On the 15th of June (one day before my birthday) we left for this trek with Pratap Sikdar of BASC. This was supposed to be a preparatory trek for the Himalayan trip during which we could finally meet everyone and get to know the team before going for the big one.
The plan was to visit the Basavana Baayi and the Belligundi Water falls.
It was planned to be an easy trek so that we could all simply relax and enjoy the beauty around us..
The first day was more like a walk in the countryside.
It was drizzling throughout the trek and the walk through the villages and the surrounding woods was very relaxing and refreshing. Especially after the hustle and bustle of Bangalore and the uncomfortable night spent travelling in the tempo.
The day’s trek culminated in a dip in this beautiful and discreet falls.
The final stretch before the falls was riddled with big slippery boulders covered with slimy algae. I had an exciting time negotiating them.
Trekking in the western ghats in the monsoons is a very unique experience. There are so many nice and not-so-nice things about it that make it a such a unique experience.
We reached the home where we were supposed to halt for the night by around 1 in the afternoon. From then on it was relaxing, eating food, reclining on the verandah and reading for me.
On day 2 we went deeper into the forest and the trek ended with us witnessing the Belligundi water falls. This trek was through really thick forests and the final stretch was simply amazing.
Unfortunately, the whole area was saturated with mist and water droplets from the raging falls and my camera was completely fogged up. So, couldn’t manage to get any pics.
I had a wonderful time there. After returning we again had a meal at another home. This was followed by a dessert of jack-fruit that was freshly plucked for us.
The countryside was so charming, the food so tasty and the weather so pleasant that I felt it harder than usual to say goodbye to the place.
Both days were very easy and overall it was meant to be a very relaxing trek suited for allowing everyone to spend some time together and have some fun. Which is why I am not writing a very detailed log. I merely wanted to record the feeling of having experienced the rich tropical bliss of the western ghats that all of us had when we left the place for Bangalore. Hope the pics were able to capture that feeling…
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