Corona had impacted everyone all around the world, and this was around the month of January, the time when things were getting better. At least we were hoping to get things better. Suddenly on a Friday night, I get a call from one of my friends asking me if I'd be interested for Narasimha Parvatha trek tomorrow. Narasimha Parvatha, also called as Agumbe peak is the tallest peak in the Agumbe range, around 3800ft above sea level. There are 2 ways to trek to the top, one from the Kigga, and one more from Malandur. Distance wise, its around 8kms from Kigga whereas 12-14kms from Malandur. We thought of starting from Kigga, near Sringeri, 2.5 hours from my home. Without giving much thought I agreed.

En-route to Kigga

The next day, I started from my home, early around 6 in the morning. We were to begin our trek by around 8:30 after getting the required permission. We reached Kigga around 8 in the morning, and headed to the RF's house, near Sri Rishya Shringeshwara temple, to get the permission. After giving our id cards, and paying the entry fee we started off for the trek. We parked our vehicles at the nearby house and started off climbing.

The climb to top

It was after long that I had been to a trek, and it felt good. Though  the time wasn't so convenient for trek, but we were covered by dense forest through the start. The trek to top is around 8km, and usually takes around 3-4 hours. The first quarter was quiet easy, going through forest, with well marked path all around. The second quarter too wasn't tough. Though the temperature was increasing slowly.

At around the mid point, we came across a big rock, where we took rest for few minutes to start off again. The next phase of our walk was all in the open. We had just covered half the distance, with another half still remaining. This walk was through steep hills, with not much of cover, nor shade. Finally we reached near the top part of the hill. On top of the hill, there's a storage house, indicating that people used to stay here before, or may be it was a part of guest house. Still climbing further, we reach the peak of top, providing a 360 degree view of the entire hill landscape. 

Picturesque view from top of Narasimha Parvatha

Picturesque view from top of Narasimha Parvatha

Narsimha Parvatha has a mythological as well historical reference too. On top of the hill, there's a small idol of God, which will be worshipped first, during the annual Shringeri Jatre. 

After spending some time here, and having our packed lunch, we decided to head back. Though there are multiple ways to reach the top, we decided to head back the same way. Getting down was quiet faster than climbing up. We were of course being pulled down by gravity, reaching back near the parking by around 1.

We were all quiet thirsty as all the water we had had got over by now. After having a small refreshment, we all headed back home, calling off for the day. Other than the trek, there are also few more places like Sri Rishya Shringeshwara temple, couple of falls, etc  near Kigga.

Overall Narsimha Parvatha trek is a beautiful place to go by. The trek level is moderate, with enough shade almost more than half the way. Also, please note that one has to get prior permission from forest officials, before trekking to top. This trek provides a splendid view, especially more when visiting  post monsoon.

Narsimha Parvatha: A trek to Agumbes Peak

Kiran K 0

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It was quiet long since I had met my engineering friends. One such holiday somewhere around October, we all decided to meet as all of us had been now connecting from home. We decided to meet at our common place near Karkala and later head out somewhere.

We all reached Karkala around 11 in the morning. And started searching for some falls to go around. But most of the falls were closed, and we were left with the last option of Sirimane falls. Without a second thought we drove from Karkala to Shringeri, a journey that usually takes around 1.5-2hours.

A hanging bridge on the way to Sringeri

View from the hanging bridge

View from the hanging bridge

On our way we had quiet a few pitstops to finally reach the Sirimane falls entrance near Kigga. But to our dismay the falls had been closed for sometime now due to some maintenance work. They had blocked all roads leading to falls. 

We stared exploring near by places, asking a couple of local for more info. Finally we found one more falls,  not much explored, Maghebailu falls. This ones near Kigga, around 5-7kms inside Kigga. The road leads directly to the Maghebailu house, where one can park his vehicle. 

Maghebailu House

Enquiring at the house, they told us about the way to take to reach the falls. Also, they asked if we would like to have lunch at our return, to which we happily agreed. 

The walk to falls isn't that tough, though one has to walk for roughly around 2kms. The path too is well walked one making it easy to identify. The walk goes through coffee plantations, water streams, forest, etc, making one to keep an eye on leeches. Finally after some 40 mins we reached the falls.

En-route to falls

Wodden logs near falls

The falls was absolutely stunning. It was so calm and serene, with nobody but just we friends there. We spent some time enjoying the beauty of falls and headed back to Maghebailu falls, where we were severed lunch.

The Maghebailu falls

The Maghebailu falls

Finally post lunch we all headed back home. Maghebailu falls is absolutely beautiful, not much crowded and very peaceful making it a perfect one day gateway.

Maghebailu Falls: An hidden treasure

Kiran K 0

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This trek happened somewhere around the month of September. Rainy season had just got over, falls were full. But visiting falls now would mean lot of crowd. Hence we thought of visiting place with very very less crowd. After searching for places, we finally finalized Nishani Motte. But things were a bit different this time. It was to be a group trek, and moreover I along with couple of other friends had to organize the entire trek.

