Lonar Crater - Only Known Hyper-Velocity Impact Crater on Earth

No matter how big or small any state of India is, definitely, a corner of it would be having a hidden gem, so is the case with Maharashtra. The state proudly boasts Lonar Crater as it is just one of its type on the Planet but still remains unexplored. The moment I read CRATER, I could feel my adrenaline rush at the highest level. The Crater can never be count in the places which you can visit on one of your innumerable usual trips. Perhaps it is my obsession for the offbeat places, that Lonar Crater attracted me like a magnet until I was sitting on its corner one fine morning.

Overview

In the first glimpse, it looked like any other lake in India, but Lonar Lake is a saline soda lake formed by a meteor impact. The lake maintains its mystery by not allowing anybody to identify its true age. Although people say that it is some 55000 years old but some new studies claim that it is much older. Until studies come to the conclusion, mystery remains unfolded. As the name itself suggests, it is created due to some meteorite impact, which hit the earth with a high-speed, itself weighed a few million tons. Due to this, the heat got released which was so tremendous in amount that it melted down the nearby rocks and water got deposited over time thus forming the lake.

Lonar Lake

Not sure about which came first -  Lonar Crater or Lonar Town but Crater is there just at the outskirts of the small town of Lonar in Buldhana district of state of Maharashtra, India. I could have a chance to explore this Earth’s largest and only hyper-velocity impact Crater in Basalt Rock during my Shirdi Trip. From Aurangabad, I and my friends planned to take a detour to Lonar.

How it happened                                 

                                                                                                    

It all happened when we were having lunch for the day on some road side Dhaba after visiting Ajanta Caves. It took us some 20-30 mins to come to the conclusion to leave for Lonar instead of spending one more night in Aurangabad. We hit the road only to find out that it was going to be a bumpy ride. But nothing matches the natural scenery, from a moving car, which includes myriad of green farms on both sides of the road, people working hard under the sun, and it was sufficient to divert my attention from the road to the beauty of my country.

It took us around 5 hours to reach Lonar. By that time sun had already set. Lonar being a small town has a limited number of hotels/guest houses. Although MTDC has one of its resort on one side of Crater, but it must be booked well in advance. So the usual hunt for the hotel started which ended on a small lodge named Gitam Lodge. We got two rooms; one of them was for Rs. 300 and another for Rs. 600 for a night. Lonar crater was about 3kms from our guest house.

First View of Lonar Lake

We decided to watch the glory of rising sun over the Crater and woke up pretty early in the morning. Unfortunately, we could not find any auto-rickshaw which we could hire to reach the crater for initial 15-20 mins. We were staring helplessly on every passing vehicle, but all in vain, so we started to walk. After 10 mins, fortunately, one auto-rickshaw stopped by our side and agreed to take us to the Lonar Crater. For him, it was a big fact to digest that we were there to explore the Crater but not for any kind of research.

   

The Trek

Either you can plan to trek on its periphery which is a total of 6 km or you can trek downwards in the Crater itself or try both. We chose the downward trek in Crater, which starts from the entrance gate of MTDC resort. No need to mention, with every step you get a closer view of the green lake. Lake is surrounded by the not-so-thick forest which offers you an additional opportunity to spot few of the rare species of the birds. Of course, people come here to spot a variety of birds, but we were not so lucky that time and could rarely spot few of the birds. Nevertheless, the forest was unusually calm and soothing, probably because of early hours of the morning and it was more than sufficient for us to enjoy the quiet surroundings. By that time, no other human soul was around but we three. We all kept moving, we with few inches and cameras with few clicks.

Way through Forest around the Lonar Lake

The Ancient Temples known as Yadava Temples

We could hardly walk for some meters only to find a few of the abandoned buildings which were looking like temples. In an attempt to sneak into one of them, we came across a ruined hall, which was quite intact in shape but so infested with bats that no single bat was visible owing to the darkness inside but screams of them had filled the whole of it. This condition of the ruin which seemed to be more like one of the oldest temples in the area was enough to pop up the thoughts if there is nothing that we can do to maintain our heritage, is this what we are going to leave for our future generations etc etc.

Shiva Temple

The thoughts did not end there & we found another temple in the vicinity which was damaged badly but we could go inside it and with the help of phone light could spot a Shiva Lingam in the sanctum. It was quite predictable that nobody had ever cared to even clean it. We stood there for some time drowned in our own thoughts but then like everybody else we also moved further.

Shiva Lingam

On the side of the lake, few other ruined temples still stand, probably waiting for their situation to get better in future or they might join other ruins which are already half submerged in the water of the lake.  

Other ruins on the side of the Lake

By that time, we realized that we had actually forgotten about the sunrise, got so engrossed in the beauty of the Crater and the surroundings. The color of the water is green due to the presence of algae. Water of the lake is highly alkaline. This alkalinity of water gives it a unique feature of being highly productive ecosystem and that’s why Lonar Lake is home to the several medicinal and aromatic plants and shrubs. Later we got to know that it is sunset, not the sunrise which is best viewed from the Lake. Probably next time I would be able to embrace it.

Kamalja Devi Temple

Eventually, we reached to the Kamalja Devi temple and relaxed for a while by the side of it. Kamalja Devi Temple is probably the only temple on the periphery of the lake which is still well maintained. The presence of so many temples, seemed more of an outcome of religious sentiments of the people living around in the older era, most likely because they were not aware of the uniqueness of the lake.

Kamalja Devi Temple

We entered inside the premises of Kamalja Devi Temple to seek blessings of the Goddess, a local deity of Lonar. Outside the temple is standing a statue of Lord Hanuman on the back of which a weird looking tree structure is standing. A gate is there, which is used to reach the main temple, which has a big bell on the top of it. Just opposite to the main temple on the side of the lake is standing a big pillar made of bricks & cement. It must definitely have some significance but I’m not aware of it. The architecture of the temple is still intact depicting the creativity of the people of that era as it is one of the oldest temples standing in Lonar.

