Nishani Motte...
Date: 23rd Jan 2016
Destination: Nishani Motte
A Trip towards Nishani Motte and Kurdi Hike An obscure place never knew about, not investigated much by climbers. Amidst regular Office – home life, this certain adventure sort of kept me alive. It was all the more interesting because I was accompanying with a remarkable group of individuals with whom I have gone previously as well on my hiking trips.
With standard pickup point from Shantala Bus stop, close to Majestic Bus Depot Bangalore, 13 individuals began the voyage towards Coorg. Despite the fact that everybody was late to reach the pickup point because of unpredicted Bangalore activity, yet at the same time we all figured out how to leave Bangalore by 11:15 PM. A quick round of presentation took after by our marvelous coordinator Lohit's schedule was all that much to anticipate. The destination was Nishani Motte; Motte implies egg, and The Mountain was named because its top resembled an egg. First stop would have been Bhangmandala a spot very nearly 300 km far from Bangalore. The adventure would have been long, so as opposed to chatting during the travel many of us went ahead for a nap while few among us stayed up to watch the movie Padosan.
We reached Bhagamandala, a pilgrimage place in Kodagu district of South Indian state of Karnataka. It is a sacred spot where Kaveri River meets by two small streams Kannike and the legendary Sujyoti River. There is gigantic temple called Sri Bhagandeshwara there. When we reached the temperature was about in 20-22 degree Celsius. Everybody was discussing a few individuals scrubbing down in such an early morning and this cold climate and what a fool they are!
Everybody was contemplating sprucing up and getting prepared for Trek utilizing the enormous open washroom managed by govt. On another hand, I and my companion Ahmed were considering accomplishing something insane and chose to swim in the solidifying water of Kaveri Sangam. Surely, it was a stupid choice; we got joined by new kindred climber Vivek for this experience. Every one of the 3 of us amidst disarray uneasiness and chilly climate, at last, got into the icy water. Water was cold while swimming saw some birds on banks of the waterway. An exceptionally old priest came offered rice to the birds, did his Pooja and went. After swimming for almost 20 mins, all of us came out of the water. Like that old priest, I offered my appreciation towards the god, did the rounds of the holy tree. It felt great.
eager to have
breakfast at a nearby canteen.
W
e had tea, ldli, and lemon rice. Despite everything, we had some time left on our side, because the guides were behind schedule a timetable for their entry. We went into the sanctuary Bhagandeshwara. An old temple worked in 1700's. It had magnificent carvings on its columns. It had Bhagandeshwara (Ishwara), Subramanya, Mahavishnu and Ganapati symbols. One of the interesting thing about this sanctuaries was its wood desires.
In all the four small temples just underneath the Shikhar, there were astounding wood carvings on it. In spite of the fact that it was some just divine beings, I honestly couldn't identify the reference what and who they signify. It was an awesome begin to the day. The Guides had arrived; our snacks were with us for the afternoon. The time had come to go on a trek.
The Long Mountain. (Nishani Motte)
Our Journey began from Talakaveri, Kodagu. The heavenly place from where Kaveri River begins their journey. The govt had made that place a significant visitor spot with a magnificent arrangement for temple and park visitors. We begin our adventure after taking the Darshan of Kaveri goddess, The most difficult part of this trek was carrying our heavy backpack along the entire adventure. Regularly we would keep our belongings at stopover place or homestay. It was completely forest trekking trail no homes apart from APC Homestay which was implied for forest authorities for their stay and use.
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| The Long Mountain(return journey Pic though) |
Taking the nourishment parcels and gathered substantial packs we were off. On that day, we should have to trek at least 16 km to go to reach the summit of the mountain and another three km to reach homestay. The entire course was experiencing the wilderness. As we began the adventure. We saw an egg shaped mountain somewhere through the mist. The Organizer said that was the destination to conquer.
The Afternoon Walk.
The Initial climbing course was a blend of here and there the route. We could see some proper street track clearly implied for forest department vehicles. The entire mountain appeared like had taken the front of yellow cover rather a typical green as this is not rainy season. The climate was entirely damp and dry; temperature was averaging around 28-30 Degrees C. We had two guides with us one in front and one in the back. Even we had some newbies for trekking; everybody was keeping pace with pace.
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| The Guarding Trees |
As we were strolling, the general talk and discourses were going on. Ahmed once in a while was attempting to take snaps. On another hand, the Master Photographer Pradip was keeping up an energetic speed and clicking pics just when the perspective appeared to be amazing. We tried keeping up the rate of around four km for each hour. The objective was to achieve the APC place before it was excessively dim. From the beginning stage of the trek, the street was for the most part downhill with a couple of minor uphills around.
We walked relentless for two hours however that egg formed Long Mountain never appeared to be closer; it stood tall in the sky. The main pit-stop we took was on top of a slope which was giving an incredible 360-degree view. Everybody was caught up in taking snaps; some liked just to sit and unwind. The main terrible part in this two hrs walk was the incident where Gauthem Leg got hurt when he stepped on a loose stone and slipped. As courageous as he seems to be, he shrugged off the pain and began walking. However further would have been harder as the street ahead was leading upwards which required a bit of climbing.
