Bender theertha - Hot water spring

Bender Theertha: Irde, Puttur
Bender theertha is the only place in south India for Hot water spring situatated near Seerehole river, Irde Puttur South kanara district of Karnataka. Around 1350 to 4600 liters of warm mineral water oozes out for every hour. The temperature of the water is about 106 degree Fahrenheit. The water has a lingering aroma of sandalwood and If one takes a bath in this, it could cure many skin related diseases. The pool is located in the midst of vast arecanut plantations and on the bank of gently flowing seerehole river. The road is approachable by vehicle.
This place was donated for the public by Late N. Shrinvasa Rai, irde and a nameplate was provided by Shree Aanaje Ganesh Rai . This place used to attract lot of curious visitor and could be an ideal picnic spot for the nature lovers. Bender Theertha is one of the amazing places to be found around Puttur.

Monsoon expedition to the peak of kudremukh

The undampening spirit of the team was all set for the monsoon expedition to the Peak of Kudremukh, popularly known as Amazon of Karnataka. Kudremukh is located in the chickmagalur district of Karnataka and stands next to Agumbe for receiving heavy rainfalls.
A Team of ten people which included Sandeep, Sandhya Bhagya, Vivek, Vishnu, Gani, Agni, Raghu and me stepped into this adventurous trek. A tempo traveler with 10 seat capacity was hired from Bangalore on Friday.
The plan was to leave Bangalore on Friday, trek to the peak of kudremukh on Saturday and visit nearby places on Sunday morning and return to Bangalore in the evening. The journey from Bangalore -> Hassan -> Chikmagalur -> to Kudremukh was lengthy because of the continuous downpour and the bumpy pot holed roads. In couple of places, the streams were overflowing and the roads were clogged and unusable. Unexpectedly team reached kudremukh late in the saturday morning and trek was postponed to the very next day.
Team decided to visit the nearby places on saturday. The famous "Annaporneshwari" temple is located in horanadu and its very close to kudremukh, we visited the temple and spent rest of the day. The crowd was very less and after the darshan the lunch served in the temple was the ultimate feast for our bellies.
Our official guide to the kudremuka peak was Mr. Uday who is working for Kudremukha reserved forest department. He joined us in kudremukh and accompanied for the rest of our journey. We reached Samse in the evening which is the base of Kudremukha and took a short break for evening snacks. The stay was arranged in satheesh's house at mullodi which is probably 8KMs from Samse. Since Tempo Traveller could not make it to that place we hired two Mahindra jeeps from samse to reach Sateesh's house. The Trail from Samse to Mullodi was very bad, the four wheelers drive vehicle had put all of its effort over the slippery mud roads and uprooted trees along with the overflowing streams. It took us nearly an hour to reach sateesh's house. It was already dark by the time we reached Sateesh's house. After having decent dinner we went to bed. The whole night was spent with the lullabys of heavy downpour and roaring winds.

The breezy wind and heavy downpour awakened us in the morning, after having good breakfast, the team geared up to start the expedition at 8.30PM. We were supposed to return by 3PM as per the plan. The entire stretch had 16 KM in distance, so we did not carry any lunch boxes. Common salt and lemons were packed in Sandy's bag. None of them carried any water bottles either. Finally we took off from mullodi, the initial trail was bit slippery and the downpour was steady. The whole atmosphere looked very misty, the visibility started to fade off as we moved further into the deep woods.

After decent trail of 3KM, we reached Ontimara (Standalone tree) and took a break for a while. Further ahead we had challenges of crossing three mighty streams. The streams were overflowing with heavy water current. The first one was quite narrow and was a kind of doable task however, because of heavy downpour overnight, the water was gushing out heavily. We formed a human chain and managed to cross one by one however while crossing I couldn’t control myself against the water current and slipped but escaped unhurt.

The second one was even more threatening since it was wide and the water current was very heavy, while crossing the stream I was literally carried away by the flow and lost my control however i was managed to survive but in the hurdle i lost my pair of slippers.