Outside the temple, there is a big banyan tree which is having certain things tied up to its branches by the people who have their belief in the deity and wished her for the fulfillment of their wishes. Under the tree, two pairs of stones are kept on one another painted in orange color same as Lord Hanuman’s. Initially, we just noticed them but thought to enjoy the beauty of the Lake and went by the shore of it to take pictures. While we were busy with our cameras, we noticed a group of locals came and sat by the side of those stones.

Out of curiosity we reached there and asked them what they were doing. They told us that if they would move one of the stones of one of the pair, then other stone on another pair would move automatically. If it happens then their wish will definitely be granted by Kamalja Devi. We stood there and noticed their moves for a while. You can also try the same when you go there and let me know if you could move the stone.

The locals trying their luck

The Watch Tower

We started to ascend to the periphery by a different route which lies on the side of the Kamalja Devi Temple. The route was told by the locals. This route directly took us to the Watch Tower which is standing there to provide a full bird's eye view of Lonar Crater. We got to the top of the Watch Tower so that our camera could make good use of itself.

We came back to our rooms, got ready for the day and checked out the guest house only to explore Lonar further.

Other Places which you must visit with Lonar Lake:

• Daitya Sudan Temple: It is a must visit if you are interested in Khajuraho Temples as it is said to be a mini replica of them. Built by Chalukya Dynasty anytime between 6^th and 12^th century AD.
• Gomukh: It is a perennial source of fresh water with some masonry work done by Peshwas to channelize the water.
• Motha Maruti Temple: As per legends, Hanuman Statue is said to be the actual piece of the meteorite and has magnetic properties.
• Kamalja Devi Temple: The local deity temple on the bank of Lonar Crater Lake.

Bhangarh Fort – An unsolved mystery or really spooky?

So infamous for its paranormal activities since centuries, that locals have started calling it Bhoot Bangla or Bhoot Bhangarh instead of Bhangarh. Infact many sites/blogs rate it as the top most haunted place in India or some say that for Asia. You search in Google – “the most haunted place in India”, and every other link on first page itself, will start boasting about Bhangarh and its tales.

Today only ruins exist in Bhangarh but it is said to be a sprawling area once. Built in later half of 16^th Century by Man Singh I for his younger brother Madho Singh I, it got demolished in quite surprising way for which no written evidence is available till today (The day I’m writing ;) ) but there are two stories which are quite famous among locals.

Legend I: As per this famous legend, Bhangarh got cursed by an ascetic named Baba Balak Nath. The city was said to be established with the permission of him with one condition which said that any building inside the fort should not be taller than his place. But fate always plays its role, one descendant, who was unaware of this condition, raised height of the palace, and it shadowed the place of the ascetic. The alleged prophecy stood fulfilled and fort got devastated in no time. By then it is said that all those spirits have haunted the area and no one dares to build a house with roof nearby.  Even if they try, it gets collapse the following night.     

Legend II: This second legend is more famous than first one, which says that Princess Ratnavati of Bhangarh was so beautiful that a black magician fell in love with her. He used his black magic and replaced a ittar (scent) bottle which Ratnavati was supposed to use, to make her fall in love with him. She was being not only beautiful but intelligent too, sensed it and threw the bewitched scent over a big boulder. The boulder started rolling towards the magician and crushed him. Before the last breath, he cursed that Bhangarh would be destroyed soon such that no one would ever be able to live here and see morning sun. 

Within a year, Bhangarh fort was invaded by Mughals and city got sacked. All the people in the fort were killed in that war. The place is said to be haunted since.

Following above legend,some of the locals also believe that Bhangarh will come alive once Ratnavati, the cursed princess, will enter into its boundaries again. She has said to be taken birth in one of the households. Good luck Bhangarhis!!!

Chattri of Baba Balak Nath at the Top

I am so fond of haunted places, that the moment I got to know about Bhangarh, I was sure that I was going to visit it very soon. Somehow plan got delayed a little, but I got more curious to reach Bhangarh with every passing day.

Then came the D-Day when I with 3 other friends of mine planned for Jaipur trip. Thanks to Asit who used to work in night shifts those days so we could only start by early in the morning which actually triggered the opportunity to see some of the places en-route Jaipur including mysterious Bhangarh Fort.

It is located on the border of Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar District of Rajasthan, India. From Delhi, it’s just 300 kms drive away while from Jaipur, it’s around 100 kms which makes it a perfect location for one-day trip anytime when weather is not too hot. Since it is located in Aravali valley, so going after monsoon can be a good idea to encounter its beauty with the greenery.

We crossed Sariska around 2 in the afternoon. Not sure about the reason, but I started to feel little eerie once we were in the nearby village, Azamgarh. In the village, most of the houses are having temporary roofs and because of no proper roofs, balconies are not at all there. I was constantly thinking that walls of the houses are straight in a strange way but then noticed the roofs and understood that they can’t have balconies at all with the temporary roofs. It was ultimately making houses to look little different & creating background for one of the legends of haunted Bhangarh.

House with temporary roof in nearby village Azamgarh

After the village Azamgarh, roads were almost lonely and that creepy feel inside me continued. Since I already knew the haunted stories of Bhangarh; so I guess my mind was playing with me. Anyways we reached to the entrance of the Fort by 3:15PM, in excitement, I forgot all those strange feelings & started to look for the famous ASI board which has timings written on it. As expected it was clearly written on the board that no human is allowed inside the fort after the sunset. But to me, it looked like any other board outside ASI protected sites.

ASI has placed a map of whole fort inside the main gate according to which fort has 5 Gates in total – Lahori Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Hanuman Gate, Phulbari Gate and Delhi Gate. Hanuman Gate was the one through which we entered inside the fort walls. But as far as I could understand, it is the only gate through which entry is allowed inside the fort now.

