Two days trip to Chembra Peak, Suchipara falls, Banasura dam, Edakal Caves, Phantom Rocks in Wayanad

The Beginning of Trip: 
It has been a long time since we had gone out from PG(last time being Shettihalli,sakleshpura trip)and the previous one was a story in its own way :-) In the last week of June i happend to visit Vytri in wayanad as part of team outbound and was mesmerized by the distant view of Chemra peak while we were going to Pukoot Lake. But that day we could not cover Chemra or any other places in wayanad due to other team building activities. So, was planning to visit Wayanad again and my PG mates were interested in this plan as well. Initially it was 5 of us who were interested. To make a Tavera we needed 7 or 8. So, i started asking my other friends and it turned out to be 7. But when i was about to book the Tavera on wednesday, 8th friend joined and also brought 2 more !. 9 is a dam count for a tavera and very small for a TT. There were 3 more in dilema whether to come or not and finally one of them joined making the count to 10 and TT was booked :-)

Route Map for the trip: 
1.Day 1: Friday Night:
Kundalahalli Colony in Bangalore--> Bandipur--> Sultan Batery--> Kalpetta--> Meppadi(breakfast)--> Chemra Peak--> Kalpetta(Dinner)
2.Day 2: Kalpetta(breakfast) --> Banasura Dam--> Edakal caves--> Phatom rocks(lunch)--> Sultan Bateri(lunch)--> Bandipur--> Mysore--> Bangalore

Initial plan was to cover as in . But could not cover all the places planned for first day due to large time taken in trek of chemra peak and meen mutty waterfalls, Kuruva Island being closed due to rain.

Trip Expenses:
Total distance:752 KM(considering pickup point as Hulimavu TT office and drop point as last drop point)
per km=12.5 Rs
Driver bata=350 per day and 350 per night and
4 batas(night batas of friday night and today,2 day batas of saturday,sunday)

So, total costs:
Diesel charges=9400
Driver bata=1400
Road tax=3600
Fresh up charges at Hotel Paris in Meppadi=500
chembra peak entry charge+cam=790
soochipara entry fee+cam=540
Snacks and soda=185
Baba dormitory fee @Kalpetta=1300
2 water bottles=40(Each had brought his own waterbottle during the trip and could refill during chemra trek)
Driver breakfast=80
Biscuits=80
Banasura Entry fee+cam=200
Banasura Parking fee=60
Edakallu entry+cam=290
Bamboo payasam+snacks=120
Bananas=55
Total cost excluding food
=18640. 1865 per head.


Road tax details for Kerala Entry

Marathalli matters:
It was a rainy friday night and TT planned for the trip was struck in traffic due to the heavy rain. It was planned to arrive at Kundalahalli and arrived at 11:05 thanks to the traffic which was less that night. Had to pick up Sandesh,Sunil, Santhosh,Bala from my PG and Madhava from Colony. Harish,Srikanth came to the Chef bakers stop and boarded the vehicle in the same location. After picking Madhava, we headed to Marathalli  to pickup Krishna and Rajesh. It was 11:45 by the time we left Marathalli.

Tea stop:
Rain had reduced by the time we left Bengaluru and were driving continuously till we reached Ramanagara at 1:10 where we had to stop for Tea break for the Driver.  People in the back could sleep easily and those in the front seats had to stay awake to keep the driver awake ! After Ramanagara Driver put a music to keep everyone awake ! We reached Mysore at 2:30 and Bandipur at 3:45. During the journey we felt that it would have been good to take the bypass in Mysore instead of entering the city although it was night. The main roads are being repaired and journey was not so great because of that.

