Thimappana Betta - The Twin Rocks of Ramanagara

 

Prologue-The pictures on Google barely did any justice to the spectacle we were witnessing in front of our eyes. The way the humungous monoliths towered over everything in the vicinity is a sight that has to be personally witnessed and experienced. No amount of photos or videos could do justice to this high definition wonder. Situated at an elevation, surrounded by dry deciduous forest all around, Thimappana betta, the popular 'twin rocks of Ramanagara' draws hordes of tourists to the spot every weekend. The bigger of the twin rocks seemed to be as tall as a 7-storey building, and the way they stood together gave them such a royal majestic appeal.

The mist added a tinge of magic to the enchanting scenery as it slowly made its exit towards the right, revealing another hillock in the distance. After a quick Google search, I got to know that that hillock is Talawadi Betta. Ramanagara is so extravagant and is overflowing with the bounty of nature in the form of hillocks, lakes, and forests all situated close to one another. You never know which new hillock you'll discover on your next trek, and your next weekend is already mapped out by whatever you've seen on your current trek. 

Now I have a new hillock to explore, see! 😃

Talawadi Betta

First half - Thimappana betta

We arrived at the twin rocks sometime around 8.30 due to a late start from my side. I had to make my way all the way from my place at Marathalli to my friends house at Kengeri, covering a distance of 24 kilometers on my two wheeler in the early morning frigidness. Trust me, the colder it is, the more you just want to snooze your alarm, draw the blanket over you, and forego all your exploration plans for the weekend. After snoozing the alarm two times with such thoughts, I finally woke up at the third bell and dragged my ass out of bed at 5.30. I was supposed to be at his house by now. 😂

I reached his place at 7, and we were well on our way to the spot. It wasn't too late but in hindsight, we could have hit one more hillock that day had I made it on time. 

We encountered a bit of fog on the Mysore highway which is typically used to get to all the hillocks of the Ramanagara cluster:

We didn't do our usual stop for breakfast on the way as we were already late, and thought of having breakfast after getting down from Thimappana betta and going towards the next hill (or so we thought). With that, the drive was breezy and there was barely any traffic on the highway despite being a Sunday early morning. A couple of bikers had stopped to the side at a bridge to get some pictures of the sunrise and trees in the fog just a few meters before the above image was taken. The place was getting crowded with more and more bikers so we decided to move from there to the next bridge to get some shots of the countryside cloaked in fog. However, the videos we shot from the car sufficed and we proceeded directly to the hill.

We arrived at the base of the hill at 8.30 and parked the car at the designated parking spot, with its attendant who was handing out receipts for the same. 

Right next to the car park was a viewpoint with a bench that offered stunning views of Kootagal town below most of which was partially enveloped in thick fog mixed with smoke arising out of some of the chimneys:

 

We parked the car and headed straight for the viewpoint of the twin rocks. As it came into view while we were slowly ascending, we couldn't help but be propelled ahead faster by the sheer magnitude of such a towering sight and the respect it commanded. The hike was so short, I woulnd't even call it a hike. It's a picnic spot at best and you are free to bring all your family members, your kids, parents, cousins, relatives and even grandparents ! 😜 Yes, it is so short that people of all ages and capabilities are welcome to come check out this natural wonder.

 

We sat there totally speechless as we never expected it to be so humungous in complete contrast to all the photos we saw online. Somewhere in between all our clicking and video taking shenanigans we caught a glimpse of a group who had descended the hill we were on, and were making their way to the opposite hill on which the twin rocks stood. We had never thought about it at first or even had it in our plans, but like with most things trekking, things just happen as you go. And especially with exploration, the majority of your day is going to be dictated by how you find your way around whatever you're exploring. So up we got, and followed them into bushes on the trail that led to the twin rocks. We took our own sweet time with it, glancing back at the hill we came from every now and then to check our position.

Turns out that it was just as impressive as what we were seeing from that side:

 

The twin rocks looked truly spectacular up close and personal while viewed from the trail that curved around it:

 

See the moon?

