Fantabulous Western Ghats views from Naravi

This is our usual path of commute during native commute. The best part apart from views at Shirady Ghat is the mesmerizing sight of Western ghats from Naravi Town. The Kuduremukha ranges never ceases to amaze me. Even though the mountains draw our attention from Bajagoli itself, the focus automagically shifts to these pristine hillocks as we near Naravi town and prompts us to have mandatory stoppage. The open space enables us to have panoramic view of these mighty tropical forests with ease. There is no concrete structure here to obstruct views for now. Things are bound to change anyways!

It had rained heavily looks like at foothills of Western ghats. Naravi lies right at the windward side of Western ghats which means it receives heavy rains throughout the season except for months from December to February. Today also the view area was soggy and saturated. Somehow the enthusiasm did not deter me to step on slush and capture some photographs. Anytime great scenes here at Naravi except when haze is tremendous. Hope to enjoy the majestic views.

Here is a collage of all!

Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills) descension scenes

Here I wrote about ascension scenes. The ascension was largely peaceful, descension was little fidgety. Here are some captures from descension next day. The first great scenes was nearby the lake which we constantly enjoying from hilltop. Now its time to relish its beauty closely!

The lake looked marvelous with nature elements especially tall trees. My wife took some pictures while car slowed. We did not dare to stop car since the patrolling was frequent. That scene was majestic and wanted many more perceptions. Unfortunately due to restrictions by forest department, we did not risk of stopping vehicle.

The silent winding road captivated us.

The captivation did not last long. Later we encountered the KSRTC jumbo in midway of descension. Its great scene to capture this vehicle roaring through the woods over cleanly paved road. Simultaneously, its painful if we encounter them in narrow roads.

Even though we did not spot any wild animal crossing the main road, we spotted monster wagon en-route to entry gate! He had his headlamp permanently to indicate that he is ruler of road. I had to move towards the shoulder to pave the way to this monster. While the trees adjoining the road obstructed the smooth passage of vehicles, these jumbos don't leave their space even if shoulder is wide. These demons don't budge and nudge the short wagons to shoulder. The shoulder is soggy and frail due to rains. There is high risk of tyres sinking inside the slush. But they are least bothered. If don't move vehicle sideways, the bus would stop over the road and forcefully push us to muddy road or make us to reverse the car till a smoother shoulder is reached. Such ridiculous behavior I have observed over the years. Leave the rant and enjoy the pictures :-)

The initial part was green and serene thanks to heavy overnight showers. The middle was same as previous day while the last patch was vastly arid due to lack of rains. It only rained in hilltop and surroundings. Nothing much in base.

Finally, we are back to base. It was fantastic stay with buffeting winds, heavy rains, glorious sunrise and what not beautiful bucolic world. With blessings of Lord Ranganathaswamy, our stay turned out to be safe and peaceful. Hope to see you again BR Hills.

Here are some sunrise scenes scribbled in post.

Here is a short video of overnight rains to relieve you from stress!

ನಿನಗೆ ನಾನು ಧೈರ್ಯ, ನನಗೆ ನೀನು ಧೈರ್ಯ!

ಈ ನಾಯಿ ಮರಿಯಿದ್ದಾಗಿಲಿಂದಲೂ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಹಿಂಬಾಲಿಸಿ, ಕಾಲು ನೆಕ್ಕಲು ಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದೊಡ್ಡದಾಗಿದೆ! ಪಕ್ಕದ ಮನೆಯವರದ್ದು. ಈಗಲೂ ಹೋದಾಗ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಮಾರುದಕ್ಕೂ ಹಿಂಬಾಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ನಮ್ಮದು ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಊರು ಆದರೂ ಬೀದಿ ನಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೇನೋ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ರೋಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೈಕಲ್ ಅಥವಾ ವಾಕಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗಲೂ ಅವುಗಳ ಉಪಟಳ.ಹಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ನನ್ನ ಬಳಿ ಇವನು ಒಂತರಾ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಇದ್ದಂತೆ. ಹಾಗೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೂ ಕೂಡಾ ಬೇರೆ ಬೀದಿ ನಾಯಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಾನು ರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಇದ್ದಂತೆ. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಇರುವವ, ನನ್ನ ಜೊತೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಜಾಸ್ತಿಯೇ attitude ತೋರಿಸಿ ಇದ್ದ ನಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬೊಗಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಉಳಿದ ನಾಯಿಗಳು ನನ್ನ ನೋಡಿ ಸುಮ್ಮನಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನನಗೂ ಬೀದಿ ನಾಯಿಗಳೆಂದರೆ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಕಡಿಮೆ, ಧೈರ್ಯ ಜಾಸ್ತಿನೂ ಬೇಡ ಬಿಡಿ. ಅವುಗಳೊಂದಿಗೇಕೆ ಬೀದಿ ಜಗಳ ಅಂತಾ! ಅವುಗಳ ಹಿಂಡು ಕಂಡರೆ ನಾನು ಹಲವು ಬಾರಿ ವಾಪಸ್ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದು ಉಂಟು. ಏನು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಹೇಳಿ "some battles are not worth fighting". ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಾ ಹಾಗೆ.