At the Bandipura National Park:

At the Bandipura Entrance Gate

We had to wait till 6:00 AM at the Bandipura National park as it is closed between 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, There were lines of vehicles waiting at the gate already and had a light sleep for couple of minutes before I was awakened by the group of girls who were talking loudly and started taking selfies and pics at the entry gate ! More than the talk, the lights of their torches and flashes of cams were disturbing the sleep !. Did not get sleep after that as well although they had gone back to their TT and could not resit taking this first pic of the trip ;-)

 Journey through Bandipura Forest was nice as we could spot an Elephant and couple of deers on the way. We have many chances of spotting them in the morning compared to afternoon as they would not be disturbed by the sound of vehicles and would be roaming freely after the stop of vehicles in the previous night. Once we crossed the Bandipur part and entered the Kerala border, had to stop again to pay the Interstate Road tax which turned out to be a huge amount !

Coffee Break at State border

 After the break there, we reached Sultan Bateri and headed towards Meppadi for the Chembra Peak trek. We took the bypass before Kalpetta instead of entering that town and reached Meppadi by 8. In the net, Kerala tourism website it was informed to take permission from Forest office at Meppadi and that was closed by the time we reached Meppadi. From the localites we got to know that it opens by 10 ! So, what to do for next 2 hours ? We Found a hotel by name Hotel Paris and thought to  fresh up in the meanwhile. By 8:40 we were ready and headed in search for a veggie Breakfast 


Finding a Veg Breakfast was indeed difficult in Meppadi as it was filled with multiple Non veg and Veg-Non Veg hotels . Finally we found a small hotel with all its board in Malayalam and a glass tray with Dosa, Poori in display. Just by instinct we asked if we can get veg breakfast there and he managed to say yes ! To make double sure, we asked if we could get non veg there and he said NO. After searching for a hotel for sometime, we had hit the bulls eye ! We have to satisfy ourselves with Kerala Breakfast over there

Kerala Breakfast:
Trip details would be incomplete if i don't mention the Kerala Breakfast. There is Udupi hotel in Kalpetta, Sultan Bateri where you would get North Indian, Karnakata food. But if you wish to have your veg food in any other places, need to explicitly ask for Eggless, Veg food and veg subzi as well ! We took Tellappam(kind of Dosa) and Noolputtu(kind of semiya) for breakfast and could find the Bajji made of repined banana as well. But the strange part is that there was no chatni/sambar for those ! We had to buy green peas subji for an extra cost. Strange enough for a south Indian hotel ! When we ordered for the breakfast we were thinking that  the items at the glass window is only for display and hotel would prepare it freshly. But were more surprised when he had brought the same things which we seen in display ! Probably i need not mention that  Poori,Subji  were cooked in coconut oil.


During the breakfast we  no permission is needed from Meppadi Police station !  Later we learned that Trekking is open for timings from 7 AM to 2 PM ! Sometimes its good to hear from the localites rather than believing the google !

Chemra Peak Trekking:
There were multiple Jeep guys who were scaring our TT that TT will not go till the top and we need to take Jeep. Still we insisted the TT to go till wherever possible and reached a place where multiple TTs and cars were parked.
There Jeep guys were forcing us to enter into the Jeep again. Jeep charges are 750 per jeep.

on the way to Chemra

If you trek from the bottom, you need to trek for 3 km before you reach a checkpost.There we need to buy group ticket or individual ticket for the trek and walk for 2 km till a watch tower. If have you have taken the jeep, the jeep will take you there as well.

Individual Fee: It is 20 per head and 40 per cam. We can walk for next 2 km on the road till watch tower. but can't go for trekking

Group Fee with the guide:
Group Fee is 750 for a group of 10 which includes the fee of a guide as well. We need to take 40 Rs extra for cam as well. Guide would wait for us near the watchtower.

