. 

Hiker Selfie



0 comments:

In Gods Own Country- Kerala (Wayanad) Part Two

23:02 Swajit 1 Comments


In Gods Own Country- Kerala (Wayanad)

Part Two


The Trekking Day- 15th Aug India’s 69th Independence day

The plan was to reach the Chembra Peak, which is the highest peak in Wayanad, at 2,100 m above sea level. Chembra is located near the town of Meppady and is 8 km south of Kalpetta. The enthusiasm to be at the top of Hill combined with youthful exuberance of Independence day was making everyone enough inspired to wake up early and get ready for the day.
Everyone was able to reach Peak Base Forest office at around 0830 hrs. It was 5kms uphill ride by jeep with 11 people including a guide . The hilly road was not  easy to ride with jeep in uphill way. We had to get down so that jeep could be able to go higher without any breakdown in the midway towards the place where the trekking adventure begins. The Trekking distance was about 3-4 km with approximately 1.5km steep in absolute sense.

The temperature was enough to make the environment humid. Our guide informs us as being not too many people to hike around in this season.

We are getting tired but the moment we saw few college going kids carrying the Indian flag and overtaking us, the motivation for having photograph of carrying Indian flags at the top really makes us feel inspired to carry on in spite of being tired .

Sumeet and I continued hiking towards the top while other choose to take a rest for a while. As seasoned trekker,  we took less break in middle and able to reach the top successfully.
The chembra peak was known to have Heart shaped lake near by but since it was very small what we saw. We realize the trekking is far from over finding some people in far distance from where we were discussing the particular lake as seen in the blog.

Reaching the place from where we can view the Heart shaped lake was amazing. A view that captures the heart in reality. We found fellow trekkers singing Indian Anthem celebrating by holding the Indian flag.What a moment to cherish forever for everyone including myself.

Heart Shaped Lake
I have the opportunity to have photograph holding National Flag like everyone else. We chose to take a rest at the Chembra Peak and waited for our mates to reach the peak as well. Frankly speaking I was not convinced whether they will be able or not and as soon as heard Prasad voice, I felt relieved to see every one at peak. In fact path towards actual chembra peak was prohibited by forest officials, however, the success at the midpoint was no less for us. Our guide informed us that Annapurna Jungle can be seen to be if we are allowed to trek that way. Few sessions of photography made us happy to celebrate the moment. Sreejith, Sumeet and Swajit ( All 3 of S) reached the starting point and waited for other people to come down where the jeep was there to take us towards forest office.





Sreejith, Sumeet and Swajit ( All 3 of S) reached the starting point and waited for other people to come down where the jeep was there to take us towards forest office. However everyone decided to take a walk enjoying the scenic environment while the jeep came from behind. Reaching the base point made us realize this trekking is over while new is about to begin.

Kanthanpara Waterfalls

Kanthanpara Waterfalls, a splendid and picturesque cascade situated towards the southeast of Kalpetta, in Wayanad, is a 25 km scenic drive. Some of us chose to have food at Hotel Paradise while Sumeet, Sreejith, Prashant including myself went back to Guest house.We were aware of Bonfire planned for the evening however we found the amazing food and surprisingly made us eat more than we can expect while we went to late evening stroll nearby places. Learned about the Guest house owner who decided to invest everything in operating Guest House and Bakery after leaving his work in a corporate environment for almost eight years. I was motivated, and still I am, wondering if I have the potential to do this kind of thing in my life.


The Bonfire was lit around us. The conversation was around life and overall. My experience as organizer of few trekking events made me feel confident about to ask everyone in the group the following question-
“Where do you see yourself Ideally five years down the line?”. My emphasis was more on Ideally” HERE”. Well, the question is just another cheesy question asked in an interview . I was able to explain everyone in simple terms to be truthful about self and then answer.


This question every trekking partners that been part of trekking events aware and  I  choose to ask no matter what. Such was the wonderful time that we never realized that it was more than 2-3 hours. there was a lot to learn from each other, every one had a different view towards life ambitions, It was good to see people participating wholeheartedly.

