Hogenakkal Falls

A day trip through the wilderness on the border of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. The place where the brigand leader Veerappan reigned in the recent past. The land which is the setting for Kenneth Anderson’s tales. I am talking about a trip to Hogenakkal falls that we (Me, Nagesh, Niranj and Pratap) did in January 2011.

Journey

We set out early in the morning around 6 AM. After a hearty breakfast in Hosur we took the road to Thally. This quaint little village is referred to as the ‘Scotland of India’ due to its weather. Not sure if it is as cool in peak summer! Also another notable point about this place is the number of lakes in the vicinity supposedly. We managed to spot only two during our trip! Need to explore this place some day. We saw a Common Coot and some Rose-ringed Parakeets near the lake.

After spending some time here we took the Thally-Denkanikottai Road which would then lead us to Hogenakkal via Anchetty. This tree-lined stretch is awesome especially early in the morning. We managed to reach Denkanikottai only around 10.30 AM due to frequent stops that we did for taking pictures. Our bird sightings were a White-breasted Kingfisher and an Indian Roller.

The jungle which starts just after Denkanikottai is pretty dense. This district is supposed to be a haven for those who love nature and the wilderness. The wide variety of flora and fauna here are impressive. A dream trip would be to traverse Kenneth Anderson’s path. We were told that wildlife might be spotted here. There is a forest check-post on this stretch.

An unusual sight en-route was of the statues of policemen along-with the Guardian deities of the village. A good blend of the modern day world and the ancient beliefs!

Due to road blocks along the last stretch caused by road repairs we managed to reach Hogenakkal only around 12.30 PM. We had chosen a Sunday of all days to come here. The place was crowded and slightly chaotic. Not sure if this is the case even during weekdays. There are many small hotels which offer meals but nearly all are non-vegetarian. We found one tiny shack serving vegetarian meals and after having a hearty lunch there we set out to view the falls.

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Hogenakkal literally translates to Smoking Rocks. This falls is sometimes referred to as the ‘Indian Niagara’ and is on the border of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. It is famous for the boat rides, oil massages and fried fish which is sold on the streets on the way to the falls. The recent addition to fame is due to the Hindi movie Raavan being shot in picturesque spots in the vicinity.

We were a tad too late in arriving. Many coracles could be seen along the path that led to the falls. It was approaching 2 PM and the boatman told us that a trip to see everything would take us at-least 2 hours. We didn’t want to do this as it would be too late to return and we wanted to avoid driving after dark. We negotiated for a coracle ride to some nearby points from where we could get good views.

The coracle ride was fun and we had a great time. Lot of people were taking dips in the water. The boatman dropped us on the bank opposite the point from where we started. He asked us to go to the view point. On climbing the watch tower we could see some sections of the waterfall. The setting was truly majestic! The coracles and people looked so tiny against the towering backdrop of the cliffs. Some people had set up coracle shops and were selling snacks and soft drinks. We got some memorable pictures and started on our way back to the coracle.

We were back in the car by 3 PM and the return journey proved to be smooth. A lovely sight along the way was a lush marigold field.

Kabini

This post is about a place where we started our wildlife journeys. Our first experience with Jungle Lodges (JLR)!  The Kabini River Lodge is their signature resort and has been rated by Tattler as one of the top five wildlife resorts of the world!! This one is on Kabini, a place where I can go again and again!  I had always heard of this place from my grand-aunt (Shanthi bapama that is you if you didn’t realize!) who loves this place so much that she always keeps going back here whenever she gets a chance. I used to wonder why this was the case.  My visit there changed my notion about this place. Believe me, its serene! You cannot wish for a better location to stay than JLR. This resort was the hunting lodge of the erstwhile Wodeyars (Kings of Mysore state). Situated about 90 kms from Mysore, this is an ideal getaway for all people who love nature. We stayed here for 3 days and 2 nights and had a very good time.

Alert – this is a LONG post with LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of images.