The very first thing to notice from the gate is Lord Hanuman Temple. It is quite surprising to believe if Bhangarh is really haunted if Lord Hanuman is sitting at its entrance.

We were quite excited to ‘what happens next’ and were walking in enthusiasm. Next was a long dilapidated pavilion which is called as “Jowhri Bazar”. It is said that in old times this place used to have market where diamond and gold jewelers used to sell their ornaments. We encountered some of the peacocks there :) as a symbol of beauty in current era.

Ruins of Jowhri Bazaar

After Jowhri Bazaar is “Dancer’s Haveli”, which is believed to be the residence of then Dancers in the palace. Pavilion is long and full of ruins, but ruins have only the walls not the roofs. All these things were compelling us to believe the famous legends.

Then was the 2^nd level gate which is covered with a weird shaped Banyan Tree. Main Palace is still little far from this gate and there is a big open area in between. On the one side of which is Gopinath Temple, standing on a high platform but surprisingly without any deity. Contrast to its surroundings, this temple is quite intact, well preserved. Architecturally it’s a beautiful temple. On the other side is Shiva Temple, which is having Nandi idol opposite to Shivalinga like all other Shiva temples but unlike other temples inside the fort which are not having any idols. There is a pool beside it which is getting water from the perennial stream of water, which according to locals, is originating in the snake infested sandal woods around the area (you can consider it as another mystery).

Gopinath Temple

Another noticeable thing inside Bhangarh is - there are so many temple premises but majority of them are without idols. I tried to find out the reason behind this but failed. Some of them are Mangla Devi Temple, Keshav Rai Temple, Someshwara Temple, Ganesha Temple etc, but all are in ruins. We could not visit all of them as we were running out of time, please visit them and let me know how they are.

Banyan Tree outside 2nd Gate

We walked to the main fort area which was once called the Royal Palace. Here is the 3^rd and final level Gate for the Fort. Since it is located at the base of Aravali Hills, so pavement to reach inside is little sloppy. Every step and every turn was tempting us to click pictures with it.

Royal Palace

We all were exploring it and clicking pictures like we would have done in any other ruin, infact architecturally beautiful ruin, without getting affected of any presence of ghosts there. Some rooms/corridors of it are so dark that sun light is not able to reach there even in the day time. In one of the small rooms, I could find a square opening in the floor with the help of the light of my phone. I tried to go down but it was pitch dark so could not dare to do so. Later in Jaipur, during a conversation, manager of the Hotel told me that that opening is actually the Gateway to Ghostly world inside Bhangarh. According to him, the same palace which exists above the ground, lies below the ground. But once you get down through that hole, you will never be able to come back. This was his part of story, I’m still not sure whether I should trust it or not.

We were so lost in its beauty or to find something haunted, that we did not realize when we reached to the top of the fort until we saw a big terrace full of stones and mesmerizing view of the surroundings along with complete view of the Fort. The Royal Palace is said to have seven storeys, out of which only four are remaining now. Whole Township was protected by three successive fortifications which was quite visible from the terrace. We were enjoying the views but then suddenly Asit said that he was having an unusual uneasy feel in his head (something ghostly), and asking us to move out as soon as possible. Without thinking twice, we started to descend. By the time sun had already set. After coming down, I asked him to stay little more but he was still not interested, so we started towards the main gate.

View from the Top of the Royal Palace

P.S. : On the way to the outer gate, near to the Banyan tree, I noticed a person beside the wall on little distance with his back towards us, his hair was too weird. His overall look was strange & I just kept on staring at him but could not see him moving. I’m still in doubt while writing this post was he just another commoner or someone else?

We then came outside the main gate and started the car which stopped after a little distance.

No, it did not stop automatically but we could see a road side vendor selling the hot spicy pakodas. We were very hungry so it was time to make our stomach full, before embarking our journey to Jaipur.

Some General Details :

• From Delhi, its just 300 kms drive away while from Jaipur, its just 100 kms. But there are very few petrol pumps in nearby areas, so plan accordingly.
• Timings : Sunrise to Sunset
• Entry Fee : No Entry Fee
• Visit Duration : Minimum 2-3hrs, if you are interested in photography and architecture.
• Kind of Place : During day time, it's considered as beautiful ruins but in night, enter at your own risk.
• Take sufficient snacks/water with you as there is no shop/stall outside the fort.
• ASI does not allow to enter this place after sunset, so plan your trip such that you enter the fort by 2 PM.
• Stay Options : There is no place to stay nearby as it is infamous for being haunted especially during night time, so plan to leave this place such that you can reach to nearby town in time.
• For one-day trip, plan to combine it with a visit to Sariska Tiger Reserve, Siliserh Lake and Tijara Jain Temple.

Nagarjuna Sagar | Itinerary to One of the Largest Masonry Dams in Asia

DAM as seen from Motorboat

If you are in Hyderabad or planning to visit Hyderabad or going to move to Hyderabad, by this time you must definitely have had a conversation about going to Nagarjuna Sagar, which is famous with name ‘Sagar’ among Hyderabadis. Especially if you have only one day in your hand, which was the case with me, it’s one of the best places to choose for.

Plan to visit Nagarjuna Sagar was there since long but it actually came in action when one of my friend was there in the house and I could not find any time to roam with her until she was only 24hrs away to leave my place. So we decided to visit a place which could fit in this time period.  Although it was middle of October which is supposedly the peak season to visit Sagar but we were still in doubt, if we would be able to see water in the dam, as there was almost no rain in 2015 in Hyderabad. With little reluctance, journey for Sagar started which came to a contended end on next day.

