A Toddle into the Wild…(Part -1)

D

Deepadakallu

My mind was not seeking to hike another drier mountain in this season & also how could I leave a wonderful first one-day cricket match. I am not in the mood to move out from watching cricket but finally I sacrificed Indian bowling session & moved towards not a well planned trip. I Was having a great dinner in Kamath Sir House we left Manglore at night 9pm and after a not much Hassle journey we were able to reach a nice sheltering place at late mid night. It was very chilling night and we got sound sleep since all were tired we slept barely 3-4 hours.

 When I opened my eyes the whole area was covered by thick haze & i freshened my lungs pleading with unadulterated my body inherently looking for more vivacity whatsoever we had to leave that place our intention was to start trekking early in the morning and everybody Comprehended  the value to start early.

So we freshened-up in nearby pond quickly (!) with a small ride we reached Bettada Bhiraveswara temple which was situated at top of a small hill. We parked our car in a safe place & collected the required information from the temple priest, had breakfast & everyone was well prepared for further voyage.

It was a nice journey walking in the chilling morning; there to feel the chilly and deafening wind blow. Early stretches we went towards exterior of the Pandavara Hill another side was a deep valley fully covered by milky mist looked very dramatic & beautiful. The white fog was all-over which was surrounded by mountains along with the blue sky, which proved as a perfect outlook. Our journey was through mix forest and unadorned harsh rugged grasslands & dry mountains.

As we hiked the foggy clouds we reached a level terrain Then we had 2 option to hike from right & left side we chose the right side of the path and we took deviation inside the forest & simply laid on us a trouble, nothing could stop our eagerness we endeavored with great effort into the deep forest we were able to find the rout with small scratches. 30 minutes later by a normal walk we were able to stand at the open grassland area in the bottom of Dipadakallu.

Next our trail was not easy the initial trek of 1.5 Kms proved little knotty as most the terrain had an incline of 70 degrees till the top stage of the hill. With our team-effort we reached the top and had taken enough time under the big rock-strewn which was situated on top most of the mountain. The setting over the bottom of the rock was strangely serene and harmonious. We had taken some food to recharge our energy level & rest our body & mind for a while.

Few of us climbed the top steep huge rocky without any equipment & explored each part of it. Here was a remarkable mix of natural gravity-defying rock formations; the boulder-strewn area was rich in small caves and hollows. We discovered some small caves & at one cave we saw some human activities later I got information through a local villager that yearly once combining together & lamp the light at night & worship local gods under another side of the hill.

 

The most striking elements of these ranges are the eerie formations, with huge rocks balancing precariously upon each other. Though appearing to be stacked by giants, they are purely a result of erosion and time. Softer volcanic rock is eaten away leaving the harder granite, the normal weathering process separating the rocks from each other fascinating rocks with its centre rock looking like falling at any moment. We enjoyed in this rocky mountain later we 3 joined our rest of the team when they already left us & walking towards to next hill range.

 

to be continued...

Photos By Myself &Ashok