My Journal

Hi All,

After a considerable gap of 2 1/2 months, Me and Anil decided to give Kodachadri a try. This Place Kodachadri is located near Kollur ( approx 35 kms before Kollur )
The Place is known two important aspects. Its said and believed over ages that Sri Adi Shankaracharya did meditation here. There is Sarvajna Peetha on top of the peak to prove this theory. Another aspect being its a paradise for Adventure lovers, Trekkers and Hikers.

With not so supporting Physical fitness ( me and anil were having a lil fever and bad cold ), we set out to Shimoga on friday night by KSRTC Kempu Dabba ( Ordinary Red Box bus he he ). Last row seats were all that we could manage to get ( you can imagine to pleasure of the Journey !! ). We reached Shimoga by 4 Am and took a private Bus( hanuman Transports ) going to Kollur. After about 3 1/2 hrs journey we got down at a place called Kodachadri Cross, few mins after Hosa Nagara Town. From here the base camp to Kodachadri which is a Kaaka Angadi ( Malayali Tea shop ) is about 45 mins trek. As soon as we entered the jungle path, A strange noise cought our attention. After investigating for a few mins. We spotted a Grizzled Giant Indian Squirrel, one of the most Endangered squirrels, largely found near Cauvery Fishing camp. It was very fast and I could'nt photograph it. We reached Kaaka Angadi and had our Breakfast Puttu Kadale ( kind of Idly and a very famous breakfast in Kerala ).

We immediately prepared to climb Kodachadri peak as the weather was still cool and the sun was not harsh yet. Initially , there is some forest cover which gives a pleasurable trekking experience for beginners but not for long. After about 1 hr of hike, we are exposed to burning sun and this is a little difficult part of the trek. Once we hit the Grasslands, towards the right hand side, we can see the TB ( Travellers Bunglow ) on top of the peak.So, the chances of getting lost are very less. It is a short trekking distance ( about 4 hrs awt - average walking time ) to the TB. So, we decided to explore the beauty of the Nature around, took our own time and reached the TB by for lunch. Other than TB, there are two other small log huts which provide food and accomodation for budget concious trekkers to spend their night. We had decent lunch at the TB and relaxed for one good hour.

By around 4pm , we contiued our hike to the peak( sunset point ) which is about 45 mins - 1 hr from TB. We reached the peak by 5 and on the way we got to see Lord Ganesha temple ( Its a small cave temple, trekkers can opt to camp here too ).I saw the Sarvajna Peetha and wondered what a place Sri Adi Shankaracharya chose to meditate !!! It was truely amazing ! We met a few sadhus who had come there from distant places to meditate and got some information about the place from them. It was a very cloudy day, though the scenery from the top was pretty awesome , our hopes of seeing a gorgeous sunset was lost when the clouds refused to clear. we got a glimpse of beautiful sunset and before it got too dark, we decided to push harder to reach the TB as the route to TB is really dangerous. One side of the 3 ft path is a huge 1000 mtr cliff ! One has to be really careful during this small stretch of the journey.

We reached the TB and the rest of the day was a simple picnic. Lovely food was served for the dinner and we crashed off early as we had spent a sleepless previous night in the bus. Anil woke me up early in the morning and when I got up , he was really excited and shouting at me to come out of TB. I wondered what had excited him so much.. I rubbed my eyes and came out of TB n what I saw there was Unbelievable !!! Nature at its Best ! For a second, I felt like im seeing the great Niagara Falls.. I rubbed my eyes again to confirm it wasnt a dream. Both of us stood there dumb founded by the amazing beauty of the nature.. It took a lil while for us to realize it wasnt the Niagara Falls, but instead it was a Cloud Formation !!!

As there wasnt enough light, the Auto Foucs function failed on my cam and I had to manually focus with a polarizing Filter to get this Picture ! I had never photographed landscapes. I had to experiment for about 25 mins to produce this picture coz I had not carried my Tripod as most of the landscape Photographers do !

After having a cuppa tea , we got down to kaaka angadi in no time ( in an about 1 hr without any breaks ) as the weather was too very awesome for a trek. By 9, we finished the same malayali breakfast Puttu Kadale and realized it was all over.. Should we head back home ??? Few other trekkers decided to go to Varahi Dam for River Rafting, while other few decided to go to Kollur and then continue to Murdeshwar Beach which is about 3 hrs drive from Kollur.. We were not done yet ! I wanted more ! Yeh Dil Mange More !!! ... Really adventerous !! I enquired with the Tea shop owner and I was informed about a trek to kollur amidst thick canopy of Dali Forest Ranges ( Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary - rich in WIldlife ) which passes through a wonderful waterfall called Arishina Gundi .. The news bought a smile onto our faces and we decided to give it a try. We hired a guide who was well versed with the jungle trails and set out. We were accompanied by a group of young enthusiasts and we had company ! In no time , we were trekking deep inside Dali Forests and few places looked like they had not seen sunlight for years !! It was such close a canopy ! After 2 hrs of trek , we came across a small stream and we halted there for a while before crossing it.. The water was very sweet.we filled up our water bottles and continued our journey towards the water falls.. It was another 2 hrs trek from that place to reach an Untouched , heavenly place ... The Arishina Gundi Water fall . we all left a gush of Air in happiness and excitement after seeing such a lovely place.. We thanked our Guide Veerappa and decided to spend an hour playing in the water.. The water was too cold. It took some time for me to get comfortable inside the small pool formed by the waterfall.

It was so very refreshing and spending an hour in that place was never a problem for us !

But I had to shout at everyone to get out of the water as we had another 3-4 hrs of trek to reach our next destination , Kollur before dark .. We started from the place by 2.30 pm and the guide showed us the route towards kollur and he went back to Kodachadri ( we were happy to pay him 300 /- ) . Initally the way looked like a jeep track , but after about 10 mins there was hardly any way ! We had to make our own way and without the guide , it was a Task ! we were lucky not to get lost in that huge jungle.. Enjoying the silent and different noise of the jungle , we cleared the Dali forest ranges and reached kollur by evening.. We visited the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple after having some OK kinda food in one of the restuarants and moved towards Shimoga.

The funniest part was , we missed the Hanuman bus to shimoga and we had to hire a jeep to chase hanuman !!! The cost to reach shimoga was 40/- and to chase the departed hanuman was 500/- !!!! The 40 min chase was another adventure hehe :-) Overall, it was a fruitful expedition though it was not as trecherous as Mt. KP

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