 

With that we proceeded to follow the trail that curved right around the twin rocks from the right side, which gave us a better view of Talawadi betta:

Talawadi Betta as seen from Twin rock

You feel royal as you are treated with vast open vistas in front of you on this side; dry scrub forests peppered with hillocks, plantations and villages. It was truly a sight to behold, and we there for a while not to catch our breaths but to take in the breathtaking scenery. When we turned left and faced the behind of the twin rocks, we were in for even more amazement and adventure, like the kind you have at the caves of Antarganga. Huge boulders littered the space with dry shrubs and grass filling up the dead space in between. There was no trail anymore and we had to push the tall prickly branches out of our faces to see properly and keep moving ahead. We propped ourselves on the huge boulders that overlooked the other side of the twin rocks and it felt truly royal to sit here and admire the landscape down below.

 

 

When we looked up, it was truly a magical sight straight out of a fairy tale. The sharp twin rock with one part of it highlighted by the sun pierced the deep blue January winter sky, and the branches that hung overhead looked extraordinarily beautiful complementing the entire scene.

By this time, the group we had followed had already got themselves to the last point on the trail. There was a gigantic boulder which they were seated on and busy having their breakfasts while making occassional conversation with each other every now and then. With a bit of effort and after taking the help of one of the trees, I propped myself up on the boulder that came before the final boulder and made my way to where they were seated.

I got a perfect natural frame from nature at this point which I used to frame Talawadi Betta which now seemed closer to us than ever:

 

After I was done, we were tweedling our thumbs as to whether to crouch into the cavern below that was formed by all the slanting rocks and get over to the other side. We anyway wanted to check if there was a trail that led back down from that side, so thought why not give it a go. We were there to explore anyway.

 

Imagine standing right under this

 

We got through the slit on the other side, found that there was no trail there, and got back to the main trail we came from. When we got back to the side that faced the viewpoint on the opposite side, we could easily discern the spurt in the number of visitors that had taken place in between all our adventuring and exploration.

With nothing else left to do, we got back to the other side, hopped into the car, and left for breakfast.

Second half - offroading fun

Little did we know that we would end up skipping breakfast altogether and directly proceeding for lunch. While descending the hill in the car, my friend got a call and it turned out that some of his gang of off-roading buddies were in the vicinity and were enjoying some rocky jeep fun on some muddy trails nearby. So we also decided to join them and proceeded for the area they were in. The entire area was either forested, or had villages and plantations in between. Later, I got to know that we were going to the Bajrangi backwaters, a section of the Arkavathi river that one sees standing on the Savandurga peak. Since it was going to take us an hour to get there, we stopped on the way for some tender coconuts and malai. We crossed the viewpoint for the Manchanbele dam soon after, along with the weekend crowd that had congregated there.

The road more or less followed the river all the way to the homestay where my friends' friends had already arrived and were lounging on the sofas, tired after half a day of exhilarating off road fun. It was a cute little cottage with a very minimalist design, which featured nature as it's main theme. It consisted of a kitchen, a hall space with a huge window overlooking the Bajrangi backwaters, and a small bathroom whose bathing space was open to the sky. The space between the kitchen and hall was open, and the entire courtyard was naturally lit. The roof of the two structures were not flat but were in the olden style red bricks that slanted at all sides to easily drain rain water and keep the place cool. A bright afternoon sun illuminated the Arkavathi river in front of us which could be seen through the humungous window that overlooked the river as we munched on pakodas (not pictured as we were too hungry to take pictures) and made light conversation. My friend decided to tie a hammock to the hooks outside and truly lounge it out in style! 😎

 

On further surveying the property, I found that it had an infinity pool that overlooked the towering monolith in the distance - The Savandurga hill. 

It was empty now, but imagine how cool it would be to lounge around in the chill pool water in the afternoon sun while gazing at Asias largest monolith? 😀

The (now empty) pool overlooking Savandurga hill

After exploring the area around the property, I decided to get down to the waters edge and absorb some sights from there. The afternoon sun was merciless as it was beaming down on me directly overhead but the cool breeze emanating from the river prevented even a single bead of sweat from forming. The river looked truly magificent at this time. The water glitered in the rays of the bright afternoon sun in the backdrop of the Savandurga hillock and the fishing hut next to which I was standing.

Savandurga in front and the fishing hut on the right

I could hear a few bird calls every now and then, but it was only when I firmly transfixed myself to a spot on the ground and stood still, did I finally managed to catch a glimpse of some of them.

I luckily managed to capture this bee eater from two angles as it flit from a creeper at ground level higher up to a branch on a tree:

I then sensed that lunch might be ready at least by now and so went back to the homestay. There were some barren trees on the way that looked quite stunning in the background of the sunny blue sky.