This was kind of a shocking to me, since i had to trek barefooted for rest of the stretch, however with much enthusiasm and spirit i continued with barefooted. The third one was bit deep, however there was no problem in crossing that and the team moved further into the deep jungle. All the way we were the target of tiger leaches and gusty wind. We reached lobo's house which is deserted now, took a little break for snacks and removed the leaches that were firmly struck to our body with salts and lemons.

Further ahead weather started to show its ugly face, while we ascending the cliff, the rough weather had other plans. The wind was so heavy that it literally pushed us away and couple of times we had to sit on the ground holding it affirm until the wind subdued. The visibility was very minimal and downpour was heavy as we approached the cliff. I was hardly seeing anything, We managed to reach the peak at around 3 PM. The downpour and wind so heavy that we could not breathe for a while, Questions of taking groups snaps and having snacks was a unthinkable.
Somehow we managed to stay for 5 min at the peak and started to descend

The gusty wind was so powerful that we literally start to crawl on our feet to descend the cliff. By the time many folks were victims of muscle cramp, numbness, and tiredness. The most worsening part was that we were not able to take a break for having snacks and the starving stomach added more misery to our agony. The weather started to turn even colder as the time ticked. I had to bear the leach bites all the way and the thorny bushes were mercilessly piercing my feet.
Descending the cliff was a mammoth task as the visibility was very low and trail was more slippery. We were under the mercy of gusty wind and downpour. Slowly and carefully we descended the peak and reached lobo's house at 6.30 PM by that time it was getting darker, the sound of the water gushing out from the falls and water flowing in the streams could be heard from the very distance. Folks were hurrying to cross the streams. Couple of them was trying to pick up the speed few of them were left behind. Raghu, Vishnu, and I were limping, we tried to catch the phase with rest of our folks however we could not. I was barefooted while Vishnu and Raghu had a muscle cramp and heavy downpour discouraged our efforts. The deep jungle was so thick that sometimes we felt that we had lost the trail and heading towards unknown place.
.We whistled, shouted and couple of times we tried clapping with our numb hands but there was no response from anywhere. With faith in us we just kept walking. The kudremukh forest is a house for many wild animals like bison, snakes, Wild dogs, bears and cheetahs. It was totally dark and literally nothing was visible. None of us were carrying the torch except sandy, but he was ahead of us. I started to get a weird feeling of crossing the stream would be an impossible task. Hopes of reaching sateesh's place now seemed to be a mere dream. Leaches sucked our blood to the maximum, while the gusty winds and heavy downpour crippled us. With hands and feet completely frozen everyone had lost the hope of crossing the streams. With great difficulties in the dark we managed to reach the stream. It was that point of time, we could see torch light and few folks waving at us. It was sateesh's and his brothers waiting for us at the other end. The lost hopes were regained, the agony and pain started to vanish. The plight of us seemed to be answered, finally we were rescued from the deep mess. Sateesh and his brother helped us to cross all the streams and everyone managed to reach sateesh's house with a sigh of relief and excitement. Gratitude and love showered on sateesh's family. We had never estimated this adventures trek would take such a turn. But everything seemed to be survival for the fittest, there is a famous kannada saying "Isabeku idu jaisabeku"

