Showing newest 4 of 5 posts from June 2009. Show older posts
Showing newest 4 of 5 posts from June 2009. Show older posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Trip to Kollimalai -"Mountains of Death"



Feb 14th 2009 - Valentine's Day....
Our Sangam members [See last picture for our Sangam members] don't have any valentine to celebrate the day...What to do....
Suddenly we got an idea to have a trip to Kollimalai...Some of the members in our Sangam got afraid by the name of the place...KOLLIMALAI...[The Mountains of Death]!!!!
Later we consolidated everything and we started to execute our plan. We kicked our bikes at early moring 6 am to move to Yelagiri...
Nothing much to say about Yelagiri since we didn't find any enjoyable place .Immediately we turned our bikes to Kollimalai.
Our plan is Bangalore > Salem > Rasipuram> Kollimalai> Raasipuram> Salem > Bangalore....
We reached Rasipuram some where around 11pm. Our bad luck, next day is a marriage day in Tamil calendar. Rasipuram is a small place where only 3 lodges were there and we didn't find any rooms to stay...;)
One person told that the only way is to move back to Salem for boarding. We don't want to think more since the time was 1am. We moved back to Salem and found a good hotel to stay in outer place at 3 am.
We decided to stay in that hotel and move back to Bangalore since going to Kollimalai is again a job of double driving. We closed our chapter for the day...
But the next day we woke at 10 am and suddenly we discussed why can't we go to Kollimalai since we came till here.Within 1 hr we are ready to move to Kollimalai....Here we go with our few memories taken in Kollimalai
Kollimalai - A beautiful view from a distance of 5 kms
We heard that there will be 70+ hair pin bends...After going there 70+ is only to the destination to reach. After that where ever you go to see places, you need to drive a minimum of 20-30 hair pin bends.
Few hair pin bends while moving towards Kollimalai
Our bikes at 32nd hair pin bend ...Taking rest..Since we need to move a lot.

A beautiful view from 32nd hair pin bend..

Way to Agasa Gangai Falls...

We reached Agasa Gangai falls at 3pm..Persons over there said that there will be a minimum of 1000 steps to go down to see the falls. There was a person also who collected Rs 1.00 to see the falls !!!
We paid the "Toll Fee" of Rs.1.00 to that person and started our journey to move towards the falls. It was strange for us to see some persons are sleeping and taking rest in walls of the steps. We chuckled our selves and our eagerness made us to step down the steps too fast and reached the falls with in 30 mins.


View of zig zag steps to Agasa Gangai falls..


Wow..finally we found the falls ..The destination arrives
Here we go with some complete view of Agasa Gangai Falls in different angles...




We took an "Adventurous" bath in the falls and started to move from that place. Now we realized our mistake - chuckling on others when we started to move from top to falls. It was really a hard time for us to step up back to the top where we parked our bikes.


Turn back photos - Taking a picture to remember how we stepped up these steps..???


Snap taken from a view point..in the mid when we took some rest..

Our rest is not enough...Its me over there climbing with the help of a support...Too tired...

Hurray...we reached our destination and we reached here at 6pm. Almost it took 1 1/2 hrs to reach here.

Our bad for the day was still alive...When we reached top, we found one of our bike is punctured...In mid of the village one person helped us to solve our puncture..Really we are so thank full for that unknown person who trusted us by giving his air pump to re-fill the air to reach the shop.

Our punctured bike..

While returning back we took some night view from Kollimalai....Down is the excellent view...

Here is our Sangam...From right to left [ Jaffer, Prakash, Nagaraj, Prem and me...Missing Satish is taking this picture]

We reached down hill at 8pm and started our journey back to Bangalore. We reached Bangalore at some where around 3am on the next day...

We immensely enjoyed this trip even though we started the day with bad luck....

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Trip to Hogenakkal Falls


Vijay Samraj - One of our office colleague got engaged and gave invitation for his marriage to us. Marriage was on 14th July 2008 - Monday. Its really tough for us to attend his marriage on Monday morning. So we planned to attend his engagement function which was on 13th July 2008 evening.

We started from Bangalore by car on 12th July 2008 evening at around 3pm. We got struck in huge traffic near electronic city and it took more than an one hour to cross electronic city. We reached hosur at around 6.30 pm. After having a short "commerical" break, we started to move to Dharmapuri - the marriage place.

We reached dharmapuri at 11pm and stayed in the hotel booked by Vijay for us. We planned for the next day as to have a trip to Hogenakkal falls and attend the engagement function in evening.


The next day 13th July 2008, we started to Hogenakkal falls at 10.30 am and reached the falls at around 12.30 pm. It was really a nice place to enjoy with friends. We had our "noon bath" on the shallow water and had our lunch near by the falls with fish curry.
Here are some our lovely moments of the day at Hogenakkal falls.


First sight, captured in our camera....
Then we captured a series of Water falls in and around that place...Here we go with few snaps







Here, we took our second "noon bath"...Lovely and Dangerous place to have bath
Since the water force is too high, i got injured on my toe by hitting on a sharp rock. Till that time we were really enjoying ourselves with water force....