Tip – Please hold or hover the mouse pointer over any image to figure out what the image is about. Especially helpful to identify the various birds and animals I mention about and then later down the line have posted a pic of.

Map

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Day – 1

We started our journey from Mysore at around 10 in the morning and reached JLR, Kabini at around 12.30 in the afternoon. We had booked a tented cottage in JLR. The tent was lovely. The chirping of birds in the trees outside our cottage was very pleasant and a welcome change from the humdrum of city life. After having a sumptuous lunch at Gol Ghar (the dining area of JLR resort) we took a small nap and were ready by 3.30 for our first safari to the Nagarahole Wildlife Sanctuary of the trip. We went past the village near the resort which offered us a peek into the rural life.  The surrounding was very scenic. The naturalist accompanying us was very knowledgeable about the fauna found here.

What we spotted

• Peacock
• Langurs
• Sambar deer
• Jungle fowl
• Elephant (This was a lonely juvenile tusker)
• Serpent Eagle
• Black Ibis
• Streak Throated Woodpecker
• Crocodile (This one was basking in the sun with its jaws wide open…What a sight!)
• Indian Gaur (Commonly referred to as Bison mistakenly as explained by the Naturalist)

We came back to the resort around 6 in the evening to see the riot of colors in the sky after sunset. After resting in the room for a while, we went to watch a documentary on Dhole (Wild dogs) being aired in the resort.

Day-2

We were woken up by 6 in the morning by the resort staff for a cup of coffee/tea accompanied by biscuits. We had to get ready by 6.30 for the morning safari. We were to go to the boat safari this time. The reservoir looked so serene early in the morning and the play of light was breathtaking.

What we spotted

• Wild boar
• Musk deer
• Barking deer
• Cormorant
• River Tern
• Wire tailed Swallow
• Osprey ( What a majestic bird!)
• Grey Heron
• Painted Stork
• Common Hoopoe ( The state bird of Punjab. This beautiful bird has been used in the plot of Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of stories :) )

After the safari, we had a hearty breakfast and followed it up with a nature walk around the resort with the naturalist. He was very enthusiastic in showing us various birds as he understood that was what we were after :)

At one end of the resort there is a small shrine surrounded by a huge fruit tree. This is the abode of plenty of birds. Bird lovers can easily spend hours under this tree listening to the chirping of various birds :)

What we spotted

• Golden Oriole
• Female Asian Koel
• Greater Flameback Woodpecker
• Drongo
• Many butterflies
• Wasp nest
• Purple Sunbirds

After lunch, we went on the boat safari again late in the afternoon.

What we spotted

• Common kingfisher
• Snake bird
• Herd of Elephants (Finally!!!)
• Pond Heron
• Peregrine Falcon

On our way back to the resort, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset amidst the backwaters of Kabini! The sights were lovely with the sky displaying a riot of colors. We watched a documentary about wildlife in western ghats in the resort followed by a lovely dinner.

Day 3

This was our last day in the resort. We woke up early in the morning to go for the jeep safari. We went on the boat for a while. Did a wild goose chase in vain to watch a pack of Wild dogs which had been spotted by people in another safari jeep that passed by where we were.

What we spotted

• Black-rumped flameback woodpecker
• Oriental Magpie Robin
• Wild Mongoose
• Malabar Squirrel
• Rufous Shrike

The Resort

The Jungle Lodges resort at Kabini used to be the hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore. The resort is also, understandably, the marquee resort for Jungle Lodges and as mentioned above has been rated by Tattler as one of the top five wildlife resorts of the world!! Which really is extremely justified from what we could see in our brief stay there.

