Chugging Through The Wild Beauty Of The Western Ghats And Coasts - Part 3

Part - 2  Dandeli is a picturesque city set amidst the backdrop of the Western Ghats on the bank of Kali River in UttarKannada District, offering comfortable and hassle free life in the resorts with bountiful adventurous activities like Jungle Jeep Safari, Jungle trekking, White water rafting, Kayaking, Rappelling, Night camps and lot more. Of all the resorts in Dandeli we chose Nature Nest for our stay as it was affordable to stay and offers proximity with number of spots such as Syntheri Rocks, Kali River, Kavla caves and Dandeli wildlife sanctuary to enjoy jeep safari and rendezvous with the wilderness. It was dark when we reached Dandeli and the rain was pouring down heavily. It was adventurous to find Nature Nest resort as the entire locality was out of power,  we felt as if we were sleuthing Sherlock Holmes finding the resort. After travelling 12kms from Dandeli towards Patoli village, our cell phones were activated with signals. We immediately made a call to resort asking for the way and we then realised that we were just in front the road leading to the resort. Immediately resort staff came to us and helped us with lights, umbrellas and carrying our luggage. We freshened up and got ready for dinner and camp fire, arranged in dining hall as it was too difficult to set a camp fire out in the rain. We had our privacy to enjoy the music and dance floor the best, as we were the only occupants of the resort then. The sumptuous dinner, beautiful climate all around, the music and dance made us forget the tiring journey from Gokarna to Dandeli and had a wonderful night in the well decorated rooms of the Nature Nest resort. As we had planned to visit Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary early in the morning, we got up at around 5AM and came out of the rooms to start towards Sanctuary and the very view then was stupendously beautiful. This place is truly an adobe of serenity. Feeling being away from the polluted hustle and bustle of city life, waking up to the twittering of birds, to feel the caressing breeze and to feat our eyes on charming grandeur of the panoramic landscapes is truly awesome. We reached Kulgi base camp and in department jeep charging 100INR per person we started Jungle Jeep Safari to experience all the sights and sounds of the lush forests of Dandeli. Travelling through beautiful wooded trails appreciating the rich diversity of plant and animal life, unfolding the colour, scents and textures of extraordinary landscapes in front of us is bliss to eyes. The Sanctuary is a home for big cats, reptiles and varieties of birds. The undulating streams, swaying bamboos, abundance of wildlife and sylvan surroundings have made Dandeli Sanctuary a unique holiday destination. Sighting animals is difficult and always involves an element of luck. We were not all that lucky to spot a wild cat; we just had to be satisfied with herd of deer and the final view point inside the sanctuary is amazingly beautiful. Nevertheless we enjoyed the Jeep ride and made our way back to nature nest. After yummy breakfast in Nature nest we made our way to adventure camp at Dandeli to experience the adrenaline rush through our body. It was disappointing that we did not get a chance to enjoy White water rafting but we managed with Coracle ride and Kayaking in Kali river. Kayaking was real fun, we even tried racing with each other. After enjoying the activities in Kali River adventure camp, we made our way to resort back. Post lunch we started our journey towards Sathoddi Falls.

Sathoddi Falls near Kallaramane Ghat at a distance of 32kms from Yellapur town is untouched piece of nature, plummeting down 50 feet is a pulchritudinous beauty of nature. The stream then flows into the backwaters of the Kodasalli Dam, into the Kali River surrounded by hillocks, a picturesque location.  The way towards Sathoddi Falls is too confusing. There were too many forks in the road not well signed; confused our driver making him to ask for directions or for confirmation with people passing by that he picked the correct fork. Our smart phones with google maps were of good use then. We covered much of the path with the help of google maps and finally we were disconnected with signal for the last 5 km. We then followed the rough unsealed dirt road which certainly was out of our driver’s comfort zone. There were several stretches where he was cursing when he wasn't totally sure if the traveller could make it some spots. We could see the reservoir during the unpaved section of the road leading down to the car park. From the car park, there was well established walk. The trail gently descended in the direction of the stream feeding the reservoir. There was even a stretch of trail where there were canals on either side of the walkway. Once we were near the end of the trail, there was a shelter and picnic area with a partial view of Sathoddi Falls. We were able to continue to walk carefully a little further to get bit closer to the falls. These seemed to be the best views that we were able to get. We didn't get all the way to the falls as the jumble of rocks and stream made it little dicey to proceed any closer. So we had to make do with our partially obstructed and distant view of waterfalls. We then made our way back to car parking after enjoying herbal tea in the only house in that area very next to the waterfalls. After a journey of 2 – 3 hours, we reached Sirsi. Bangalore group made their way back to Bangalore the same night and we three continued our trip. We stayed in Samrat guest house, best budget hotel in Sirsi town. It was a tiring day; soon we went to bed looking forward more fun in the last day of our trip. Part - 4 Map :