Thursday, January 11, 2007

Beyond Coffee County

It was sudden and unplanned, so it was a "been there done that" kind of a trip! What all was decided that we are leaving Mysore at six in the morning and heading west.

3rd Dec 2005,

It was a cool and cloudy morning. Although we got a bit late but were on the road by six thirty. A lot of seemingly enthusiastic people retracted on the very last moment and there were only two of us and the ‘pulsar’ took off to the Madikeri Road. The previous posting tells you all about the needful to be done on the way to Madikeri. So, this time it’s Madikeri and beyond. The story begins on Sunday, Dec 4th. It’s a small story; all about a journey and not merely reaching the pre-planned destinations.

4th Dec 2005,

It was my first trip on bike and got an irritating back ache after riding through the bumpy roads yesterday. But the sound sleep overnight helped and I was all set to Go next morning! The morning was cloudy with chilly wind blowing across the hills. We were on the way to Virajpet from Madikeri. After a steep descend from the hills of Madikeri the road goes though evergreen coffee plantations and paddy fields. The road condition is awesome and the surroundings surreal. The winding road leads through virgin landscapes, coffee estates and cinchona/ pepper plantations. The distant hills from Bramhagiri and Madikeri and the cloud covered heights create a perfect backdrop. Occasional villages dotted with old Kodagu style houses amidst paddy and ginger fields and the traditionally worn sari claded women drawing our attention more often. The ride was punctuated by several stop-over to grab the perfect photo-ops. Reached Virajpet before eight o’clock and took out the map to chart out the route to Nagarhole NP and Iruppu Fall over a hot cup of filter-coffee! The road to Iruppu fall goes via Gonikoppal-Hudikeri and Srimangla. The waterfall is 52 km. from Virajpet and 90 km from Madikeri.

The road condition is not all that good beyond Gonikoppal but the altitude starts to increase and forest gets thicker. This is a land of red spring flowers (palash). Often the road is covered by the flowers and you can view some lovely looking bungalows amidst the thick foliage of the plantations. You would always like to live in a place like that. The aroma of robusta, the verdant valley overlooking your living room window, the smell of typical Coorgi food and the calmness of the nature around, what else could you ask for? The only bad thing is that, you would never like to leave the place!

We reached the base of the waterfall just before ten o’clock. The trail to the fall starts beyond Ishwara temple and a trek of 1 km through the lower Bramhagiri WLS will take you to the Iruppu. Before the trek; have a good look of the boards put up by the temple committee and the Forest Department to know more about the mythological background of the place and the forests around. If you reach early or on weekdays you can always enjoy the tranquility of the place only broken by the occasional chattering of birds. The three stepped 51.8 m drop of the fall is just too good. The flow meets with the Lakhsmanathirtha River down stream. You can enjoy a nice bath on the cold water of the pool formed by the cascade. But for heaven’s sake don’t throw away plastic pouches and shampoo sachets. You are in an ecologically fragile zone!


A few trek routes start from Iruppu fall to upper Bramhagiri WLS. But for that you need prior permissions from the Forest Office at Srimangla or Chief Forest Warden at Bangalore. For a nominal fee you’ll be given permission and guide for the trek routes. The jungle trail leads you to Bramhagiri Peak (9 km) and Munikal – ‘sages’ cave’ (7 km). Bramhagiri is situated on Kerala-Karnataka border where Bramhagiri WLS meets with Tholpetty Sanctuary in Wayanad. It is a land of evergreen forest and on the upper ridges the tropical jungle gives way to the shola grassland. The jungle used to be haunted by tigers and leopards not long back. The name NarimalaiBetta (Tiger Hill) corroborates the same. Now the jungle is predominantly a home for Elephants, sloth bears, gaurs and hmmm…. A few leopards! A long and treacherous trek can lead you to Pakshipathalam, every bird watcher’s dream land!


But never try for these trek routes during monsoon or without guide. Nature has its own deterrents…the ‘leeches’. We tried and suffered! It sucks. Always keep salt, tobacco or deo-spray handy. It’s a simple lesson learnt by sheer experience J


After the ‘leeches’ episode we were too eager to get out of the place. Two SOBs even tried to venture inside my helmetL. We came down from the hill before noon and were planning to head for Nagarhole. But the Forest Dept official gave the real dampener. We won’t be allowed to enter the NP on two wheeler and the next safari will start at 3:30 in the afternoon. So it was nearly impossible for us to go for the safari as we had to ride back 150 km. to Mysore the very same day! Nagarhole (Rajiv Gandhi NP) is only 18km. via a place called Kutta (7 km from Iruppu).

So, we decided to go back to Gonikoppal. After having a true Mallu style lunch with boiled rice, curry and fried fish headed back for Mysore. Saju raced the bike on an average of 50 mph and Mysore was not far away!

Yeah! I can read your mind….don’t worry! Next time I’ll take the permission from the forest office…n yesss…will arrange salt n tobacco for your bloody legs also!

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