Western Ghats

Time: Dec 19th, 2020 - 22nd, 2020

Place: Madikeri, Tala Kaveri, Moodbidre, Agumbe, Sringeri, Hornadu, Kalasa

Company: Wife & Daughter

Budget: Between 15K and 18K for 2 adults and 1 child including car rental to and from Bangalore

Highlights:

Overview: 

Well, my company announced the Christmas week off all of a sudden, and that set my mind off to travel somewhere! What with 2020 having been filled with Covid-19, our summer trip abroad also got cancelled, and with Covid reducing, we thought a self-driven tour will be safe - as long as we wear mask and stay away from crowd as much as possible. So, all places wherever public transportation was otherwise available got ruled out, and only those tourist spots with road travel were eligible. Also the plan was to visit for 3-4 days. We zoned in on Coorg since it seemed ideal. Even though I had seen this about 3 decades ago, I was fine to revisit since W & D had not seen it. Also I had this desire to show Sringeri and Hornadu to both of them since a long time, and it seemed the time was right now. Daughter also did not have school except for an hour’s class which we could handle with roaming internet. Despite all this, we went back and forth to weigh the pros and cons of going considering Covid. Finally, we decided that it was not too risky and forged ahead with the planning and the itinerary. There were two routes: BLR - MDK - AGB - SRNG - HND - BLR and the other being BLR - HND - SRNG - AGB - MDK - BLR and we chose the former considering it seemed more stable with enough breaks. Also wanted to add Dharmasthala and Kukke to the itinerary but dropped the plan since it involved too much of winding roads. Speaking of which, daughter was not too keen on this trip just for that reason since the winding roads cause a lot of motion sickness for her. Anyways, convinced her somehow and I booked the rental car at 9 pm on 18th for a trip starting in 10 hours!

Day 1: BLR - MDK

We were up at 5:30 after just 5 hours of sleep. Thats how bad our vacations will be! Office days are better with at least 7-8 hours sleep! Anyways, the car was supposed to arrive (door-stop delivery) by 7:30 but instead I got a call that it cannot be delivered and I had to fetch it from 3 kms away. So I hurriedly took an auto and by the time I finished all the formalities, it was almost 8:30. We finished the packing, had breakfast and were off by an hour later. 

BLR-Mysore road is full of construction due to road widening and hence too many diversions with speed breakers. Even though I was driving slow, that was enough to start the chain of motion sickness for my daughter and within a couple of hours, she was sick. It made me realize that I should have spared her the trouble. But once the road constructions waned and the road became better, so did she. Thankfully, she slept off and I was able to cover a good amount of distance. We survived on home-made snacks while driving and skipped lunch, just so that we can reach early.

Our first stop was Nisarga Dhaama, a very famous spot on the way to Madikeri. It is beautiful, which starts off with a hanging bridge, has boating, deer park, children’s play area, even cottages to stay overnight, tree-houses, etc. Nice location, filled with full natural canopy and great for pics. Lot of deers in the deer park. But the best part was river Cauvery which flows ankle-deep with a gushing force that brings the yippiness out of all. Spent a lot of time playing in the river. Daughter loved it, and so did wife. We soaked in the nature to our heart’s content and then visited the neighbouring parking plaza to have a cup of tea and did some window shopping.

Finally it was time for the last leg of the journey, to reach Madikeri. It was just an hour away. Our home stay was Kushy Cottage home stay and location was kind of hard to find on Google since it is spelt with a “y” and not “i”. Also ran into network issues so had to struggle to find hotel number and then get the correct directions. Plus there was power outage at that time, road was steep and narrow, phone battery was dying - you name it! Quite an adventure. Anyways, glad we were able to make it at last. The room was exactly as how we saw it on the pics - full of windows, and it was Paavani’s choice. So she was all gaga!

