PAYANIGA » Weekend Getaway

I Was Here: Irpu Falls

Prashanth — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:58:05 +0000

My first visit to Irpu Falls was in October 2007, during a two-day bike ride in Coorg. I was there again this April. There were quite considerable changes between these two visits – prominent being the amount of water. My first visit was just after the monsoon & the latest being in the middle of summer.

One other major change was the man-made metal ramp below the falls. So that people can walk right under the falls & enjoy the water. That means more people visiting the place, more litter and complete loss of tranquility.

First visit to Irpu falls was on motorbike and second in a four wheeler. Hope to visit the place next time on my bicycle :)

PS: First photo was taken in Oct’07 and second in Apr’10

Wayanad Beckons

Prashanth — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:28:48 +0000

Last time I visited Wayanad was in December 2006. It was a 3 day errand around Kalpetta, the district head quarters Wayanad. First two days were spent in visiting the lakes, dams and also safaris at Muthanga wildlife sanctuary & Tholpetty wildlife sanctuary, reserving the last day for trekking up Chembra peak.

Now after three and half years, I am visiting Wayanad this weekend. A two day visit – cycling around the tea estates, passing by the Chembra peak and visit to Meenmutty & Suchipara falls.

Read about the event organised by “Cycling and More” – here

Dawn and Dusk at Kodachadri

Prashanth — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:18:13 +0000

I camped at Kodachadri peak last December. I managed myself to be at the top well in time & also managed to get up early to witness sunset & sunrise at the peak. Hereare few photos which I took during that time.

To be honest, both sunset & sunrise weren’t that great for me. I didn’t get to enjoy it. May be beacuase of the huge crowd. There were atleast 150-200 people on the peak to witness the sight. I need to go there again when not many people around!
Well, detailed trek log to follow soon. :)

Random Photos

Prashanth — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:17:00 +0000

It’s been a busy days for the past few weeks. That means less time to write. For the time being here are some random photos from my trips in year 2008. Above one was taken near Somanathapura.

Rail tracks near Mandya, en route Melkote.

Yoga Narasimhaswamy temple at Melkote.

A kid I met at Kaidala, the birth place of Jakanachari, the main architect of Hoysala temples.

Trek to Parvathamalai

Prashanth — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Most of my travels are limited to Karnataka and when I came to know that there is trekking plan in Tamilnadu, I jumped in. Parvathamalai, a pilgrimage near Polur in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu was our destination. Since it takes 4 to 5 hours to climb up, we left Bangalore on Saturday morning to reach Thiruvannamalai by noon. After visiting & roaming around the Shiva temple, we started towards Parvathamalai. It was past 2 in the afternoon when we started climbing.

Parvathamalai is more of a pilgrimage than a trekking spot. We saw pilgrims of all age – from as young as 3-4 years to as old as 70-75 years – climbing up & down the hill en route our trek. There is a temple of Shiva at the top, which the hill is approximately 3500 ft above sea level & is in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. There are two routes to reach the peak – one from village Thenmathimagalam which is lengthy but easier and the other from Kadaladi village which is shorter but steep. We took the latter for both climbing up & down.

The path from Kadaladi village starts off like a jeep track and soon narrows down to path where one has to walk one behind the other. Most part of the hill is shrubs with trees scattered all around. That means you can be under a shadow only now and then. The shrubs in the initial stretch were dry & full of thorns. Three fourth of the hill is a steady climb and can be covered without much fuss. The final part is the steep climb on rocks, which is not so difficult if you are there on a bright sunny day. But that will be challenging if you have to climb that stretch after Sun has gone done in the west, with a surprise drizzles making the rocks completely slippery.

We reached the top around 7.30, after the tough final climb. Apart from the visit to the temple & packed dinner which we carried, it was just talking, talking & talking till we slept. Coming down the hill was easier, thanks to gravitational force. We took little over 2 hours to reach Kadaladi. A nice bath in cold water was refreshing before we boarded the vehicle back to Bangalore.

Few things to keep in mind, if you are planning to vist the place and/or stay overnight at the peak – there is no water available at the peak. Every drop of water – be it for drinking or any other purpose has to be carried along. It’s better to carry food, though food is provided at the temple. Reason, most of the devotees climb the hill without bringing food. Last, but most important, please don’t litter.