Trek to Koodlu falls - Agumbe

"Agumbe" the chirapunjee of South India is one of the prides of Western ghats. It receives the highest rainfall in south India and located in Shimoga district of Karnataka. The belt of Agumbe has dense forest with rich vegetation. "Malgudi days" is a famous television serial which was directed by Shankar Nag and is based on the novels written by R. K. Narayan were shot in Agumbe. The renowned herpetologist, Romulus Whitaker called Agumbe the capital of King Cobra. An area near Agumbe has been converted into a protected area for Medicinal Plants to help in their conservation
A team of 14 members including myself from AOL India had planned for Agumbe trip. After water sports adventure in sita nadi the next plan was to trek to the koodlu thirtha or koodlu falls, the origin of sita nadi.
The falls is located in the dense forest of Agumbe. It is a day trek and the entire stretch was about a distance of 18KM. Guides from adreno adventure groups accompanied us. The weather was cloudy, the rain was bit normal but not so heavy. We had hired a tempo traveller and all of us reached the base of the trek. We had to apply neem oils and tuck tobacco leaves inside our shoes in order to save from the leach bites. After the initial preparation everyone was set for the trek. The Greenery had soothing affect to one's visions, the beautiful scenic view of dense forest is a feast for the nature lovers. The initial trail is pretty easy and after covering a distance of 5 KM through the woods the trail started to narrow down.
Uprooted trees and stream overflowing on the path were the common sights. The day was bit cloudy and weather was bit humid. We were carried away by the chirping sounds of the birds and splashing water in the streams, its a paradise for the nature lovers.
As the journey progressed we approached the dense forest, the trail started to narrow down and was steep. Crystal clear water in the streams were gushing out with high current. After crossing the streams with some difficulties the tobacco leaves became unusable and the salt was dissolved. The hungry leaches started to attack us, everyone had tough time in managing the leach bites. The steep trail had more uprooted trees, and bit slippery. After ascending the woods we reached the base of koodlu falls.
The koodlu falls is about 70 meters of height and had a roaring sound. The fall seemed to be at its best, overnight rainfall had magnified it. Going near the falls was quite challenging since we had cross the stream. The adreno guys tied the rope from one end to the other, one by one we crossed the streams against the heavy water current with the help of rope. The rocks were slippery and one had to crawl slowly to reach near the falls. The sight near the falls was magnificent. The roaring sound of the falls could make anyone deaf. The chilled water splashed all over us. The sight was amazing, the sparkling water formed a rainbow and entertained us for a while. After spending nearly 30 Min's of time in the falls, we started to return from the falls. The atmosphere was awesome. The trek to koodlu falls can be a good initiative for the non trekkers.

Trek to Kodachadri through Hidlumane falls

Trek to kodachadri through Hidlumane falls in the monsoon is one of my most memorable and chilling experiences so far. The dense forests, hungry leaches, the slippery and lush green trails, creaky termites, thick clouds, tiny streams with gushing waters and creamy mists is the total package for this wonderful adventure.
Kodachadri extends the western ghats and it is located in shimoga district, near to the famous Kollur temple in karnataka. This dense forest is not only rich in flora but also houses for some of the wildest animals like tiger, deer, cheetah, wild cats, bears and bison.
The hiking team had 9 people, Seven of us (Fire IPS alias Yajensh, Bunts, Yash, Sandeep,Sandhya,pavan, myself )started off from bangalore at 8.00pm on 20th June and reached kollur via Siradi ghat at 8AM next day. The overnight journey was not bad, We took a guest house in kollur to refresh ourself and caught a bus to nittur at 8.30AM. Dynamic Raghu akka our Project manager and our guide vijay had promisied us to meet in nittur. After reaching and catching up those guys at nittur, we took some food stuffs and tucked in our bags.

Aalagudu is the starting point for the hidlumane falls-kodachadri trek and its around 1 km from nittur. The initial stretch is pretty straight forward and easy but as you pass by the villages one will be greeted by rich green vegetation and streams with ice cold fresh waters and tiny fishes surfacing over it. A small break in the stream will refresh the journey.
after the village, one has to pass by the dense forest, the stretch is bit slippery since it rained heavily for the last few days. The wet leaves spread across the trail, the creaky termites and our friendly neighborhood leaches welcomes you as one gets deep into the forest. The rich vegetation has everything from jack fruit to wild animals like tiger, bear, bison and cheetah. The weather was pretty calm and much cloudy. The trail to hidlumane falls is not so easy, its quite narrow, and need to cross over by couple of slippery rocks.One has to take the help of uprooted shrubs and roots while crossing the slippery rocks.

The difficulties in reaching the spot was paid off after taking bath in the wonderful hidlumane falls and relaxing under the powerful water gushing out, it will massage one's body and relieve all the pains from the journey. The hidlumane falls could be around 70 to 80 feet of height. It was around 1PM, after taking bath we were hungry for food, we opened up the parceled food items and had everything one by one. Next we had to climb the slippery rocks and move on to the next trail to kodachadri.
We trekked for around 5 KMs in the dense forest and reached the Jeep route of kodachadri. After 30 Min's of walk we reached the top of kodachadri where Kannada film GAALIPATA was shot. The location was awesome, it was around 5.30 PM, the
weather was bit cloudy and windy but there was no rain, the creamy cloud started to engulfing the top of kodachadri from a distance.
One can see the beauty of Western ghats over here. The team rested for a while and after few pose for the photos, we headed towards the kodachadri guest house. The time we reached guest house was totally engulfed by the clouds, the visibility was very low by 6.30PM. We were served by Hot tea and later with awesome dinner. We called off for the day and everyone got into deep sleep.