Day 2: TKV, Abbi Falls, Raja’s Seat

We woke up at 6:30 am, and enjoyed watching the sun rays directly onto the bed! Had home-packed breakfast (realized it was not enough) and left at 9:30 to Talakaveri. Road was not too good (maybe due to construction) but then became better. Too much of winding but dotty did not get sick although she felt nauseous. We reached Bhagamandala at about 11 am and spent nice time at the temple. We forged ahead to Talakaveri - birth place of Kaveri river. Beautiful landscape and scenery all around, since it was like a peak. Even temple premises was serene and soothing. I remember last time I was here water bubble was coming out of that holy pool but we could not see it this time. Anyways, had our share of natural beauty and divinity! Headed back to Madikeri, and had lunch at Hotel Krishna Grand at about 3 pm.

Next up, Abbi Falls. A lot has changed since last 3 decades when I was last here. I remember trekking in the jungle at that time but now it is all man-made steps. Good but the trek-feeling is lost. The view point is nice too but then earlier we could enter the water, now we cannot. Anyways, the falls is just as good: splendour spread from left to right! Took enough pics and then it was time to head back to MDK.

Our next stop was Raja’s Seat park. Although we were quite early (5 pm) for the sunset, it was nice and relaxing to roam around and watch here and there. Daughter was all excited with her newly bought binoculars! The sun set itself was pretty grand. It seemed all hazy at 5 pm but later the orange ball appeared and it flattened out to finally set at 6 pm behind the mountain ranges. I must say the authorities have done a great job to make arrangements for a big crowd to see the sunset without hindrance. Anyways, we headed out to the market area and had some light snacks. We contemplated on dinner and thought we might have it near our home stay. Unfortunately we could not find one easily enough (we went walking from the room), and hence we had to make-do with what we had.

Day 3: Moodbidre, Agumbe, Sringeri

We woke up early at about 5:30 am and checked out by 7:30 am. Quick breakfast at same venue (Krishna Grand) and we were out of MDK by 8 am. The winding roads continued for about an hour and then kind of tapered a bit but that was enough to send jitters to Paavani! We had to make a stop at 11ish since she had to take up her Math test. It was the first time we were doing it on a data card and it was smooth. The city we were in was MaaNi - a small town near Puttur. Test done, we continued on. We saw a peacock on the way and we stopped for some more pics. Then off again. All of a sudden, daughter felt sick despite not much winding roads and we had to stop. Just a few steps away was a house, and the owner saw us parked and came to offer help. We exchanged greetings and he asked us where we were headed. We told him Agumbe and he said we might as well visit Annapoorneshwari temple in Moodbidre and Gomateshwara in Karkala. Seemed like a nice idea. He also offered a lemon and asked Paavani to keep sniffing it - which she did for the rest of the trip and magically she never felt sick again till we reached home!

So, our next stop was Annapoorneshwari temple in Moodbidre. It was about 1:30 pm and seemed like we were right on time for lunch. The temple itself was amazing. A HUGE Hanuman temple, a Saibaba temple, a live elephant, some cows in the goshaala, etc. were some of the eye-catching things. The main deity was also mesmerizing. After spending some holy time, we went to the main dining hall where we were served delicious food comprising of rice, rasam and payasam. We were so thankful to the person who informed us of this temple!

We continued towards Agumbe. We lost our way couple of times but it didn’t impact much. We skipped Karkala Gomateshwara temple since we were hard pressed for time. Paavani had to attend class, and we stopped under the trees on the highway for about an hour. That done, we continued on and climbed the steep Agumbe hill. We reached the Agumbe sunset view point at 5ish, had an amazing coffee and some snacks at the parking lot to bide time. Soon, it was time. This sunset was different compared to previous day’s Raja Seat at Madikeri. While Raja’s Seat was comfy with lot of seating options, here all were standing and trying to catch a glimpse of the setting sun. Just like previous day, there was haze all around the mountains but the setting sun was brilliant as usual in glowing orange. Before we knew it, it was already set. We hurriedly made way for our parking and started towards Sringeri since I wanted as less of night driving as possible in the winding road.

