Trekking, Cave exploration and River rafting on 30/31st July 2011
Synopsis of the Program.....
The Trek:- Monsoon at its best and its raining everywhere. Its amazing experience to be in western ghats specially now. With the short travel from Bangalore (about 5 hrs ) journey, there is a beautiful cave hill on the coorg-sakaleshpur border in the Bisile ghat range. Specialty of this hillock is there are couple of amazing lakes, a cave and about half kilometer rock formation. There are couple of grass lands which are amazing to see in this season there.
The Rafting:- The most enjoyable water sports is white water rafting. Our own western ghat gives so many options for rafting. One among them is cauvery river in Dubare elephant camp. The 7 KM raft ride is amazing in this season as cauvery river is brimming with beauty. You pass through thick forests and scenic surroundings negotiating mostly the calm rapids. River rafting here allows you to rejuvenate yourself and enjoy the flow of the river. River rafting here is safe and it’s usually a smooth stretch.
The visit:- Dubare is a picturesque forest area famous for its elephant training camp. It is located on the banks of the river Cauvery in between Siddapur and Kushalnagar. During the reign of erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, this place was used to train elephants for the Mysore Dussehra festival.An elephant training camp of the Forest Department of Coorg is located here. Local tribe, Kurba, dwell in Dubare. Here, you can observe and learn a great deal about the elephants
Stay:- Stay will be in a local house near Somvarpet.
Food:- Will be simple freshly cooked food.
Probable itinerary of the program.
Day1:-
Reach Trek Starting point and freshen up in the stream.
Have Breakfast and start the trek towards hill top.
Enjoy the beautiful lakes view and play in a small water falls.
Have lunch and rest for a while.
Trek up to the top of the hill and explore the cave. U get 360 degree view of the western ghat from this point.
start trek down to the foot hills and travel to the the night camp.
Reach the camp, Have camp fire and dinner.
For the trek route blog and photos please refer the fallowing link.
We had a beautiful monsoon trek on 16/17th July 2011. Heavy rain in the valley only added colors to the mother earths beauty. All streams are full, falls are brimming, grass lands are green to the core. The trekkers have captured some of the most beautiful pics. Here i am sharing some for the for the viewing pleasure. Thanks to Subbu and Manju for the nice pics.
This weekend ie., on 22/23rd Jan 2011, we have organised a open group trek to the fallowing route. Those who have not done this route can join us. If joining us, please send me scaned copy of some ID proof like DL, PAN card etc ASAP.
Sampath
Welcome to Sharavathi Nature Trails.....
Who we are?:- The sharavathi Nature Trails. is a non-profit Registered organization working on nature conservation and to generate rural employment. We conduct island camping, kayaking, canoeing in Sharavathi backwater and Trekking to very serene tarils in sharavathi valley where u will be exploring lots of hidden water falls.
The Sharavathi Valley:- The Sharavathi river valley nestled in the central Western Ghats, Shimoga district has been an ecological paradise. The Sharavathi River, rising at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk flows north-west and drops down in the Ghats at the world famous Jog falls. The sharavathi Valley is home for many water falls and to some of the beautiful streams. The valley is evergreen to semi-evergreen forest along with moist deciduous type of forests dominate the entire basin along with scrub savannah, grasslands, marshy areas and plantation of acacia, cash crops like areca and rubber providing diverse niches for a variety of taxa. Rare evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus, Syzygium, Cinnamon, Diospyros, Aglaia, endemic Palms along with the globally endangered Myrist-icasps makes this an ecologically sensitive region to be conserved and not marketed.
Accomdation:- Stay in tribals house. Food:- Food is going to be Simple Vegetarian food and it will be freshly cooked food at the camp site.
Day1:- * Reach Sagar by 6:00 AM in the morning. * Catch a jeep or van to reach trek starting point and freshen up on the way in a stream. * Reach Trek starting point and have Breakfast. * Start the trek towards first veegi falls. Spend some time in falls * Trek to second veegi falls. Play in the falls if interested. * Have lunch and trek towards melnur tribals house.. * Reach Melnur and Camp in tribal's house. * Have fun time around camp fire. * Have dinner and retire for the day.