Counted among the largest masonry dams in Asia, located around 180kms from Hyderabad, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is straddling in 2 states of India, viz. Nalgonda district of Telangana and Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh as river Krishna on which Dam is standing, is forming a boundary here. Dam completed the construction in 1967 with 26 massive flood gates. People say that view is jaw dropping when all of those gates are opened during peak monsoon.

Day One to Sagar

Journey started in the evening of Saturday around 6PM from my home, picked up the friends one-by-one and could touch ORR by 7PM, all thanks to the weekend traffic.

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We were in no hurry. First stop we took at Sai Baba Temple which stands on the side of the road at Chintapally. Locals call this temple as Second Shirdi and like all other Sai Baba Temples, this temple was also full of peace. Temple premises has many idols including Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati etc. alongwith a big Goshala (cow shed) and a big garden.

Timings of the Temple :- 5:30AM to 9:00PM everyday

Sai Sannidhi Temple, Chintapally

Next halt was to have dinner in the nearby village on roadside Dhaba.

Around 11:00 PM we reached Nagarjuna Sagar and hunt started for a nice place to stay overnight. Like most of the other people, we first went to Haritha Resort which was as expected full due to the weekend. Next property we entered in, was the nearby Hotel Siddhartha and booked a big cottage over there. This resort is very spacious as all the cottages are on significant distance which will give you the feel of staying in an individual house in the middle of the jungle. Although we were very late so could not get good room service but it was good enough to spend a night over there.

Next moment we all were again in the car to have a night view of the Dam. It was around 12 in midnight which was perfect time to have a different view of it. Dam was illuminated with lights and those lights were depicting the name of the dam on the top of it. So if you are also planning to stay overnight, visit the Dam in night once.

This was not the end of the day as we were still in mood to have some more fun. So we started to walk inside the resort and after a while we sat on the road below the street light which ended up with a non-stop session of storytelling.

Good night to Day one…. :)

Day Two at Sagar

Day 2 was quite a long day. In early morning, planned to see the Dam again and it was tough to believe that your eyes saw same Sagar Dam last night. It is really massive having 26 gates. Although water level was really low on this side of the dam, so we tried to went close to it, where we were stopped by guards which were posted there to stop the people like us.

 Massive Nagarjuna Sagar Dam with 26 Gates

Dam was posing for us and we were busy; clicking pictures of it from every possible angle. There is a very small temple at the reservoir bed so we visited the temple. But the main purpose to go down to the bed was to enjoy water of Krishna river. With our legs in the cold water of Krishna, we sat there for some time.

Like every other group, in this group also some people were there who never feel fresh until they have morning tea. There were many local shops, we entered into the one where we could get some snacks too.

Only 11kms away from Sagar Dam towards Macherla, Chandravanka river is cascading down from 70 feet resulting in the formation of Ethipothala Waterfalls. It joins the Krishna river later in its course.  It is said that trekking was allowed to the base of the falls earlier, but because of some mishappening, it has been discontinued. This place is also the breeding ground of the crocodiles and we were lucky to spot one.

Even Ethipothala was having less water...

Waterfalls are illuminated in the evening from 6:30PM to 9:00PM, so you can plan accordingly if you are staying overnight.

In the vicinity of the falls, two temples are located, Ranganatha Swamy and Dattatreya Swamy. There is a gate at the side of the main gate, which takes you to the temples and also to the flowing water of Ethipothala waterfalls. We sat by the side of the water and enjoyed for some time. Then started a little trek inside the forest and visited both the temples. There were some caves near the temple, it is said that through these caves one can reach Srisailam... 

Dattatreya Swamy Temple in the middle of forest

By the time we returned to the hotel, we were still in our night dresses & were dying out of starvation. We took a while in packing our bags and had lunch in the main cafeteria of the hotel (Hotel Siddhartha) which tasted much better than our expectations. So you can also visit it once if you are searching for the place to have lunch near Sagar.

Our tummies were fully satisfied and we started for the next and last point of the day, the Boat Launch Station operated by AP Tourism. There are motorboats which take you to an island called Nagarjunakonda which is a historical Buddhist town. The site has a 14^th century fort, medieval temples and a museum constructed like a Buddhist Vihara. One-way boat journey takes about an hour and there is no fixed duration to explore the island. But the last boat from island to mainland is at 5:30PM, so you should plan accordingly.

One of the motorboat coming back from Nagarjunakonda

After coming back to the bank of reservoir, the only thing that we could think of.. was to reach Hyderabad in time so that my friend could catch the bus for her return journey...

Day 2 | Coorg in Monsoon, A Hidden Treasure

On the second day of the trip, I woke up at 5:20AM (one of the rare days when I get up in such an early hour), as I’m somewhat insomniac when I am out for a trip. After a short while, stepped down from the bed and came out on the terrace of my home (stay). For a few minutes, I almost got numb felt like I had lost my senses. I was standing there and was living my dream. The view for which I always dreamed of was in front of me and that too in a very unexpected way and place. On the back of my home was a huge hill covered with morning mist and clouds, on the other side was small homes all around and in between was I… also covered with clouds. Wherever my eyes were going, it was green and misty. A jaw dropping scene it was for any hill station and had seen it only in movies. For some time I stood there almost like a statue without even blinking once. It was tough to believe that I was not dreaming and that all was really happening. There can be no “Good Morning” better than that.

We got ready and planned to visit Omkareshwara Temple first which we missed the last day.

Omkareshwara Temple

Timings: 06:30-12:00, 17:00-20:00                                                                                    No Entry Fee

Just after the entrance of the temple, we were welcomed by a huge pond having a Mantapa in the center… reminding me of the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The specialty of this temple lies in its architecture which is hybrid of Gothic and Islamic styles. It has a tomb on the top in the middle and four towers at the four corners… quite similar to the ones seen in Muslim Dargah.  This temple is a very popular religious center in Coorg, present in the list of almost all tourists who come to visit Kodagu. It was early in the morning when we reached there so it was very calm, peaceful and full of divinity. We visited the temple having Shivalinga as main shrine and took blessings of the God. There are a number of fishes present in the pond which get attracted towards you if you will put your hand in the water.

