Dandeli

No matter how many times I go there, I never have enough of it. I had visited Dandeli region, where river Kali flows, three times in last 16 months. The place was enchanting enough to draw me again last week. And I know I will return there again many more times in the future.

My first visit to Dandeli was more of a sight seeing trip where we saw many beautiful places around the town. We stayed in the heart of Anshi National Park and Bison River Lodge on the bank of the river and drove around all the beautiful places. Next time was a river rafting trip on Kali(about which I shall write soon). The third time, we visited the dams and power stations built around Kali and also saw the nature at its beautiful best in the Monsoon. Like each of the earlier trips, this one was different too. It was a birding trip.

DAY ONE

We took the car to Dandeli this time. I think that was not necessary, but we did anyway. We happened to see some kind of a fox on the way during the drive. Since most of our travelling within Dandeli was taken care by our hosts – Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Dandeli, I really did not need my own vehicle. But I did get to use the car a bit when their naturalist offered to take me to a few birding places nearby. We reached on a Thursday afternoon, tired after the drive and freshened up after checking in.

Jungle Lodges and Resorts, Dandeli

The Jungle Lodges And Resorts at Dandeli

In the evening, we drove to Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary in search of some wildlife. The JLR naturalist Shashi, who is very knowledgeable of the flora and fauna, showed us a paradise flycatcher, nightjars, emerald dove and a few more birds. We did not see many animals but managed to see a few Bison and a couple of Malabar Giant Squirrels. The thick forests and undergrowth in Dandeli make it difficult to sight mammals through they are in good numbers.

Gold Mantled Chloropsis

A Gold Mantled Chloropsis Taking Off

Jungle Babbler

Pair of Jungle Babblers

At the end of the safari, we gave a visit to Shiroli peak to watch the sunset. Shiroli Peak is the tallest point in entire district of Uttara Kannada. It offers unhindered views of the peaks of the western ghats and the winter sun in the backdrop was very beautiful. We returned to the lodge soon after the sunset. After the tiring drive and the busy day, we had a quick dinner and retired to bed. They make a campfire at the lodge, which is attended by most of the visitors and there is quite a bit of noise during the night. But I was there to feel the nature, its quietness and the peace, so I stayed away from it during my stay.

THE NEXT MORNING

I am not sure if it is the chirping of the birds or my internal clock that woke me up. I got up early enough to feel the morning.

Kali River, dandeli

Kali River is hardly visible in the early morning fog

It was foggy outside. The cold in the air bit my skin mildly, just enough to keep me aware of it. Visibility was still good and I could see everything around me – the trees, the earth, the structures, all of them trying to hide under the fog without success. A couple of plum headed parakeets made loud noises declaring their presence, which was followed by the slow call of chloropsis. The human world was still asleep and it was a lonely and pleasant walk up to the river. I put aside my camera and seated myself just besides the water. It was flowing slowly and definitely, and you could feel the rhythm of the river. Few tadpoles were moving aimlessly and some insects walked on the water as easily as we walk on the earth. There was mist rising from the river in the early morning cold and it disappeared into the thick fog that crowded the air. A pair of hornbills were up at a distance and announced the arrival of the morning. The cold, yet nice water seemed to be inviting me for a swim and feel one with it, but the crocs in the water would not like me in there. A few egrets that woke up early in the morning were flying just above the water, looking for their breakfast. A grey wagtail flew in and walked around me for a while. A malabar giant squirrel came looking for its breakfast. All the time, the river kept flowing, ignoring all of it and inviting me into it with much greater force and inducing an irresistible temptation. The crocodiles were never seen but their thought still kept me away from the water. The Sun was nowhere to be seen and seemed to be playing a loosing battle with fog. The blare of horns from a motor vehicle at a distance kept reminding me of the civilized world I was surrounded with. More egrets flew past in search of morning breakfast. Few pompadour green pigeons decided to sleep a little more in the cold morning, and woke up late and started preening and removing the dew off their wings. The feel of the place, the silence, the river, everything occupied my heart and seemed to be blessing me and fill me with happiness.

Kali River

Kali River. The two circles are coracles turned upside down

With the arrival of more light, and a few more people, I came back and walked around looking for birds. A little later, hunger pangs forced me to head into the restaurant.

