Jog Splendor - Malnad's beauty!

Travel to Malnad - Karnataka's ghat sections is most sought after place in the monsoons by many connoisseurs of Nature! This expedition was very exciting, right from the very moment the itinerary was laid!! Planned for a 2-day jaunt to Malnad.. Started on a friday morning to Jog Falls to reach the destiny - Matthuga, a homestay, by noon... On the way to Jog, the sunflower farms did not allow us to go past the charming yellow meadows! Stopped to give our eyes, a yellow retreat... Calm place, fresh air, yellow sunflowers
dancing to the tunes of light breeze energized us...

As we drove towards Sagara, one of the well known
towns near the World famous Water falls, the monsoon had already started to shower! We started to get the feel of the Mungaaru Male - Monsoon downpour in the ghats... Drive in the rains was an ever-enduring experience for us... Reached Matthuga, a home-away-from-home, a new homestay, just 8-kms from the popular Jog Falls! Relaxed for a while, had the authentic Malnad food.. A very homely ambience @Matthuga is amidst huge plantations of coconut, arecanut, banana and vast variety of spices. We were on our toes to head to Jog.. Just a drive of
quarter of an hour from Matthuga, we landed
@Jog! On seeing the spectacular view of the Jog's splendor, we could not resist to take a down trek to the base.. Thanks to the tourism department here, the down trek was an easy one along the cemented stairway till the base of Jog!! As we trekked downwards, Jog offered a mesmerizing effect, flaunting it's beauty, with a difference in each view from different sides! Nature is glorious!! And we are truly fortunate to have Jog in Karnataka... Time spent at the basin was all the more fun! Gushing waters from heights made us feel as though they were aiming to hit straight on our heads... Way back to the top was a bit tiring... Then, we took a stroll to see the view of the Mahathma Gandhi Power Station. Near to it, Maavinagundi falls also is visible. Cool climate, View of the mushy falls was mind relaxing! Western ghats as a stunner, presents it's charm with many little cascades through it.. The valley of river Sharavathi could be seen at a distance.. Malnad coffee tickled our taste buds... It was almost sunset time. As dusk fell, Jog offered it's night view!

Azure skies, the ghats with the gleam of the moon falling on them and Jog falls resembling milk fountain... We were on cloud nine! Is pearly gates any different from this?? Moon lit view of Jog is a must see sight!! We did'nt realize time go past 8 in this gaiety... Headed back to Matthuga.. Malnad rains had already hit the roads... A drive when it rained cats and dogs!!! Wow, we doubted if we were in real world?! Hot tea and pakodas were waiting for us.. A bit later, had major munch.. After a stretch in Matthuga's campus, we had a marathon chat till dead of night...
Next dawn began with the scotch mist.. Had authentic south indian breakfast.. Drove to the inspection bungalow to have yet another view of the Jog! This was awesome... Jog looks really different here! A very small trek to see the vertical fall of Raja and Rani..And momentarily, this place is quite crowded due to the quite popular Kannada movie - Mungaaru Male shot here.. The view of the cascade in between the rock crevices is mind blowing. Thick forests on the other side, river Sharavathi flows between the rocks to plunge as Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket! Visited Rajakal and drove inside a forest area to get Sharavathi valley view.. Thich greenery everywhere, Valley is very scenic..
After a visit to Aalangodu Padmavathi temple and Kargal Chowdeshwari temple, we got the view of Linganamakki Dam from quite far distance.. Due to many Naxal attacks, visit to the dam is prohibited.
Evening visits were to Ikkeri Aghoreshwara temple and Keladi Rameshwara temple... Quite adorable architectural structures... Ikkeri, a small village near Sagara has now the remains of Aghoreshwara temple.. Built by Keladi Nayakas, it was once sacked by Tippu Sultan... A huge nandi sculpture is in front of Aghoreshwara temple. Temple has to it's credit, many intricate stone carvings and huge stone pillars.. Keladi temple has very beautiful stone and wood carvings! The wooden carvings in Parvathi temple are very exquisite.. Temple has stone carving of Gandaberunda - a two headed mythical bird! One of the sculptures was a rarest one - Vaasthu purusha..
As it began to get dusky, we were on our way back to the homestay! The 2-day tour had almost come towards the end... Beautiful, ever remarkable eventful tour had filled the pages of the fun filled past!

Heaven @Pookala - Kodagu

Kodagu, also known as Coorg, Scotland Of India, is by itself nature's paradise... This place, Pookala Kadamakolli Homestay just made us feel @heaven during our out-of-office bash! We, the gang of five, started to Gonikoppa on a friday night by Airavatha, a volvo service by ksrtc.. From here began our unwinding activity from the usual core activities of the week! Early in the morning by 3:30 A.M, we landed at Gonikoppa, a south Kodagu town.. We were welcomed by our hosts Suja and Chithra.. It was still dark and we could'nt see each other properly!!!

