A solitaire mountain..Sita Bhoomi (Part-1)

 

A Solitary mountain stands in solitary grace in the center of the sanctuary which none can surpass this place in its different beauty. To visit this unknown beauty after lot of preparation finally last Saturday morning we got the permission from the required department & also one of them willing us to join our team. After lot of struggling to find to stay for one night & finally a different unexpected help we got 2 rooms in a 30years old forest Guest House by night 8 we occupied our room & also discussed with our guide about our conformed next day plan.

 

Next day early morning after taking a breakfast we picked our guide from his place & we started to walk from one place. After few minutes’ walk we entered thick evergreen thick forest which richness becomes dramatically the most pristine forest area is found in the rugged or non-existent and many areas remain uncharted wilderness.

 

It 

was amongst that rugged, uncharted and mostly trail-less wilderness area that the wandering this delightful forest that has been landscaped to encompass hills and it’s a natural waterways.

Across our journey we find a large foot mark of elephant still the patch was wet & was seems the habitation of these giant surrounding areas. But we are not willing to believe we are following them but one point in time we felt we are in its home. Without meeting any strange animals in initial stage we crossing one beautiful stream & started to climb between thick forests & finally we entered the bottom of one big open grassland mountain.

In the haze of down & the glow of sunrise the whole mountain turned gold & colorful. What a pleasant surprise walking in greenish grasslands touching on a cool breeze between uncountable Hip-Hop Mountains, Open hilltops, sun-drenched rocky bluff were a tremendous experience once I felt this is a real heaven on earth.

Across our journey we saw a beautiful Shola forests between mountains which becomes more numerous again the mountainous regions of this part which suitable for the abundant specious & it is infrequently seen in elsewhere on the western Ghat 
 

 

forest trees are characterized by their short stature with low to medium girth Trees show stunted growth with spreading canopy twiggy branch lets and foliage of different colors. Many endemic flora and fauna occur in these forests with extreme microclimatic conditions.

 

Trip to Mekedatu & Chunchi Waterfalls

 Bike trips are always excellent for me but this time instead of a bike we took "Scooty" we had no other choice so some wheels to take us to the fall was only choice left when we decided to go this wonderful place. Last December after a heavy breakfast I and my bro Ani started our journey around 9 in the morning towards Kanakpura our journey was not much interesting we took some fruits at Kanakpura and decided to visit Mekedatu first.

The drive in the evergreen forests to the falls is extremely beautiful. We drove only up to Cauvery-Akravati Sangama left our bike in a safe place and later we crossed the river doing by adventures walk, we had to pay 40Rs each for 4kms trip in Dakota bus. The journey was bumpy we just couldn’t sit after being thrown around we finally reached the final vantage point.

 

Mekedatu means Goat's Leap in Kannada. ‘Mekedatu’ is the place where the Kaveri River flows through a narrow ravine. Legend has it that the channel was so narrow that only a goat could jump across and hence the name Mekedatu. We climbed down on a rocky mountain & could see a close-up view of the small rough waterfalls & also a beautiful valley. We spent around one hour & had great adventure between rocky valleys.
Later after another 20 minutes drive we reached up to top of the Chunchi waterfalls. The waterfall is nestled among the amazing ranges of rocks on the banks of the River Arkavati. It is located on the way to Yelehalli from Sangam. The waterfall is in the backdrop of scenic settings and it offers eye catching panoramic views of the surroundings. It is surrounded by dense and green forests.

The scenery was marred only by the constant influx of visitors, but there was nothing to be done about that, and after a while at the falls, we went out clambering on the rocks that surround it. We visit to one more unknown beautiful waterfall which situated at another terrain was just 1hour thrilling walk from Chunchi. Evening shining in the mild sunlight in the valleys adds to the scenic beauty.

The Idyllic Holiday Trip...

I had an unmatched combination of holiday at a hill-station and also had an opportunity for exploring the wildlife, a few days back with my friends. This month 4^th morning at 9 we reached Mysore & we took morning shelter at my friend Ravi sir house; we started our journey a little late in a hired taxi.

Our journey initially was not much attractive but later we felt pretty good as per our plan late noon we reached MM hills &occupied  the already reserved rooms unloaded our luggage had food & we turned to see Hogenkal waterfalls. By 4.30 evening we reached Hogenkal & hired 2 boats to take us to the waterfalls. After a 30 minute journey in the boat reached another side of the river & had stunning view of the huge milky waterfalls Because of heavy volume in falls & lack of time we couldn’t reach the bottom of the waterfalls.

After having a scenic sunset we returned back to MM Hills & Night temple was very rush but easily we had grace of Goddess Mahadeswara with a help of some influence.

 

Next day we reached BR hills at 11 compare to MM hills this temple was little neat & scenic. Here Lord Ranganatha is situated on the highest peak (1700meters) of the hill range, on the 'white cliff' which gives the hill its name. The local form of the deity is called Biligiriranga and is depicted in a unique standing position. The Annual Car festival of the deity held during “Vaishakha “in the month of April, is famous in the region and attracts thousands of pilgrims from far and wide.

 

The local tribes present a large pair of slipper measuring 1 foot and 9 inches, made up of skin, to the Ranganathaswamy once in two years. The temple premise is also famous for its great valley view.

 

Next we reached K G Gudi, we decided to have Wild Safari. We booked one forest Jeep & by 4.30 we entered forest. Our expectation as not much initial While the numbers of species were small, we get incredibly (and safely) close to the animals.

The Jeep tour of the park was cutesy, but we were fortunate to get within an arms length of bison and other mammals. The portions of the park had live animal exhibits that were surprisingly intimate with the animals and yet humane. We enjoyed the park! It was clean and well kept.

 

The staffs were happy and friendly. We enjoyed looking at the animals in their native habitat it’s an hour tour through the free-roaming area of the park on board a motorized Jeep driven by one of the park guides who points out the different animals as we pass. See buffalo, deer, goats and geese up close and personal. For intrepid explorers, there are many trails from this place.

Finally we returned back from a wonderful unhurried scenic trip through some of the most spectacular places in Western Ghat.