The day went really like a day in heaven. We got so tried and we slept in hotel for an hour or so before we started to engagement function. Because of our tiredness, we reached the mandapam at 7pm inspite of 5pm......We hope Vijay won't mind our lateness on his engagement rather than our presence for the day...

Monday, June 15, 2009

Trip to Sivasamudram & Barachukki falls


Staying in bangalore myself and prem never visited Shivanasamudram. So we planned to have one day bike trip to Shivanasamudram. Sathish told that we can also go for Barachukki falls which is near by Sivasamudram.

We set our plan and started from Ulsoor early morning at 6 am. Having a lot of break...reached Barachukki falls at 1 pm.

The sparkling blue waters of the Cauvery River wind through rocks and ravines and fall 75m off the Deccan Plateau to form the twin falls of Barachukki and Gaganachukki. Monsoon season makes this waterfall swell to enormous proportion, creating a waterfall perhaps a thousand feet wide. When the Cauvery is in madness, watching the river crash into a cloud of foaming spray can be an awesome and unforgetful experience. Gaganachukki especially is a steep fall where water gushes down with great velocity. Actually, it is believed to host first hydroelectric project in India. It is said that during the 16th Century, Nanjaraja, the ruler of the region committed suicide along with his wife by jumping down the Gaganachukki.

Here we go with some snaps taken at Barachukki falls....A really enjoyable and must seeable place near Bangalore.



After having bath we started to move towards Sivanasamudram. We reached here at 6pm.

The Shivanasamudra Falls is on the Cauvery river after the river has wound its way through the rocks and ravines of the Deccan Plateau and drops off to form waterfalls. The island town of Shivanasamudra divides the river into twin waterfalls.This is a segmented waterfall. Segmented waterfalls occur where the water flow is broken into two or more channels before dropping over a cliff, resulting in multiple side by side waterfalls.

A common misconception about these waterfalls are that the left segment is called Gaganachukki and the right segment is called Bharachukki. In reality the Bharachukki falls are a few kilomoters to the south-west of the Gaganachukki falls. This is due to the Kaveri river itself splitting a few kilometers to the south into western and eastern branches. The western branch results in the twin waterfalls of Gaganachukki, whereas the eastern branch results in the Bharachukki falls. The Gaganachukki waterfalls are best viewed from the Shivanasamudra watch tower.

We will certainly cherish this day whenever we see any water falls in our future.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Trip to Wayanad [Kerala]


August 2008 - We came to know that 15th August falls on friday.Hooray...we got 3+1 days. This time planned to go Wayanad- Kerala which is approximately 280 kms from Bangalore. First we planned to go by bike later at the end of the day before we start, we changed our plan to go by car. We prepared our route as Bangalore>Mudhumalai>Sulthanbathery>Nagarhole>Bangalore. Here we go with our few memorable moments in our trip to Wayanad.


15th August 2008- Day 1

We started from Bangalore at morning 6am and reached Mudhumalai forest entry at 1.30 pm.

Snap taken on the way to Mudhumalai




Having a "Coconut" break before entering Mudhumalai



"Moment of the day"




Elephants at Mudhumalai forest


Our guys next to elephant.


This place looks like foreign county..But really a cool and beautiful palace in Mudhumalai forest


Then we planned to have a jungle safari since Mudhumalai is meant for Tigers. We took the ticket and started to have the jungle safari. Our eyes are roaming here and there in search of tigers !!!...



Jungle safari road..Inside Mudhumalai forest





Here we got two elephants playing in mid of the forest...But our camera eyes are still searching for Tiger(s)



We found some deers..But still Tigers?

Finally our jungle safari ended without seeing any tigers. Then we moved to Tamilnadu hotel and restaurant which is nearby in Mudhumalai forest. On the way we saw a river which looks cool. We took some snaps there.



We had our Lunch [Snacks- since nothing is available at that restaurant] and start to move towards Wayanad [Sultanbathery].







Beautiful snaps on the way to Sultanbathery. Above is taken at Deverashola - Tea estate

We reached Sultanbathery at 8 pm. We booked the hotel already since Sathish have a lot of experience in this place. We had our dinner and closed our eyes for the day to have a nice sleep.

16th August 2008 - Day 2

We planned to move to Kuruva island. We came to know that this place is a splendid place where shootings will be taking place in mid of rivers. But, When we reached there the story was different.




Beautiful view of Plantations


Kuruva island was flooded with water and the person over there said, they stopped the boating time to reach the island. We spent some time there and moved to Eddkal caves.



Coffee seeds in a Coffee pant..


Our guys in mid of coffee plantations


We reached Eddkal caves at 3.30 pm. They allowed to some extend and asked us park the vehicle before the destination. From that we started to walk approximately 2kms to the Eddkal caves destination. Snaps taken here are while we are walking to Eddkal caves.



Guys while moving to Eddkal caves...


Eddkal cave scenery



Entering in to the cave..This is the entry point to the cave..