After travelling in Suja's jeep for about 1.5hours, the gang landed @Kadamakolli Homestay! Were served with hot tea by the hosts.. In the darkness of dawn, we could hear the sound of water along with chirping of birds.. But, could'nt make out from where the sound originated.. As the nautical dawn gave rise to Sun, we were on cloud nine, seeing a mellifluous stream in front of our homestay!!! All excited, we just did'nt give ourselves even a minute to relax... It was a hotfoot to the stream, where we dabbled, enjoying ourselves for sometime.. Having fun in the stream, we had forgotten the world!

Suja, our host, called us for a nature walk through the green pastures.. Now started the battle with the leeches! Could'nt just escape from these blood suckers... Each one of us were busy in leech probe and removal! With greenery everywhere, the walk in the unpolluted, fresh air was lung fulfilling... Back to the homestay, we got ready for the next series of adventure... Food was authentic Kodava cuisine.. Yummy akki rotti is unforgettable! Hospitality of our hosts added to the homely feeling there.. Suja and Chithra used to accompany us to all places, rendering an intro to the place, vegetation, culture of the scenic village.. All set to take up adventure, we headed towards a white water rafting camp of river Kaveri... Few of us had butterflies in stomach, still deciding whether to take up this feat?!
On seeing our friends getting ready with life jackets, courage levels boosted and we all were ready to sign the agreement given by the authorities there, which said, "Adventure @our own risk!"... Then began a session of warm up and guidelines, as the guide taught how to raft in different scenarios... All set, we took up the fun filled feat! As we went along, the raft cannon balled along the white waters! The team was in high spirits, with pulse throbing at it's fastest... An adventure, first of it's kind for few of us, came to an end, with all the joyous fun etched in our minds!


On the way back, we all had a great craving for food! As the dusk fell, it was drizzling... We chilled out with hot pakodas and tea, as it continued to shower for the rest of the day.. Played indoor games, amidst our usual comedies!

Next day began afresh.. Started with a trek in the stream! Early morning, cool air, chirping of birds, stream view... It was as though we were artists in a simulated fairy world! Thank god, mother earth is still uncontaminated in atleast some places! Green, green and green everywhere! After the second combat with leeches near the stream, we got ready for a short trip to Iruppu falls.. Iruppu, a tiny cascade was a nice place, except for the usual Sunday crowd! Our hosts had packed lunch for us.. After gormandizing mouth watering meals, the gang headed to the last but not the least place to visit, Tholpetta - Wayanad's wildlife sanctuary.. Took a safari ride in the forest jeep to spot out very few deers and pachyderms! Back @Pookala, we packed up, chatted with our hosts - Suja, Chithra and Ajji, spending the last few moments of this trip @Heaven of Pookala! Even today, we relish the memories of our times with our hosts @Pookala! Back to Gonikoppa Bus stand, we boarded Airavatha with the most sweet memories! This jaunt to Pookala was as though, "we all had, had a reverie!!"... I swear, it is one of the very best trips i have ever had.. Thanks to our ever bubbly gang too!!

Lepakshi - A shrine of Vijayanagar style

Lepakshi, a shrine of the Vijayanagar style, is of fame for it's architectural beauty with it's repository of mural paintings and one of the finest sculptures of the history. Located in a small village of Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh, known by the same name, Lepakshi is about 2 hrs journey from Bengaluru.

Had been to this heritage on a weekend one-day excursion.. Placed in a silent village, there lies a magnificient temple complex which has a vast outer enclosure and and an inner enclosure with the main temple. As we entered the main temple area, we were welcomed by the "Ranga Mantapa", comprising of the life size carvings of the "stage artists" like musicians with instruments such as flute, mrudanga, tabla and dancers! It made us get a feel of the historical Nruthya Sabha, a stage for artists in the king's regime! The cielings in this Mantapa have the excellent, breath taking mural paintings in the Vijayanagar style. These paintings are really worth a view as they depict puranic episodes of Narada, Rambha, Dattathreya..

History of this architecture is interesting! The temple was built by Virupanna, a treasurer of the Vijayanagar kings.. He concieved the idea and built it in the absence of the king. The king, on returning, having found the treasury empty, ordered for the punishment of making Virupanna blind! Treasurer being very loyal, carried out the heinous order using his own bands. The marks of his bleeding eyes can still be seen on the walls of one of the Mantapas! The Kalyana Mantapa is half constructed shrine, having stone carvings etched to their perfection!
This Kalyana Mantapa boasts of the Vijayanagar style sculptures, the famous ones being the monolithic, unfinished pillars.. The Nagalinga, carved in a huge single grey sandstone, largest of it's kind in India, is eye enticing!

