Chikmagalur

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses put in an order!”

🚵🥾️🏊

This is my first blog on medium. I did blog our first annual ride in 2016 (link at the end of this blog) but then in the later years, though we were riding, I couldn’t blog because I couldn’t take out quality time to blog. I started blogs but never finished 😃. This year being unusual and I am sure many are getting more personal time, I could take out some time too, to pen down our experience. Though I couldn’t come up with a blog for previous years, I have shared links to photo albums at the end of this blog. Especially don’t miss the 2019 Manali-Leh ride which we did last year! It is altogether at a new level and totally out of the world experience!

Introduction

This is BefIKrE boyz 5th annual ride! This year, we didn't publicize much about the tour due to the current CORONA situation and did it in a closed group.

This year was challenging due to the global pandemic and a lot of thinking went into whether to do or not do and, if we can do, how to do? Finally, we executed it with few measures as below.

1. A homestay away from the hustle-bustle areas, exclusive for our group. No other guests to be allowed. One person per bed, possible individual stay accommodations (lucky to get 4 tented individual accommodations). Get it sanitized before we go there.
2. One vehicle from/back-to Hyd that can carry cycles and riders. We hired a bus that was there with us all the time. No public transportation.
3. All traveling gets COVID tested, including drivers before the start of the trip. The entire gang got results in time and all -ve!
4. All to stay in a bubble…no breaking the group at any time!

Of course, no measures are enough but we did whatever best we can. All are sound and safe… it's been 2 weeks since we returned back from the trip.

Now, let’s get into the trip details….

Team 2020

Chikmagalur

This year we decided to 🚴‍♂️ around Chikmagalur. Just a little history 👇

1. Chikmagalur is a district in the state of Karnataka and part of Malenadu region. The mountains in Chikmagalur which are a part of the Western Ghats are the source of rivers like Tunga and Bhadra. Mullayanagiri, which is the highest peak in Karnataka is located in the district. It also home to hill stations like Kemmanagundi and Kudremukh and waterfalls like Manikyadhara, Hebbe, Kallathigiri. Wildlife enthusiasts would be interested in the Kudremukh National Park and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary present here.
2. Chikmagalur is packed with flora, fauna, and natural delights. It is a home for culture, history, scenic beauty, and great hospitality from the local people.
3. The name is actually derived from Chikkamagalur. When you translate the name in Kannada, you get the meaning as “the town of the younger daughter.” I will leave the curious minds to google and know more :-)
4. Chikmagalur is the birthplace of Coffee in India. Baba Budangiri is the first person who brought the seeds from Arabia and planted them in his garden. The coffee town got the nation’s attention when Indira Gandhi got elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977 from here. She suffered defeat from Rae Bareilly that year. The coffee grown in Chikamagalur is of two types — Arabica and Robusta.

Our Onward Journey

On Day 0, we all started from Hyderabad. Our meeting point was the Gachibowli stadium. We soon loaded all the bikes into the bus and started our journey. It was a long 700+ km from Hyderabad. It is overnight travel.

We did some customization … removed few seats and created more space for legroom!

The next morning, we did take a pit stop for morning rituals. The journey was quite long, approx. 17hours. The diver had apprehensions about the google suggested shortest route condition because it is a ghat road so, we took a little longer route and that took more time. However, the journey in the morning was quite pleasant though.

Pit stop and the beautiful houses among lush green farmlands.

Our destination, KALASA

Kalasa is a very beautiful historical and spiritual place that is set in the western ghats amidst plantations and mountains all around in Chikmagalur district located in Karnataka state. It’s approx 90+ km to the South-west of Chickmagalur and it’s on the banks of the Bhadra River. It is a very divine bliss, amidst greenery, calm and serene atmosphere, very near to Horanadu and also not far from Sringeri, etc.

Our stay — MUDRA Aaranya The wild forest eco stay

It’s an eco stay accommodation with homestay experience! They have 2–3 different types of cottages including swiss tent accommodations. It is approx. 25-acre campus away from the hustle and bustle. The accommodation itself is approx. 500 mtr walk path from the property entrance. The feel is like staying inside a jungle. We will wake up with the birds singing, insects humming, and all-natural sounds that one can hear in a jungle.

The approach to accommodation from the property entrance is not an easy one. We were welcomed with a steep walkway from the property entrance. �.�

Nature walk!

Day 1 — Cycle around Kalasa

As we reached late only around 11 am, we rested for a while after having breakfast. After late lunch, we then had half a day time to explore Kalasa on 🚴‍♂️.

We soon took out the cycles from the bus and got them checked and started our ride. The plan was more of a loop. As it is in the hills, it is all rolling terrain. After riding up the hill, before we enjoy rolling down, we have to climb again :-) but that's what cyclists enjoy! On the way, we have come across a waterfall and also many smaller streams.

