God's own district in God's own land

It was strange. The car was coming around the bend. That is not strange. What was strange was that it was coming in reverse. I was about to take the turn when I saw this car coming around the bend. I turned to Gayathri and told her that this driver must be crazy as the car passed us, still in the reverse mode. Gayathri being more perceptive told me that the driver of that car was trying to say something to us. So I slowed down and did the same maneuver that he had done earlier, which was to come in reverse. I got on level with his car and heard him say something in Malayalam. I could make out that he was saying something about 'Aane', which sounded very close to the Tamil word 'yaanai', which means elephant. So most probably there was an elephant up ahead on the road !! The person sitting next to the driver got down. He was a typical Malayali, wearing a dhoti and sporting a beard. He moved forward with his body bent slightly and looked around the bend as kids do when they are playing hide-and-seek. He started saying something in Malayalam and I have no clue what he was saying but from his excitement I could guess he has sighted the pachyderm. A few minutes later we sighted the majestic tusker as he was climbing the hill. It was a great sight and one which I had least expected. Does add to the excitement of travel, doesn't it?

We had started that morning after breakfast at Chilligere. We had crossed the Tholpetty sanctuary and were proceeding towards Mananthavady when this incident occurred. Needless to say Gayathri and the kids were terribly excited. One the elephant made his way up, we continued on our way. I had initially thought of going to Calicut and I have heard that the ghat section leading to Calicut or Kozhikode was a lovely one. I was a bit upset that I would be missing driving on that section. I needn't have worried for the route I was to take was as lovely as any route that I had taken in this region.

Wynad is a district which adds to the great beauty that is Kerala. This is not the typical Kerala of backwaters, palm trees and coconut groves that we regularly see in the ads. This is a hilly and forest terrain. I had been to Vythri a few years earlier and had a great time there visiting places like Pookod lake and Soochipara falls. This time I was in another part of Wynad. The Tholpetty sanctuary, Kuruva islands, Tirunelly temple etc. Seeing the beauty that abounds in Wynad all I can say is that this is God's own district in God's own country. If anyone of you has not seen Wynad do plan a trip. It will definitely be worthwhile.

We got to Mananthavady, on the way buying slippers for Harini, who had lost one slipper earlier that day. Till Mananthavady the road is good and after Manathavady it becomes great. I am not talking about the condition of the road, which was good. I am talking about the ghat section. As you start climbing down you go over multiple hills and the ghats seem unending. Added to it was the fact at some places you had a canopy of trees where no sunlight would enter and at other places you could see tea plantations. This road which leads you to Talaserry is a joy if you love the hills. I was thrilled but Gayathri wasn't. She kept on asking, "When will this end?". I wanted it to continue for a long time and my wish was granted !!!

We had lunch at Talaserry, at a hotel which had outdoor service. It was hot and we were sitting by the sea. The waters were sparkling and we could see lot of boats and ships around. From there we went to Kannur, on the way we went to a beach where the sand is so tightly packed that we can drive our car there. It is also called a drive in beach. We stopped for some time at the Kannur beach. It is a nice beach and there were quite a few people though it was around 4 o clock. I guess the beach would get crowded later in the evening. From Kannur we started for our final destination, Nileswaram. We reached there as the sun was setting.

We checked into the Nalanda resorts, just outside of Nileswaram. It is a nice resort on the banks of the Nileswaram river. It sits bang on the NH17. Nice tidy rooms and good food. Being on the banks of the river is good and bad. Good because it makes for a lovely scenery. Bad because of the mosquitoes and other insects which bite !!! The service is slow. Infact I should write it as, the service is sloooooooooowwwww. It can really get on your nerves but the staff is so polite that you cannot kick them on their rear, which you so much want to do !!

The next morning we took the boat ride on Nileswaram backwaters. The boat was the traditional one you see on Kerala backwaters. The boatman rowed it with the long pole. It was an excellent one hour on the river wherein we got to see a lot of bird life and schools of tiny fishes. We saw the cormorant, kingfisher, some eagles and parrots. It was a bit hot that day and though I wanted the boat ride to last longer I was vetoed 3:1 by the women and we returned back to our room.

