Around Hassan

 We had a wedding to attend on 25th Aug 2013 in Hassan. Our initial plan was to leave early in the morning from Bangalore, go to Hassan, attend the wedding and return back. The schedule looked too tight, hence the plan was changed and was made into a weekend trip. Now the question was what to do on Saturday in Hassan. Some research on internet for places around Hassan gave me 2 interesting choices, Manjarabad Fort and Bucesvara temple, Koravangla . So the plan was finalized.

Manjarabad Fort: 

" Manjarabad Fort was constructed by Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore as a strategic defensive location. The fort served this use because it commands the approach to the plateau beyond Sakleshpur from the coast. Situated on a hillock, the fort is on one level, unlike other forts, which are multi-level.

Only source of water in the fort are cross-shaped pits with steps leading into them. The fort is located just outside Sakleshpur on National Highway (NH) 48. Work on the fort commenced in 1785, and ended in 1792. The star shaped fort was also used to store the ammunitions, during the reign of Tipu Sultan. Its strategic location enables soldiers in the fort to see the British army coming from Mangalore.
    

From the fort, tourists can get an aerial view of the Western Ghats. Out of the many chambers in the fort, some were used to house the horses. Certain chambers served the soldiers as kitchen and bathroom. A tunnel in the fort leads to Srirangapatna. Later, the tunnel was used to dump dead bodies. The fort has Islamic style of architecture and arched entrance-ways. The forts sits at an elevation of 3,240 ft above sea level. "

Day 1 ( 24/8/2013) : -

   We left Bangalore at 6:30 AM and reached Yashwanthpur fly over in no time as the roads were empty in the morning. We stopped at Shark food court for thatte idle on the way.

Driving direction to Manjarabad fort

  We crossed Hassan and by 9:30 AM. It was drizzling on the way and we drove carefully. We reached Hotel Mythri and stopped for a coffee. There is a shop next to Hotel Mythri where they sell dry fruits, honey, spices and handicrafts for affordable price. From here fort is 4 KMs away on Bangalore - Mangalore highway.

   Here you need to park your vehicle and take the pathway to reach the fort.  Fort is about 250 mts of walking with about 100 odd steps to climb.

Climb this to reach the fort

Entrance of the fort

Architecture inside the fort

It is said that this tunnel leads to Srirangapatna

Carpet of green grass was every where

Some wild flowers had grown on the fort wall

This looked like a water hole

Hideout of watch guards

It was scenic around

It was time for us to leave

  We left from Manjarabad fort at 1:45 PM. Stopped for lunch at hotel Mythri at Sakleshpur. And reached Hassan at around 2:45 PM. We had booked our hotel in Hassan, we checked in and took some rest. 
   At 4:30 PM we left hotel for Bucesvara temple in Koravangla. This temple is about 10 KMs from Hassan city. 

Route map to Bucesvara temple, Koravangla

   From Hassan city, reach Dairy Circle and continue on Arasikere road for about 5 KMs and take a right. You will find a railway crossing, cross the railway crossing and drive about 4 KMs to reach the temple. Arasikere highway was in bad condition, so this 10 KMs of drive took about 30 mins, we reached the temple at 5:00 PM. 

Bucesvara temple : 

   " The Bucesvara temple (also spelt Bucheshwara or Bucheshvara) is a simple yet elegant specimen of 12th century of Hoysala architecture. It is located in the village of Korvangla, 10 km from Hassan city, in Hassan district or Karnataka state, India.The temple was built in 1173 A.D. by a rich officer called Buci (or Buchiraja), to celebrate the coronation of Hoysala King Veera Ballala II.Nearby are two more temples that are in ruins. From the inscriptions on the premises, it is evident that these two temples had been commissioned by Buci's older brothers, Govinda and Naka. This temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

   By plan, the temple is a divikuta (two shrines) that face each other. These shrines are connected by a closed mantapa (hall) and an open mantapa. Consequently, one shrine appears much dimmer in lighting than the other. At the eastern end of the complex is a small shrine whose deity is the Bhairava, a form of the Hindu god Shiva.

   The western shrine facing the east, containing an image of Surya (the Sun god in Hinduism) has a staggered square plan (also called "cross in square", a square with three projections per side), its kalasa (decorative water-pot on top of the tower over the shrine,and Hoysala crest (warrior stabbing a lion) are intact, and the decorative features on the sikhara (tower over shrine) and the outer walls are "conventional" by Hoysala standards.