But I was disappointed once I got back to the property as not only was lunch not ready, it would take at least another 45 minutes for it to be served. However on the bright side, we were treated to multiple rounds of piping hot pakodas as appetizer, so we weren't starved of anything as we waited. While the other other guys had had their breakfast earlier in the morning, it was my friend and I who were badly craving for a nice hot meal as we were the ones who'd skipped breakfast. But for now, the pakodas sufficed. We didn't feel the passing of time with our constant chatter, and it only felt like it had been a couple of  minutes before the cook called us over to the dining table for lunch. Lunch was pretty basic with rice, chapathis and sambar. For the meat eaters, there was chicken curry along with the option of having omlettes made to order.

Now, you might be wondering what we did next, aren't you? We completed our trek in the morning, did a long village drive to get to where we were, had a sumptuous lunch while lounging at a homestay that overlooked a lake, and got down to the lake and sat by the waters edge. What else was left to do but head back to the city, right? Wrong! This is where the real fun began, actually.

The guys had plotted a particular route that went through farmland and dry scrub forests that would eventually take us back to the main highway. But here's the thing right! It was all exploratory. They had only a vague idea about the routes and since Google maps doesn't spoon feed you everything, it was a journey of constant mistakes, backtracking, getting into private property, and what not. This was the real off-road fun, the kind I'd been seeing on my Youtube feed all these years. And now I was finally getting to experience it. 

Heck, I even got to experience a real stream crossing standing on the footboard of a 4x4 jeep deep inside the forests of Ramanagara, holding onto the vehicle for dear life. We started from the homestay right after lunch, got off the main tar road into a muddy tractor trail, and it was just that all the way from the homestay till the viewpoint of the Manchanbele dam we had crossed earlier that morning.

We stopped at a couple of viewpoints on the way to catch our breaths and take in the sights as well:

 

If you look a bit closely at the second picture, you'll notice how high the second viewpoint is. It literally took us an hour of off-roading to get there. You really need to be an adrenalie junkie to have fun at these things. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted or squeamish. The vehicle literally treats you like a ragdoll, with the rolling terrain making your body sway from side to side, and the steeper ascents and descents making you jump up and down at times.

As much as we enjoyed the high adrenaline fun of the tractor trails, we heaved a total sigh of relief when we exited the forest an hour later and got onto smooth tarmac, the interior village roads of Ramanagara. It was almost 5 now, and everyone had to get home. So without wasting any further time with parting pleasantries, everyone said their goodbyes on the walkie-talkies itself and then proceeded in the direction of their respective homes.

Overall, it was a great weekend. I had not only got a trek in, but also explored some cool new undiscovered places surrounding the Bajrangi backwaters which I've bookmarked to explore in the future. There's absolutely no dearth of places to discover even just an hour out of Bengaluru. You just have to get out and explore.

Post lockdown monsoon wanderlust - Nagala

 

 

Introduction

With all the pent up energy from the previous weekends trek to BM betta still surging through me, I knew I had to do something the following week as well. It wouldn't matter if it was another one-dayer or the typical 2 day jaunt with the usual overnight bus journeys and one night spent camping in the forest.

So I decided to enquire with some of my old trek buddies if they were ready to do a two day thing. A few conversations over two days, and a plan was baked and ready by Wednesday evening. It was going to be 7 of us. The plan was more or less the same, i.e for easy treks. Get into the eastern stream at Nagala, show the newbies the sights, the pools, waterfalls and all, spend ample time at those places and then call it a night with warm soup by the stream. The next day cook some happy breakfast, indulge in some sliding, diving, frolicking around in the pool, get a fish pedicure, and do some underwater exploration. Check out the other pools nearby, and exit early in the evening. At least, that was the plan!

Day 0

It was Friday evening, and I was all packed and ready for the trek. I was ecstatic as this was to be the first full blown 2 day trek after months of lockdown. I left for the Majestic bus stand in Bangalore all exuberant and cheerful, listening to my favourite mashup tracks on Youtube. I had booked the 11 PM sleeper bus to Tirupathi. 

I arrived at the bus stand quite early and had lots of time to kill. So I made a few calls to some of my trek buddies and we talked about the good old days of trekking. Not the days before Covid-19. But the older days, where everyone trekked almost every weekend, and no one was married or had other commitments to attend to. Those were the days!

