Monsoon trek to nishani motte

My first Karnataka monsoon trek 

A vibrant mix of nishani motte trek and tala kaveri devotion

When in doubt, travel.

Yes, that was enough to inspire me to search for a website that i was following in Instagram for a few months. Plan the Unplanned, it was. It’s basically a camping, and trekking events from Bangalore. As the daily routines hit me up with an exhaustion, I decided to take the bait. Of course, butterflies were screaming inside me, as I was ready to travel to a city i’ve never been before.

*Two days later*

A black gothic tee, blue trousers and a half my size ruck sag. At the gates of St.Marks Cathedral, Bangalore you'd have been seen me standing, on June 28th 9.30 pm. After a couple of minutes, few people joined in, and, around 10.00 pm there arrived our ride for the weekend. Cool. I could already see a lot of trekkers in the van. I got in and quickly grabbed a seat. My eyes dropped, as the 7 hour train journey got me a little tired. So, at last with a set of 12 people, 12 random trekkers, we commenced towards Coorg from Bangalore.

 *Light Flashes*

They don't let you sleep do they? (see how ironically it turned into something better) And, why did they turn the lights on? It was the commencement of Introduction section. When everyone knew they had to introduce their name with an act, there was a little fret (such that the act should resemble their name or dumb charades, to be simpler). But when time passed by, everyone became very active and it was all smiles and laughter later on! It broke a few of the icebergs, i should say and ended up as a great way to remember name. Just even with the trek mode exhilarating on, we all managed to sleep for a couple of hours, until i heard scattered voices.

"Bro, let us stop".
"Ha, stop".
"Ha, we can't see such stars in the city".

And, me half asleep, just went "Ah! ". It was 2.00 am when we pulled over. The gaze to the clear sky filled with abundant stars was a treat for the eyes. I loved the chills the winds gave, at a 21 degree C, as stood in the middle of the highway!

How unrealistic are the stars?

Bhagamandala is where we are headed first to relax and refresh for the next day's trek. It is approximately 284 km from Bangalore via NH 48. It is a small place in Kodagu district (Coorg) in Karnataka, along the banks of River Cauvery. It takes around eight hours from Bangalore to reach there.

Just nearing to the next day sunshine, we arrived our homestay. We rested for a while, and the drizzle and the lush mountain sounds, woke us up. With a quick gulp of soft idly, and packing our lunch, we were all strapped to begin - tight trousers, double socks, hydrants and good grip shoes.You should see how we were soaked up with excitement, getting all geared up for the trek.

A picture take from our home stay.

Bhagamandala, Coorg

And, our trek leads like, "Avengers Assemble".

From Bhagamandala, we took a seven kilometre dirt road to Talacauvery, which is the base camp of the trek. For this trek, usually permits from the forest department in Bhagamandala is needed. From there, there is an approximate 7 kilometre uphill jeep ride to talacauvery. Here, you will be accompanied by 2 members of the forest department. One to lead us to the route and another to take care of the elephants (those were the exact words they said). You can start off the trek with them.

Few tips here, with this lil’ experience,
1. A good pair of trousers is important. I tried out myntra track pants and it worked out pretty well. Always make sure to wear pants that tighten up at your ankle.
2. You can put in a ankle/loafer sock and a knee sock tucking in your trousers.
3. Leeches are harmless. Sometimes let them be, take them to the summit with you. Flick with your fingers if you can. Trust me, i would a have flicked a hundred leeches :p

Nishani motte, definitely a great pick for a beginner's trekker. You do not necessarily be very fit to take it up. Just do a couple of stretches before you go. Sometimes, you can feel a little hinge in your thighs and legs, that should go with a good night sleep.

Initial pathway to the trek.

Walking along with the monsoon clouds.

Forest department guidance for the path.

Jungle walk, moist soil, undeniable pleasure of wind slapping your face, leeches clinging on - that worked out pretty well. It took us around 6 hours to complete it. It included stopping a couple of minutes for beautiful pictures, chilling in the summit, and also a good length of the time in the campsite in the middle of the mountains for lunch.

Nature at its best. A picture captured from the hills of nishani motte.

A perfect monsoon trek picture.

Misty tales of nishani motte.

A picture from the nishani motte summit.