LATER IN THE DAY

I met Shashi after breakfast, who was keen to show me around and do some bird watching. Within a few minutes, we had seen a large number of birds and I had some photographs captured in my camera. We wandered around, spotting bar winged flycatcher shrikes, pompadour green pigeons, yellow browed bulbuls, pied hornbills, jungle babblers and many more birds. It seemed as if the birds just decided to drop by and say hello to us. After an hour or so, we drove out to some wooded area where I could photograph a beautiful coppersmith barbet. We moved on to a big lake that housed some water birds, where I sighted many birds that I had never seen before. Just as we were planning to head back, a lovely blue tailed bee-eater showed up, showed off itself and flew off after posing me for a few shots.

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar Pied Hornbills. They are pretty common in Dandeli, but I never managed to get a good image

Shashi knew well about the birds. He explained me why some birds stay in a flock of different species. He told me about the trees, the birds that love the berries from the trees and taught me some basics on the behavior of birds. I would never have got to see so many birds without his help.

We decided to do some sightseeing later in the day and headed to Syntheri Rocks(Citheri, Cinthery, Sintheri, Sinthery, spell it as you please!). Cinthery Rocks are a tall rock formation on the bank of Kalindi, a small river that eventually merges into Kali. It was a beautiful place in a valley where you have a small waterfall that falls into a deep rocky ravine. As our guide fed them we enjoyed watching the masheer(a kind of fish) in the deep water fighting to get their share of dough. We stayed there till dark and enjoyed its beauty.

Cintheri Rocks

Cinthery Rocks

Back in the resort, and after dinner, I retired quickly while the campfire continued like yesterday.

THE LAST DAY

I was addicted to the river by now. I returned to the river as I did yesterday. Most of the things were happening like clockwork. The egrets flew over the water and the grey wagtail gave a short visit. It was not very foggy today and visibility was much better. The Malabar Giant Squirrel did not show up. I spent less time at the bank and wandered around in search of birds.

We took a coracle after breakfast and travelled down the river. It gets shallow and wide a little downstream and gathers speed and cruises quickly. You get a glimpse of people living by the river – washing clothes, taking a bath or waving a friendly hello to us. A few egrets and cormorants occupy the small islands we encounter. A little ahead is a den of crocodiles where we spotted three of them. They were pretty small and were not pleased to see us and decided to hide themselves. The ride lasted for an hour and yet seemed short, as we longed for more.

Kali River, Dandeli

Coracle ride in the river

Our visit to Dandeli ended with the coracle ride. It seemed too short and I wish I could stay on. While I returned back unwillingly, I decided to come back soon which I hope to do very soon.

DANDELI INFORMATION
The number of places you can visit in Dandeli are plenty, so try and keep as much time as you can when you plan a visit. Dandeli is nearly 500km from Bangalore. It is also very close to Goa and Maharashtra and is hence visited by many people from Goa and Bombay.

To reach Dandeli from Bangalore, you can take direct ksrtc buses, but book in advance. But it is preferable to take your own vehicles since the distances are high and you can’t rely on public transport. To reach Dandeli, you can drive to Dharwad which is on NH4(via Tumkur) and then take a diversion to Dandeli. You can also choose an alternate route that goes via Shimoga, it is longer but is more pleasant and scenic. You can also deviate a bit and visit Jog falls on the way if you take this road. To take this route, take NH4 to Tumkur, turn left and reach Shimoga and then Sagar which are on NH206: Bangalore – Honnavar road. From Sagar, you have to go via the towns Siddapur, Sirsi and Yellapur to reach Dandeli. Jog falls is a short deviation between Sagar and Siddapur. Expect bad roads in the later part of this journey, but it takes you through forests and good landscapes unlike the Dharwad road.

ACCOMMODATION

There are a variety of places to stay at Dandeli. There are a couple of resorts costing Rs.1000+, a few tented accommodations from the forest department, and some budget hotels within the town. For tented forest accommodation at Kulagi and Anshi, contact forest department office in Dandeli. The resorts include the Jungle Lodges and Bison River Lodge. The only decent budget accommodation within the town is the State Lodge in front of ksrtc bus stand.

PLACES TO SEE

Here are some places to see in Dandeli. You can get directions for these easily after you reach Dandeli. But keep in mind that many places have restricted access and you will require appropriate permissions. Also keep in mind that each of these places could be anything like 15 to 30km from Dandeli in different directions!

