April 01 7:30 am; 8 guys in a Qualis were speeding along the newly spruced up
Kanakapura road running away from the chaos and fury to the peace and serenity just
100 kms away from Bangalore. It all started with my usual plan to go for a trip/trek
Whenever I descend in Blore from Hyd and a bunch of mails among the ever enthusiastic
buddies back home and a bit of help (Actually lot) from
MysteryTrails.
After a quick idly,vada,kesari bath,set dosa,plain dosa,khara
bath and coffee at a
darshini in Kanakapura and blazing music all the way from viji and jaggu's w550i, we
reached Mutathi via Sathanur at around 10 am and the sun was already up and burning.
Well it was April 01 and someone had to be fooled that day and this time the
opportunity was taken by the forest official at Mutathi range forest office who was
supposed to give the info of our trek and booking to the locals., And the victim, well
no prices for guessing that, Jaggu of course who booked with the official. There was
no sign of the forest official or any info with the local authorities about our
arrival. After some discussions and confusions all was set and we had a planned and
busy day ahead. Our guide Mr. Faiz led us to from a small hillock which was pretty
steep from the back of the village, the first 45 minutes were pretty grueling under
the hot sun but the terrain flattened for the rest of the journey. There were breaks
in-between for drinks, snacks, injuries and also discussions about how jaggu bought 12
packets of buttermilk. While Ajay said it came free with jaggu's new phone the 550i,
it was Balgi who won the argument that the phone infact came free with the 12 packets.
We reached Bheemes
hwari - Cauvery fishing camp owned by Jungle lodges at around 1:30 pm after walking thru dried lakes, water holes and thorny pathways. We gained access to the camp thanks to our guide Faiz. It was a beautiful place calm and peaceful where one could clearly hear the sounds of bird chirping or the water flowing; a welcome break from cell phone ring tones and vehicle honks. We settled down on the banks of Cauvery after a 7.5 kms walk. It felt like heaven with the river in front of us flowing among the sharp and exposed rocks. The place is supposed to be famous for Masheer fishing and river rafting both of which were prohibited for us due to lack of water. Food arrived shortly from Mutathi which our driver Ramu delivered on time; we ate chapatti, rice, sambar, and curd on leaf plates surrounded by monkeys waiting to pounce on us. While some people wanted to rest, some wanted to go into the water, me and Rohit decided to explore the place a bit. We walked thru the camp and saw how untouched the place was even though there were families and couples enjoying.
Before we left the camp we caught up with some Elephants whi
ch are used for the rides inside the forest. There was one getting a massage and a scrub from its mahout while the other three including a small one were giving themselves a sand bath. We trekked back along the banks of the river for the rest of the journey back to Mutathi and it was an awesome experience, with greenery and water everywhere. This time we had to walk along the banks, on the road and even villages to get back and it was great fun. We reached the base and quenched ourselves with whatever was available. We left Mutathi at around 6:30 pm after a tiring and exciting and satisfying day promising to return back to the place.
Details of the trek -
Route - Bangalore - Kanakapura - Sathanur - Mutathi
Tariff - Rs 100/head, Guide - Rs 300
Food - Has to be ordered beforehand at Mutathi Rs 30/head
Reservation and details - http://www.mysterytrails.com/BheemeshwariToChellurehill.htm