Evening saw us going to the Bekal fort. It is a nice structure and the view from the fort is great and you can see the typical Kerala scenery of the beach and the swaying coconut trees from here. You cannot go to the beach directly from the fort. You need to get back to the main road and then get to the beach. The Bekal beach was quite deserted and there were quite a lot of pebbles in the sand here. We stood in the beach for some time and watched the sun dip into the ocean and the sky changing its mood rapidly. We were back for a nice dinner at the resort.

I checked the map to see which was the best route to take. Initially my idea was to proceed till Mangalore via Kasargoad and then take the highway to Hassan. When I checked the map I saw that there was a deviation which I could take before I reached Hassan and this would lead me to Jalsa and then to Sulya from where I can go to Kukke Subramanya. Since Gayathri is interested in visiting holy places she was all for this route. The route turned out to be a nice one with the road twisting and turning and lot of coffee estates and forest area on the way. We reached Kukke around lunch and luckily before they close the doors of the temple. After the darshan we had lunch there and started for Hassan. The first twenty kilometers were hell with practically no road being present. It was an offroading experience. The road got superb around 5 kilometers before we hit the foothills of the Shiradi ghat. From there on till Nelamangala it was a great drive. As usual, from Nelamangala till home was a typical Bangalore drive, which you generally forget in a hurry. Thus ended our winter of 2005 trip.

The Amazing Karnataka - Kerala Border

The first thing that strikes you when you step out of your room at night is the number of stars in the sky and the clarity with which you can see them. We city dwellers rarely look up and when we do the haze ensures that you feel as if you need an eye checkup. So it was with wonder that we watched the sky and the stars at Kutta, late on a December night in the year 2005.

The earlier year we had been to Karwar and the West Coast of Karnataka. This year we decided to explore some other part of the same coast. The plan was to go to Kutta on the Karnataka Kerala border, stay there for a few days, proceed to Calicut and from there to Kasargod before getting back to Bangalore. Due to the winter holidays for the kids getting truncated, we had to forego the trip to Calicut but went straight to Nileswaram. But I am jumping ahead.

The trip as usual started with a breakfast at Kamat at Ramnagara. From there we took the deviation off Mysore road onto Srirangapatna and from there to Hunsur. At Hunsur bus stop you need to take a left to go to Nagarhole. After driving for some time you come to the forest gate. Here the forest guard told us to shut out all music and not to stop till we got to the other end and obviously not to get down anywhere in the middle. We were passing through the Nagarhole National Park and it was a great experience being in the forest. The roads were bad and so we had to drive slowly, which was fine with me. I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere and I was in no tearing hurry. There was absolutely no traffic there. The forest silently watches you and the call of some bird accentuates the silence and enhances the loneliness. It is wonderful feeling being there all alone. As we went along we kept looking around to see if we can spot some animals. As is usual around these parts, we only saw a few deers, which were looking at us with total disinterest.

We reached the other end of the park and the place where we were going to stay, Chilligere Estates, was around 6 kms from here. We had to take a small deviation from the main road and continue for another km or two before we got to this homestay. The homestay is a set of rooms adjacent to the main building, where the owners stay. The rooms were comfortable. The linen wasn't too white but I wasn't expecting a 5 Star hotel !!! We freshened up and had our lunch, which was delicious.

The Kerala border is around 6 to 8 kms from this place. Though there is a board announcing your arrival into Kerala, we felt there was no need for that. The moment you find that you are no longer shaking inside your car, you know you have arrived in Kerala !! The roads on Karnataka side were pathetic and those on the Kerala side were wonderful. That evening we crossed the border into Kerala to visit the Tholpetty sanctuary. Actually you can say that it is one more gate for the Nagarhole sanctuary !!! Both these sanctuaries are contiguous. We had to hire a jeep. They allow only jeeps or jeep type vehicles, like Qualis and Sumo. It was late in the evening when we went in and the light was just about starting to fade. We had a guide with us who was trying to spot some wild animals so that we felt that we have got the Rs.300 worth of experience. (That's what we paid for the jeep). He need not have worried. I was so taken up by the forest that seeing or not seeing a wild animal didn't matter. The fading light which filtered through the dense forest, the gurgling streams, the chatter of the birds was enough for me. Our guide was asking other jeep drivers if they had sighted any wild animals. The first wild animal we saw were the wild buffaloes. After this Gayathri suddenly sighted a wild boar. That is not a common sight. We then saw the usual inhabitants who are the most generally viewed, the derr and the langur. Our guide was not satisfied with these sightings and was thrilled when we could see a peacock in the wild. He was almost feeling that he has earned his salary !!! Then at a distance we saw around four elephants enjoying themselves in a small pool. Our guide attained nirvana. The sight was a fabulous one with two HUGE elephants and two smaller elephants bathing in that pool. It was far away and the light was dim so we couldn't get great photos.