Sykes Point: Named after the person who discovered this place. This is a vista point where river Kali flows throws a narrow valley. The vista point suddenly drops into the river, and hence offers amazing view of the river for a long distance. I can tell you without any doubt that this the best view of a river I have seen anywhere yet; and being here at the time of sunset is something I can die for. There is a power station just below Sykes point, which is operated by Karnataka Power Corporation(KPC). The sad thing is that they treat this as a high security zone and so you need permissions to get there. Permissions can be obtained at Ambika Nagar’s KPC security office. Sometimes they act tough, and last I heard they were not allowing people to go there owing to some non-existent security threat. Taking photographs is a strict no no!

Cavala Cave: I have not visited this place, but have heard from people that this is a nice cave with a shivalinga inside.

Anshi National Park, tented accommodations: Forest department has some tented accommodation for tourists inside Anshi National Park. You have to book at the forest department office in Dandeli and get a letter. Going directly and asking for rooms is a no no. If you are heading here, reach early enough before dark because they will have no stock of rations with them and will need to buy them only for you. An excellent place for birding, and the local care taker can take you around for some treks.

Kulagi village, tented accommodations: Tented acco from forest department again. Pretty much same as Anashi.

Shiroli Peak: This is the highest point in Uttara Kannada, the district where Dandeli is. Offers great vista of the peaks of the Sahyadri ranges and is not to be missed. Be there to watch the sunset. This is inside Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and you may need permissions from forest department. Check once you reach Dandeli.

Dams on Kali: The river has been dammed at several places including Nagajhari, Thattihalla, Ambika Nagar, Kadra and Kodasalli. None of these can be accessed by public unless you manage special permissions from KPC somehow. The area around Kodasalli dam is especially beautiful.

Cintheri rocks: A rock formation and a small waterfall. See the image with this post.

Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary: Again, you need permission from the forest department. The sanctuary is really big and is a great place for birding. It is difficult to sight mammals due to thick vegetation, but you might see a few Bisons and Malabar Giant Squirrels.

Adventure Sports: KaliO2, an affiliate of Jungle Lodges runs several adventure sports activities around the Sanctuary and the river. The most popular is rafting, which is really great experience. Other activities include canoeing, coracling, kayaking, bicycle rides in the jungles and trekking. Check with Jungle Lodges for more details.

Birding: The biodiversity you can see in Dandeli is amazing. The sanctuary even houses tigers but are rarely seen. The variety of birds you can see here is excellent. I spotter more than 50 species in a single day, despite being an amateur with birds. Dandeli is more known its hornbill population.

Ulavi Channabasappa Temple: A famous temple for those inclined. It is more known for the fair that I think is an annual event. A local fisherman told me that there are some excellent caves around this temple which are much more beautiful than Kavala caves. But they are not well known and you may have to search for them or have to make long walks.

With all this, I think I still haven’t covered about everything you can do in Dandeli. For example, there is a really big waterfall you can visit just after Anshi village. There is a lake around 10kms towards Ambika Nagar which is a good place for birding. There would be many more that I can’t recall or I just don’t know about. You could go swimming in the river, catch some fish or get eaten by a croc yourself(!) Its an exciting place where you can do many many things. Just go ahead, take your time and explore. And if you discover something interesting, do post it here in the comments so that the information gets shared with everyone.


Birding in Wayanad

+ Also see this post for more details about Wayanad.

I have done many kind of journeys, and you have read a good lot of them here – it could be a trek up some mountain, idling in a pleasant location or a sports trip. But this was the first time I was going away on a birding trip. And I was not sure what to expect. But I had with me a few people who were well versed with birds, because of whom the trip became a worthwhile one.

The idea of the trip was to just go someplace, see the colorful birds of the western ghats and try to learn about them. We chose to go to Wayanad district in Kerala. I had visited Wayanad earlier but this was the first birding trip. Three of us packed our bags and the bird books and started our drive on a cloudy afternoon. It was late in the evening when we reached Sultan Battery, and after checking in to the first hotel we could find, we just crashed for the day.