Mantapa in Omkareshwara Temple

Just like many other temples, this temple also has an interesting story which is quite famous among the locals. It was built by King Lingarajendra II in the 18^th century. It is said that he killed an innocent Brahmin for his political ambitions. For whatever reason he killed him, but he could not get rid of Brahmin’s spirit who kept on troubling him. Then he was advised by some wise people to get a special lingam from Kashi and install it at the place where he killed the Brahmin. He followed their advice and constructed the temple. It is said that he got relief from the spirit after the temple was built. From then on, this Shivalinga is worshipped as Omkareshwara.

Notice the Towers at the corners...

Madikeri Fort
Timings: 09:00-17:00                                                                                                         No Entry Fee

Madikeri Fort is just a stone’s throw away from Omkareshwara Temple on the opposite side of the road, located right in the center of Madikeri Town. Once a grand fort that changed hands from one ruler to another, now most of its part is used for Administrative purpose by Madikeri Government and it being a Sunday major part of it was closed. Even on weekdays, it is not open for tourists as now it is Deputy Commissioner’s office. Two huge masonry elephants were the next to catch our attention on the opposite side of the palace. They were standing there framing a picture of perfect guards, tall black in color. There is a way behind the elephants’ to go up on the rampart. The rampart is long enough to have a nice walk and view the entire fort. Also lush green lawns which are very well maintained around the elephants invite the tourists to have a tryst with them. Then we saw the steps to go inside the lawn from the rampart but they were very narrow. So after clicking pictures we came again to the rampart instead of going down. Fort is on considerable height, offers panoramic views of Madikeri town.

Madikeri Fort

Masonry Elephants at Madikeri Fort

Although, there is nothing much to do here but if you want to feel the History and charm of the place then a one time visit is must. We all were already soaked in the beauty of Kodagu, so without wasting no time started to click pictures. There was also a Ganesha temple present in the fort premises. It was a small temple but like other temples was soaked in divinity.

Birthday Celebration…

It was time to had breakfast and without wasting time we were heading towards Neel Sagar again ;) . No doubt the food was good again. Around 10AM we left the restaurant with some water bottles so that they could be used on the way. It was the birthday of one of the friend so we decided to buy a cake and planned for a small cake ceremony. Next destination for the day was Talacauvery.

Random click enroute

On the outskirts of town towards Talacauvery, among the coffee plantations was a small Coffee Pub having their sitting area by the side of the road, a perfect place for enjoying the cake ceremony. That coffee pub is operated by a Self Help Women group named Rajarajeshwari Self Help Women’s Association means that it is under the ownership of a group of women and two women remain present there at a point of time. We took their permission to enjoy and started to cut the cake. My friend got very happy as till then she was not aware of this plan of ours. After enjoying a lot we realized that it had been too long and it was time to leave. But then we ordered coffee there and believe me its taste was out of the world which I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Also those ladies were very happy and interacted with all of us. I must say they were very nice… at the end after waving them bye we left their place.

Talakaveri

By watch, it was 12 in the noon but there was no sign of noon there. Our surrounding was not letting us believe our watches. On the top of that just after we got down from our car… clouds started to cover that area, they were coming towards us like they were racing with each other that who will cover us first and within some time we were also inside clouds and this feel had already taken us on seventh cloud. On the other side were the steps for the Origin… Yes Talakaveri is basically the place from where river Kaveri originates. It was a very small square with a small temple where a Brahmin was worshipping and water in that square was totally transparent (Photography was not allowed there so we couldn’t take any picture of it). But I’m still lost in the thoughts that how such a small square can be the origin of such a mighty river.

Just outside Talacauvery

A kund (tank) is also there just beside the small square and considered sacred. I believe sometimes people take bath there as indicated by unclaimed clothes lying there but no swimming is allowed in it. Later we got to know that a dip in this tank is considered auspicious by Hindus. Just beside this one, another sacred tank is also there in which people were throwing coins and hoping for their wishes to come true. Here was actually the face of the Nandi from where water was coming but where that water was going i.e. a link from this place to the main river is not visible here. Water is said to be flown underground and visible as the main stream some distance away.

There are two temples; one of them houses an ancient linga which is dedicated to Lord Shiva while other temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. After visiting both the temples our eyes were on endless stairs which leads to the peak of Brahmagiri Hills. We started to ascend slowly feeling the mesmerizing views which were spread all around us. Although we were covered with misty clouds and were not able to see the distant views but still every step was a new point to click pictures. Steps would be more than 300 but it was not tiring because of the weather. When I reached on the peak, my friends were already resting there.

Who can throw the coin at the correct place?

Temples

On the peak was the scene that is not so common in Southern part of India that you can see yourself to be completely inside clouds and able to remind of mighty Himalayas. We were not able to distinguish that where one cloud is ending and other is getting started. We all were standing there in serenity and nobody was talking to the other infact we were left speechless. Suddenly a drop of water dropped on my face awakening me from my deep thoughts. We realized that it is going to rain any time soon, so started to have group pictures. On a clear day you can enjoy the panoramic views of whole Talacauvery from here. Anyways we waited for the rain to stop but after sometime started to come down… with our fun continued. Again at the entrance of the temple we sat down in the shelter. I think in the whole trip this was the place where we enjoyed most. Although this place is devotional but definitely a must visit place for the tourists visiting Coorg because of its breathtaking location. 

View Point

In between Talacauvery and Bhagmandala lies a View Point which offers the panoramic view of the green meadows and the undulating hills. From that point we could see a view of distant hills. Also roads were lonely, so it was time for us to click pictures from every angle. Sometimes we were on the middle of the road the next instant in between the rocky hill on the other side of it just to get one perfect angle :P .