• Accommodation – we stayed in the “Tented cottage”. As is visible from the below pic, a tented cottage is a very well built hunting tent suitable for a king! :)
• The resort itself is a large property and the main building is a regal period bungalow which I am sure many a Maharaja has graced!
• The service in the resort was impeccable and we have no complaints whatsoever on this front. The Jungle Lodges staff was extremely helpful! Special mention to the lovely naturalist who accompanied us on Day 2.
• The safaris and activities at Jungle Lodges happen based on a preset timetable which is made known to one when one checks in. It is reasonably packed but still leaves one with enough time to oneself to enjoy the resort and its surrounds. Naturally, given such a schedule, the folks at Jungle Lodges expect the residents to maintain time. Unfortunately there are enough people who turn up here and don’t necessarily maintain this. Despite this, the folks at Jungle Lodges go a long distance in keeping even such customers happy. May be that does work like a double edged sword sometimes…

The big cats had eluded us all throughout this trip. Anyway the birds had made up for all the disappointments. With heavy hearts and lovely memories tucked away, we set forth back to Mysore at around 11 which is the checkout time at all the JLR resorts. This was the beginning of our wildlife experience. Since then we have been to two other JLR resorts which have been great experiences for us. I will be writing about them soon.

Krishnagiri

This post is on one of the first weekend trips that we did way back in September 2007. It was a Sunday morning and we were feeling restless at home. We wanted to go on a long drive. I used to follow a blog on travels around Bangalore by Alemaari. We decided to browse through the blog to see if we could figure out some place to go. Krishnagiri dam on the outskirts of the Krishnagiri town which is around 90 kms from Bangalore sounded a good proposition since the highway past Karnataka border was supposed to be great for a long drive. The blog had good amount of details about the place and the route.

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Journey

We started from home at around 2 PM after having lunch. Once we crossed the Tamilnadu border, the road changed for the better. [By the way, the roads from Bangalore on the Karnataka side of the border have since improved very much :) You do need to note that this trip of ours was well over 3 years back.] Lush green fields could be seen on both sides of the road. We saw a fort of Tipu Sultan at Shoolagiri perched on a hillock.

The Dam

This dam is built across the Thenpennai river and the views of the hills in the distance from the dam are fabulous. There are lush green gardens on one side of the dam. You need to walk for about a kilometer from the entrance gate to reach the dam. The trees on the hill opposite the dam were all shaped liked the flat umbrellas. Maybe its a characteristic common to those trees/region itself. We spent around 1 hour here and were on our way back as we had to reach home early and avoid peak traffic time.

Karanji Kere, Mysore

My second post is about a serene place, tucked away in a corner of my hometown Mysore. Mysore is famously known as the “Royal City”. The Wodeyar dynasty ruled Mysore for nearly six centuries and their grandeur is still reminiscent in the city of Mysore. However, the grandeur of Mysore and all the other blah blah about Mysore you will find at many a place on the internet. Let me leave that out and talk about the serene place I promised you. The place I have in mind is Karanji Kere.

The lake

Karanji Kere – is the name of this beautiful lake in Kannada, the local language of Mysore and literally translates to “Fountain Lake” in English. It is located near the Mysore Zoo. This lake is pretty huge and has boating facilities.

The birds of the lake

This place is a treat for bird watchers and one gets to see many aquatic birds as well as other kind of birds. Many migratory birds like pelicans and painted storks haunt this place in the “season”, which is typically from October to May/June.

India’s largest aviary

A relatively unknown fact about the Karanji Kere is that it houses India’s largest aviary! This aviary in addition to housing some rare species of birds, also has a few lovely rabbits :)

Bird watching tower

The path around the lake makes a good walkway. There is a bird watching tower from where one can see the entire lake and its serene surroundings. The below snap taken from the bird watching tower gives you an idea. You might also like to know that this snap has found its way onto the wikipedia :)

The central island is the place where the migratory birds roost.

Butterfly Park!

The plants around the lake are well maintained adding beauty to the lake. At the end of the lake premises, there is a small island dedicated to the beautiful butterflies called the Butterrfly Park. This island can be reached via a small bridge.

Behind the lake premises is the Regional Museum of Natural History which is till in my to be visited places list :)

And yes, just for those of you who are taken in by the snaps above and want to see more, a whole lot of snaps from Karanji Kere is here on Nagesh’s Flickr stream :)

Map

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