Trip to BR Hills

( Aug 11 and 12th 2007 )

Getting up at 5:30 AM in the morning on a Saturday after a weeks work is always a challenge! But the thought of going out of Bangalore was a good enough reason to have us up and ready to go by 6:30 AM !
My cousin Jayaraj and family who often travel out into the wild had invited us this time to tag along with them . We were picked up from in front of Mantri paradise on Bannerghatta road and we set out to BR hills for spending a weekend in the Wild. We hit the NICE road from Bannerghatta, joined Kanakapura road and zipped along in the Turbo charged Scorpio.The Road is not all that good which in a way is a blessing as you tend to see more of the nature around you than have your eyes glued to the road.

This year the rain gods had blessed Karnataka with ample of rain and it was all over the papers and TV that across the state all the dams were full and had their gates open and it was a sight to see the water gushing down . On our way to BR Hills we stopped by Gagana Chukki to take a look at the falls and found it to be breath taking.

A few details on Gagana Chukki Falls ( from www.cauvery.com )

At Shivasamudram, the river branches into two, creating the second largest island in its course.Each branch of the river at Shivasamudram has a separate falls - the western falls known as Gagana Chukki and the eastern falls, Bhara Chukki.The 90-meter falls on the river rushing through the huge boulders attract the tourists during July-August when the river Kabini also floods along with Cauvery. Shivasamudram is also famous for its hydro power station which was started in 1902 by Sheshadri Ayyar, a dewan of Mysore. This is said to be the first hydro power station in Asia and from here power was supplied to Bangalore -- the first city to get power in India - in 1906 and then to Kolar Gold Fields and Mysore.

We had reached Gagana Chukki at 11 and since we had not yet had our breakfast so we treated ourself to some local bhel puri and also Cut cucumbers.

The Drive from Gagana Chukki to K Gudi was around 2 hours with a few T breaks . Finally we reached Jungle Lodges K Gudi at 2:00 PM . We checked into the Tent house freshened and were ready for Lunch . The lunch was simple yet delicious . After lunch we had a quick round of nap and got ready by 4:30 PM to go on to the safari.We got into Jeep along with our Guide and Driver Mr. Thapa and off we went into the wild . We could spot the Barking Deer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Muntjac),

Indian Gaur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaur) Lots of Cheetal ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetal) , Mongoose which darted across , as the jeep made its way into the forest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose)
Sambar Deer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambar_Deer) but the Leopard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard ) was elusive as ever ! The leopard was spotted by another group which started off with us but ventured into another part of the forest.

It was almost 7:00 PM by the time we got back to the Jungle Lodge. The camp fire was ready and we assembled around the fire . After warming ourself around the fire and listening to some flute recital from a localite we made our way to dinner and once again had a hearty meal and retired to bed.

August 12th

Sunday Morning at 6:00 AM we got a wake up call along with a cup of Coffee. we had a good nights sleep in the peaceful surrounding , no blaring horns , no noisy auto's just total silence.

We had registered for an early morning trek into the woods with one of the guides and at 6:30 AM we along with two more walked into the forest . The trek was a 5 Km trek and it took us 2 hours to complete it. We spotted the barking Deer during the trek and that was pretty much it , but the fresh crisp air , the greenery along the path, bird calls especially the Malabar whistling Thrush made it a good trek. Roopa managed to pick a quill of a dead porcupine ! It was amazing to see how beautiful these quills are and feel how strong and pointed they are .

Jungle Mein Mangle :- After returning from the trek , Roopa quickly using the ready to use Bheemana amavasya Kit prepared by her MIL , laid out everything neatly and did the Pooja , Prathima and Lakshmi visited our tent and offered their prayers too. Hey the kit also had prasada in the form of "Kadabu" which we all relished .

We finished breakfast and then headed on for the elephant ride, which took us a short distance into the forest . We got back packed our bags and left K Gudi at 11:00 AM.On the way back we went slowly along the curvaceous roads and enjoyed the greenery around us. We did stop by a stream and as per Lakshmi's instruction drank the fresh water from the stream. On her second attempt to drink the fresh water Lakshmi fell head first into the cold stream ! A few tears were shed and then after she got into warm set of clothes we continued our journey.

The next stop was BR hills , we stopped there and visited Billigiriranganatha , some interesting facts on BR Hills I found on the net ( http://www.outlooktraveller.com/destination.aspx?id=24)

It is a region so wild that the milestones are painted yellow and green for fear of marauding elephants. It has been noticed that wild elephants pull out white milestones. The Forest Department, incidentally, recently pulled one of them (the milestones) out of a tree. Welcome to BR Hills, short and sweet for Biligiri Rangana Betta. This was once a temple on a hillock with a rarely visited wildlife sanctuary nearby. That's until Jungle Lodges transformed it into the most amazing vacationing spot in Karnataka. The range stretches from north to south for about 16 km and takes its name from the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple, which stands atop its highest point. Though Biligiri in Kannada means `white mountain' (the granite cliffs here have turned white due to erosion), the name is clearly a misnomer. The entire area is a thick forest of green dotted by deciduous trees and patches of shola rainforest. In Lord Rangaswamy's temple , he is the patron deity of these forests , is a pair of outsized sandals measuring one foot and nine inches! Local legend contends that the deity uses these sandals to roam the adjoining forests. Almost as if by logical extension, the sandals wear out and are replaced by the villagers who say they are alerted about it in their dreams. The Soliga tribes are the oldest inhabitants of these forests. And then there is the odd signboard that warns you of the most elusive creature of the jungle , Veerappan! ( Now since he is gone , don't think the board is still around , I did not notice it )

The drive from BR Hills to Kollegal was very scenic .We did spot a variety of birds on our way back ...Kingfishers were spotted in a plenty ...scarlet minivet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Minivet) ..Kites,
Malabar whistling Thrush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabar_Whistling_Thrush)
Robins , Bee Catcher, Spotted Munia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-breasted_Munia). I am sure Lakshmi would remember a dozen more !

Our next stop was in kollegal and all of us were hungry , it was past 3:00 PM by the time we could find a place to eat . After having lunch we headed straight to Bangalore . We decided to take the Mysore road on the way back then the back crusher of a road along Kanakapura. After a stop for coconut water and Iced T we finally reached home at 9:00 PM.