Wayanad
Landscape on the way to Edakkal

Next morning, we headed for Edakkal caves. It is a hill with rock formations with some carvings supposed to have been made a thousand years ago. The hill also offers some views of the landscape all around. But we were interested in none of it. It was just the birds that we were concerned. We were at Edakkal early – around 8 in the morning. It was the most successful day we had in the entire Kerala trip. We saw many rare birds that are very hard to see usually. The list included(not exhaustive) Asian Fairy Blue Birds, Paradise Flycatchers, Grey headed Mynahs, Black lored tit, Bar winged flycatcher shrike, lorikeets, gold fronted chloropsis, emerald dove, coucals, black birds, white cheeked barbets, scarlet minivets and many many more. We also did climb up the hill and had a look at the rock formations which bring in rest of the tourists. The rock formations are called caves, but I would not say cave would be the correct description for them. We spent most of the day at Edakal and returned to Sultan Battery, checked out from the hotel and headed towards Kalpetta where we stayed for the night.

Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike
A Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike at Edakal

The next morning, we headed to Phookot Lake. Phookot is a very beautiful naturally formed lake surrounded by thick evergreen tropical vegetation. Lilies and lotus in the lake add to the beauty of this serene lake, but a government boathouse and cafeteria for the tourists is a black mark on the pristine lake. We did see many birds here too, but it was no match to the diversity of Edakal caves. The list includes Little Cormorant, Grey Wagtail, Intermediate Egret, Malabar Grey Hornbill, a few ducks that we could not identify properly, black headed shrike, yellow browed bulbul and much more.

Yellow Browed Bulbul
Yellow Browed Bulbul at Phookot Lake

In the afternoon, we drove around randomly all around Wayanad hoping to see something good. We took a drive on Kozhikode highway, then turned toward Meenmutty waterfall. We did some birding on the way at Meppadi and saw pied cuckoo, chest nut headed bee eaters, lorikeet, golden oriole and many more birds. Meenmutty waterfall is around 30km from Kalpetta. It is not for the easy going traveller and requires descending down a very steep slope to have a look at the fall. The climb back can be exhausting, but the views of the valley below and the hills far away are worthwhile. The waterfall had plenty of water when we were there, but I am not sure how it is in the summer. Going to the fall requires some walking and it is better to plan it as a whole day trip. We also wanted to visit Chembra the same day and had our permissions ready, but time did not permit us.

Little Cormorant
Little Cormorant at Phookot

The third day we left Kalpetta and headed towards Tirunelli. Tirunelli is in the base of Brahmagiri hills and hosts thick evergreen vegetation. River Kalindi flows here, originating from Brahmagiri hills. Birding here was good too. The day’s sightings included Asian Paradise Flycatcher, forest wagtail, lorikeet, scarlet minivets, plum headed parakeets, lorikeets, etc. The town of Tirunelli is more known for a temple is hosts, but we were pretty tired after birding and skipped the temple. We drove to Coorg via Mananthavadi and checked in for the day at Gonikoppa.

Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove at Tithimathi

It was the last day of our birding that was slightly disappointing. It was our fault to start with – we started pretty late in the day. The day’s birding was planned at Tithimathi forest which is a buffer area for Nagarahole National Park(Also called Rajiv Gandhi National Park). We did not see many birds though it still was a nice walk. We spotted Pond Heron, Pied Wagtails, Golden Oriole, Small Green Bea Eater, Plum Headed Parakeet, Eurasian collared Dove and a few more common species.

After walking around the Tithimathi forest till afternoon, we headed further and returned to Bangalore on the same night. It was my first birding trip, and a successful and worthwhile one.

WAYANAD INFORMATON

Also see this post for more details about Wayanad.

Wayanad is a district in Northern Part of Kerala. It can be reached from Bangalore, Mysore or Cochin by land. Do note that there is no town by name Wayanad, and Kalpetta is the district headquarters. To reach Kalpetta from Bangalore, drive to Mysore and take the Ooty road from Mysore till Gundlupet. You need to turn right at Gundlupet and take the Kozhikode road to reach Kalpetta. Kalpetta offers some decent accommodation and is a good place to stay for visiting all the places in Wayanad. It is around 250km from Bangalore.

PLACES TO SEE

Some of the places to see in Wayanad include Edakkal caves(around 15km from Kalpetta), Phookot Lake(around 10km south of Kalpetta) and Meenmutty falls(around 25km). For those who are looking for a trek, Chembra peak is an ideal place. Read about hiking up Chembra in my earlier visit to Wayanad. Another place to trek is the Brahmagiri Peak and Pakshi Pathalam, both of which start from Tirunelli temple. There are a couple of wildlife sanctuaries in Wayanad – The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary. Once you reach Wayanad and settle down, information is easily available on all these places, so don’t worry much and just head there. Access to wildlife sanctuaries is with permission and you require jeeps to get inside. You can take your own vehicle or hire one at any of the towns – Kalpetta or Sultan Battery.