Day2:- * Wake up by 5:00 AM and get freshen up quickly. * Have Tea and start the trek towards Kanoor fort. * Reach kanoor fort lake and have breakfast * Trek inside and ruined fort and then trek towards Hebbayyana keri * Have lunch and play in the river and trek to kanoor * Start the journey back to Bangalore
Our programs are basic and minimalist; do not expect city-like comfort, adjust with what ever is being provided.Any additional requests need to be made prior to the start of the program
We strictly do not allow smoking, drinking (alcohol) and consumption of non-veg on our programs. (If anyone voilates these rules, we will stop the activities right at that point)
We follow the 'leave no trace' & 'zero impact camping' practice; do not litter on the trail, please carry back all the material garbage you generate on the program
The forests have their own orchestra of sounds; use of Walkman's & music systems is strictly prohibited; we would like you listen to birds, animals, leaves and the wind
The locals, animals, birds have the right of 'way' and 'say' in our programs. We wish to respect their dignity to the fullest extent possible.
Thingstobring for the camping:-
A proper BackPack. (A bag which can be put on our back and other kinds of bags wont do).
A plate with a spoon for eating food. (Must) (please dont bring disposable like paper plate etc))
One cup for drinking water, tea etc. (Must) (please dont bring disposable like paper plate etc))
Please bring One lite bed sheet. Foam sleeping Mat will be arranged by us.
A small hand torche. (Must)
A 1 ltr. water bottle.
Please wear sandals, wearing shoe may be a problem as u have to removing when u r getting in to Boat.
Toilet kit (brush, toothpaste, comb
Sun cap and Sun lotion.
Please carry only items which we have mentioned. Please dont carry anything extra, if ur bag weighs heavy it will be discomfort to u.
Please feel free Mail to prapancha@gmail.com or call me on my mobile if you need any more information
We have come to end of another year. The year 2010 was so good and buzzing with activities. Only regret is we did not have chance to announce many treks as we were full almost all the weekends with our standard camp activities. The year 2010 monsoon treks were amazing as usual. We explored 3 more new water falls in the season. We had a clean up session along with students of 'Madras Christian college' in the valley. We cleaned up a common tourist point in the valley. It was another memorable moments with you all for the activities in the valley. Thank you all for making such a wonderful year of activities.
Moving forward,
We, the staff of "The Sharavathi Nature Trails.." Wish You Very Happy and Green New Year"in advance. We look forward to have you back in the valley.
Month of September was hectic for us, so could not think of announcing any trek. Many were asking for the trek trip after our first successful trip in august. So we are planning this "Bit of Trek, Bit of Cave Exploration, Bit of Wild life " program again this weekend (9/10th October 2010) with little change in the program. The stay will b inside wildlife sanctuary with tents.
Synopsis of the Bits..... Bit of Trek:-This is trek up to a hill lock. this hill lock is near Sakaleshpur Bisile ghat. This trek will b around 5KM one way. Its easy trek. On the trek route we come across 2 beautiful lakes on top of the hill and also a small water fall. Bit of Cave Exploration:- On top of the hill there is a huge and beautiful stone formation. In this stone formation there is a cave. Bit of Wild life:- We will b going for early morning safari in Nagarahole wild life sanctuary.
Stay:- Stay in the jungle by pitching tent.
Probable itinerary of the program.
Day1:-
Reach Trek Starting point and freshen up in the stream.
Have Breakfast and start the trek towards hill top.
Enjoy the beautiful lakes view and play in a small water falls.
Have lunch and rest for a while.
Trek up to the top of the hill and explore the cave. U get 360 degree view of the western ghat from this point.
start trek down to the foot hills and travel to the camp near Nagarhole national park.
Reach the camp, Have camp fire and dinner.
Day2:-
Wake up by 4AM. Freshen up and have tea and leave for Wild life Safari.