Hanging bridge

Hanging bridge which is approx a km from the center of the town and the bridge is is above the Bhadra river. It is a very narrow bridge. The swinging experience is quite fun! The path to this bridge from the center of the town is quite steep! The temple on the way will get your attention for sure!

Amba Theertha

Our next destination is Amba Theertha which is again a serene location on the river Bhadra. The route to this place is again very steep and completely offroad for a km or so. It is named after Goddess Parvathi. It is famous for etching on the rocks where, it is believed, that the Draupadi and the Pandavas are shown with Akshaya Patra. You can see the pic here.

In return to the homestay, we sighted this beautiful moon(a day before full moon) and the reflection on the Bhadra river! Mesmerizing!!! Thanks to Rajesh for a nice capture!

We ended the day with a campfire, fun socialization with the gang, and a sumptuous dinner! We also celebrated our Thalaiva, Karthik birthday! Almost every year, we celebrate his birthday during the trip!

Our bodies were enough warmed up for the next day-long ride! 🙂

Day 2 — Cycle-Kudremukh National Park

Our day 2 ride plan was to pedal through the Kudremukh national park. After morning rituals and a nice and heavy breakfast, we started our ride.

Early morning warm up!

Doctor KVK checking the temperature and oxygen levels!

Neer dosa, Bajji etc.

On the way, as we go through the Kudremkha national park, we pass by KIOCL. There is an interesting history to it!

KIOCL(Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited) is a Government of India Enterprise; It started in 1976 and primarily engaged in Iron Ore Mining. The mining lease was given for 25 years and was supposed to be closed by December 2001. Kudremukh area is a biodiversity hotspot, with Kudremukh national park nearby. The mining lease was temporarily extended, however, it was completely stopped in 2006 due to environmental reasons. In 2016 KIOCL planned to develop a commercial resort in the Kudremukh national park, refurbishing some of its buildings, unused since the closure of the mine. The project had not obtained environmental clearance. In October 2016 the Ministry of Environment and Forests ordered to immediately stop the work.

The entire township is now totally abandoned! It is now called a ghost town!

A school building in a village, like a train station!

Muktumkar brothers!

We stopped at a checkpoint to take the permit to go through the national park.

Break at a bus shelter!

It’s Anjeer fruit and Guava

It was also Sachin’s son, Smyan's birthday that day so we all stopped at a special place and recorded our blessings with a special greeting prepared so beautifully by the doctor’s daughter.

[embed]

Bhagavathi Temple!

We ended the ride at SK Border where we had delicious lunch and returned!

Idiyappam with Mangalorean mutton green masala curry!

Our lunch point … SK Border!

The initial plan was to ride both ways but, due to so many stops in between and spending more quality time at some locations, we ended the ride at the turn around point that is SK Border, and return by SAG vehicle.

Day 3 — Trek-Kudremukh National Park

Today is a trekking day! Though our initial plan was to do a short ride and do a small hike at another place, we got to know about the Kudremukh trek been opened recently and the forest department is allowing ONLY 50 trekkers per day. We were lucky to get the permit just one day before.

After morning rituals and a nice heavy breakfast, we headed out to trek.

Neer dosa, Idly etc…

The Kudremukh mountain peak is 1894m high. Kudremukh is considered the most scenic trek in South India and is the third highest peak in the state of Karnataka. Kudremukh, actually is Kudremukha that translates to horse-face, is the highest mountain peak in the Kudremukh National park. It is in the Sahyadri range. It is located amidst mountains. It got the status of a national park in the year 1987, the 600-kilometer square area is one of the most well preserved national parks in the state. This park has a very unique look. They are called Shola forests where the mountain peaks are grasslands and in between the mountains are forests with big trees, water streams, flora, and fauna. It is said that the wildlife protected area is the second-largest belonging to a tropical wet evergreen forest in the zone of the Western Ghats.

From the main road, there is a 6–7 km drive to reach the checkpoint from where the trek starts. The 6 km drive is very bumpy.

We were a little late and forest police were a little reluctant to allow us, as it might be late by the time we return back from the trek. They allowed us on a condition that, till 1 PM however far we reach, we should return back from there. As this trek has come as a bonus, we kept the options open. It is important to enjoy the journey but not the destination.

Base camp check post — Declare all the items

The trek is mostly about crossing many mountains before we could get on to the Kudremukh mountain. So, it is all about navigating from one hill to another and in doing so, we cross the forests between the hills and then trek on grasslands in the mountains. The same pattern repeated. Along the way, we have come across many water streams and falls. We started drinking water directly from the streams itself.

