Wandering in the Western Ghats
Originally, it was planned as a three-day trip in the motorcycle. In the last minute, changed the idea of motorcycle ride due to the persistent rain. I was a little bit scared of the continuing rains, landslides in Kerala and the road conditions in Wayanad and Coorg. However, my friend Chetan was ready to make it a Car Trip. He took his Tata SUV and made the trip enjoyable. July 13, 14 & 15 were the days of the monsoon travel.
We started as planned and met in
front of Baldwin Girls' High School. Bangalore-Mysore express way was a pleasure to drive, with very few vehicles on the road. The newly laid roads were fantastic
to drive. However, we were not happy, and annoyed by the exorbitant toll
prices.
Took a small break at Mysore for our breakfast. Chetan suggested Mylari Hotel – Agrahara. It is a small restaurant, a House converted into a hotel. It offered tasty Dosai and Idli,
Kannada style. Only Dosai and Idlis were available, no other items. The taste
was good, and the prices were very cheap comparatively. The choice was good to enjoy Mysore food. The hotel has no parking
facility. Since Mysore is a small city, we parked our car on the roadside.
After enjoying the breakfast, we continued our journey.
From Mysore, we passed Nanjangud, Gundlupete and reached Bathery. The roads were good, and the drive was enjoyable. Some existing old roads were converted in to toll roads. I travel in these roads some years back, when I was working at Pollachi, without seeing any toll. In the name of removing the poor roads, reckless taxes are levied. One side you pay big money for Petrol and Diesel, and other hand you pay and drive in toll roads. This is the new development path of Indian Government. Now fully realize why many NRIs (Non-residential Indians) become real NRIs (non-returning Indians) every year. The day Indian government removes these tollgates and toll charges, that day I believe politicians are working for the people and country.
We crossed Bandipur Forest Bordering Karnataka and Kerala. Saw a herd of elephants was grazing in the Wildlife Sanctuary. Spotted few deer too. The ride was enjoyable until we reached Bathery. Once we reached Bathery, it was almost 1230pm. We settled for our lunch before going to the resort. Went to Wilton, enjoyed some Kerala food, it was good and tasty. Directly went to resort where we booked. Sterling Wayanad is situated in the edge of a reserve forest. It is 8 KM from Bathery bus stand. Evening we went to the city, had some food in a restaurant and walked in the Bathery town.
Bathery
Town is very small and less crowded. The town has its own charm and beauty. It
is exciting to walk in the town, window-shopping the bazar. In the night, we
retired in the resort.
The second day, we took our breakfast at Bathery, Jubilee Restaurant. Pathiri (a kind of Malabar special Pancake made from rice flour) and Fish curry was very delicious. We took our journey to Coorg, a Homestay (google map) inside a coffee estate near in Kutta. We stayed in a modern tent at Devi Villa Homestay. It is drivable distance to Iruppu falls. After the sumptuous lunch we took a nap, we decided to visit the waterfalls.
There
are legends associated with the waterfalls. Mainly from Rama & Sita stories. Raman asked Lakshmana, during his journey to Lanka, to get him some drinking
water. Thus goes the story of this falls. It is very famous for Siva Ratri
celebrations. Leaving aside the story,
the waterfalls is situated in the Brahmagiri Range of the Western Ghats. It is around
65KM from Bathery Bus stand. The last 3 KM, from Kaimane to the entrance of the
forest, the road is narrow. There is a small entrance fee and visitors are not
allowed to the falls after 5pm. The falls is in the forest and wonderful to the
eyes. Many families, couples were seen in the area. One can take a bath in the falls.
Since there are no shops inside the forest, carry water and other eatables from
the shops before taking the ticket for falls. We spend some time there, it
started to drizzle, and we walked back to our tents in the Homestay. Thus, the
second day went with the memorable note of visiting the falls and the relaxing
stay and food at the Homestay.
The third day of our monsoon trip, we
decided to return to Bangalore via Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. We were able to
some wildlife (mainly elephants and deer). Our exciting monsoon journey came to
the end once we reached the everlasting traffic jam near Kengeri.