  The eastern shrine, which contains a linga (the universal symbol of the Hindu god Shiva) has a similar plan; a Sukhanasi (called "nose") which is a low protrusion of the tower over the shrine and is built over the vestibule which connects the vimana (cella) to the hall. However its main tower is missing and it is unclear if the tower was a part of the original plan or not. "

Bucesvara temple, Koravangla

Carvings on the wall

One of the shrines

They have a well maintained garden in the temple yard 

The Hoysala symbol

 

Interiors of the temple

  This temple is  a very small place at the end of the village. A priest comes int he morning and performs pooja and a caretaker takes care of the temple and garden who also is the guide who will explain the history of the place. Care taker informed us about the sorry state of the temple, they had some electricity issue which has been on going for a couple of months and they were waiting for authorities to fix it. He had to use a search light to show us the interiors of the temple. Hope the things have improved from there on now. We left the temple at 6:00 PM and reached the hotel at 6:30 PM.

Day 2 ( 25/8/2013) : -

   Attended the wedding , checked out of hotel and left Hassan at 2:30 PM. Reached home by 5:30 PM for a hot cup of coffee. 

Waah Waah Wayanad...

Wayanad :
    

     " Wayanad District in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. The region was known as Mayakshetra (Maya's land) in the earliest records. Mayakshetra evolved into Mayanad and finally to Wayanad. The Folk etymology of the word says it is a combination of Vayal (paddy field) and Naad (land), making it 'The Land of Paddy Fields'. There are many indigenous tribal in this area. It is set high on the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2100 m. It is the least populous district in Kerala.

  Wayanad district stands on the southern tip of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is the majestic rugged terrain of the Western Ghats, with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep valleys. Quite a large area of the district is covered by forest but the continued and indiscriminate exploitation of the natural resources point towards an imminent environmental crisis.it has huge amount of deciduous forest, dry along moist. Snuggled a midst the Western Ghats Mountains, Wayanad is one of the exquisite hill stations of Kerala. It is a revenue state due to foreign exchange of cash crops such as vanilla, tea, coffee, pepper, cardamom and many other condiments. Wayanad shelters endangered species as it has an amazing range of flora and fauna. "

    This was a much awaited trip for us for couple of reasons, first trip in our new car and we were going for a vacation after a year. We made our plannings preparations well in advance.  We booked accommodation in http://jungleretreatwayanad.com/index.htm  well in advance. We had booked their wild life package (26th Oct 2012 - 29th Oct 2012). 

Route map

  Day 1 (26-10-2012) :

     We woke up early at 4:15 AM and got ready by 5:45 AM. We were welcomed by deserted Mysore road and we had a smooth sail. we had our breakfast at Kamath Upahar and reached Hunsur by 9:30 AM. We had a grand welcome into Nagarhole national Park.

Welcoming us to Nagarhole National Park

   From here my wife took over the drivers seat helping me to concentrate on my camera. But unfortunately we could only find few deer on the way and nothing else.  We drove carefully respecting the rules of the jungle and avoiding the potholes on the road.

   Spotted deer

  We crossed Nagarhole and entered Kerala via Kutta. I took over the drivers seat again disappointed with the less than expected spotting we had in Nagarhole and reached Jungle Retreat at 12:30 PM. Had a nice lunch at 2:00 PM and took some rest till 4:00 PM. 

   Woke up in the evening and went to the watch tower in the resort's property and watched the sun go down.

Sunset at Wayanad

  Went for a night safari in the jeep along with another family and spotted some elephants, deer and a bison. 

Spotted this elephant in night safari

  When we returned from safari we had a new guest in the resort.

Frog in Jungle retreat

   We had a tasty dinner and went for sleep. A leisure day to start the vacation.

  Day 2 (27-10-2012) :

   Woke up at 6:00 AM and found the weather to be really cold. Went to the watch tower to try my luck.

Sun was rising in the horizon

  Mist was settling down

   Waking up early and walk to the watch tower was worth it as i spotted a wild boar in the next field.

Wild boar

  By this time sun was out, went back to the room where hot cup of coffee was waiting for me.

View of the resort from the watch tower

There is a pond next to the resort 

  After the coffee went for a walk around the resort property. Weather was still cold and over night mist had settled on all the plants around us.

 Our day's schedule was safari at Nagarhole, but because of High Court orders safari was suspended. So after our breakfast went for a walk near the resort on the road side.

There was this small shop near the resort

Wild flower 

Caterpillar hanging from the tree

A langoor was watching us from the tree top

   We walked for about couple of kilometers and turned and walked back. Once we reached the resort entrance decided to continue our walk in the opposite direction. We were warned to be bit careful as the other side we were about walk was frequented by wild life.  Walking was easy as weather was good and road side had enough shades from the big trees around. When we walked for about a kilometer we spotted a bison almost 100 mts away from us. It threatened to charge at us, we waited and watched it cross the road and walk into the forest on the other side.

Spotted bison during our walk

  We started our walk back as people working in the forest asked us not to go walking any further. We reached resort after a long walk. It was worth it and spotting the bison was a wonderful experience.

Someone had expressed their love on the tree

  We had a wonderful lunch and we were informed that safari in Nagarhole was opened to public. We got ready and went for the safari.