The trek at few locations was very steep and slippery. A few even slipped and got a few scratches. Leeches were common here. Only one of us got a bite. We were carrying a Dettol bottle. If we apply Dettol on legs, it is said that the leeches don’t get on. We were carrying packed lunches along with us. As we were going up and up, the climb was getting tough. After reaching 7 km and 2 more km to go, we decided to end the trek. We had lunch there and spent some quality time there and started to return trek. We could see the top viewpoint from where we stopped and it is going to take at least an hour to reach the peak and another hour to descend. This means, it will be dark before we might return back to base, hence we decided to end the trek there. Now, as we were returning a little early, we could spend more time at some of the scenic locations. We also could get into a water stream for a mineral water bath!

The descend is tougher than the ascend! One needs to have more control over the body when trekking down.

A leech bite! Pretty common there..

Mesmerizing view! 😍

Nature SPA!

Tired faces after the trek!

[embed]Video highlights of the trek!

Sri Kshetra Horanadu

In the evening, once we returned back to stay, we got freshen up and visited the famous Horenadu Annapoorneshwari Temple. It is a temple dedicated to the goddess Annapoorneshwari (Annapoorna). It is situated on the banks of the river Bhadra. It is believed that the sage Agastya in the 8th century established the icon of the goddess here.

It is a belief that the god Shiva and his wife Parvati — the presiding goddess of food as Annapoorna, had an argument. Shiva declared everything in the world including food to be maya (illusion). To prove the food is not an illusion, Parvati disappeared resulting in nature to become still. Neither climate changed nor plants grew, causing drought in the world. Taking pity on the world, Parvati appeared and distributed food to all.

Hereditary Dharmakartharu priests started in this temple for the past 400 years. The same family is serving and preserving the temple since then. The goddess icon was reestablished in 1973 on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya.

Day 4 — Kyatanamakki Hill Station & Soormane falls

Today, it's only visiting Kyathanamakki hill and Soormane waterfall. From the previous day tiring trek, few of them dropped but the rest of the gang along with Dr. Vikram and his cousin started early to reach the hilltop before sunrise. We planned to visit the hill before breakfast. After returning, we had breakfast and then went to the Soormane waterfall. This was the day itinerary. It is the same day evening around 5 pm, we planned to start back to Hyd.

Kyatanamakki Hill Station

It's located in Hornadu. This is the best place to view the sunset, or the sunrise if you are an early riser if you are in Kudremukha National Park. It gives a 360º view of the entire valley, with rolling lush green hills on all sides. If you like off-road then it's a paradise for you providing a super magnificent 360-degree view on reaching the hilltop.

There are no roads as such, and it gets really muddy during the rains, but once you reach the hilltop, the view and the place itself is worth it. There 4X4 jeep on rent available if your vehicles are not meant for off-road. The off-road trail is 3–4 km long and the experience is the same as the 7kms long Kodachadri one. We have experienced that in our earlier ride.

Soormane falls

It’s a small but beautiful fall located on private property. It is around 14 km from our stay. As it’s in the private property they charge some royalty which is Rs 100 per vehicle. The fall is around 6 ft deep, the rest of the area has water below the knee so no need to worry. Water is very clean and continuously flowing. As we visited in monsoon, the water flow was very good!

[embed]A glimpse at the water fall!

Conclusion

👉Thanks to our families who are supportive of our madness for cycling and taking a fitness holiday break every year!

👉Thanks to our Western Ghats Cycling tour partner, Dheeraj who helped with planning and execution. He never disappointed with the quality of rides, SAG, homestay etc. The expectations are growing year-on-year :-). Contact — Dheeraj @ https://pedalintandem.com/

👉Thanks to Dr. Vikram and his team @homestay for making it so very memorable trip. Their hospitality is unforgettable! Special mention to Vinay, who was like hanuman for the group at every stage! Thanks to Dr Vikram and also his cousin who took us in a jeep to Kyatanmakki hill! It is a MUST visit place, especially for sunrise/sunset. A special mention of the food served to us. It is very authentic local food and very tasty! It was a very homely made food! The way they served us is like a family!

BefIKrE boyz …A tradition to continue!

Our previous rides blog/albums!

👉 2016 — Eastern Ghats — Papikondalu https://maptia.com/crazyvenkat/stories/papi-kondalu-of-eastern-ghats

👉 2017 — Western Ghats — Malenadu — Augumbe, Sharavathi, Kumta https://photos.app.goo.gl/umjLvfLMXsJUBQM03

👉 2018 — Western Ghats — Coorg — Sakleshpur https://photos.app.goo.gl/wsmvDTWguWRzWbqSA

👉 2019 — Himalayas — Manali to Leh https://photos.app.goo.gl/sQG2GeqZ5fTqYruk8

👉 2019 Bonus tour (Gang goes international! Oz!!!) — https://photos.app.goo.gl/Np6thhyLNU7XWBn79

Thank you for reading! Please pardon any grammatical mistakes. Also, please feel free to share suggestions, if any!