Ghatikallu, a remote beauty
tucked in the heavenly Western Ghats of Chickmagalur district is an ideal
destination for weekend getaway unravelling the enigmatic beauty of Western
Ghats. The place has everything that a nature lover would ask for peaks, valleys,
rivers, falls, grasslands, thick jungle, coffee & tea estates and much more
- Truly a heaven on Earth. Trust, if you ever yearn to see mountains, then its
Western Ghats in Karnataka.
We planned to visit Ghatikallu
sometime in December’13. We were group of six, two from
Bangalore and three from Kochi. From kochi we boarded a train towards
Mangalore and then a bus towards Chickmagalur. We got down in Kottigehara, a small
town after Charmadi Ghat. By the time we reached Kottigehara, guys from
Bangalore had already reached. They had travelled to Mudigere via Hassan and then to Kottigehara
from Mudigere hand post.
We started towards Sunkasale in a
private bus. After a wonderful journey of about half an hour along the lengths
of Kelaguru tea estates, we reached
Sunkasale. Resort Jeep was waiting for us, we got into the Jeep. It was an
amazing roller coaster ride amidst coffee plantations to homestay. It was like
trailer promising the natural retreat, adventure and joy for the next two days.
The bumpy ride ended at a beautiful homestay “Ghatikallu”. The ancient house
built on grand-scale and spread-out areas in serene and nestled tranquil
atmosphere made us feel to be amongst the nature. We truly were mesmerised by
the sights and sounds of its wonderful surroundings. The view of huge hills in front and a tall waterfall
visible from a distance from cottage was just too much for two eyes to take.
We freshened up, had sumptuous
typical Malnad traditional breakfast Kaayi Kadbu which was feast for our taste
buds and then we started towards Ghati falls in an open standing Jeep with our
guide. After an eventful half an hour ride, we reached the waterfall spot. We
had to trek to the beautiful waterfall in woods. We completed first few
kilometres of trek too quickly as our energy and enthusiasm was at its peak. We
took first break near a stream, where team started to feel creeps and it was
Leeches for obvious shock. We got rid of all the leeches, washed all scratches
and continued our trek in the forest. It was 100-150 meters of thick vegetation
one can imagine, where sunlight would never have touched the ground making the
path so damp and was covered by thick and slippery layer of fallen leaves. We
reached the drop spot with some effort taken to cross the forest strip, but the
sight of waterfall dropping 150 ft vertically which can be witnessed laying
right next to the fall is truly a bliss and worth a trek. Had a great
time playing in water and descended back to homestay. As our next visit was planned to sunset point
in the evening. We rushed to have lunch and took rest till evening.
We started towards sunset point
in an auto, 20 minutes drive from homestay. The view of Western Ghats’
beautiful stretch across the area is beautiful from this point. The change in
colours at sunset, the chilling air, the chirping birds, the roaring waterfalls
and green all around makes this place amazingly beautiful. We just enjoyed the
serenity it composed. Finally, the sun descending beyond the hills, wow!!
Its nature offering the picturesque view. We enjoyed taking pictures with
lovely landscapes behind, specially the “synchronised jumping picture”. The
drive back to homestay with evening breeze hitting our face was great.
Back in the room, we sat down in
homestay dining hall listening to jokes from one of our teammates, sipping
hot Malnad coffee. Later, a private bonfire was arranged in the open space, in
front of our rooms. Even though we were tired from all day activities, didn’t
give up. Six of us had a blast.. dancing away!! It was fantabuluos. Enjoyed
spicy, yummy dinner and hit the sack hard soon as we had planned to trek to
Ballarayana Durga fort early in the morning.
Forts always have mysterious aura
surrounding them and they are reminiscences of a rich bygone era. Ballarayana
Durga is one fort full of history and mystery, amidst dense forest atop a hill
that is 1500 metres high in the beautiful Western Ghats. It was constructed by wife of Veera Ballala-I who was the king of Hoysala Empire in 12th century, built in Karnata Dravida style of architecture.
We started towards Ballarayana
Durga fort trek base early in the morning in an open jeep with our guide. It
was a great ride, which started at a deviation from the tar road entering the
coffee estate. It probably had rained previous night, muddy roads were damn
slippery with hell lot of bumps and curves and we going ooh.. aah in chorus was one hell of a roller coaster ride through the estate and deep Jungle till the
base of the hill. We entered into the forest and started our trek. Initially path seemed very clear without any abrupt misleads but was marked prominently
by elephant droppings for every few steps we took. Our guide was a good
caretaker, every now and then he was stopping in between and examining wildlife
traffic if any ahead. As we moved deeper into the forest, the trail we were
following was rampaged by the elephants and Gaurs. The Path was ravaged
completely, one could easily imagine how restless these wild animals were.
After a continuous walk of more than 30 minutes uphill in the forest we entered
the grasslands from where we were able to see Ballarayana Durga fort in
distance. What a sight it was!! Green all around, we thought one more hour of
trek, we will be near the fort. We continued with full enthusiasm but no matter
how much we trekked, it felt like we were running on treadmill, feeling effort
and no distance covered. Finally after 2 hours of trekking, we reached
Ballarayana Durga Fort with 360 degrees of stunning views. It was one sight to
behold, with green luxurious forests and steep slopes. Truly an heaven on
earth. We clicked some awesome scenery of stunning surroundings, and moved into
the fort.
The fort has lost its glory and
stand as a distant reminder of its beautiful past. We could only see shattered
walls of the fort standing as a proof of the grand structure that had once
stood there with pride and also in its completely ruined and dilapidated
condition it remains as an example of ancient structures that has been destroyed due to lack of proper preservation. We entered into the fort
witnessing the glory of bygone days. Devoid of any noise, and in the presence
of ever blowing gentle breeze, we relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of nature.
After spending sometime in fort we descended back and paid a visit to Rani
Gudda, which offers the stunning view of deep valley and back to homestay.
We enjoyed the breakfast in
homestay after tiring trek and took rest for a little while and started towards
Rani Jhari, a waterfall. We again were carried to the location in a mighty Jeep
where we enjoyed floating, diving and playing in water. To ensure safety, we
were all provided with the life jackets. We made our way back to homestay for
lunch. Enjoyed our last meals in homestay and packed our luggages and made our
way to Kottigehara to travel to Mangalore with no mood to leave the place,
carrying lots wonderful memories with us to cherish in years ahead.
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