ಕೆಳಗಿರುವ ಕಪ್ಪು ನಾಯಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ವಯಸ್ಸಾಗಿದೆ ಅದಿಕ್ಕೆ ನಮ್ಮವನು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಜಾಸ್ತಿಯೇ ಗಾಂಚಾಲಿ ತೋರಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದ!

ಮಗಾ ಮಧ್ಯ ಕೈಕೊಡಲ್ಲ ತಾನೇ!

ದೊಡ್ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಕಣಣ್ಣ! 

ಆದರೂ ನನ್ನ ವಾಕಿಂಗ್ ದೋಸ್ತ್ ಬಂದಾಗ ನನಗೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ ಆದರೂ ಅವನ ಧೈರ್ಯ ನೋಡಿ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಠುಸ್ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ ನೋಡಿ. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಫೇಕ್ ಆದರೂ ಕೊನೆಗೆ, ಇವನಿಗೆ ನಾನು ಧೈರ್ಯ ನನಗೆ ಇವನು ಧೈರ್ಯ! ಯಾರಿಗೊತ್ತು ತನ್ನ ಸಂತತಿಯವರ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ ನನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಮೂಡಿಸಿರಲೂಬಹುದು ಮುಂದಿನ ನನಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗವಾಗುವಂತೆ :-) ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಇವನ ಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡಿ ಆನಂದಿಸಿ!

Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills) ascension scenes

Thunderstorm activity in 2024 summer started late and it was during early week of May it acquired pace. We wanted to enjoy few hill stations due to scorching summer. While exploring the options, choice of BR hills was made. We booked KSTDC hotel at BR hills summit and journey started early morning from Bengaluru. We reached the entrance of BR-Hills around 11AM. After paying entry fee, the journey resumed. Here are some pictures from ascension.

Being wildlife sanctuary, the BR hills entry is closed from 6PM to 6AM. Elephant/Tiger crossings are common here. The roads are narrow deliberately perhaps to regulate speed of vehicles and preserve the natural cover of region. Its difficult to overtake as well due to narrow roads and deep shoulders. We couldn't overtake this car even till summit!

The base of hills was arid mostly due to lack of rains and long dry-spells. The weather was hazy and as well humid. As the ascension reached halfway, the green cover increased. Looks like the top of hills received more rains while base received none. The forest turned much more dense as car further ascended along winding road. The Sun was shrouded by thick canopy of trees with lush greenery. The ground moisture looked decent and large puddles too along shoulder. This is how significant the natural vegetation is. The rains were considerable along dense forest regions while it was bleak nearby base.

It was comfortable 15kms ascension with no stoppages. The stopping of vehicle is restricted by forest department and could be heavily fined if someone identifies the stoppage. We saw forest guards patrolling along the forest stretch intermittently. Unfortunately, we did not spot any wildlife crossing the road, not even deer. They know their timings looks like :-D.

Despite being 15kms, it takes 40 minutes to reach the summit. The weather cooler which was stark contrast from base, thanks to elevation. The evening, we witnessed heavy thunderstorm for 45mins which was refreshing. Here is short clip of it.

The region was covered with dense fog with low-clouds smashing the hillocks persistently. Surprisingly, base did not see much rains during our descension post checkout next day. I will write separate post on the descension.

Gadayikallu, much awaited hike

These are usual scenes while in transit towards native or Bengaluru. Just having distant gaze of gadayikallu while driving relishing the clouds striking the monolithic rock against verdant backdrop and azure skies. Have watched the hikes and vlogs from numerous travellers but never could realise myself the dream of hike. Today was yet another instance but with some pictures. Hopefully someday the hike will materialize. As of now it's just set of pictures from distance 😔 

The monsoon just leaving coast made sure that aqi is palatable and consequently the sky and greens look fresh. It was pleasant to capture from distance as well. Thanks to zeiss enabled mobile phones we do not need monster gadgets for capturing pictures in broad daylight.