Belur-Chikmangalur-Hebbe Falls-Sringeri Trip

Participants:

1. Shrikant Gaikwad
2. Rajesh R.
3. Srinivas R.
4. Chakrapani and family
5. Wife (Chumki) and Myself

Date: 13th – 15th August, 2011

Mode of Transport: Toyota Inova

This trip plan has been a mixture’s of yes and no’s. Is this the right time or should it be planned later? Will it rain?

No. It did not rain at all except some small drizzles. The best part of it was that all the falls were full, flowing to it’s mightiest.

Day 1:

We started from Bangalore at around 8:30 hrs and reached Belur at around 13:00 hrs after 2 pits stops.

Belur:

We went inside the Chennakesava temple complex to explore it. The temple complex is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas). Inside the temple are a number of ornate pillars curved with numerous artefact’s.

We reached Chikmangalur at around 15:00 hrs and after booking a hotel went out to explore the surroundings. As we move around the mountains towards the peak, we could hardly see the surroundings as clouds move in and out. It was awesome.

Guru Dattatreya – Baba Budan Swamy Darga:

Guru Dattatreya Baba Budan Swamy Darga on the Bababudan hills in Chikmagalur Taluk is an ancient and important institution held in high esteem by Hindus and Mohammadans alike. It is located in the Baba Budangiri Ranges. We were not able to go inside this, since a fence has been erected last year due to some riots (as informed to us by locals).

Manikya Dhara:

Manikya Dhara Falls is located on the Baba Budan Giri HIlls. Manikyadhara Falls also offers an opportunity for witnessing beautiful surroundings and greenery on the hills. Manikyadhara, meaning ‘a string of pearls’. It is believed that a bath would cure all aliments and you remove all your sins here and you would find a dashboard there stating the same.

Day 2:

Kalahasti Falls-Raj Bhavan-Rose Garden-Shanti Falls-Z Point:

Kalahasti Falls is located at Kallattipura in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka at a distance of about 10 kms from Kemmangundi. There is temple located besides the falls dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple has three stone carvings of three elephants at the entrance. Water cascade water over these elephants and devotees believes that these waters have the power to cure diseases.

The rose garden is being maintained by the Horticulture Department (Karnataka). Just besides is the Raj Bhavan. The old Horticultural Guest House is also located besides it. Z point is a vantage point at Kemmangundi and can be reached by a steep uphill trek of about 90 minutes from Raj Bhavan and is another place from which to view the sunrise. As you walk towards the Z point you go through Shanthi Falls (a small fall). View from the Z point can also be experienced not written. You can find gust of winds throwing you out. One word “Awesome”.

Hebbe Falls:

Hebbe Fall is situated at a distance of about 8-10kms from Kemmangundi. One can either trek the whole way or take a local jeep to cover the distance. One passes through coffee plantations and dense forests.

Mode of Transport: Local Jeep
Road Condition: Was there a road?
Vehicle Condition: I am alive to write the blog.
Journey: A bumpy ride

Since we were late from Z-point, we preferred to take the local jeep rather then doing the trek. We bargained to Rs. 175 per person. The road is along a steep and narrow path on the edge of the hills with one side coffee plantations and the other side dense forest. Once in the jeep, rest assure all the food items would be digested, since one would be jumping from one corner to another inside the vehicle. After about 40-45mins drive one reach the end of the road. One needs to walk around 20-30 mins, crossing 3 small streams to reach the base and view the majestic falls.

The water would be chill but one can take a dip (it’s very pleasent).

Note: Please bargain for the price. But kuddos to the driver who takes pain to drive on that road and you still come in single piece. One needs to be careful while crossing the streams, since at times the water force might be high.

Day 3:

Sringeri:

We started towards Sringeri at around 8:30am after dropping the plan to Bhadra National Park. The road was not so smooth as from Bangalore to Chickmangalur. There was a bad patch of road for about 5 kms after which the road was awesome. We had some good snaps being taken there. There were coffee planataions on one side, while the huge mountain on the other side.

We reached Sringeri at around 11:30 hrs and had darshan.

We started from Sringeri at around 14:30 hrs and were back in Bangalore at around 22:30 hrs with 3 pit stops.

Anyways, it was a memorable weekend and thank to all of my travelmates for the same.