Roam around in the park travel back to the camp and have breakfast.
Visit Irupu falls,play in the water and have lunch.
Start travel back and reach Bangalore by around 10PM.
For the trek route blog and photos please refer the fallowing link.
Please mail me (prapancha@gmail.com) if anymore info u require. Let me know ASAP if u r joining us.
Some pics of these Bits....:-
Beautiful lake on top of the hill (i call it 'Spatika sarovara')
Beautiful falls on the hill top
Cave on top of the hill
Monday, August 30, 2010
Dear All, I had mentioned in my earlier mail about trek to Bheemeswara and dabbe falls coming weekend(4/5th sept). But this weekend i was in valley and i have come across 2 new beautiful water falls. So the itinerary will change. Here is the itinerary and other details about the trek.
Trek Route:-Hogekeri---->Vaddimakki water falls---> Megur(Halt)--->Doddabyana water falls--->Bheeswara water falls. The Sharavathi Valley:- The Sharavathi river valley nestled in the central Western Ghats, Shimoga district has been an ecological paradise. The Sharavathi River, rising at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk flows north-west and drops down in the Ghats at the world famous Jog falls. The sharavathi Valley is home for many water falls and to some of the beautiful streams. The valley is evergreen to semi-evergreen forest along with moist deciduous type of forests dominate the entire basin along with scrub savannah, grasslands, marshy areas and plantation of acacia, cash crops like areca and rubber providing diverse niches for a variety of taxa. Rare evergreen species such as Dipterocarpus, Syzygium, Cinnamon, Diospyros, Aglaia, endemic Palms along with the globally endangered Myrist-icasps makes this an ecologically sensitive region to be conserved and not marketed. Likely Itinerary for the 2 days trek
Departure:- on 3rd sept 2010 by KSRTC Rajahamsa busto Kargal. From there hire jeep to reachhogekeri.
Date:- 04-09-2010
* Reach Hogekeri , the Trek start point. * Freshen Up in the stream, Have Break fast. * Reach vaddimakki water falls and Have lunch. * Start the Trek towards Megur camp in a tribals house. * Have a Camp fire and enjoy the evening(Depends on rain situation). Also interact with Tribals. * Have dinner and retire for the day
Date:-05-09-2010
* Wake up by 6:00 AM and get freshen up quickly. * Have Breakfast and start the trek to Doddabyana water falls . * Trek to Bheeswara water falls and if possible Enjoy in the Water fall (depends on the water level. * Have lunch and Trek to the road. * Catch the vehicle and travel back to kargal and then to sagar. * travel back to bangalore.
Many of my trekkers after exploring Sharavathi valley trek routes, used to ask me if i have trek/camps and other programs in other parts of western ghats. As it used to be busy weekends in our camp, i had not thought of anything for a while. But i had some free weekends in august as there was less water sports activity. We planned to explore some new routes and we planned to combine various activity to make it more diverse activity program. Accordingly, we explored a 1 day trek route near sakaleshpur and combined it with wild life safari in Nagarhole sanctuary, rappelling and playing in a lake with life jacket. We announced this activity in the group for the weekend of 21/22nd of august. Though the initial response was less we could get about about 10 trekkers for the program finally. We hired a Tempo traveller. We planned to leave on Saturday early morning. As planned we started off at 4 am in the morning. But by the time we pickup everyone and leave Bangalore it was 6:45am. I was thinking it will b too late, but cab driver was just excellent and we were in channarayapattana by 9 am. We had quick breakfast and started off journey. We reached trek starting point by 11am and started off the trek. It was pleasant weather with now and then drizzling and mostly cloudy. Initially it was all over lush green coffee plantation. Then it was great evergreen forest cover. We were engaged in lot of talks while trekking and suddenly our fellow trekker kinjal pointed to a lake which was hiding under the thick forest cover. It was just an amazing view from the top. Though it was small the vegetation cover around the lake had given so much beauty to the lake. Trekkers took some nice shots of the place and moved on. After this point the talks got less and everyone was enjoying the natures wonderful creation. Few had gone ahead and had stopped on a small rock formation. This rock formation has