At one of the waterfalls

You would find a waterfall and multiple tiny streams while you are reaching the checkpost and spend some time over there. We took the group ticket and started climbing up again.  Surprising thing is there is a post office and post box as well near the checkpost ! We can order for the food over there which would be ready by the time you get down. But if you are a veggie, better not to order there :-)

Near the Checkpost

The whole environment is neatly maintained as we are not allowed to throw any plastic bottles over there. Near the watch tower they count the waterbottles with us and take a fee of 100 from us. They would return us if we come back without throwing any of the waterbottles in the hill ! what a way to create awareness and conserve nature

Trekking of Chemra peak is moderately difficult as guides will be there with each batch of people trekking and path is well marked by the frequent trekkers. But it is slippery during rain and need to have shoes with good grips or slippers.
With the loose grip running shoes, you have all chances of straining your legs, ankles as happened to Rajesh in our group

Trekking Chemra Peak

 You would get a flat surface after trekking for 1 to 1.5 hours. There is a tiny lake formed with rain water and a photographic/water spot before next session for trekking.



After resting for a while, we resumed our journey and reached the peak around 12:30.

There is a heart shaped lake at the top and couple of view points. As i learnt from the guides, earlier we could trek even higher. but now that is prohibited as that is affecting the birds and other wild animals who are present in the upper hills

Heart Shaped lake at the top of Chemra peak

Our Group at Chemra Peak Top

It started raining heavily and we had to start our downhill journey as well.
So, after enjoying the cloudy weather, photography at the top, we started descending and reached the 2.5 km mark by 2:45. The roads were in a good condition till there and any TT could come with ease. The Jeep Drivers were simply lieyieng for their business and although we called the TT driver and asked him to come up, he was afraid to come up because of localites ! Then we had to tell him that there are TTs with TN, KA number already at the top and guide also talked to him over the phone and finally he got ready to come a bit far near to the checkpost atleast, saving us 3 km . So, our journey ended up with trek for 12 km(3+2+2.5 uphill and 2.5+2 downhill) and casting almost that day for a single spot.  Although we spent too much time in single spot, i would recommend going by walk itself to enjoy the cloudy weather, marvellous greenery amidst the tea estates and forests. The Chemra is open from 7 AM itself. So, you can make it as early as possible if you have the plans to visit other places after this.


Trekking down to Soochipara falls:
Soochippara falls and Kanthapara falls are near(<15km) to Chemra peak and people visiting Chemra often visit them. We thought of Soochipara for first day and Kanthapara for the day 2.  Soochipara would be open from 8-5(not till 4:00 PM) as written in net and exit time from the falls is 5:30 PM

Soochipara waterfalls

Entry Fee:
We need to pay an entry fee of 50 per head and 40 per camera in Soochipara falls. They check for the number of cams here and we need to deposit extra cams before entering the falls !

We need to climb down for almost 1 km here in the steps and unfortunately we could not enter into waters because of huge rains. We could walk till the base of the falls and return back as the steps next to that were closed :-(
There are couple of view points here. But nothing could be seen due to the heavy rains.

At one of the viewpoints in Soochipara falls

In First day we planned to cover Lakkidi View point, Banasura Dam as well.
But by the time we came out of Soochipara waterfalls, it was around 5 and had to cancel other plans for the day as all the places in Wayanad would be closed by 5 !!

Baba Dormitory and Udupi Hotel:
We returned to Kalpetta as that is in midway between Banasura and Edakal vaes which we planned to cover next day. When we were searching for place to stay for a group of 10, seen a board about Rest home, Dormitory and just stopped our vehicles to enquire about the rates.Mr Krishna who was the in charge that day offered per head cost for the dormitory as 150. Toilets and rooms looked clean and safe as well.  Just for bargaining we asked for a group discount Mr Krishna reduced the cost for 130, much to our surprise ! We were offered a room which had almost 30-40 beds and empty as we have reached by 6 PM(quite early for a booking). It is almost like end of Kalpetta town and many might not know that place as well . Couple of families came later. But they were offered different rooms in the dormitory and we were on our own in the entire big room ! Had been for a shopping as i had to buy a Kerala saree for my mom and in search for a good veg food as we did not had any lunch in the afternoon. From the friends who visited Wayanad last time, we had heard about Udupi hotel and walked almost 1 km for that. Dinner was good indeed. All were tired because of trekking and were asleep by 9:30. The earliest time ever i have slept in the recent past !