We got back to our room and the host asked us what we saw. When we told them what we saw, they mentioned that this was what people generally saw. I later read a book about the animals in Nagarhole and Bandipur and it turns of that the majority of the denizens are nocturnal guys and appear only after we have gone to sleep !! So when you go there go for the experience of being in the forest and not for sighting any exotic wild animal.

After dinner we stepped out of our room and we saw the crystal clear sky and the million stars. Gayathri was first one out and she was stunned. She called me and showed the stars. After seeing the sky in the city when you see the sky in the countryside you feel as if you are wearing a pair of glasses which has corrected your vision and everything now is crystal clear !!! Luckily for us it was cloudless night. There is no haze nor any artificial lights around. The only light was from the main house and from our room. You can just relax fully taking in the grandness of the universe and the great silence all around. Makes you realize how little is needed to be at peace.

The next morning we started for the Iruppu falls. We drove down to the falls and could see lot of people who have come there to trek and get to the top of the Brahmagiri peak. At Iruppu you need to park your car and trek up to the waterfalls. The way up is beautiful and makes for a lovely small trek. Thankfully there was no plastic around but we saw another familiar not-so-great sight at the waterfall, men bathing in their undies !!! Somehow the sight of a waterfall tempts the Indian male to strip and at almost at every waterfall in South India you will find this rather unappetizing sight. It is made worse by the fact that most of these guys are totally out of shape but seem to have no inhibitions in displaying their oversize torsos. It is not that people should take a bath in a waterfall but can come equipped with some decent costume. Afterall you know that you are going to visit the waterfall. If people are sensible everyone can enjoy these places better. Iruppu falls is a lovely place and you can appreciate its beauty. Even guys with undies cannot take that away !!!

From Iruppu we drove down to see the tea plantations. I don't know the name of the place but it was great sight there. You would normally not expect a tea plantation in midst of the coffee country but there it was, reminding us of the tea estates that we saw in Waynad. From there we came back to our room. We were too tired that day so we decided not to go out in the evening and ended up playing some badminton there itself.

The next day saw us starting for the Tirunelli temple. We again entered Kerala, passed the Tholpetty Sanctuary and after some time took a sharp right turn (almost a U Turn). The area of Tholpetty is superb with very little traffic and trees on both sides blocking the sunlight or just letting only a few rays to pass through. We got to the foothills of a small hill on which the quaint temple stands. We climbed up to see us surrounded on all sides by the Brahmagiri ranges. It is an excellent sight from up there. The names of the mountains on all sides is mentioned on a board at he temple but unfortunately it is in Malayalam. You can trek a bit further up and you will get to a small waterfall and a stream that flows. We went up here and put our feet in water, which was ice cold. We also saw the Malabar Squirrel here. This a gigantic fellow, as far as squirrels go. He has a reddish coat and keep jumping from tree to tree. Unfortunately he was too far away and was constantly moving that it just was not possible to capture him on my camera.

From Tirunelli temple we got back to the Tholpetty - Manathavady road. You travel on this road for some distance and you get a T-junction. Taking right here leads to Mananthavady. Taking left and then taking a right leads to the Kuruva islands, which was our destination. Once you take the right turn the road narrows and after some time you start travelling on a village and towards the end of your journey on a mud road. Reminds you of the approach to Dubare.

The Kuruva islands can be reached by walking across the river, which is not very deep here. Or you can go by boat. We decided not to go to island but instead took a boat ride on the river. It was great experience. I was pestering the boat to look out for some snakes on the trees since I had seen a snake in the Lakkidi lake earlier. Gayathri was not impressed and was asking me as to why I wanted snakes. Suddenly the boatman spotted a small thin snake on a branch of a tree and took us near to that tree. Again the snake was too far away for a good picture but my day was made. We got back to our room and again decided to just relax in the evening. Other guests had come in that day and we made friends with them over bonfire that night.

The next day saw us starting off for the North Kerala coast about which I will write a separate post. We were saying good bye to an excellent place where there is lot to see and do and lot more if you don't want to see anything or do anything !!!