been destroyed for granite quarrying. In the same place we had held a massive protest rally against this in the year 2006. Luckily it is now stopped though the damage is visible. It was a breath taking view from this point. There were small grass patches (locally called ByaNa) which were so green with budding grass. It was a treat for eyes. After a small stop over we moved further. We came across a small stream where we tanked up some mineral water. After some trek we came to a junction where we had to deviate to the peak where caves are there. But our lunch was getting ready down near another lake. We had to decide which is first. According to majority we decided to have lunch and moved towards lake, where our chief cook Dharmanna was preparing delicious lunch. Some got down to see a small water fall near the lake , others rested on the lake bed. It was an amazing place to be. The lake bed was looking like natural gulf course. Lunch was ready to b served. We just collected some plantain leaf to have the lunch which gave extra flavor to the delicious lunch. Dharmanna had prepared rice, eere kaayi sambaar, papad and pickle. It was just amazing to eat such a tasty food in such an amazing place. After the lunch we wasted no time and trekked towards peak. It started raining heavily.This peak gets covered with fog in almost all seasons. Its an amazing peak with 360 degree view of the western ghat. In this peak there is a rock formation which is almost 500 mts in length and about 100 ft depth. And this rock formation looks like curved stones and it has flat surface which is idea for claiming and rappelling . In the same rock formation there is a cave. We got in to the cave. Getting in to the cave is difficult as it as very small entrance. so once is pot bellied then its truly difficult ;). After the cave exploration we started going down the peak. It was raining heavily still. We reached the foothill of the peak , where our cab was waiting for us. It was truly awesome trek though it was short trek. We came across string of small lakes which are treat to nature lovers eyes. We got in to cab and drove towards Nagarahole. It was drizzling still. We drove through somvarpet , kushalnagar and hunsur. we reached camp leopard rock, where we supposed to stay by 10:30PM. Dinner was ready by then. As everyone were tired and sleepy just stuffed some food and slept off. Sharp 5 AM, Our instructor woke us up and asked us to get ready quickly to go for wild life safari. We had tea and left for the nagarahole sanctuary. After entering the gate we were observing both sides keenly for any movement of animals. After some distance , we came across spotted deer, which are very common. Then we came across wild boar. We reached nagarhole sanctuary office, where we opted to go on safari in to the sanctuary by department bus. We could not any special animals, we came across only deers and langur. All of us were really hungry , so planned move out of the sanctuary and reached the rappelling spot near the camp. By then our cook dharmanna had prepared nice "malnad akki rotti" and avalakki. we wasted no time filled up our stomach. It was nice breakfast. Our instructor Ram was readying the rappelling kit and by then we rested for a while. First Ram gave us demo and then asked all of us to go to the top of the rock one by one. First it was santhosh. He was daring, we were amazed to see his enthu. then all of us had a great experience. After the rappelling event, we traveled back to camp and rested for a while. Then we went to near by lake with life jacket and swam for a while. Then came a raft. we had bit of still water rafting. Came back to the camp and dressed up and assembled at the dining hall for the lunch. Dharmanna had prepared delicious bisi bele baath and curdrice with hesaru bele payasa. Had stomach full lunch. It was superb lunch. Then we had a final group photo session and said good bye to the camp and traveled towards Bangalore. Reached bangaore by 10:30pm. It was a great trek-trip with various adventure activities. I must say group was just great. An another awesome weekend we had in the ghat. And readying for another weekend camp and leaving tonight!!.
NOTE:- Our next trek is on 4/5th Spet 2010, which is next weekend. The route will b Bheemswara falls-->Dabbe falls. Bheemeswara is heaven on earth in the monsoon season. Please check the fallowing link for more info on this route:- http://sharavathi.blogspot.com/2008/07/mungaaru-maleye-yenu-ninna-hanigala.html . Please mail me ASAP if u r joining us.