Day 2: 
Were planning to wake up by 6.But were awakened by Harish at 5:30 itself ! All were quick and got ready around 6:30 itself as we did not wanted to get late at any cost and miss any places planned for that day . But had to wait for the Driver to get ready and wait till 7:00 AM when the Udupi hotel opens. We were not sure about the afternoon lunch . So, wanted to have a good breakfast before a long day and could not find a better hotel than Udupi as per last night's experience. After Breakfast we headed to Banasura Dam and reached there by 8

Entry Fee: Entry fee is 20 per head and 40 per camera. But the security is not very strict here and they might not take any entry fee for the early comers ;-)

At Banasura Dam

The Viscinity was empty and shop keepers were getting ready for the day as we were the first set of people to enter for that day. Even the entry gates were closed and gatekeeper came after that and excused himself for 5 minutes.

Journey to the top of Banasura Dam

Photography of the photographers ;-)

Side view of Banasura Dam

Places to See in Banasura Dam: 
Banasura Dam has multiple places to see other than generic viewpoints like
1. Boating with speedboats
2. Botanical Garden
3. Play area for the kids and elders with swings
4. Philately collection area
5. Bird area

It also houses multiple species of butterflies like 3 spotted common yellow, common sergent, red pierrot and many new species as well

Edakallu Caves:
We left from Banasura at 10:45 AM and reached a place with 7.5 km board to  Edakallu caves around 11:40.  Compared to the other places which we have seen so far, this is more commercialized and has obtained much hype although it is not so great kind of place.

Entry Fee: There is no entry fee here. We just need to give parking fee

Surprise meetup with Vishwa during the trip

There are many carvings of the age of stone age and the cave was discovered during 1901 by the British Archeologists. But the journey to the hill has been made comparatively easy for all seasons due to well planned iron railings and steps . One could also enjoy the beauty of the nature surrounding while climbing up, coming down there.

Carvings at Edakallu caves

Phantom Rocks: 
In Edakallu caves we met with a group of Bikers whom we have seen during trek to Chemra and in shoochipara itself. From them we got to know that they had been to Neelimalai viewpoint in the morning  and that has an entry fee of 750 which they did not find worthy. Kuruva Island,Meenmutty were closed as well due to heavy rains as per the information obtained previous night. Muthanga wildlife sanctuary was after Sultan Bateri and just before Bandipur and we did not wanted to visit one more Jungle safari during the trip. So, thought of visiting Phantom Rock instead and head back home

At a quarry Near Phantom Rock which is wrongly marked as phantom Rock !

When we went to see phantom rock, there was a board about Phantom Rock 0 km.  Infront of that was a quary where some digging was going on ! When we got down, got to know that Phantom rock is actually next to it and we need to walk almost 200 meters for that inside an estate.

We walked for 100 meters from there and found a closed gate of an estate.After confirming with a local stall over there, we entered inside and after walking for almost 300 meters more, found Phantom rock finally.

Phantom Rock

Initially it looked impossible to get near phantom rock. But on close observation, we found a path covered by many people to reach till Phantom rock and went near that.

Our team at the phantom Rock, Wayanad

We had Buttermilk and light snacks at the local stall over there and left Phantom rock at 3:15.  We had the choice of covering Kanthapara waterfalls which was the last destination for that day. But driver was saying that it would take another 3 hours to drive till there ! We realized that it's a lie. But wanted to cross the Bandipur gate  before it closes and reach home early anyway.So, headed back to Bangalore. Found Udupi Hotel again in Sultan Bateri and it was around 3:50 when we reached there. Meals were just over and were being served to people who ordered just before us. Had to satisfy with Keral Parotta and Paneer curries which were good as well. But it was not a match against  the Kerala Parotta, Ghee Roast, Curries , Water mixed with padhimogam which we had at Udupi
hotel at Kalpetta previous night. There were increased traffic as expected due for a sunday eve and we could reach our place Kundalahalli by 11. It has been 24 hours now and the trip memories appear as if it happened few minutes back :-) Hope to catch up the friends once again in some trip somewhere, some time :-)