Our ride for all safaris

  When we reached Nagarhole officials informed that safari is yet to open as the road condition inside the National Park is damaged due to recent rains. We returned back disappointed.

    Went for a guided walk in the near by forest after returning from Nagarhole. Spotted some deer and wild boar during this evening walk.

A family of wild boar

Spotted the spotted deer

A colorful Cricket

Pug mark on the way

An interesting tree

Mobile Mitayi Shop

   When we returned from the walk, it was already dark, had a hot cup of coffee and rested for a while. Went for night safari again, but found nothing interesting. But the family which went next spotted a tiger near the same place where we spotted the bison during our morning walk. So those pug marks we saw in our evening walk must be of same cat.  Had hot kerala parata for dinner and retired to bed.

Found this dung beetle out side our room in the night

  Day 3 (28-10-2012) :

    We woke up at 6:30 AM. It was trekking day for us. As per the schedule we had 15 KM trekking to Pakshipathalam. It was going to be our first trekking experience, hence we were skeptical about how we would cope with it. Got ready had our breakfast and got into the jeep to reach the starting point. 

     We reached the forest office and payed the fees and met our guide for the day.

We found this huge spider out side the forest department office

   We started our trekking at 9:00 AM. We climbed slowly still with doubts about how the day would unfold and if we can make it. First couple of kilometers were inside dense forest and involved steep climb. We had a couple of leeches attack us, but we were quicker than them . Spotted them early enough and no harm was done.

We crossed few small streams on the way

We found him on his morning walk

       Once we finished our first leg of climb we reached the flatter terrain. From here the view of the surroundings were breath taking and had a cool breeze flowing. All the tiredness was gone in a flash.

Panoramic view of the surroundings

  From here next couple of kilometers was much easier to walk. We were out in the sun now with grasses replacing the tall trees. But we had cool breeze flowing across which made our trekking less tiresome.

Path ahead

    At the half way point there was a huge watch tower, i climbed it. Wind was so strong that the watch tower was swaying slightly. Once i climbed up, the view of the surrounding was breath taking. The link below will show the panoramic view from the watch tower.

Link for Panoramic View from the watch tower

Link for Video from watch tower

   

Watch tower

  Got down from the watch tower rather reluctantly and continued with trekking.  From here we had tall grasses around us and had to solely depend on guide to find the right direction.

Surrounded by tall grass

We crossed one more stream of water

Wild flowers on the way

Green grass and blue sky

One more Panoramic view from the grassland

   We reached Pakshipathalam at 1:00 PM after 4 hours of trekking. At the entrance there is Garudappa rock. I climbed this rock to soak in the nature's beauty.

Garudappa Rock

View from Garudappa Rock

  Climbed down from Garudappa Rock and continued our journey towards the bat cave. From here to bat cave is the most exhausting journey as it it literally rock climbing. 

Rocky bat cave @ Pakshipathalam 

Once inside the cave saw a lot of bats resting there. My wife waited outside as getting into the cave was too much of a physical strain for her.

Link for video of bat cave @ Pakshipathalam

  After coming out of the cave, we had our lunch which we had packed for us from the resort. We rested for a while and started our walk back at 2:45 PM.

Wild flower

Herd of Elephants grasing on the far hill

Plucked some amla and had it with water

   We walked back to the Thiruvanneli temple where our pickup jeep was waiting for us. Return walk took us 2 hours 45 mintues. Thanked our guide and came back to the resort at 6:00 PM. Dipped our legs in hot water and rested for a while. Had dinner and slept early. A wonderful trekking experience.

Day 4 (29-10-2012) :

   We woke up early at 5:00 AM. This was our last day of the vacation. Got ready and went for Tholpetty Safari at 6:30 AM.  As it was early morning we were hoping for better sighting. Our jeep was one of the first vehicles to enter the national park in the morning. But we could not spot anything other than few deer and peacock.

Information about Tholpetty safari

Sighting peacock during safari

  Reached the resort back after the safari, had our breakfast and packed our bag for the return journey. We took a different route this time. Route : Tholpetty - Sulthan Battery - Gundlupet - Malavalli - Kanakpura - Bangalore . This route is bit longer but you encounter hardly any traffic here and can avoid the weekend traffic on Mysore road. We also picked some fresh vegetables from the farmers after lunch near Gundlupet. We reached home at 6:00 PM with mixed feelings about the 4 days we had spent in Wayanad. Spotting the bison during our early morning walk and trek to Pakshipatham being the high point of  the tour and very less spotting of wild life during our safaris being the low point.

Review about Jungle Retreat:

  This is a wonderful place to relax. Being very close to nature it gives you "in the wild" feeling. In fact one of the family had trouble sleeping in the night because of all the noises  made by the monkeys on the roof. Food served was average and lacked variety. All in all price is a class above what you get there. 

Waah Waah Wayanad...