Road opposite to View Point

Bhagmandala

Bhagmandala, the place of Triveni Sangama, which we left on the way while going to Talacauvery is only 8kms downwards. It is the meeting point of three rivers; Cauvery, Kannike and the hidden Sujyothi. The point behind calling Sujyothi hidden is that we can clearly see the other two meeting but there was no sign of the third one, then I enquired with the locals present there and they told us that the third river Sujyothi remains hidden and can be seen only on some special occasions. Normally people take a dip in the Sangama and then proceed towards Talacauvery. On the other side is the Bhagandeshwara temple with the large gopuram and having idols of Bhagandeshwara, Subramanya, Mahavishnu and Ganapati. After the dip in Sangama, people worship in this temple.

Confluence of three rivers: Kaveri, Kannike and hidden Sujyothi

It gets closed at 1:30PM to reopen at 3:00 PM; by the time we reached there it was 2:20PM so we decided to have our lunch by then. It’s a small place so you do not have too many options except some small ones. After lunch we went towards the confluence and removed our shoes before entering in the water. In the water was a small Shiva lingam, we offered our prayers there after washing our face with the water instead of taking dip. Rain had again started to pour in so we went in the temple and worshiped there.

It was 3:30PM; we were again running on SH90 towards Todiandamol Hill. We had plan to see a palace in the foot of the hills but then we realized that we can see only one either the Palace or Iruppu Falls. So we decided for Iruppu falls. We reached there by 5:50PM after driving at max possible speed (A big thanks goes to the driver) but unfortunately it closes at 5PM. So we could not get in as it is not considered safe to enter late there. As it was monsoon season, so rain was also playing with us. Outside the gate is a small shop where we placed our order for tea and enjoyed it with rain. But truly, we were in no regret that we could not see the fall as we enjoyed every moment of the day and because of rain, enjoyment increased to a  level high.

Iruppu Fall as seen from the road

After deciding to visit Nagarhole and Iruppu next time, we left for Bangalore. But only 1 km away from the main gate, we could see a distant view of Iruppu Fall. So clicked some more pictures before final departure. It was time to get lost in our gossip sessions and the whole discussion about the trip started which continued till Bangalore.

We got into our old rooms at 2:20AM in the morning and while stepping in it, my heart got filled with one word “NOOOO”… because it wanted to go back at that moment itself.

With a little more calculation you can visit Coorg in monsoon too as it is purely romantic at that time. You can find some days when rain will be less with the help of weather forecasting sites.. and if it is light rain for 4-5 days then you can safely visit on sixth day.. going in rain will give a completely different experience.. I promise :) :) :) 

Day 1 | Coorg in Monsoon, A Hidden Treasure

Madikeri (Coorg) is very famous with the name, Scotland of India and also sometimes referred as Kashmir of Karnataka. The instant I heard these two metaphors, a thought constantly occupied my mind that what special will be there in Coorg so that it is called by these names. The moment I entered into the boundary of Madikeri... not exactly entered, even before that... I started to get my answers. Coorg is indubitably having such a scenic beauty that you will feel like lost into it; woody hills, green valleys, coffee plants, amazing falls, being into cloud feeling etc... will take you in the world where you will forget yourself, your routine and stressed life, each and every thing that you are worried about. In two days of our trip not only me but we all were like lost and totally soaked in the beauty of Coorg. We even forgot that we stay in Bangalore or we had to go back there… L

Basic Info

Coorg is basically a small district in Southern Karnataka. It consists of three taluks or Administrative units: Madikeri, Virajpet and Somwarpet (This thing I came to know while visiting Madikeri else I was thinking Madikeri is just other name of CoorgJ). Amongst these Madikeri is said to be most beautiful and in almost same confusion people call Madikeri as Coorg. River Cauvery, largest here will keep on following you wherever you will go in Coorg. Also you can see coffee plantation everywhere around you when you are in Coorg. These small trees look very cute and sometimes you can smell coffee while running on the road because both sides of the roads are covered with coffee plantations.

Some Pre-journey Facts…

This is a different story altogether. In India one thing that is widely available for free is advice. We were also suggested to not to visit Coorg during monsoon.  Everyone was telling me that this is not the right time to go there. Infact they were telling that we should not even think of going there at that time as it is having frequent landslides and all roads would be blocked so we would not be able to roam a lot in and around Coorg. Initially we got influenced and tried to decide for some other place but at last we could not run away from our temptation and decided to leave for Madikeri but with a lot of risk in our mind.

Starting of Journey infact fun

We left our rooms in Bangalore at around 1:20AM in night as we had booked a car for the trip which was already waiting… picked other friends and by 1:40AM all of us were there in the car.. ready to start our journey for the Heaven on Earth. Within no time car was running with full speed as city had almost slept leaving us with no traffic on the roads. After sometime we were on Mysore Road... as usual singing, gossiping and enjoying in ourselves. Around 3:30AM we took first halt for tea and also I am a big fan of it J... for me journey without tea/coffee is incomplete. It took somewhat long time for that man to give us tea and when we tasted it we got to know that that man in shop by mistake prepared coffee instead of tea... seemed that even he knew that we were over excited to visit one of the largest coffee producers of India.

 

Road to Mandalpatti

After having that lovely coffee we started again and this time some of my friends started dozing as it was already very late. Rest of us still kept their eyes on road including me. After Hunsur we took right on Mysore Madikeri Road and we had to be on this road only so after Periyapatna we again took right. After Teak Forest, at Doddahonnurkaval we took left towards Bylakuppe. It was 5:30AM, and dawn had already started to spread its hands. We were finding ourselves at a place having huge grasslands until to the point where our eyes could see. I was wondering that even heaven wouldn’t be better than this or is this place itself known as Heaven. No morning can be better than that morning when you just find yourself in the middle of a road amidst the hill of Western Ghats and farms in the base full of green color.