It was about an hour and we reached the temple at about 7 pm. The temple is grand as ever, and we spent the next two hours soaking in the energetic presence of Adi Shankaracharya, Goddess Sharada and Lord Shiva. There was also a brief history of Shankaracharya in pictures which we read through. My last visit was in 2007 and I vaguely remember the architecture but other things had slipped from my memory. Also seemed like there were few changes - the temple was very neat and clean. The entry to the river Tunga seemed restricted too. We proceeded to dinner and had another delicious food. We then took temple accommodation right opposite the temple - it was basic but sufficient for a simple night halt. 

Day 4: Hornadu, Belur, BLR

 We got up by 5 am. Quickly freshened up and visited the temple once more. It was refreshing to see the temple in day light. The architecture really stood out now. Another quick farewell visit to Adi Shankaracharya, Goddess Sharada and Lord Shiva. Had nice breakfast right opposite in an eatery joint and packed off, on our way to the next destination - Hornadu. Sringeri to Hornadu road is not good for one half of the journey and rest half is ok-dokey. But it is full of winding roads. 

We left at 8:30 and reached about 11:30 - because we took 2-3 stops including one near a road-side falls and another one in a deep discussion with a local coffee grower. Anyways, reached Horanadu and it was not too crowded. My last trip in 2007 to Sringeri also involved Hornadu and it did not seemed to have changed one bit. I love this temple location - nestled in the corner between towering mountains everywhere and coconut trees. The scenery is breath-taking. Goddess Annapoorneshwari is grandiose and we offered our prayers to her for all the food she has bestowed upon us all.

We then headed to lunch. My last time here (and Sringeri), I remember sitting and food was being served but now it was all self-service. Either ways, food was just as good. After lunch we sat for some time in the temple premises and soaked in the scenic beauty once more. By the time we started to head back to BLR, it was about 1 pm. But we stopped within few minutes at Kalasa to visit the Kalaseeshwaraswamy temple (thinking it was Kalabhairavaswamy temple!). The temple location is amazing with towering mountains everywhere to see!

The winding roads was with us until almost 2 to 2.5 hours although it was gradually tapering off. Nice coffee estates everywhere, and we took some good pics. Paavani slept through and thankfully there was no nauseousness. At about 4:15 pm, we were near Belur and since GPS ETA showed 8:30 pm, we thought we might as well visit the famous Belur temple to show Paavani the great architectural marvel. It didn’t take much time though. We were in and out in less than 15 minutes. Lord Channekeshava temple was in His grand best!

At 5 pm, Paavani had her dance class. So it was time to stop once more on the highway for her to complete her class! I had a power nap and the breeze was nice and cool. It was well worth the break after the nice lunch and the drive. At 6 pm sharp, we left and our next stop was at 7:15 pm on one of the highway restaurants (Halli Mane) for a hot cup of coffee and tea. After that, it was straight drive to home sweet home. Traffic was manageable, road after Hassan is of international standards. Despite this being just a 4-day vacation, we were too glad to be back home. The scare of the Covid-19, the nausea of winding roads, the obligation of the rental car, etc. were all a burden that was wearing off the niceties of the destinations that we visited.

Overview:

A trip that could have been planned earlier, maybe a week or so before, yet planned only a day before. It might have costed me 2-3K more because of the rental car expenses. Otherwise the only other booking was the home stay at Madikeri. In all, 1013 kms driven in 4 days - highlight being it was on a "geared" (manual transmission) car - something which I had not driven since maybe 2015. So I was pretty impressed with myself that I could still drive manual transmission easily even after 5 years despite tough winding mountain roads! 

Even though I had been to all these places before (except Moodbidre temple), I had never driven on these roads before, and it was my first. It had always been in my minds that I needed to take Paavani to the source of Cauvery river, and also to take wifey to Sringeri and Hornadu. With this trip, both of these goals got accomplished! Since the route map looked like a banana, my daughter called it as the Banana Trip! And with this “only major trip of 2020”, we bid adieu to the most happening year!!