A day trek to Kabbaladurga, Muttatti and Mekedatu

View of Kabbaladurga hill. You can see the way to trek as well in the pic

How it all started :
What to do when you get a public holiday on a Wednesday ? Wish that the  holiday would have been on Monday or Friday so that it would have been a  long weekend or alteast tuesday or thursday which could yield further long weekend by applying one day leave !. But wednesday being mid of the week, could not do much . Not a time to sit idle in home and take rest as only two days have passed in the week ! So, a plan of going out somewhere initiated on the tuesday morning team chats and got a solid shape by tuesday eve. By Tuesday night we had a group of 8 people for the trek to Kabbaladurga and booked a tavera for that and an additional 2 places to  cover for the next day  !

Where is Kabbaladurga and how to reach it ? 
Kabbaladurga is one of the hills in the village of kabbalu which is 6 km  from Satanur. We could reach satanur Either from Channapatna or Kanakapura. Satanur is 20 km from Kanakapura and Kanakapura is 62  km from Bangalore. So, using kanakapura route which is having "no-tolls" and in good shape, one side distance for Kabbaladurga frm Bangalore is around 90 kms. 

How to reach there:
There are direct buses from Bangalore till Kanakapura and you can find  buses from Kanakapura to Satanur. All  buses going from Kanakapura to Kollegala or Malavalli would pass along Satanur. From Satanur to Kabbalu there are direct buses as well, but less in frequncy, You could also find autos from Satanur to Kabbalu for the 6 km distance. If you come by your transport, it is even better as you could reach till the base of the hill  :-)

Our team at the base of Kabbaladurga

Things to carry:
1. Waterbottle/s 1 or 2 liters(must)
2. Trekking/Sports shoes with good grip
3. Glucose/Energy bars or Biscuits as the first timers might get tired on  the way and need soem energy refillers to move further
4. Volini or any other sprays in case you twist your legs in the trek
5. Food for the afternoon --> optional. But don't make it heavy as carrying  them would be difficult
6. Torches. Mandatory for the night trek. Optional in case for morning . But needed in case you want to explore inside the arm store or closed door of temples
7. Sleeping bag/tent. Needed for night trek
9. Rain coat. Optional if you want to protect yourself from rain. But avoid carrying umbrellas instead of raincoats as it would be too difficult to hold an umbreall and balance yoruself while climbing down in case of rains.
10. Clothes: Wear comfortable clothing. Not the tight fitting clothes



Wonderfull Wednesday Morning :
Was awake by 5:00 as we need to start from Graphite india signal at 6:00 AM  and had to catch the guys on the way to Kanakapura.By the time i was getting ready, there was wake up call by Murali as well who was the first  pick-up. Tavera was delayed by 15 mins and it reached CMR around 6:20. Me, Sumit, Bharatesh were ready to pick up Suvarchala next and Riya afterwards.Last were Hari and Hegde. by the time we left JP nagar, it was around 7:15.



Way to the top

Although holiday was postponed to Thursday for schools and govt offices we had less traffic and could reach Kanakapura around 8.out of the multiple restaurants there only few were open and  the ones which were open were filled up. So, we moved ahead and entered into the Restaurant at the Govt bus stop of Satanur. Nice Tatte Idlis, Pooris, Set Dosa & Masala Dosas, Bhajjis for a set of 9 people costed us 250 Rupess which was a pleasant surprise for many in the trip and good start of the day. Although the restrooms in the Govt bus stop were not in great condition, were in OK condition for a suburb bus stop. after the breakfast we travelled to Kabbalu village in a road which was in good shape except for a strech of around 300 meter which was dug for repair. On the way to Kabbaladurga, we saw a big hill to our left and wondering how to climb it and thinking thought our driver is joking when he expected that to be Kabbaladurga !