Continuously blabbering on the phone, I was totally oblivious to the time and before I knew it, it was already time to board my bus. I got to the terminal, reached the bus and read out my PNR number to the conductor. I climbed into the bus and stopped at the third stair. I gazed into the eyes of the person who I was going to hand over my life to for the next 6 hours. He looked straight ahead with a blank stare on his face, and didn't as much as give a slight tilt towards my side when he (must have) noticed me staring.

Did I really have to connect with him on that level? I didn't have to, as I later saw what a smooth driver he was. Not once did I feel threatened or get woken up during the entire journey, and I can confidently declare that it was one of the smoothest bus rides I've ever taken to a trek.

                                        

 

 

 

 

 Day 1

I arrived at Tirupathi early Saturday morning. The rest of gang was to get in from Hyderabad. And it was only then, that I got to know that they'd be joining me directly at Nagala instead of the main Tirupati bus stand. But as it often happens on treks, plans got changed at the last minute and they landed up at Puttur, a town not very far from our main destination. And again, as fate would have it, they ended up getting on the very bus that I was on. So with pleasantries and introductions completed, myself and Anil got around to discussing the itinerary for the day. And that's how the rest of the bus ride to Nagala went.

Once at Nagala, we got around to purchasing vegetables and chicken for the Biryani that was to be cooked by the stream at night, along with some processed stuff for Sunday afternoons lunch. The weather was quite salubrious owing to a week of continuous rain, as told to me by one of my contacts at the town. One could easily make out it that it had been raining as the soil was damp, and there were lots of puddles all over the place. It was also exceptionally cool and breezy that day. It is usually hot and humid in Nagala for most part of the year.

 

After purchasing the requisite foodstuff, we moved towards the bus stand to hire an auto to take us to the dam, the start point of the trek. The scenery on the way is definitely something you do not want to miss out on. Although the SS Puram road is in a pathetic condition right now, it's an absolute pleasure and joy to cruise on otherwise. You'll be mesmerized with stunning views of the majestic peaks in the distance, while breathing in the fresh forest air that lingers en route the main village. After an extremely bumpy ride in the auto, we arrived at the breakfast point on the road with all our joints intact.

Fresh piping hot Idlis, dosas and Puris welcomed us into the miniature eatery, as vehicles whizzed past us on the road below, blowing the rising steam from our plates into our faces. The red hot chutney, or "kaaram" as it is called, burned my senses as usual and stirred up poignant memories of my earliest days at Nagala. How so many generations of people I've trekked with have now gone ahead with their own lives, leaving me to trek here with the ever floating population, that is the trekking community in India.

I took care not to overeat unlike previous treks where I'd always end up taking a dump somewhere on the trail before the trek could even start. The energizing essence of the Kaaram and other chutneys can turn even the most disciplined eaters into gluttons who will overeat and bloat themselves out. If it were for anything, I'd come here every weekend just to have Idlis with the different varieties of chutneys they have to offer, especially the fiery red Kaaram.

It was 9 by the time we got into the first pool and began playing in the water. The first-timers to Nagala couldn't contain their excitement, and started yelling and screaming their lungs out on spotting the waterfall at the end of the pool. We spent close to an hour there and then took the call to leave as more groups shuffled into the area and started crowding the pool. 

The initial trail to the first pool was overgrown with shrubs and was teeming with life in the form of mushrooms, flowers, reptiles and insects. We even saw a snake dart across a pool right in front of our eyes. Luckily, I captured part of it on my camera.

We left for the dead-end pool, and reached there in less than an hour. There was another group of 5 here who had the same plans for the night as us. We'd be seeing them again later in the evening at a common campsite. We all got into the water and swam over to the other side to feast our eyes on the majestic gorge and waterfall. We spent close to 3 hours at the dead end pool, jumping, swimming, and just lazing around in the pool, exactly the way one is supposed to relax and rejuvenate themselves on a weekend. After tiring out our bodies with all the fun and frolic, we dived into our lunch packets with gusto and then settled down to a nice long nap. There was no need of a "power nap" for once, unlike the rest of the 99% of treks I go on, as this was a relaxed foodie trek.

It was early evening by the time we decided to make a move for our campsite, the magic pool plateau. I was tricked into thinking it was sundown by the low hanging monsoon clouds, and started hurrying the group up to pack up and start moving for the campsite, when one of them reminded me that it was just 5 in the evening.

Oh you mischievous monsoon clouds! You tricked me again, didn't you?