Day 1 | 29^th June 2013, Saturday

First in the itinerary was Bylakuppe/Golden Temple. We were running towards it and got into the Bylakuppe Area around 6:00AM… and started to search for guest house although was not 100% sure whether we would find any. Our driver was also insisting us that there is no concept of guest rooms there… but we got a little restaurant before Sakya Monastery… there we asked to the caretaker and he said that rooms were available in Sakya Guesthouse but it will be open by 8 0’clock. We all requested to that person and he got ready to open rooms at 6:30AM. The room charge was INR 400 per day only. We were extremely happy as we wanted a room just to get ready for the day ahead. When I came out of the room I realized that while searching for the rooms I did not notice the scenery, the natural beauty which was spread in the whole area there.

Bylakuppe/ Golden Temple

While wandering in the area I got to know something about it. Till then I was thinking that Bylakuppe & Golden Temple are the two names of one thing but the fact is totally different. Bylakuppe is not the other name of Golden Temple but it is actually a Tibetan Refugee Camp that was first camp established in India among other 25 camps in different parts of the country. Here around 5000 Tibetans (yes, it is kind of small town) stay, apparently making it second largest Tibetan settlement in India. They have grown crops here, small but good restaurants are there inside Bylakuppe, many monasteries are here among those this Golden temple is the biggest one, and some shopping centers are also here.

     Some of my friends were still getting ready so we decided to visit the nearby Chalukya monastery... this is the smallest of all the monasteries here. It was not open till then but still we could not hold ourselves stepping into its premises soaked in serenity. We explored every nook and corner of it.. any area which was open to us. I was feeling nostalgic and lost into the memory of Ladakh trip. When came back.. most of my friends were ready and at 8:15PM we got in our car started towards Golden Temple that is in Bylakuppe itself some 3kms away from Sakya Guesthouse.

Chalukya Monastery

      Golden Temple/Namdroling Monastery

Timings: 07:00-20:00 (All Days)                                                                                       No Entry Fee

Within no time, we reached Golden temple and when we got into it.. first we saw a huge campus having multistoried building on two sides with monks moving here and there. After crossing it we could see the Grand Golden Temple or Namdroling Monastery, in the premises of which a huge group of monks was assembled for their daily prayers wearing their maroon & yellow color robes. They were sitting in rows in a much disciplined manner and chanting their prayers which were making the environment really peaceful and religious. We got into the Golden Temple and could easily understand why it is named as such. The amount of gold inside the temple is quite impressive and no body can be left untouched by the beauty of 60ft tall (from the base) central Buddha statue, and other two statues of Guru Padmasambhava and Buddha Amitayus both 58ft in height. Gold in not only inside the temple but it is also present in the form of paintings above the monastery. Inside the temple, silence was prevailed everywhere and anybody can feel the divinity spread in the environment. The walls of the temple are covered with splendid paintings of demons and gods from Tibetan Buddhist mythology. Some other temples are also present in the same premises having smaller statues of Buddha. We enjoyed a lot as crowd was not there perhaps because of monsoon season.

 

Entrance of Golden Temple

We came out of the monastery and went for breakfast as we were dying with hunger in a nearby restaurant named Hotel Golden Star opposite to Golden Temple. But food there was pathetic... it seemed like they forgot to put salt in everything… even tea was like hell... so we came out of there and there are shopping centers beside the restaurant. You can try to do some shopping here for traditional Tibetan items…after that got into our car at 9:50AM and started towards Dubare Elephant Camp which is around 20Km from Golden Temple.

Dubare Elephant Camp

Timings: 09:00-21:00                                                                              Entry Fee – INR 30 per person

After getting out of Bylakuppe, we took left at Mysore Madikeri Road, and then from Kushalnagar we took SH91 and from Guddehosur took left again. There are lots of sign boards on the way which will efficiently guide you and also Cauvery will accompany you all the way to Dubare. Roads were exceptionally green again due to monsoon and scenic beauty was spread everywhere and I am the big lover of roads itself so I kept on admiring them. At 10:20AM we reached at the bank of Cauvery from where we had to catch boat to reach the Elephant camp that is a kind of island itself. Boat charged INR 30 per head for to-and-fro journey from there. While in boat we enjoyed a lot as one of my friend was somewhat afraid of this much water so we kept on teasing her.

Elephant taking bath

Dubare is a forest camp dedicated to elephants. Actual purpose of Dubare was to train elephants for logging purpose. But because logging activity has been ceased in Karnataka, so now these elephants have been deployed to entertain the tourists and generate revenue. When we reached there we could see lots of elephants and some elephants were taking bath in the river and their mahouts were giving them a nice scrub. It was pleasant to see so much elephant but as they were taking people on ride in a large group so instead of riding we decided to enjoy in ourselves at the bank of the Kaveri. We took lots of pictures there as big stones and trees in Kaveri were creating a nice background. We were hopping from one stone to another and from one tree to the next.

While coming back you need to board the same kind of boat (two kinds of boats were there) that you took while coming. You can also enjoy rafting in Kaveri here but rapids are not that strong. So if you are a little afraid of real rafting, you can try your hand in rafting here which is actually known as still water rafting. We did not try for it and left for Nishagradhama which we saw on the way some 12kms back.

Nisargadhama

Timings: 9:00-17:00                                                         Entry Fee: INR 10 for adults, INR 5 for kids.

Within 20mins we were in the parking of Nisargadhama, all credit goes to the nice roads. Nisargadhama is a 64-acre island formed by the river Kaveri near Kushalnagar in Madikeri. It is very famous for its Hanging Bridge which connects the island to the mainland built over the River Cauvery. The Hanging Bridge on which we were standing was the new one and we were able to see the old bridge beside this one. It was very exciting to stand on the bridge & gaze at the flow of Cauvery as due to rainy season it was swelling with water.  There are always two sides of the coins; so again due to monsoon we were not able to do boating as it is not considered safe when water level is too high.  



