Chugging Through The Wild Beauty Of The Western Ghats And Coasts - Part 1

This time the plan was to explore the Ghats and Coasts of Karnataka. The apt time we chose, when Ghats had soaked in the monsoon rains and the coats were wild. There are good reasons for why we planned this trip in rainy season. For each raindrop that falls during monsoon, a new flower blooms in the dense forests of Western Ghats. The mountains’ throne withers than if it were covered with ermine. The ranges glitter all more gloriously in the morning sun. The monsoon turns the path into marshy sludge. We get stuck, lose our shoes and sink in up to our waists. The mood is, nevertheless, jolly and happy. The monsoon trip is nicer and lighter hearted than in the other seasons. Plan was for 4 days and aim was to explore the best of monsoons in Western Ghats and Coasts of Karnataka. Lot homework was done on this trip; list down the best places to visit, transits, stay and all travel arrangements.

August 14th, 2013. We were all set to experience the real charm and magic of monsoons. This time the group was big; 3 from Kochi started journey in Okha Express and 6 from Bangalore in Durgamba travels to Kundapura, a small coastal town in Udupi district of Karnataka.

We reached Kundapura early in the morning. The sky was overcast, being the height of monsoons; a light drizzle came on and off and the overall mood was one of gloominess. But we were excited and the overcast sky and rain tied in neatly with what we were expecting as we headed Kundapura for a trip through the Western Ghats and Coasts.

We freshened up in a hotel which we already had booked, packed our food and started our journey to Kollur Mookambika temple in a pre-booked tempo traveller to sought blessings of Shri Mookambika Devi.

Kollur is a small temple town situated on the tranquil scenic beauty of Kodachadri hills amidst the thick forests of Western Ghats on the bank of never dying river Sauparnika. Kollur Mookambika is considered as unique among the Hindu gods and goddesses as she embodies the powers of Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswathi and Mahakali merged into one as Adiparashakthi. We enjoyed the serene beauty of nature and hymns of mantras inside the temple and made our way to Murudeshwara.

Murudeshwara, the temple town with vibrant scenic beauty and golden history, is located on the Arabian seafront in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka bounded by rolling hills of Western Ghats. The major attraction here is the world’s second tallest Shiva statue set amidst beautiful and lush grounds on a small hillock surrounded by Arabian Sea on the three sides. As one ascends the hillock, there is a shrine of Jattiga seated on a horse. The final majestic Shiva statue 123 feet in height with Nandi looks beautiful in silver and golden paint next to the roaring Arabian Sea having beautiful blue water, towering hills to the east and the coconut and areca groves nearby. The temple has an entrance that is one of the tallest in the world and two life-size elephants in concrete stand guard at the steps leading to the temple. After visiting the temple we jumped into the Sea in spite it was raining. We enjoyed the big waves, pouring rain and scenic vista with dark clouds the best and made our way to Idagunji Ganapathi temple.

Idagunji is a small place in Honnavara Taluk, Uttara Kannada district. The Ganapathi temple here is one of the major attractions in Kanara Coast. The beautiful Ganesha idol made of black stone is in a standing posture, with extremely short legs, and a depression on the head. The “Dwibhuja Ganapathi” is holding Modaka and Lotus in his hands. The special attraction here is Ganapathi Masks available in shops nearby made of lavancha, having pleasant aroma when soaked in water and has medicinal properties even. Blessed by Lord Ganapathi, we made our way to Kumta for night stay. The journey from Idagunji to Kumta along the coasts in rainy season is awesome. The dark clouds, the heavily pouring rain, the paddy fields, the roaring coasts and the small hillocks with all greenery is the splendid display of nature. We reached Kumta at around 7:00pm and made our stay for the night in Shree Gajanana Lodge; A budget hotel with good North Indian food and hygiene accommodation. As we had planned to start Yana trek next day early in the morning, without wasting time we went to bed cherishing the wonderful day in Coasts. Part - 2 Map :