 

 

By around 5.30 or so, we started packing up and moving from there, one by one, to regroup at the cave and then head for the sliding pool as a single unit. 

We arrived at the campsite exceptionally early and I was able to get two hours of rest before joining the others in the kitchen. But instead of food, I was welcomed by the sorry sight of everyone desperately trying to get the fire started. They were trying to get the wet logs to burn since the last 2 hours and had failed every single time. I immediately sent some of them to go get a bunch of dry logs which I caught sight of at the cave on the way up. We then got the fire started, made our meals and hit the sack at around 11 in the night. Still not too late for a trek. Funnily enough, it is sleeping early that is an issue on most treks. People either keep chatting all night to get themselves to sleep, or wake up extremely early next morning to relish and bask in the silence of dawn when everyone's still asleep.

The moon rose high up into the sky behind one of the many beautiful hill formations of Nagala and shone brightly into everyone's faces negating the need for flashlights. This was the best part of camping on the magic pool plateau and I knew it. There were intermittent clouds playing hide n' seek with the moon like they do with the sun during the day.

 

 

Day 2

The second day began with long yawns and droopy eyes as most of us hadn't slept well. I remember watching the others slant precariously on a steep slope when I had gone to fetch water some time after midnight. I was the only one in the group who found flat space to sleep, yet barely managed to get any sleep at all. It was the constant buzzing of insects and their antics that kept me up for most of the night. Then at some point - I have no idea when - my body just gave up fighting with them and crashed. But I woke up terribly drained as if I hadn't slept at all. 

With a different set of insects (along with the sun) now thwarting my second attempt to sleep, I decided enough was enough and got up for the day. I changed into my swimming trunks and descended to the magic pool which was on the other side of the plateau. 

Trek or no trek, an early morning swim always does the body wonders! 

A few steps above the pool, some folks from the group were seated on the rocks and engaged in soft early morning conversation. I greeted them as I got down, lowered myself into the water, and let the blissful cold envelop me as I swam. After moving around for a while, I stood still and let the pedicure fishes do their thing. The others were still seated on the rocks and engaged in conversation, while checking on me every now and then. After a while, they got up and went to the campsite. 

I waddled in the water for a few more minutes and then went to join them. I was disappointed with the news they had for me. After the previous night's stunts with the fire, and with most of the ingredients for the fresh food spoiled, none of them were in a mood to cook. And we now had to make do with whatever processed stuff we had. This was a total bummer as this was supposed to be a foodie trek with lots of fresh food involved. I didn't want to have any dry processed stuff right at the beginning of the day, and so just gulped down a few mouthfuls of glucose powder along with some water for an energetic start.

 

It was at that moment that another impromptu change was made to the plans. Here we go again! 

It was decided that one of the organizers and I would go back to the dead end pool as he wanted to experience the gorge one more time, while the rest of the gang would stay at the sliding pool to slide and play in the water. We decided to meet at a common point on the eastern stream at 1 in the afternoon, and then break for lunch at the first pool. Some in the group were trying to push for an early exit in the afternoon, but since I'd already booked my tickets for the night, we deferred our exit to the evening.

I mean, what was I going to do all alone at the Tirupathi bus stand for 6 whole hours anyway? Even If I decided to stay back, it would be a terrible waste of my time lounging around in the pools just to push for a late exit. Both groups promptly made it to the rendezvous point at 1. We then discussed how much time we'd like to kill at the pool before starting for our exit. Since they wanted to get out of the forest in the afternoon, and with me pining for a late evening exit, we decided to do a middle ground and exit at 4 in the evening. Keeping that in mind, we had our lunch at the first pool, and spent the appropriate amount of time at the rest of the pools on the way out, so as to get out by 4.

Being Sunday, there were a ton of trekkers at the first pool, with more groups entering and leaving as we were there. It was clear that the amount of trash on the boulders around the pool had significantly increased, and I made a mental note to come clean it up some time like I've done in the past. We arrived at the dam just as the clock struck 4, and there were intermittent low hanging clouds sprinkling water on us every now and then. The droplets were clearly visible on the vast area covered by dam water. But it never rained. We arrived at a local village house to eat the Bondas and Bajjis we had ordered the previous day. And boy did they taste heavenly after two days of trekking!