Old Bridge at Nisargadhama



On this island, there are some shops selling items famous in Coorg viz. handicraft shops, honey, spices, coffee shop. There are Deer Park and Rabbit Park on this island. In Deer Park, we also saw some dears roaming. There were tree houses also... good for couples to enjoy there and clicking pictures. It is a perfect place for those who love to walk in the nature among bamboo, teak and sandalwood trees. By the time we reached to the car, small droplets of water started to pour in.

It was time to feed our belly so started towards Madikeri town and searched for a nice restaurant. Within some time, we were ordering our lunch at Neel Sagar. We ordered North Indian food and it was very delicious, forced us to lick our fingers. Meanwhile we also searched one very big 3BHK house and rented it for the day and decided to get fresh before heading towards the next point. We were told by locals that it is not safe to go by your car to Mandalpatti, moreover driver was also not ready for it so arranged a jeep to take all seven of us to Mandalpatti and Abbey Falls. You can try to go by your personal vehicle if you are very confident of your driving skills as during monsoon roads get slippery and for later half of the distance you will not find proper charcoal roads.

Mandalpatti

Timings: 06:00-18:00                                                                                                          No Entry Fee

20 kms away from Madikeri is the famous shooting point Mandalpatti. Around 3PM we were again out of our Homestay in the jeep which was going to take us to the peak. We only knew that it has some nice views to enjoy but were not sure what exactly we are going to watch there. Shortly we saw a sign board for Abbey Falls, but we took the other road to it. Those undulating roads with greenery all around were making us crazy. Don’t forget to take some snacks and water bottle with you as you will not get anything there. As we were going up we were able to see the hills covered with mist and clouds. Road was rough and very slippery but jeep driver was very skillfully driving it. Every view was “No Miss” view and we were enjoying them with our eyes wide open. At one point, there was a broad area and we asked the driver to stop the jeep. We were surprised by the panoramic scenes present there and thinking that we were completely unaware of such an untouched beauty that too so close to us. I was lost in one more thought that if it is this beautiful here, what would be there on the top of Mandalpatti which resulted in doubling our excitement, when we started again.



Expansive view from Mandalpatti

Under a very old tree covered with green algae, driver stopped the jeep and we jumped off impatiently without even waiting to stop it properly. In front of us was Pushpagiri Bird Sanctuary and we had to trek over a small hill which was just around 250-300 meters. We took permission from Forest Officers present over there and did entry in their register. When we reached to the top, instantly a thought hit in my mind that “why Coorg is a synonym to Scotland”. No explanation was needed then. Mesmerizing views over Western Ghats were self-explanatory. I am extremely sorry but I don’t have exact words to explain that. It was seriously like heaven on this earth. Far stretching views of the green mountains and cool breeze was overwhelming. It was a complete unique feeling and still unique to me. There is a view tower on the top of the Hill, wind started to get stronger and colder as we got on it. Nobody of us was ready to move from there but after taking a lot of pictures moved back at 5:15PM. But this place is definitely going to beckon me to come back here again and again. 

Abbey Falls

Timings: 09:00-18:00                                                                                                         No Entry Fee

Next in the plan was Abbey Falls for which we saw sign board on the way. We came to the diversion point and took the other road on which going 3 kms further is the famous Abbey Falls. We reached there at 5:45PM and after leaving the jeep in the parking started to descend among the green plantations. After a short while, we realized that we were walking through coffee plantations. It was so dense that we were able to hear the sound of Water but not able to see a single drop of it.

Do I need to describe this mighty fall?

Just a sight of the famous Abbey Falls, prompted us to jump into it. Due to monsoon, it was having ample amount of water… gushing down with a thrust... and having good crowd too as compared to Mandalpatti. For some time we simply stood there, staring at the fall, as eyes were not going off it. Then we looked around and saw a hanging bridge again just opposite to the fall. It was full of people, but we realized the actual reason after getting on it. Actually water of the Abbey falls was plunging with such a strong speed that droplets of it could be felt while standing on the Hanging Bridge. We also created a safe place for us and stood there. Within few minutes we were drenched completely all because of those droplets and started feeling cold. So at 6:15PM we left for the Raja Seat.

Raja Seat

Timings: 05:30 – 20:00                                                                              Entry Fee – INR 5 per person

Just after the entrance, we could see a very big and well maintained park having fountains in between. It was around 6:35PM so weather was also awesome turning somewhat misty. But we were trying to find out that why this place is known by the name “Raja’s Seat”. So kept on moving further in quest and reached to an open pavilion. Those crescent shaped big steps were having a view area with railings overlooking a vast valley to admire the nature and green valleys all around. According to legends, Kings of Kodagu used to spend their evenings here and watch the setting sun through their seat. The view of the valley covered with clouds was taking our breath away. Although sun had already set by the time we reached there, but still scenes were mesmerizing.

 

A Road in Valley as seen from Raja's Seat

If you are in Coorg, and not enjoying coffee being at such a nice view point, it means you are committing a sin. We did not wanted to be part of that, so ordered a nice coffee from a nearby vendor in the Park itself. Locals told us that the best thing here is Musical Fountain Show, displayed on all days after the sunset, but we decided to miss it and came out after taking a nice break. Just opposite to the park is Toy Train ride for kids and adults both and lots of small vendors with evening snacks to make your evening just perfect. We also tried some snacks and it was just wonderful. 

Our home for that day was just 1.5kms away. We all liked Neel Sagar so much that we decided to have dinner there only. This is how our first day at Coorg came to a nice end unwillingly… L

2nd day was also as much exciting as the first day.. check the details here
Day 2 | Coorg in Monsoon, A Hidden Treasure