The colossal painting of Lord Veerabhadra is the centre of attraction in the inner hall of the main temple. Pooja and offerings were given to Lords Shiva, Vishnu and Veerabhadra..

The inner hall also has a flawless sculpture of "ideal feminine beauty" - adharsha sthree!
This small village does not offer good restaurants.. Knowing this fact, we had packed lunch! After having revitalised our eyes with the exuberance of the Vijayanagar's architectural beauty, we headed towards yet another attraction of Lepakshi, the gigantic Nandi.. Made of a single granite stone, it's quite huge! One of the largest Nandi sculptures in India... It is about 15 feet high and 27 feet wide, claiming to be one of the largest of it's kind.. The remarkable fact about this structure is that, Nandi can be seen from the Nagalinga, behind the Veerabhadra temple... The Nagalinga can also be seen from Nandi! Hats off to the sculptors of the Vijayanagar times!

Lepakshi, a must see for art connoisseurs, is truly a striking monument of the Vijayanagar style... I wish that the invaluable mural paintings are rescued from weathering, thereby protecting them for future generations to see.. A visit to this heritage will truly reward those who can rejoice the Indian traditional art!

Wayanad - Evergreen subtropical savanna

Wayanad, the evergreen subtropical savanna is the nature's green paradise, situated in Kerala! The trip to Wayanad has been one of the most memorable trips to green worlds in India.. Started on a friday early morning from our bustling Bangalore city. Drove via Mysore,Gundlupet to finally reach Wayanad by noon. It hardly takes 7.5 hours from Bangalore. We had booked accomodation @Wynberg Resorts near Kalpetta, the district headquarters. Wynberg, an eco-friendly resort is located amidst the evergreen verdant spice plantations. Wynberg serves the authentic kerala cuisine which includes the yummy puttu, jackfruit varities and many more mouth watering dishes. The resort has luxury cottages, tents and tree tops. Accomodation is amidst greenery and very eco-friendly!

We relaxed for a while and started by around 3 pm to explore Wayanad's beauty. As guided by the host @the resort, we planned for visit to near by places. On travelling for about half an hour, we reached Edakkal Caves, a place known for the evidence of stone age civilization with it's pictorial writings. We had a small 1km trek to the caves. These neolithic caves have fascinating etchings of the stone-age civilizations! The expedition inside the caves was adventurous and fun-filled! Beside the caves is a good view point to enjoy the scenics around.

On the way back to the resort, we went to the Karapuzha Dam, the second largest earthen dam in India. This place has very good landscape beauty! Around the sun set time, this was a cool place to rejuvenate ourselves!! The dam is earthen, one of it's kind to be seen in India. With not much crowd, this place provided an enchanting experience!

The second day in Wayanad began with all josh to unravel the remaining wonders of this place. We headed to the Soochippara Falls with stops @many coffee and tea plantations on the way.
The route to the falls itself renders a cooling therapy to eyes! On reaching this sentinel rock water falls, we relaxed with the cascade sprinkling droplets on us, caressing the body and the mind! The falls have dense forests of the Western ghats in their backdrop. This breath taking sight of the water falls is worth the adventurous walk to reach the cascade drop! Wayanad has other cascades to add to it's beauty, Meenmutty, Kanthanpara and Chethalayam, to name a few...

After filling our breadbasket, we headed to Pookot Lake, which is one of the most sought after tourist place in Wayanad. Pookot, a natural fresh water lake, amidst the picturesque evergreen dense forests, gives a visual treat.

The boating facility is very good, which allowed us to spend time in the lake, appreciating the serene waters. The lake is surrounded by park for children, many handicrafts and art shops, spices shop, an aquarium too. The path way surrounding the lake is very well maintained, allowing touristers to take a stroll amidst the tropical vegetation.
Around 3kms from the lake, Vythiri is a hill station, which is a must-see place in Wayanad. While in Vythiri, we filled our lungs with unpolluted mountain air! It's a sleepy little heaven which has only the sounds of chirping birds and the wisp of mountain air, scented with the fragrance of spices. As the dusk fell, we returned to Wynberg resort, ending the adventure filled day.

The last day @Wayanad began with checking out from the resort. Drove to Kuruva dweep island, which is 950 acres island on one of the tributaries of the river Kabini. It is a group of seven islands which can be traversed using ferry boats or by drifting through the waters. Rafting is also provided in the seasons. Nature walks from one island to another was very exciting! The river is shallow @many places, easing people to drift from one island to the next.. On the way back to our sweet home, we drove via the Nagarahole forest area to get a view of a few deers, wild dogs, boars and elephants. A trip to Wayanad ended with a bunch of cherishable memories of the green world!