Photo Credits – Srik. I lost all the photos of the trip as the memory card of my camera got corrupted.

Enchanting Melkote

Prashanth — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:23:00 +0000

When we started off towards the temple town ‘Melukote’ (Melkote or Yadavagiri or Yadugiri) on a summer day, to be greeted by the misty morning. Our prayers for the same climate went in vain as the temperature soared later. We stopped at couple of places for photo sessions & reached in time for the breakfast.

After savouring the delicious ‘Puliyogare’, we roamed around the place – Cheluva Narayanaswamy temple, akka-tangi kola, Dhanushkoti (there is one here also), Raya Gopura & then Yoga Narasimhaswamy temple (situated on top of the hill).

What amazes me is the number of pushkarinis (kalyani or man made water-body) in a town situated on a hill. And that too most of them filled with water during peak summer.

The day we were there in Melukote was the last day of 10th board exams. A bunch of guys directly came out of the examination hall and jumped into the water to beat the heat & also to celebrate the end of exams ;)

How to reach there:

Bangalore – Mandya – turn right after 4 KMs from Mandya – Jakkanahalli Cross – Melukote

Bangalore – Kunigal – Bellur Cross – Nagamangala – Jakkanahalli Cross – Melukote

Digest: Bike trip to Coorg

Prashanth — Sun, 18 May 2008 05:35:00 +0000

I was here – a view point between Bhagamandala & Talakaveri

It was fun filled rain ride, covering a distance of little over 700 KMs in two days.

Route taken-

Day 1: Bangalore – Maddur – Srirangapatna – Hunasur – Gonikoppa – Srimangala – Irpu – Srimangala – Gonikoppa – Virajapet

Day 2: Virajapet – Murnadu – Bhagamandaal – Talakaveri – Bhagamandala – Nelija – Kakkabbe – Virajapet – Gonikoppa – Hunusur – Srirangapatna – Bangalore.

PS: It’s been a busy schedule at work. Though I managed to travel over weekends, finding it tough to update payaniga. Hope everything comes back to normal soon. :(

Crossing the river Tunga

Prashanth — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:02:00 +0000

River Tunga. We had to cross the river. And we had three options –

1. By bus over the bridge.
2. Using a hanging bridge which was half a kilometer away.
3. By walk through knee deep water

And we chose the last option.

Place: Hariharapura, 15 KMs from Sringeri in Chikkamagalur district.

People were busy washing their clothes, bathing.

He saw me. Stopped his work for a moment. Smiled at me & continued with his chores.

Crossing the river was quite an adventure. Trying not to get our clothes wet & along with carrying the camera. Though it was knee deep, currents were pretty strong.

Lord Igguthappa: The Kodava God

Prashanth — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:47:00 +0000

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Entrance to Nelija Igguthappa temple
After lunch at Bhagamandala, we headed towards Nelija where one of Lord Igguttappa temples is located. Lord Igguttappa, the snake god, commonly known as Subrahmanya is the main deity worshipped by the Kodavas. We reached Nelija around 3.30PM & the temple was closed. We had to be content by roaming around the temple premises & enjoying the nature.

From Nelija, we rode towards Kakkabbe where another Igguthappa temple at Paadi is situated. Again here the temple was closed due to renovation. After spending some time roaming around the place, we started our journey back home, to Bangalore.

Stone bell at Paadi Igguthappa temple
From Gonikoppa, we took the same route back home via Hunsur and Srirangapatna. As soon as we crossed Hunsur, rain god gave us company during the ride. We had to stop quite frequently and duration of the breaks was longer as the rain was lashing. When I reached home, it was well past midnight & the bike�s trip meter was just above 700KMs.

During our visit over 2 dyas, we managed to see few places. But still there are plenty of places that I’ve to visit – Tadiyandamol, Brahmagiri, Nalknaadu aramane, Abbi falls, Dubbaare – the list is endless.