The next day trip was set for visiting Asia biggest Man Made Dam and Banasura Falls. It was our last day in Wayanad. The experience in a speed boat was amazing. Banasura Fall can be reached by almost about 1 km trekking from the parking spot. The access to the fall is through the small bridge. The experience of water droplets falling on everyone is a feel to enjoy.

Boat Ride
Bansura Falls

We had to return to our guest house to start another return journey back home with loads and loads of memories with amazing people around us. The return journey was somewhat tiresome physically, but mentally as I am again getting ready for next trip on my bucket list. The happiness in the achieving the things that I love and able to find people support of people who love doing the same can’t be explained in few thousand words  The memories are there to experience and cherish ….Thanks to everyone on this trip I was about to explore myself more about life that has to offer.

Let me end this travelogue with two lines by Mirza Ghalib –
Sair kar duniya ke gafil*, zindagani phir kahan…. 
zindagani gar rahi to, naujawani phir kahan
* GAFIL (गाफिल) Meaning in Hindi-  à¤²ापरवाह

My Wonderful Co-Riders Sreejith, Sumeet and Prashant
P.S: Thanks all the organizers for fantastic arrangements, also all the kind people in Kerala who helped us with directions. Also special thanks to my Jiju Rohit on helping me with the blog, being the editor for the same.

1 comments:

In Gods Own Country- Kerala (Waynad)

10:52 Swajit 0 Comments


Part One



I believe in appreciation of small things that keeps me going. For you, it can be spending time reading books to learn more or eating a bowl of ice cream sitting on the couch with little puppies playing around. For myself is to achieve something that is on bucket list – to travel the places I have never been around even in my country. It's similar to a self-inspiration sort. It pumps me up I feel to figure testing and do some things that you feel are hard to do or somewhat imagine the challenging sort of kind. So there it was, an opportunity for me to ride a bike for more than 250 km approximately in a day.

I was a bit skeptical for this trip yet, excited for the adventure that was truly a test of my enthusiasm and passionate biker who have traveled where the road and stops are well known.Taking the decision to be part of this trip was very easy due to my friend Sumeet and Prasad whom I was meeting for the first time.

Destination – Wayanad. Wayanad District is a district in the north-east of Kerala state, India with headquarters at the town of Kalpetta.

Date – 14- 15th August 2015

I was pretty excited as a kid in a big candy store for this cross-country trip for the first time. Planning and preparation are very crucial for any trip, and this was not the exception too. The Bike was ready almost five days earlier, and I was mentally ready for the D- a day which was 14th August as scheduled to start the early morning by 3.30 am.


The trip group consists of Nine people- 5 Bikes and One Car. Sumeet was only the person I was known and for others I was excited to meet and make new friends. The meeting points as predefined was 20 Kms from my current residence. Waking up and driving on the empty road with breeze passing through your hair is cool feeling. Isn't it? That’s right. The happiness to do something for the first time – the intrastate bike ride, new friends and new environment. The freedom is to love what you want to do and where you choose to be after all the Independence Day was just a few hours away.


Met Sumeet with his Apache 180 and waited for other friends to arrive at the meeting point.Sreejith, Prasad, and Prashant arrived simultaneously.  Navin ( with Car ) was advised the location as he was a little bit late to reach to the location.


Let me add here one Dialogue from the movie Deewar where Shashi Kapoor is speaking to Amitabh Bachchan under the bridge - “Car se aane waale aksar derr se aate hai. (People who come by car are usually late .)

Just Kidding Navin…..


The Journey Begins:

Swearing at someone is common at least as typical Mumbaikar I have done in past. (Admitting this is pure relaxation). We chose to take the trip towards the destination through Mysore road. The ride could have been easier if there were streetlights on the road However it was enough to maintain the speed of about 65 mph. The large bumpers were not on Highway still the barriers were there to keep the speed of smooth movement for everyone on the road.