So, once place got decided, people started coming in. By the day previous to the trip start, we had around 18 people. It was quite a big group to take care of, moreover arrangement's had to be made too. Finally we were all set with the bookings. We had booked a mini bus, stay for 18 people, contacted forest officials, everything was almost set.

So, finally it was a Friday evening. Bus started from Hebbal, picking up people on the way. We had booked for stay near Bagamandala, as its quite close by to the trek next day. By the time the bus left Bangalore, it was almost 11 in night.

Day 1:

We somehow managed to reach Bagamandala by around 6 in the morning. We had already booked a homestay for our stay, Akshaya Homestay. After getting freshen up, and having breakfast, we started our trek.

Before beginning the trek, we had to go and register in the forest department office, Bagamandala. After submitting the required id proofs and enrolling in the register, we were provided with a guide. The actual trek point was around 3-4kms from here. Since we had our own vehicle with us, it was easy heading to the starting point. There are actually 2 ways to trek to the top, and we choose to ascend in one and descend in another. 

Board near Forest checkpost depicting the entry point

Walk-in thru the plains

Just another walking day!

Algae all over a tree on our path

So, finally the trek began. The initial few kilometer's were nothing more than walking on some grasslands. But since it was just after onset of monsoon, we had our blood sucking friend, leeches, all around. The second phase was somewhere in midst of forest, well shaded. The last phase, was however a bit tiring, since it was a quite steep ascend. Throughout this stretch one could witness amazing scenic views all around. This stretch almost had everyone tired. Finally, after ascend the steep steep, we managed to reach on top. On top, it was clouds all around. It was just like walking in heaven, amidst of clouds. 

View en-route the trek

Just few more steps

Through the clouds

And the top of Nishani Motte

After a steep hike, everyone were quiet hungry and, we had the lunch which we had packed from the base. Now was the time for descend. It took us around 1 hour or so to descend. It was a very quick descend. But again, there were a lot of picturesque places with amazing sceneries both during ascend and descend. Finally after about an hour of walking, we reached another forest check post. This checkpost marks the end of our trek. From here we had to walk around 4-5kms to reach back to main road. But luckily for us, there were some local jeeps going, and we all hopped in it. Finally we reached back to our bus, waiting for us at the main road.

A small leaf frog 

It was evening by now, and most of people were already tired. Hence we headed back straight to homestay, had our campfire, and called off for the day.

Day2:

The next day, everyone were quite relaxed. After having an amazing breakfast at the homestay, we set off towards Talakaveri. It was hardly 15kms from here. But the entry to hilltop at Talakaveri was closed due to some reason. Hence we couldn't visit the hill, but visited the temple and headed back.

On our way back, since we dint have anything much to do, we visited Sri Bhagandeshwara temple, Bagamandala.  We were here almost at the lunch time, hence we decided to have our lunch here as well. Post lunch we were spent some time getting relaxed at the Sangama, where the rivers join to form Cauvery. Few of us got into water enjoying in the slow paced river, while rest were playing games, roaming around, keeping themselves occupied. 

Finally our group trip had come to an end today. We started back to Bengaluru from here, managing to reach by around 11.

Overall it was quite a wonderful trip. NishaniMotte, is absolutely an amazing place to trek by, especially given the fact that not much people come here. Moreover, the difficulty of the trek is somewhere around medium, but the view is as breath-taking as any other treks.

Nishani Motte : Easy steps for trekkers

Kiran K 0

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It was one of the few weekends in Bengaluru, where I was staying completely idle for the whole day. Not knowing what to do, I thought  of going on a ride. It was around 3 in the noon, that I took my bike out and headed towards north of Bengaluru.

I was riding past Chikkaballapur, when a small board grasped my attention. The name of the board was Gudibande. There was something unique with this name. The name when translated to Kannada  means a small gudi/hut/temple on top of a hill/rock. The name had made me curious to explore the place.

As I decided to take this road, I remembered that I had already been here. This is the same road that leads to Avalebetta. Avalebetta was hardly around 20 kms  from here. Given that there has been some restriction on climbing the rock of Avalebetta lately, I decided not to go there and headed straightly to Gudibande.

Just before reaching Gudibande town there is a huge lake which welcomes you. The lake, known as Bhiarasagara lake, as the name suggests, is spread quite vastly. The entire lake was very peaceful, and hardly had anyone in that lake. I could also sight few birds, both local and migratory, trying their luck in catching fish.

From the lake I could see a hilltop with a fort, which caught my attention. From the lake I next headed towards the fort.

Talking about Gudibande, Gudibande is a small town located north of Bangalore, near  Chikkaballapur,  approx 100km from Bengaluru. The town hosts a lake, few temples, a couple of hills and a fort. The fort is popularly known as Gudibande fort. The fort was build by  was built by local chieftain Byre Gowda some 400 years ago. The fort has striking similarity with the Madhugiri Fort, located in the Tumakuru district. 

The entry to the fort  starts with small road, deviating from the Gudibande main road. From the parking there are well laid steps which gradually leads to the top of the fort. There are around 900 steps till the top. Once you reach the top, there is a small temple located. Apart from the temple there is also a small pond , mostly made from the rainwater.