Bhagamandala and Talakaveri

Prashanth — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:02:00 +0000

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Bhagundeshwara temple
Our journey commenced next day along with rain. We headed towards Bhagamandala on wet 7 slushy roads. From Virajpet, we reached Bhagamandala via Moornadu. Some info about Bhagamandala from Wiki –

Bhagamandala is a pilgrimage place in Kodagu, Karnataka, in India. It is situated on the river Kaveri in its upstream stretches. At this place, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Kannika and Sujyoti rivers. It is considered sacred as a river confluence (kudala or sangama, in Kannada and Sanskrit respectively).

Pligrims at Bhagamandala

It is a common practice for pilgrims to take a dip in the sangama and perform rituals to their ancestors before proceeding to Talakaveri, the birthplace of Kaveri. During Tula Sankramana which falls on October 17th or 18th, pilgrims assemble here in large numbers.

After spending sometime there & a quick visit to Bhagundeshwara temple, we headed to Talakaveri, the birth place of river Kaveri located at Brahmagiri hill. Quick bits from Wiki �

View from Talakaveri

Talakaveri, is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the Kaveri River. It is located in the Brahmagiri hill (not to be confused with the Brahmagiri range further South) near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, Karnataka, 1,276 m. above sea level. However, there is not a permanent visible flow from this place to the main river course.

Another direction, different viewBoth the places were crowded due to Tula Sankramana. We were at Bhagamandala & Talakavei on October 20th.

Continued – Lord Igguttappa temples

Irpu Falls

Prashanth — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:15:00 +0000

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Irpu falls (also known as Iruppu falls)
Irpu falls (or Iruppu falls) is situated at outskirts of Brahmagiri mountain range of Kodagu district. The falls is formed by Lakshmana theertha river when it jumps down in two tiers from a height of 52 mtrs (approximately 170 ft).

By the time we reached there it was close to noon & raining had stopped. And the place was filled with tourists. Sandeep & Ganesh decided to take a dip while Nithin guarded luggage. I roamed around for sometime taking few photos & then sat silently enjoying the beauty of the nature.

Legend says that, this falls was formed when Lakshamana shot an arrow to fetch some drinking water for his elder brother Rama, during their visit while searching for Seeta. Lakshamana theertha flows westwards & later joins river Kaveri. There is also a temple of Lord Rama.

Temple of Lord Rama
We spent a good 2 hours at the falls. And then a nice lunch at the only hotel near the temple at Irpu. As we started our journey back towards Gonikoppa, within five minutes it started raining again. Our initial plan was to reach Madikeri before dusk & watch sunset at Raja seat. But rain played spoilsport which hampered our progress & we halted at Virajpet for the day instead.

How to reach:

Gonikoppa – 25KMs – Srimangala – continue towards Kutta – 7KMs – turn right – 3KMs – Irpu.

Continued – Bhagamandala and Talakaveri

To Coorg on Bike: A rainy start

Prashanth — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:12:00 +0000

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Wet roads after the rain

4.40 AM, Oct 20, 2007. I was waiting for other riders at the scheduled meeting place � near Mysore road � NICE road junction at Kengeri. When rest three reached the place in a span of 15 minutes, all of us were wet to the innermost layer of the clothes. It was pouring heavily. For a moment I thought of turning back home, but made up my mind and decided to continue with the ride.

Mystic mountains of Madikeri

For the next two days it was fun filled & rain filled ride. Where ever we went rain followed us. From Kengeri it was a non-stop ride till Srirangapatna. By the time we reached Srirangapatna, rain eased out. And when we stopped next at Hunsur for breakfast, we were almost dry. After the breakfast Srik turned back towards Bangalore as he had office. Rest three (Ganesh, Sandeep & I) continued. En route Irpu falls, we tried our luck of passing through Nagarahole. But we came to know by people at Hunsur that two wheelers are not allowed in Nagarahole. So we took different route to reach Gonikoppa. Nitin, Ganesh�s friend was waiting for us at Srimangala who acted as a guide for two days. And all of us were happy that we were completely dry. But by the time we reached Irpu falls, we were wet again.

Highlight of the day was riding through Rajiv Gandhi Wild Sanctuary between Hunsur & Gonikoppa. Animals sighted – few common deer & Pea fowls.

Continued � Irpu falls