I tried to capture the stillness and tranquility of the backwaters as the droplets fell: 

We got into the auto at the dam, reached the village home where we'd ordered food, and sat down to some scrumptious bajjis and bondas with coffee. We spent close to 45 mins here gorging on the Bondas one after another, and they tasted absolutely divine after a trek. It was 6 by now and we decided to make a move for it, as the guys wanted to catch an early train departing from Puttur for Hyderabad.

At the Nagalapuram bus stand, we again got into a private auto who took us all the way to Puttur. I had never rode on the main Puttur-Satyavedu highway in an auto and this was the part of the trip that was most euphoric for me. The view of the wide highway, majestically flanked by mountains on both sides, which is usually covered by the bonnet of a car or the windows of a bus for the majority of times I've been here, was now open and unhindered. This stretch is a trekkers playground and definitely must be on the bucket list for all the diehard fans of trekking and exploration. It was absolutely mesmerizing and captivating to be surrounded by mountains on all sides, especially when the scenery is painted by the colours of dusk. 

We arrived at the train station just as the train blew its departing whistle, and I saw them off in total filmy style, without even as much as getting a chance to say goodbye. They had to make a wild dash for it from the auto, and the last of them boarded the train like how the heroes do in movies, running and jumping into it as it rolls out of the station. I sauntered back to the Puttur town area amidst all the noise and cacophony of the market area. Too much to take after two blissful days spent in the tranquility of nature. I plonked myself at the bus stand as I waited to hop into any bus going to Tirupathi. I got one in a few minutes and arrived at Tirupathi in an hour or so. 

At the Tirupathi bus stand, I was in for some major disappointment. The AC waiting lounge was no longer there, and I couldn't relive my memories of 10 years spent waiting there for the sleeper bus to Bangalore. I badly missed the Telugu movies with its uber loud speakers enveloping the entire lounge with the movie being played as the AC froze you over, completely blocking out all the cacophony of the bus stand, with the constant air horns of buses and yelling of conductors unable to penetrate inside.

I then remembered that I hadn't had my dinner yet, so I could somehow kill time doing that. I walked out of the bus stand, found a Chinese place by the main road and sat down to some very mediocre fare. I should have trusted my instincts and gone for the traditional food on the cart. But how much cart food could one possibly have? As trekkers well know, the craving is for something tangy and filling after a trek.

I finished it quickly, got back to the bus stand and boarded my bus back to Bengaluru. Not bad for a first trek to Nagala. After months of lockdown, it sure felt like a breath of fresh air!

 

Post lockdown monsoon wanderlust - BM betta

 

Introduction

The lockdown of 2021 thwarted everyone's summer trekking plans and kicked all our bucket list items onto next years calendar. I was feeling particularly glum as I couldn't relish the goodness of deep water pools in the scorching Andhra sun at my favourite destination in the Eastern Ghats, Nagala. But all was not lost! By the time the lockdown was lifted, the rains had moved inwards to the South and it had already been pouring for the past couple of weeks in the city. So I decided to make the most of it and do a short hike up one of the dozen hillocks bordering the city of Bengaluru.

 

Bananthimari betta

Welcome to Bananthimari betta, a multi-tiered hill located just 60 Kilometers from Bangalore in the Ramanagara cluster of hills. Bananthimari is actually comprised of two hills which can be accessed separately. It is interspersed with farms, rocky patches, and lush green valleys in between. It is 2000 ft in height, and yes, you can breathe in some clouds at the peak during the monsoons. We were amazed to find even a stream flowing through it somewhere during the ascent, but I suppose it is a seasonal one that comes to life only during the monsoons. I was amazed and awestruck as I stood atop the main peak, and gazed down into the valley below. There was just too much to explore! I, for one, would definitely need to visit this place at least a dozen more times to explore it in its entirety, and for my brain to form a complete mental image of the area.

It was the second weekend which had been unlocked post the actual unlocking of the city, and I was itching to get back to my usual trekking routine. In fact, I had initially succeeded in putting a group together for a proper two day trek to a reserved forest. But as luck would have it, that trek got cancelled and I ended up going to Bananthimari betta with another bunch of friends. I was a bit hesitant and skeptical of the place at first. But the moment I saw the mist flowing off the top of the peak in the distance as our car wound its way to the hill, all my apprehensions about the place (being too less of a trek) faded away. This hill is by far, unlike any of the other peaks I've scaled close to the city, and one of the few that resembles a deep reserved forest in the Western ghats, complete with thick dense foliage, a bamboo forest, a stream and a cold misty peak with multiple viewpoints. What more does one need for an exploratory mission?