Beginning of Trekking @ Kotilingeshwara temple:


Kotilingeshwara temple at the base of the hill

inside view of Kotilingeshwara temple

One entering the village we got to know from villagers that what we have seen before was Kabbaladurga indeed and there is a way to reach till its base. We had an option of visiting the Kabbalamma temple in the village first and enter the hill later. But we decided to visit the hill to avoid trekking in a hot sun which turned out to be wise decision later !  We Went inside a seen one shamiyana for a function and moved ahead to find a way into the hills. A villager confirmed that it was the way to the hill indeed. It was around 9:50 AM when we got down from Tavera and found the way uphill by observing the people who were already on the hill and fort walls which were leading to that spot. Villagers had also suggested us to follow the electric polls which was a wise advice indeed. On the way,We  found Kotilingeshwara temple from where we should start the trek. The name of the temple says "Modala pooje taalabetta, Kotilingeshwara temple" which indicates that First pooja before the start of trek should be made there. There are water bottles, buttermilk, Mandakki were being sold there. So, it is a must place for the trekkers anyhow :-)









Kabbaladurga uphill journey:

Kabbaladurga uphill journey

Kabbaladurga uphill journey looked easy and safe as the routes were well marked with Red arrows on the rocks. There were Red arrows on the top of white paints as well which would help the night trekkers who are visiting this place ! In fact, there are more night trek blogs about this compared to day trek ! There are metal railing all along the way where the steps are steepy and dangerously inclined at the edge of the hill. As long as it is cloudy/sunny and it does not rain, all look great. With the majestic view of the nature, surrounding hills and tiny streams formed by the previous days rain, we proceeded slowly to the top. With few pit stops whenever the first timers in the trek were tired we met another group of school kids From South  school from JP nagar 5th phase. Seeing those kids from 4th and fifth standards trekking energetically our guys and gals got a power boost to trek further. In places where people were so tired and afraid how to get down and planning to stop and take rest there itself, photo sessions would lighten the mood and water bottles would recharge with stamina to get up and move further.


One more pitstop

Steps getting steeper and eaiser !

Places to see at the top of Kabbaladurga:
We reached the top around 11:20 and overwhelmed to see the remains of a
house kind of thing where the soldiers used to rest during the Tippu rule. Some even believe that to be a prison. The shelter of it is gone long time back and the whole structure is in a shape which requires protection. If you are a butterfly lover, it is must visit place as it has multiple species of zizbells, tigers and multiple other species of butterflies which i am yet to know the ID of :-) After photosession at the ruins of military house/prison, we wanted to see the other side of the hill and found a little water body filled with rain water next to it. It might be the water collected in the sides of the rocks for a long time or a tiny stream as we could find japanese umbrella and other waterplants next to it.


At the top of Kabbaladurga

Other side of the prison



Photo sesison at the top

 




Towards Bheemalingeshwara temple:
After crossing that we found another structure with pyramid shaped dome. After entering that we realized that it would have been a place where the arms/ammunition were stored during by the military.If you take few steps further, there is a cliff of the fort from where you can have a view of all the hills surrounding and a view of the bottom can be quite scary ! but the air and environment over there makes you to forget all the tiredness of the trek and refreshes your mood for sure. We went to the Bheemalingeshwara temple from there. As the name indicates it has a big shivalinga along with the Nandi and one more linga at the back. The temple was closed by the time we reached. But there were fresh flowers indicating the poojas to be done recently. But there is opening at the top of the door which allows one to have the darshana of the god all the times, even though the door is locked. This temple looks pretty old.


Towards Bheemalingeshwara temple

View of Ammunition store



View of Bheemalingeshwara temple, Kabbaladurga

strange offering on the hill: 
On the hill you could see the stones piled on top of each other or bangles tied to the trees to fulfill their wishes . People not having houses pray to the lord and believe that if they pile the stones here successfully, they would be able to construct the houses. One stone for one floor ! Similarly bangles are tied for kids, wealth or other wishes.