The guest house is run by karnataka state government and it is located almost at the peak of kodachadri. At 7.00AM the visibility was very bad and with downpour started in the early morning hours the weather was very cold. After having good breakfast, we headed towards Shankarachary's peetha. The entire stretch is once again a feast for one's eyes however, because of heavy mist the visibility was quite poor. Shankaracharya's peeta is located at the top, and one can also see the SunSet point. Folks from nearby state kerla rush to this place in the auspicious days.

Will Movie Gaalipata beat the expectations

Time to review the expectations of mostly awaited Kannada movie "Gaalipata". The film has been released in every corner of karnataka and in the neighbouring states as well. The promos are promising, the songs have become toppers in all the leading kannada channels. Ganesh as usual at his best, new comers show freshness in the promos.Rathnavelu's camera work show new dimenions of kodachadri.

Will all these factors along with the supporting actors like legendary Ananthnag help gaalipata to fly high and break all the jinx and records that were created by mungaru male in comings days.?

Munnar

"Munnar", an emerging tourist destination is located in God's own country Kerla of south India, famous for its lush green shrubs of tea plantation spreads across the hill station.
"Moon -air" as the name coined in Malayalam is the place where the three rivers meet in the valley. In fact this was a summer resort for East India company when they ruled India in those days.
Wild animals like Elephants, tigers, bison, bears were the common sights for the people those days in munnar and hunting was daily "must-do" activity for the Englishmen.


This was captured on the way to munnar from kochi
Munnar is famous for the Tea plantations, and once famous "Kannan devan chai" tea factory is located here. Munnar is easily accessible from roads.
Kochi is the nearest airport, its 130 KM from kochi, Taxi's or buses are available from the airport


Home stays are the best bet for staying in munnar, its quite reasonable compared to those luxurious hotels and one can expect homely food with friendly hospitality. We had stayed in "Rose Garden" a homestay which is located in karadipura around 13km from munnar.


Couple of awesome places which are feast for one's eyes are located in Munnar and I have highlighted few of them which I had visited.

View point

The most breath taking view of the munnar city could be captured here.This place pulls the maximum visitors in the morning and in the dawn. After sunset one can see that whole munnar is covered by thick creamy mist which would make anyone to go ga ga

Top Station.


A trekkers point where people can walk around the woods enjoying the nature beauty. Visitors are not allowed after 6.00 PM because of the wild animals in the woods.
The rich greenery creates an inerasable memories in one's mind.

Tata Tea museum


One can feel and view how tea powder is manufactured from the tea plants. This museum is open for public from 10 AM to 4PM on all days.
A visit to this museum one can witness the nurturing of tea in plantation to the process of manufacturing and packing along with the demo's from the experts.
This museum also heads few of the antics of east India company and the history of munnar.

Eravikulum National park


A beautiful wildlife sanctuary with the provision for safari is provided in this place. If luck is in favor then one can see the Niligiri tahr, a kind of wild goat which are now in extinct could be found in the early morning or late evening of the safari. Anamudi which resembles an elephant's head also a highest point in munnar is here. This breath taking hillocks with lush greenery is spread over 97 sq km in the rajamali hills.

Mattupetty Dam.

A dam built using the mixture of limestone and jaggery over the Mattupetty lake is a beautiful picnic spot with the panoramic view of the tea plantations and the lake. Boating facilities ( speed motor boating and row boating)are available in the lake. This was built using limestone and jaggery in those days and stills looks solid.

Finally, munnar is not only treat for the eyes also a mesmerizing dreams for newly married couple to enjoy the nature and feel one another. That is the reason munnar is one of the hottest honey moon destination