Steps leading from the parking lot to Fort top

Main entry gate of the fort

The layers of fort

A narrow passage

The fort overall has seven levels, each level raising higher than the previous level. Though few parts of the fort have broken over time, the place is still view-able.  The fort was very calm and hardly had a couple of other visitors apart from me.

Bhairavasagara lake from fort top

Since the time I had reach was in the evening, I decided to wait and witness a beautiful sunset over the fort. The sunset was equally beautiful as the fort.

Post sunset Scene

After enjoying the beautiful sunset, I headed back to the parking, riding off to Bengaluru.

Beautiful sunset at Gudibande

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Gokarna,a place in the coastal Karnataka, is famous for both sides of lives. On one side, theres the famous Mahabaleshwara temple, where in, Lord Ganesha dropped the idol of lord Shiva gifted to Ravana as boon of his worship on the sands, and on the other sides there are: Beaches, shacks, foreigners, food, fun, anything else one can think of.

Gokarna, is situated along the coastal Karnataka, at around 30km from the famous town Kumta. The place boasts of both sides of life: the religious life, and the fun loving life. People come in swarms to enjoy the life here. The place is covered by beaches all around. There are beaches almost everywhere : Om beach, Kudle beach,Half moon beach, Paradise beach, Gods own beach, etc. One good thing is all the places in this town can be covered by just walking. One can find people moving here and there, from one beach to the other, from one side to another whole day. 

Our trip started from Bangalore on a friday night. For people travelling from Bangalore there are sufficient buses to Gokarna . Also there is  availability of train, but are prone to be much slower than the bus. As an alternate mode of transport, one can also look into coming by his/her own transport too. We managed to reach early morning on Saturday and since we hadnt booked anything, we decided to visit one of the beaches and book for our stay on the spot. We have had good reviews about Kudle beach and hence decided  to visit  Kudle beach. The bus dropped us near the famous Gokarna temple. From there, one could either take a auto and reach Kudle beach(would cost around Rs.120) or could prefer walking on the main road. Since it was quite early morning rather than taking an auto we preferred to walk , but not on the main road, instead, walk on the sides of beach. Anyhow since all the beaches are connected , one can walk thru the coast  passing thru any hill or mountain separating the beaches. 

View of Gokarna Beach enroute to Kudle Beach

Finally we managed to reach Kudle beach, and started searching for a place to stay. Since it was off-season, we managed to secure a room for ourselves after asking around for sometime. Usually the shacks are pretty cheap here and a normal typical hut would cost somewhere around 400 while a room costed us 500 for a night.

Kudle Beach

Since we were quite hungry, without giving any second thought, we headed to a restaurant nearby. One good thing about the beaches here is the food. Typically all the hotels serve a variety of cuisines usually round the clock. That is one good thing about this place, especially if you are foody person.

Om Beach

Ferry for an Island near Om Beach

After our quick brunch, we decided to explore all the  beaches of Gokarna. Gokarna has many beaches in itself. It starts from the main Gokarna beach behind the Mahabaleshwara temple. From there if one heads southwards, after crossing a hilly terrain, one visits Kudle Beach. If one still continues further and crossing one more hill, you will end up in the Om beach. The Om-beach is a particularly famous destination among all people arriving here. This place got its name mainly due to "OM" shape of the beach. This beach is quite crowded most of the times. From Om beach, heading further down, after crossing few more hills, one visits the Half-moon beach. Again its quite evident from the name that the beach is in the shape of half moon. Heading further down, one croses over paradise beach. From my personal observation , i found this place more friendly if you are planning to stay in tents, though  you have to get your own tents. There were very less Indians/locals in this part of beach and the place hosted a relaxing look, much more than any other beaches. But the number of restaurants in this place was very less when compared to Kudle/Om Beach. Further down, after covering the stretch inside forest, thru terrains, finally one can see the Gods own country beach. This beach was all deserted and I could find people using this beach for fishing business. From here we took a bus back to gokarna and then finally ended up at Kudle beach.

Half Moon Beach 

Mesmerizing Sunset

One good thing about Gokarna is people are active even in the nights. One can find people roaming by the beach shore even at 12 in midnight. Also, usually there will be someone or the other performing or some event happening. Such events are bound to keep you entertained. But since we were quite tired after walking for the entire day, we decided to call off past midnight.

An artist performing in Kudle beach 

The next day was spent relaxing along the beach shores. This is one of the best places to either read, or indulge yourself in some activity or even learn something new.

Finally by evening, we had to leave back to Bangalore. On our way back, we paid visit to the famous Mahabaleshwara temple. Its said that this temple is the where one can find Atmalinga of lord shiva. 

Gokarna is a amazing place in itself and is bound to attract everyone towards it. The life over here is very colourful, relaxed and fun. Gokarna truly is a place to visit if you are looking for  a relaxing vacation with your loved and dear ones.

Get Relaxed in Gokarna

Kiran K 0

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