Trip to Kemmanagundi

Having been in Bangalore for over one and a half years, the best way to spend a good weekend is to shy away from Bangalore and retreat to some off-beat destination away from the confines of the hustle and bustle of Bangalore city.

But staying in the luxury of hotels and resorts and merely going sight seeing had become quite mundane I must say. So we decided to usher in a different experience this time.

Being the weekend after Christmas, the idea of going to a much-acclaimed and sought after destination did not sound too appealing. So we decided to head for a serene and idyllic place in the midst of Mother Nature.

After much pondering, we decided to head towards Kemmanagundi.

Kemmanagundi is a hill station in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is located at a height of 1434m above sea level. This was the summer retreat of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and as a mark of respect to the king, it is also known as Sri Krishnarajendra Hill Station. Ringed by the Baba Budan Giri Range and blessed with silver cascades, mountain streams, and lush vegetation, Kemmangundi’s beautifully laid-out ornamental gardens and enchanting mountains and valleys views are a treat to the eye. The spectacular sunset view from the Raj Bhavan is a photographer’s delight. For the adventurous at heart, Kemmanagundi offers many peaks to scale and intricate jungle paths to explore.

Place: Kemmanagundi
Distance: ~ 280 kms from Bangalore
Route: Bangalore > Nelamangala > Hassan > Belur > Chikkamagalur > Kemmanagundi
Travel Time: 6 hours.

Now this trip to Kemmanagundi was not like the other trips we had made. We decided to go with an Adventure Trip organizer by the name “Nature Admire”. This group is run by a person by the name Dev Balaji. The entire trip logistics were taken care of by this group which included transportation in a tempo traveler, food, camping (tents and sleeping bags), one instructor by the name Venkatesh and rooms in the Horticulture department lodge on both Saturday and Sunday for changing and getting fresh.

We were a group of 12 people and the package costed us Rs.2000 per person all inclusive.

We started from Bangalore on Friday, 26th December 2008 at around 11:45 PM in a group of 12. We reached Kemmanagundi around 6:30 am the next day. The road from Chikkamagaluru to Kemmanagundi is mostly through the forest area and there are only dirt tracks instead of proper roads. Be prepared for a bumpy ride for around 30 odd kms.

As soon as we reached Kemmanagundi, we were met by the sights of forests, valleys and hills all around. It was a captivating sight to say the least. Kemmanagundi is very sparsely populated, so we couldn’t see too many people around us except for other travelers like us.

We halted at the Horticulture Department guest house as our first stop for the trip. We got into 2 rooms arranged for us and started contemplating about the prospects of taking bath in the cold weather. The prospects looked bleak I must admit but just as David took on the might of Goliath, we had a friend who decided to take the bull by its horns and accomplished the feat of taking bath in the cold water. This spurred the others on and slowly we had more people taking a dip.

After getting ready, we had breakfast in a small canteen in the guest house whose hoarding proudly displays “Vegitarian Canteen”. The only stuff we could get there was bread omlette, dosas and chow chow bhaath…. We prepared ourselves for the ominous task of savoring only these delicacies (if only) for the days to come as that canteen didn’t have other options.

After breakfast, we proceeded towards our first destination for the day – Hebbe Falls. We were dropped off at a point by our tempo traveler from where we proceeded to trek the distance of around 8 kms which would take us to the falls. The way slowly become narrower and was interspersed with 3 narrow water bodies enroute to the falls. After a drudgery of over 2 hours, we finally caught a glimpse of the magnificent falls dropping down in its entire splendor (the source for the falls is the River Bhadra). These waterfalls are inside a coffee estate and surrounded by dense forests and coffee plantations. Hebbe Falls gushes down from a height of 551 ft in two stages to form Dodda Hebbe (Big Falls) and Chikka Hebbe (Small Falls.) Don’t miss a refreshing dip in this herb-infused water.

On the way back from Hebbe Falls, we trekked for some distance before we decided to take the services of a rickety Mahindra jeep. The jeep ride was a once in a life time experience with the driver looking straight out of an F1 racing track. The wheels of the jeep pounded the bouncy and uneven dirt tracks with such force and rigour that made me resolve to replace the tyres in my car with those. A roller coaster ride in any amusement park would be half as exciting as this jeep ride which when finally ended found most of us with our clothes having taken the colour of the red sand enroute.

We finally reached the Horticulture department lodge and had our lunch at around 4 PM after which we decided to rest for a while and then proceed to Raj Bhawan to catch a glimpse of the setting sun. Raj Bhawan has well laid-out gardens and is a good place to spend a quite evening with the setting sun and hills around you for company.

After returning back from Raj Bhawan we proceeded towards the most exciting part of the trip. We reached an open area which was like a field. It had on its edge a drop which lead to the valley below and was surrounded by hills all around. We decided to pitch tents there for the night.

The gutsy wind made it difficult for the tents to stay in their position. We took the help of some big stones to help the tents maintain their position. After finishing with pitching the tents, we started the bonfire and sat around it in a circle.

Then started rounds of gushing beer and vodka mixed with voices singing away to Bollywood tunes. After finishing our dinner we retreated to the confines of the sleeping bags inside the tents with some of us still contemplating whether sleeping in the tempo traveler would be a better idea. Tired after the day’s activities and the alcohol acting as a good sleep-inducer, we were fast asleep in minutes and woke up the next morning amidst the serene and calm Mother Nature for company. It was an exhilarating experience and one which not many of us would easily forget. It earmarked our trip from the ones we had before and left us with a different experience to share and cherish.

We reached the Horticulture department lodge to get fresh and have our breakfast and then proceeded towards the trek to Z-point, an enchanting precious point, a vantage spot. Z-point offers a nice ariel view of the distant Shola grasslands in the undulated Western Ghats. Enroute to Z-point one can also see Shanti falls. Shanti fall proved to be less of a waterfall and more of a stream trickling down the hill. The trek to Z-point was a fabulous experience with the path being extremely narrow and a steep drop to the valley on one side. The view from the top when we finally reached Z-point was breathtaking.

After returning from Z-point, we proceeded back to Bangalore. We halted at Chikkamagaluru for lunch after which we went to see the famous Chennakesava temple in Belur.

Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur is located in Hassan district. According to inscriptions discovered here, it was also referred to as Velapuri. The main attraction in Belur is the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Lord Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana. There are two more shrines here that are still in use by devotees and there is a Pushkarni or stepped well to the right side of the main entrance. The Dravida style rayagopuram at the entrance which was a later addition by the Vijayanagar kings, who considered this deity as one of their Kuladevata or family god.

The temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. It was built by king Vishnuvardhana in commemoration of his victory over the Cholas at Talakad in 1117 CE. Legend has it that it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. The intricate workmanship includes elephants, lions, horses, episodes from the Indian mythological epics, and sensuous dancers (Shilabalikas). Inside the temple are a number of ornate pillars. Darpana Sundari (Lady with the mirror) carved on walls of Belur Temple is one of major attraction in complex.
This temple along with Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu and the Jaina monuments at Shravanabelagola are being proposed as UNESCO world heritage sites. (Source: Wikipedia).

After this, we resumed on our way back to Bangalore and reached Bangalore pretty late in the night around 1 am majorly because the driver of our tempo traveler believed in the old age theory of “Slow and steady wins the race”. We finally reached the familiar surroundings of our respective neighborhoods and threw our tired bodies to the beds.

Finally to conclude I would say that it was a wonderful trip with experiences to remember for our life times and ones which make us crave for more. Happy traveling.