Strange offerings over Kabbaladurga temple

Stone offerings

View of Kabbalamma temple on top:
It was almost 12 and there were clouds gathering all the way. We realized that it is time to descend now as there was a slight drizzle which welcomed us to the top and had to reach the bottom before it starts raining heavily.So, after few photoshoots,we went to the Kabbalamma temple at the top and spotted few more set of butterfly species over there.but Kabbalamma temple is closed as well and statue of the goddess was covered with a screen.  There is a dried lake as well next to it. We came back to the places where we reached the top of the hill and started descending.

View of Kabbalamma temple at kabbaladurga

Downtime begins:
I thought of naming this section as Downhill journey. but had to name downtime the reason for which you would realize soon :-) Journey was fast because of the good weather and the fact that we knew the way downhill.Some places we had to sit and descend and genious like Hari had to crawl ;-) We knew that the major challenge is to cross the place with steps across the edge of the hill and the place where the railings are lost ! We have started there carefully and all of the sudden it started drizzling. Three of the 8 have crossed that phase already and i was the fourth one leading the way. By intuition i thought of sitting and crossing that path as the rainwater started accumulating on the rock steps and our foot might slip ! First step did not slip. Second as well. Riya, hegde, Hari at the back were cautioned as well to follow slowly and with much care.


View of the temple when it started raining

Rain increased and started like a downpour ! Even with the shoe,third step started slipping as mine was a normal sport shoe and not a trekking shoe. The rubber base , although having slight grip compared to other flat bottomed shoes, started to slip against the water collected on rocks and need to be more and more careful as a single wrong step can take you to the down of the hill ! Railings were not continuous and had to balance ourselves sitting on the back pressed against the hill and supporting one of the leg against the available railing and the slight hand grip made of the rock gaps here and there.  Riya was praying all gods for safe journey downhill . Its actually like you are in a critical downtime and about to complete the task and struck with an issue at the very last moment ! We had five more steps to cross like that and crossed with much care. Hari and Hegde were at the back and had even more difficulties to cross it. First of all it was slippery. Second thing was both were wearing slippers. Third thing was it being the first trek for Hari and his feet was shivering all the way down because of height already. Had to wait, wait and wait until Hari could finally cross those fifteen odd steps and reach the next phase successfully. Downpour was so heavy that streams, waterfalls started farming all over the hill out of nowhere and whole journey seemed something like journey inside a forest towards few waterfalls !

Because of Rain you can see waterfalls being formed.

Pic which almost costed my mobile :-) View of the foggy kabbaladurga from the bottom

Journey back to Kotilingeshwara:
Had to take chances of opening my camera against the canopy of trees or shade of Riya's dupatta to take snaps of waterfalls. but they were futile. Tied to take my mobile out of the plastic cover in camera bag and click few pics in the rain. but that was futile too. Rain was falling all the way on mobile screen and i tried to open the mobile cam. But it was not opening after multiple clicks. Probably it was not recognizing the multiple touches caused by raindrops and me ! Somehow managed to take few snaps though and place it inside the plastic casing to avoid any further damages if not caused already to the mobile:-) But the view of the surrounding was majestic. Foggy mountains all the ways, greenery, water is flowing against you as if directing you towards the bottom ! we tried to avoid the rocky paths and tried  to balance our footsteps against the weeds grown between the rocks. Although  the journey was slow, we managed to reach the Kotilingeshwara temple around 1:20 without injuring anyone of us. The Rain had changed the whole environment and had given a entirely different feel.

View of other hills from Kabbaladurga

Further twist to the tale:
Rain was about to  stop when we reached the bottom and made us think that
whether it was a scripted by Rain god to thrill our journey ! Friends were feeling hungry after the trek and wanted to enjoy the Mandakki and water and entered into the premises of Kotilingeshwara temple where they were kept. There were couple of villagers already inside the temple and invited us to enter as well as rain had increased again and we could get some shelter until we eat Mandakkis. Removed the wet shoes and entered inside. As the friends were ordering Mandakki, there was a tension caused by the call made by bharatesh as Suvarchala was not with them! She was not with us as well or nowhere near that temple !