Beauty of the mountain peaks of the Western Ghats.

  

Exploring mountains halfway.

The picture of a bug that we found on our way to the summit.

A picture of a leech on a fellow trekker.

This campsite is a little house amidst the mountains and we conquered it while getting down from the trek. You can use washrooms there, and there is a roof where you can sit and eat. If you go there, take some biscuits for a little doggie there, he will definitely greet you with warm love.

Camp site in the Nishani Motte hills

  

Campsite, Nishani Motte hills.

On our way back having some tea, we stopped to take a view at the Tiruveni Sangam. And if you do not know about it, well it's really mesmerizing what the nature creates. Triveni Sangam symbolises merger of three rivers, as tristands for three and veni stands for streams. This holy confluence brings Kaveri River, Kannike River and Sujyoti River together. Tourists usually come and visit this place not only to witness its scenic beauty but to take a holy dip in the waters of Triveni Sangama. During Tula Sankranti, thousands of devotees take a dip in Triveni Sangam and offer their prayers at Bagandeswara temple as per the age old ritual, before moving on to Talacauvery. The water of Triveni Sangama is believed to provide peace to the souls of the deceased ones.

Right after it, we hit the homestay back with a hot bath. I was expecting everyone to be a little tired, however the trek soothed the inner souls.

A little about Bagamandala. A scenarist beauty of Coorg, where your windows reveal mountains and bird chirpings. Isolated houses, quite neighbourhood. All of these, made us to take a walk while approaching the sunset.

A house braced with colour changing LEDs.

We started off walking in a random path. On the way we came across this house, which was glowing in different coloured lights. Red, blue, green, pink, and then back to red. With no street lights, our stroll was lightened up by fire flies for some time in our path. It was no lesser than magic! We almost crossed the border, and finished our journey's success with a nice hot tea and a bread omlet!

The next morning sounded like gushing, with heavy rains. I was expecting such a scene like that. We bid bye to our home stay. The next stop is the tala kaveri temple. It is about 8 km away from Bhagamandala, and it was such an unexpected, ravishing visit.

A view from the homestay

Talakaveri is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri. It is located on Brahmagiri hills near Bhagamandala in Coorg district, Karnataka. It is located close to the border with Kasaragod district of Kerala State.

When we reached there, the temple was covered in mist! Hands down, monsoon is the best time visiting there. It is also marked by a small temple, and the area is frequented by pilgrims mainly it is the worship place of kodavas. The river originates as a spring feeding this tank, which is considered to be a holy place to bathe on special days.

Look who greeted me! 

Image from the talakaveri temple.

Image from the talakaveri temple

    

Coins are offered into waters to make wishes come true.

On Cauvery changrandi day (the first day of Tula Masa month, according to the Hindu calendar, which normally falls in mid October) thousands of pilgrims from neighboring flock to the river's birthplace to witness the rise of the fountainhead, when water gushes up from the spring at a predetermined moment. The cauvery changrandi (Sacred bath in the Tula month) is observed across pilgrim towns in Kaveri's banks. Right after it, we headed to a famous golden tibetan temple.

Namdroling Monastery

They say when in Coorg never miss to see it. And, finally i see why! The divine scenery makes you visualise their culture. Even though a one sunny day visit is not enough for one to get soaked up into this, this shouldbe in your list when you reach karnataka. Namdring monastery The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery or Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. The monastery is home to a sangha community of over five thousand lamas. As i said being a popular tourist attraction, this place draws the attraction of large number of tourists every year. The major attraction of this place is the forty feet tall golden Buddha statues.

The walls of the temples and institutions are decorated with beautiful paintings depicting the characters from Tibetan Buddhist mythology.The Altar is decorated with various flowers, candles and incense sticks. This place really worth a visit. The serene atmosphere of the place take you to another world. There are so many shopping centres in and around this monastery where you will get traditional Tibetan items. I couldn't leave that place without an antique bell engraved with Dragons and some foreign language scripts.

Namdroling Monastery

The three golden statues, Namdroling Monastery.

Interior picture, Namdroling Monastery.

Serene view of the temple.

A beautiful painted wall inside the temple.

And, that's the story i wanted to share. If you know any beautiful places/treks, comment below and i will try visiting!

Until then,