First half

With that being said, BM Betta is great for beginners, expert trekkers, and everyone in between. The trail is pretty straightforward once you catch it at the base, and the scenery keeps changing as you go up. The trek initially begins with a jeep trail which gradually narrows down to a thin shepherd trail. We began our trek some time around 730, with our packed breakfasts in our backpacks. Somewhere during this shepherd trail portion of the trek, I heard a peacock fly overhead but before I could turn to take a look, it had disappeared. Nevertheless, we kept hearing peacock calls all through the shepherds trail section of the hill. After you've done hiking through the more open sections, with shrubbery farther from you on either side, you'll arrive at a point where you'll need to make a decision on which hill you'd like to climb. Like I said in the beginning, there are multiple peaks here with many access points. We decided to climb the one to our left, since our leader informed us that it was the "main" peak. After getting off the shepherd trail, we were enshrouded by a massive bamboo grove with barely any noticeable trail to follow.

 

We had our breakfast by this colourful water body with the wind making ripples on the surface of the water, scattering the reflected dark green of the surrounding shrubbery all around the pond:

 

Misty hill in the background - a perfect view for breakfast

Wind sending ripples through the water

 

It was all up to the trek leader now to carve the path out for the rest of us who were new to the place. With tall bamboo shoots towering over us to form a thick canopy overhead and fallen branches scattered all over the place, we had to literally bushwhack our way to the opening at the top. We ran into spiderwebs, thorns, wet leaves, and other organic matter, all while holding onto slippery tree trunks and branches for support. I think the bamboo grove provided a moist and humid environment for fungi to grow and so we were in for a visual spectacle of sorts; wild mushrooms of varying colours, shapes, and sizes, and the miniature organic matter growing in the boscage.

 

                                                     

 

Whether there's an actual trail here that's been overrun with shrubbery due to lockdown induced abandonment, or this section was always wild, untouched, and blanketed in thick foliage is anyone's guess. But none of that mattered! As the rush of adventure we got navigating this steep section, getting on all fours, squatting under big logs, pushing thorny branches out of the way, climbing over fallen logs, sometimes jumping over them, and craning our necks to see further ahead in the brush, the dull monotonous trail from earlier in the morning totally paled in comparison. The heavily forested section didn't go for long, and by no time we arrived at a clearing. It opened up to scintillating panoramic views of surrounding peaks, evergreen forest, and countryside farms, with heavy, grey monsoon clouds providing the background score. The clouds were far on the horizon, and luckily didn't obscure our view of all the wonderful sights that lay right below us.

 

The viewpoint after the bamboo section

 

Together, we heaved a huge sigh of relief on completing the forested section, and I went ahead to rest my feet at a huge flat boulder. A carpet of green was glittering with life in the thick forest below, and the entire valley sparkled with the new lease of life bestowed upon it by the monsoon. While taking in all these amazing sights, we noticed another group on the adjacent hill that was right in front of us, maybe around 700 metres away or so. The same hill which we would have reached had we gone straight instead of taking a left on the trail. The group consisted of about 20 people or so, as much as we could establish from such a distance.

 

The group on the other side. Notice the water trickling down

The group huddled around a pond

 

The Second half

After relishing the cool suburban breeze effused with the rich fragrance of fertile forest soil, we decided to proceed for the peak. The route was such that we had to take a left U-turn to go around the hill as we couldn't continue straight. That route was rendered impassable by the steep rock face with a drop to the right. We had two choices from here. To either proceed on the steep but slippery hillside and reach the other side quickly. Or take an alternative route; backtrack our way a few meters down, and then climb up again using the dense foliage as gripping points, which would be a bit more time consuming. Two of our team members took the first option and two took the other.

The first option involved precariously walking across the stony hill face, which slanted at a perilous 70 degree angle, with no trees or grass to hold on to and water trickling down at some points. They decided to do the section barefoot, and took it one step at a time. In fact, the third trekker and I stood frozen in our places waiting with baited breath as the other two laboriously made it across to the other side. Only when they successfully reached the other side, and were back on firm footing, did we heave a sigh of relief and began moving.