View point from to of the Eddkal cave



Tried guys - Climbing to Eddkal cave


View taken from the inside the cave


Breakable point - Inside the cave




View from top of the cave

We left the place at 5.30 pm and reached phantom rock at 6.45 pm.


Phantom rock

We returned to our room for the day. Next day we started early morning and went to Tiger cave expecting for a tiger in that place. Village persons over there said that the cave is top of the mountain and they are believing still a tiger resides there. We took some snaps near to tiger cave.

17th August 2008 - Day 3


Master in photography - I myself given the award for this shoot.



Guys giving pose to shoot from this Master


We reached Karaphuzha dam at 10.30 am and taken some snaps at this beautiful place.




Trying to quench our thirst


The best place to start your itinerary in Wayanad is surely Lakkidi, the gateway to Wayanad, located at 5 km from Vythiri. Interestingly, this 2297 ft high pad of survival registers the second highest degree of rainfall in the world, only after Cherrapunji! Drive out of Lakkidi towards the 'ghat' pass. Just before the 'ghat' begins, you'll come across a curious sight - the chain tree of Lakkidi, a banyan tree with chains wrapped around its trunk.





With its own dream-like serenity, this natural fresh water lake surrounded by meadows and trees on all sides is a haven for peace-loving travellers. It is located half way from Calicut, half an hour ahead of Kalpetta.

Pookot Lake, about 13 kms from Kalpetta, is undoubtedly the most beautiful tourist spot in the whole of Wayanad. The lake nestles in the lap of mountains surrounding it. Boating in the Pookot Lake is a memorable experience. Tall trees and dense forests that line along the pathway around the lake provide a visual treat. A freshwater acquarium with a large variety of fish is an added attraction.






After enjoying, we moved to Soochippara falls and reached that place at 3.30 pm. I must say about the route to Soochippara. Greenery road, Road in mid of tea estates like this you can say a lot. This place is one of ever lasting place in our memory...


Road to Soochipara - Route in mid of tea estates









Standy Labours - Ready to acquire the job in such place. Guys under training..

Soochipara Falls: (Soochi = needle, para = rock).In Soochipara, the suspense is well preserved, an emotional roller-coaster - from a feeling of anxiety to one of pure joy. One could sit there looking at the water mass and forget the world. We Sat there in silence watching the water flowing down. It was a refreshing thing to do, just sit and watch. And why we enjoyed it most, Since "No" sign of any human being!!!.









video


Then we moved to the most adventerous place - Meenmutty falls. We reached at 6 pm and thanks for the guide who accompanied us inspite of his personal schedule. We recommend you guys to keep a guide with you when you enter in this fall which is in mid of thick forest.

Meenmutty falls is on the Neyyar Dam-Agastyakoodam trek path.It is a magnificient sight.Slippery rocks can be a little dangerous and you must use utmost caution while trying to have a dip in the river.The waterfalls can be viewed from the top as well giving two different perspective for the same waterfall."Meenmutty" in Malayalam means "the end of the way for fish".The fishes can no more move upstream since the water cascades from a height.

We also recommend to spend one whole day in this place. Here we go with some of our memorable shoot.








video

18th August 2008 - Day 4 - Final day


Snap taken early morning - Near to our stay


Become addict to Kerala - Having their tradition break fast - Puttu, Appam with Kadalai curry.

After having our breafast, We starte to move to Sita - Lava kusha temple. It is said that Sita and her sons Lava, Kusha have their temple here only and no where else.


Snap taken on the way to templer - Road in mid of bamboos

"Charles Daemons" - In mid of the road


Guys at Sita - Lava kusha Temple

After spending some time, We moved to Thirunelli temple. Here are some photos taken near to small fall - Panchateertam









Then we started to move back to Bangalore via Nagarhole forest. We reached that place at 5.15 pm. We came to know from the guard that they won't allow any vechiles after 6pm. More over they allow only cars and vans. Bikes are not allowed - Thanks for ourselves for the last minute change in mode to travel. Also, We are so lucky for that day since we reached 45 minutes before the day of closure.

Nagarhole forest (also called the Rajiv Gandhi National Park) is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Coorg. Located in the districts of Mysore and Coorg, at a distance of 94 KM from the city of Mysore, Nagarhole is one of the best managed parks of India. Nagarhole derives its name from the several serpentine streams that abound inside the forest. (in Kannada, Naga=snake, hole=streams) This forest was the exclusive hunting grounds of the erstwhile Maharaja's of Mysore, in 1955 Nagarhole was declared a National park and since then the forest had the good fortune of having some of the best forest rangers the country has produced which has helped in maintaining the forest.


Wild Elephant - having evening snacks..



Starring at us - Who you guys are ? and what are u doing here?


Deers on their job having their dinner


Peakcocks too....I think they are searching for their partner



Last shoot of the day after having our dinner at Mysore highway motel

That was a really adventours trip for us. From that trip onwards we started to plan our trip in where the road goes in the forest. Catch me for more adventours trips.....


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)