The decision to take the next pit-stop was close to some remote water source, for a meal break.The next 2-3 km walk was tough just with long trees ignoring us. The issue with Uphill trekking, this time, was everybody was carrying their substantial sack packs, so which was adding to the trouble level of this trek. Be that as it may, in any case, we had officially crossed nearly two mountains in the first pit-stop walk, we needed to cross simply one more enormous mountain, and we were going to break for lunch.
The tough uphill trekking course was draining the energy; I barely saw anybody clicking pics or taking rest. We strolled for another 1-1/2 hrs probably with an eye to achieving next point and taking rest. Walking past a Hill, there was a downhill road towards a trench leading towards Lunch spot. The Pulao Rice with curd was the main menu at the lunch. Since we couldn't carry a lot of water because of heavier packs, we were utilizing the little lake water to drink. We utilized a cloth to filter the water and drink. With Stomach full with great food at an awesome location, everybody was planning for a rest but our coordinator Lohit addressed the goal to get up so that we can reach the summit before the light gets dim. Daylight had lessened, mists were above us, and it didn't appear as though it would rain. However I felt now the climate was on our side at this point. Walking in the shed is obviously better than strolling in the sun over the head.
The Heavy Walk
It’s not advisable to eat the rice during trekking adventure for those who intend to go in future for trekking trips.The next 2-3 km which had to trek was with the slant of very much around 60-80 degrees. We were trekking at very much a moderate speed now; In spite of the fact that top of the mountain was not visible, we could see the mountain. Climb towards it was steep. With infant and little steps we continued strolling. On the clock, it was almost 4:00 PM now and still few km to trek. We achieved a point close to the genuine Nishani Motte Mountain. I looked to take a gander at up, and there it was the egg formed top. It was a relief to see the egg-shaped mountain but to reach on top everyone has to trek it on the mountain with the almost 80-degree slant of trekking towards the summit.
The Last Mile.
We were almost there with final 1-2 km upward trekking. After taking few steps, I realized I can’t do it further more as I was becoming short of breath while climbing few 10-15 steps. The Ascension had two sections to it. There was little slope part where everybody just took rest for 5-10 mins. As Pradip and I rested simply taking a look at the trip finished till now, my trek mates began proceeding onward. We were the last two of all the group people. The last climb was extremely steep, likely the steepest one I have encountered to date. With little steps, we moved forward and achieved the walkway which was leading towards a little slope/egg-like structure. We discovered everybody was simply lying around as if this is the summit. The guide informed that the real top is almost 700-800 meters ahead from the current position. We chose to push forward. A little more trekking for another couple of minute and after that, finally, we arrived at the top of the mountain.
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| The Organizers |
Time to Rest.
After spending an hour on top of the mountain, it was very nearly 6 PM now, the time had come to go towards APC which was approx. 3 km Downhill walk. Finally, we had a chance to sit and talk about our 5-6 hours of adventure in the gallery. The campfire was there with music playing. (Sad music by our DJ Pinku, however, she played great music on request). In the night time, it was cloudy weather and as most of the people were tired, and so after dinner, many of us decided to sleep off. Few guys played Cards before going to the bed for the night rest
Fast Forward Day 2
During the night, it was concluded that we were going to do 22 km on the second day, where a large portion of the way would be downhill trekking. The main thing that I recollect that day is that we were strolling consistently. The highlight of the day was swimming in open source water (see the pic); it was a colossal waterway to swim in. I got into the water promptly when I saw the stream. That point was a pit stop for us. We ate and trekked further. The highlight of the entire trail on that day was the swimming. We could see astounding views of mountains and Nature. The vast majority of the trail was through the forests, we honestly couldn't see many views around, it was excessively thick due to the wilderness.
We climbed from Coorg, Karnataka State and strolled our way into Kerala. The entire course was similar to this Bhagmandala – Talacauvery – Nishani Motte – APC – Kurudi – Chandathukolli. When we, at last, achieved the pickup point, everybody was so upbeat to finish 42 km level in 17 hrs. It was an exceptional accomplishment for my companions and me, and all the more so ever it was the second Anniversary of Bangalore Hikers Group. We celebrated in style and with great memories.
P.S- Special Thanks to the BH coordinator Lohit for all the awesome game plan, and to the gathering. The notable mention goes to the Forest officer who was our Guides for the trek. As a group, we stayed together regularly, and each one of us had a fabulous time. I got the chance to meet a couple of new individuals, particularly a great Tamilian a.k.a the Sweet kid Vivek Amunathan on account of him and Ahmed for helping to carry my Sleeping bag throughout the journey.
It was indeed a surreal experience, quite exhausting, looking forward to more such adventures.
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| The Group |
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good one swajit :)
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