 

 

I wish I did, but I've not taken any photos of this particular section, mainly because I was too busy finding a handhold and plonking myself up on the rocks correctly. This section was completely wild and untouched. The boulders were far from each other, they were covered in shrubs, and you wouldn't know if your foot would land on solid ground or just fall through the foliage in between. So we had to take it very carefully one foot at a time. We had to again resort to rock climbing, and propping ourselves up on massive boulders, as well as shaky wooden logs, to get higher and higher. All while pushing thick branches out of our faces in order to see further ahead. Finally, we arrived at a section that resembled a trail but which was heavily overgrown owing to weeks of continuous rain.

There was another slippery rock face that we had to climb, but it was easier compared to the first one. Once we arrived at the peak, we were engulfed by a chill breeze that was constant more or less the entire time we were there. There were freshwater ponds which had formed due to the rain, and I got down on all fours to lap it up animal style. The breeze felt colder than it actually was due to the sweat that had formed on the surface my skin. That is a most wonderful feeling that cannot be described. It isn't that menacing kind of cold which makes you run for your warmers, but the soft, affectionate kind that people love and generally prefer. The one that adds to the ambiance and brings out the winter mood everywhere.

The clouds kept dreamily passing by one after another, sometimes right through us, and sometimes a few meters below the peak like a carpet. We lazily sat down on the ground and took in the sights of the entire landscape ahead of us which also comprised of several peaks in the distance. Some of us decided to balance their phones between two rocks in order to capture time lapse videos of cloud movement during the break. After being sufficiently rested, we went to check out the opposite side of the hill, the direction which we came from, and then continued with our descent from there. During the descent, we could still see the gang on the opposite hill. I think that flat piece of rock was their final destination. There were some people on the peak of that hill as well, but we doubted it as to whether they could have been part of the same group.

 

Completely covered in fog

                                          

I put the 30x digital zoom on my new camera to the test and tried to capture them to the finest level possible. Here's how that turned out:

The Real Adventure

They could have been a subset of the very same group that was resting near the pond. That does happen a lot in trekking. One set of people who want to do the more difficult part of something, while the rest wait for them at another point lower or earlier on the trail. We ran into the group by pond, as we ourselves arrived at that spot while descending. Yes, they were still there! We took that route while descending instead of just tracing back our steps via the same route we used to ascend the hill. We love exploring that way. And an exploration it was indeed! 

We later arrived at a point where the hill rolled down steeply, there was barely any vegetation, and every step had to be intentional and calculated. Little did I know that the real adventure of the day quietly lie in wait for me towards the very end of the trek. There were trickles of water washing over the rocks in intervals and you wouldn't want to step on them. I got separated from the group as I wasn't confident of going down the same way. My quest to find and land myself on only the driest patches of rock took me far to the right and I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Towards my left, water. Towards my right, water. Right in front of me water.

Now the only option I had was to climb back up and find another way around the wet patch which ended up taking me ever further away from the group, leaving me to find my own exit to the plains from the right side. It didn't take even a few minutes and I had successfully got down to ground level after dodging all the wet portions. 

But everyone had gotten down on the left and I now had to rejoin them. 

I kept my eyes glued to the ground in the hopes of spotting a shepherds trail or anything of the sort that would take me to the left side. I found it after hiking for a while and joined the trek leader waiting there. Somehow, I had made it before the three of them could make it down together. And all along I was assuming that they'd already reached, and would be waiting for me there.

 

Appetizing mushrooms on the way down - but are they edible?

The ride back home was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that we stopped at a really horrible place for lunch. The food didn't taste bad. It's just that there wasn't any taste at all! 😁 We asked for extra salt and somehow made it through meal. If one can make it through that last steep section of the hill, one can make it through anything, we declared in unison. And besides, most food tastes good after a trek no matter how bad it is. All you want to do is fill your tummy.

We got back to my friend's house where I had parked my bike. It was dark and cloudy in the city, just as it had been all day long. I picked it up and started for home. It was around 530 in the evening and the city traffic was just starting to pick up. Luckily, it wasn't raining unlike earlier in the morning, when I got drenched getting there. It was still cold though, and the effect was magnified for me as my trekking singlet was still wet, and I had worn mornings jacket (which hadn't dried one bit in the car) over it.

Unmistakably, this is one of the most wondrous parts of short single day hikes near the city that I treasure the most. Riding back in the pouring rain soaked to the bone, shivering continuously as you make your way through slushy roads and clogged intersections. That homely warmth and relaxation you feel on getting home and snuggling into a blanket with some hot food and a movie. Now just imagine if I had taken a cab instead.

I would have missed out on all these abstract fantasies, plus so much more!