Monsoon Trek to HarishchandraGad, Maharashtra

Place: HarishchandraGad, Maharashtra, India
Mode: Bike Trip (Indica) [240 Kms] (Pune - Narayangaon - Junnar - HarishchandraGad - Pune)
Date(s) of Travel: July 11-12, 2009

You can read more about the place(s) here: Harishchandragad

My Experience:

1. Me and my colleagues started from office around 8.00 AM from pune. We went through the Pune-Nasik highway and it was raining all the time during the drive. It was lush greenery all the way and the ghat road was simply awsome.

2. We reached khireshwar which is a village on the foothills of HarishchandraGad around 12.00 PM after having few breaks. Parked all our bikes in a house and we ate some hot pohas which was fantastic.

3. Started trekking around 12.30 PM and we went inside the forest. The trek totally contains three phases. The first phase was little bit difficult as there were lot of rocks and stones on the way. But the view of the adjacent mountains was awsome as we could see lot of falls and land slides. Since it was raining heavily, the path that we went through had lot of water streams.

4. The second phase was too scary as we have to climb and crawl through rocks. But we did it with atmost care and it was fun too. In some places while climbing when I looked down, there were some butterfly effect in my stomach.

5. Then the last phase was walking, walking and simply walking all the way to other mountains. During that we crossed some dense forests and i was little bit scary about leeches, but luckily there were none. On the way we could able to see some crabs too.

6. Finally we reached the top around 4.00 PM and it was full of mist. We went to the Shiva temple and the beauty is, the whole temple is covered by water streams. Then we went to a cave where we finally decided to stay for that night. The cave had a huge Ganesh sculpture and it was glowing in the night due to fluorescence paint.

7. Adjacent to the cave there was a water falls and we had good fun taking bath. And there were some villagers who prepare Tea and Rice/Roti/Dhall. The food was awsome and they charged very little which made me think a lot about the city life.

8. Next morning we started to trek down around 7.00 AM. On the way, we went to the Kedareshwar cave in which there is a big Shivlinga. And I heard that during Shiv Rathri, there will be a huge function. Finally reached the foothills back around 10.30 AM.

Thought of Day: Backpacking is the art of knowing what not to take. - Sheridan Anderson

Car Trip to Nagerhole and Trekking to Thadiyandamol

Place: Nagerhole, Thadiyandamol, Coorg - Karnataka
Mode: Car Trip (Indica) [650 Kms] (Bangalore - Nagerhole - Thadiyandamol - Bangalore)
Date(s) of Travel: June 27-28, 2009

You can read more about the place(s) here: Nagarhole
Thadiyandamol


My Experience:

1. Me and my friends started around 10.00 AM from bangalore. Banaglore - Mysore highway is very scary. You have to be extra careful while driving in the road. We had breakfast at Kamat hotel and it was awsome.

2. We reached Gonikoppal in coorg around 2.00 PM. We used the Srirangapatna - KRS - Madikeri highway to reach gonikoppal. The weather was awsome and it was drizzling.

3. From Gonikoppal we started to Nagerhole national park and we reached there around 3.30 PM. There is a forest guard at the entrance of the park and he does nothing. Above all he was recommending people for some hotels to stay. The sad part was, we saw some people just drinking and littering beer cans inside the park. If the guard could have inspected the vans, they could have been stopped at the entrance only.

4. We saw hell lots of deers. Then we took a bus ride inside the forest. We could able to see only some deers and sambars. I should say the bus ride was a disappointment.

5. Then we stayed overnight at virajpet next to gonikoppal ie on the way to madikeri. Next morning, on the way to chelavara falls we had a nice breakfast in a small hotel. We saw a big black cobra crossing the road. Finally reached chelavara falls and it was awsome.

6. After nice bath in the falls we started to Thadiyandamol and reached the foothills around 11.00 AM. We went to Nalknaad palace and the guard explained about the architecture. It was awsome. But the sad thing is people have screwed up that place as much as possible.

7. We started trekking to Thadiyandamol around 12.00 PM. Everywhere it was green and the climate was f***ing awsome. We were so hungry and some fellow trekkers gave us some food. Around 2.00 PM we reached halfway and it started raining. The rain became heavier and the paths we went through looked like water streams. So we decided to go back and reached the foothills. Then found that we got bitten by leeches. It was scary and the blood was not at all clotting.

8. Finally reached bangalore around 10.00 PM. It was a fun filled experience.

Thought of Day: Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience - Ralph Waldo Emerson