Missing story:
Suvarchala was with Sumit and Bharat and they had to run towards as the Tavera once rain started. But she was left behind when they last saw her and thought she would come with us. But We were left far behind due to the downpour and circus of Hari. by the time we reached there was almost 20 minutes delay and Bharatesh had called by instinct to ask where we were.

First question from me was whether all 3 of them are there near tavera when i learnt that he is there. But 2 were there and she was missing ! We thought of calling her. but her mobile was in Riya's bag! We asked in temple whether they have seen any girl that way. They said they saw 3 boys. Then we said that the lady was not wearing any salwar or saree. She was wearing a jeans itself. So, it was a girl and two boys, not 3 boys ! but one of them confirmed that one of the boys was wearing spects. Then we ruled out the possibility of her passing that way as none of us were wearing any spects Hari and he was with us only ! Bharatesh also came in the meantime our search operation begin. We spread into group of 2 and started shouting her name and searching in the ways leading from that temple. As there was only 1 way from temple to the hill and we came in that, there was no possibility of her going back in that way. Terrifying moments were when we were shouting her names and some boy's voice was replying back ! After some time, we decided to split ourselves into 2 groups and one group to take the way we came in and reach tavera. Other group to take the other seen path towards the tar road and reach the tavera from main road as there were possibilities of her taking that way. When we were about to split and  depart, we got a call from unknown number to Murali's mobile. It was the driver calling from other number to inform that Suvarchala is in the tavera safely. Thank god !


Other side/s of the story:
She was shouting Sumit's name when it had starting raining and saw him running for a shelter. But He could not hear her. Bharatesh at his back thought saw her under a tree when she was shouting and thought that she would stay back and come with us as she can't run in their pace. Rest 5 of us were struck in the hill in the dangerous steps against rain and were late by around 15-20 minutes. So, she thought of taking the way back to Tavera all alone. but instead of going in the way we came , she had taken the straight road towards main road which connected to the shamiyana which we have seen in the morning and could not find the tavera anywhere although she could see multiple other vehicles.As she had taken the other way, she was not spotted by the people inside the temple ! She Could not ask any of the farmers over shamiyana place or on the way there as she did not know the local language.She could not call anyone of us as she does not remember any of our numbers. She was trying to call her mobile. but that was not ringing when we have checked her cell multiple times ! Finally she could fine someone who could talk in English and ask them to see for a tavera in a bit distance. One of them were kind enough to travel around 200meters to find tavera on other side of the road(not visible from shamiyana place) and inform that driver about her. Sumit was there as well and he had gone with them to pick her up and call us.he was trying to call me when Riya was trying to call him. I had tried calling Bharatesh in the meanwhile and his number was busy as well . Sumit tried to call second time whe she found her and we could not listen to that ring due to the downpour which had started again. Finally driver's call relieved us and we were back again to Tavera. What to say.. As we found her, we were finally relieved and rain was also stopping to our surprise. But tried to open the cam. but lens was covered with water and did not have any warm peace of clothing to wipe it off. Had to manage to wipe it somehow and take few pics. Mobile was helpful this time as cleaning the water off the mobile lens was easier :-) Finally we reached the tavera and headed back  towards our next destination Muttatti. Had to skip the Makalamma temple as it was 1:45 already and was time for the temple to close. Also it did not look good to enter a temple with wet set of clothing and spoil that atmosphere with water dripping from our clothes..Huh. what a twist and tale  to the trip. but one thing was for sure. ALL IS WELL WHICH ENDS WELL !!!

Pic after the downhill journey :-)

@ one of the waterfalls formed by Rain !

Next part: Muttatti memories