Driving after tea break around 6.00 hrs, We reached around 100kms when my inner Mumbaikar rage to swear  after  being stuck behind a SWIFT car that stopped in the middle of the road without giving any signal to turn left.

I did what I supposed to do. ( No Brownie for Guess!).

The small incident made me feel alert and drive safely. The traffic was not enough to bother, drive and still enjoy the sunrise. Sumeet’s Bike had a minor mechanical issue that was solved using a tool from a tire repair shop nearby. In the meantime, four of 9 people were able to join us traveling in their car. (I refer them as Car group for easy to identify - Navin, Siddu, Nivedita, and Daya). With everyone around, we took the decision to have our breakfast at the near by place .


The First destination - Gopalswamy Betta.

Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta is a hill located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka, at a height of 1450m India.It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. The scene was exquisitely beautiful full of Marigold Flowers farms on all sides. It was on our way towards Wayanad. The view from Gopalswamy Betta was simply amazing in spite of the bumpy road leading up to the hill.

Being on top of the Hill, the cool breeze, and 360-degree view makes the whole environment memorable for all of the five bikers including myself. After capturing some photograph of that scenic atmosphere, We chose to take the halt only at Wayanad, Kerala. It was about almost 10.30 am or 11.00 am in the morning.

We are ready for next stage for our trip after offering for being grateful for the life at the Temple at Gopalaswamy Betta.

Gopalaswamy Betta

The Next 100 Km experience:

Driving through 10-15 km bumpy road and view of Marigold flowers on both sides.Every one of us was there at the section of the road leading into the Bandipur National Park, which we had to cross to enter into the state of  Kerala. The Bandipur forest is famous for its wild sightings There is strict no stopping as well as no horn sign on the road.

Welcome to Gods own Country- Kerala
For a moment, I did imagine what we ( basically, me) will do if our eyes meet the Tiger at that moment. However, the day was not for tiger sighting but Bison, just 100 feet away watching us.Bison is herbivores and eats simple foods. The bison's main foodstuff is grass though they will eat any available low-lying shrubbery. To make it memorable, I chose to take Selfie with my Phone with the elephant in background crossing the road.

Selfie with Elephant
Choosing not to be disappointed for not seeing tiger we kept moving forward. Life is also about same to keep moving in spite of little disappointment towards the way for bigger achievements.  We felt being really good as another step towards Wayanad the moment we saw a small board by Kerala Govt welcoming us to the state.


With broad smile hiding behind my mask, we are still around 40-50kms away from our final destination.


The road condition was good enough to keep the cruising speed at average and keep the riding enjoyable as well. We reached Wayanad around 12.30 pm crossing through our guest house in Kalpetta. The place was amazing. It was like a small villa with all amnesties. After covering round about 326 km on my odometer of the bike I stopped my engine. It was time to take a rest and have the lunch in Gods Own country.

​
Every one of us joined for lunch at  Mariya Restaurant for some local delicacy Fish and Kerala Parotha. Our car group were still having lunch when we left for the first destination in Wayanad, Lakkidi View Point. Assuming it as just a touring spot, the view from the place was breathtaking beautiful. Spending time in that scenery still makes me feel nostalgic even at this moment. It was time to soak all natural environments our country are blessed.
The next destination for us was  Pookode Lake, which is a scenic freshwater lake amid nestling amid evergreen forests .We choose not to go for boating; We just strolled around the area, met this wonderful being and few leeches as well.

Hey there little Fella 


Thanks to our friend Sreejith, we learnt the difference between two regions Malabar and Trivandrum. We had a conversation regarding famous local delicacies. The feel of being a traveller not only consist of enjoying the places but also the food around them. It was not possible without Sreejith whose knowledge of local delicacy made us have the amazing dinner in the different restaurant other than the previous one for lunch. Good food and a good companion made the night perfect ending for everyone. Before we headed to our bed, we had the set of instructions from Sumeet for next day.

visit Part two of my Blog:
Link is below
Part Two

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)