Categories: himalayas

In Search of Snow

It was a fascination that I always dreamed of. When I watched people playing in the snow, when I saw pictures of landscapes with a layer of snow, when someone compared soft snow to a sea of butter, I wanted to be there and experience it. It never snows where I live, and I had never seen snow until a few years back.

I did get to see snow a few years back, and my experiences and encounters with snow improved gradually. But my expectations remained high and the dream remained unfulfilled through this gradual experiences. My first experience with snow was a small glimpse of bits of snow from a distance. My last one was really the best.

It was in the late winters of 2002 near San Francisco Bay in California. It was a rainy day and I could hear the dripping of water almost all through the night. And when I woke up in the morning, there was a small tip of whiteness in the hills at a distance. I was thrilled to see it though it was many kilometers away. Later in the day, I pointed to a friend – “look at the snow”!! He replied back with complete disregard: “there’s hardly anything, I wouldn’t even bother to call it snow”. He went on to explain how much snow gets deposited on earth in the north during winters and bragged about his experiences. At that moment, I hated him. His speech left me feeling more unfulfilled than before.

But my moment of experiencing abundance of snow was not far away. Only a month later, I was on the plane taking me north – all the way to the Arctic Circle – into Alaska. Alaska is packed with snow everywhere even though it was summer when I was there. From the window of my hotel room in Anchorage City, I could see snow capped Chugach Mountains. I soon travelled into these mountains and took a train that took me through places covered with thick layers and layers of snow. I loved every bit of it. I saw plains that looked white as far as you could see. I saw mountains covered from bottom to top with snow and even glaciers, which were shedding their excess of snow. It was a treat to eye, and yet, I still felt something missing. I never got to touch clean and fresh snow even though I saw so much of it. And since I was there in summer, I never got to see a snowfall. The snow in the towns and cities was cleared away and whatever was piled nearby was too muddy to feel like snow. I still did not get to touch and feel the soft beautiful powdery snow.

Alaska

Alaska
Images from Alaska

It was the Himalayas at Sikkim next. Once again it was summer and I was not going to get everything I wanted. I saw the snowy peaks. I saw the mighty Kanchenjunga standing like a big wall of snow. But despite hiking for four days and climbing more than 10,000 feet there was no fresh snow in sight. Only at the end of my journey did I manage to touch some snow but it was the snow from previous winter and was more like hard ice. But at least this time, I got to touch it, unlike earlier.

Kanchenjunga
Kanchenjunga

I went to Sikkim again in October, when the winter is just about to set in. Once again, I hoped to see soft and powdery snow, and hopefully witness snowfall. Wherever I went, there was no snowfall yet and I had to feel good just to see snow capped mountains at a distance. But just before we were about to retreat, we decided to drive much higher and try our luck. And we did get a bit lucky this time. It started raining as we drove up. As we moved higher, to our joy and amusement, we could see occasional crystals falling on the windshield amidst the rain! It sure seemed fun. The small semi-solid crystals would fall on the windshield and spread like a star. We walked out into the drizzle and rejoiced on it. It was great fun. Yet, it was like a short preview of what I wanted to see. I still had not got what I was looking for – a proper snowfall and powdery layer of it on the earth.

Read more about Sikkim on paintedstork.com
* Gochela Trek
* Gangtok, Yumthang and Gurudongmar

After all this, I almost stopped having any expectations. Every experience of snow was joyful, but the longing in me always kept me from making these experiences complete. A corner of me was spent in anticipating more instead of experiencing what was in front of me. When I saw the glaciers, I wished to be walking on them. When I saw the snow capped mountains, I wished to be on the top of them. So the next time I headed up the Himalayas I went without much expectation. This time I was going there to ski, at Auli, and yet I was mentally ready for a situation where I would have to come back without skiing if there was no snow. As if thats how it would end up, Joshimath – the town head to go to the ski lodge had no traces of snow anywhere. But when I took the cable car to the ski resort I started seeing mounds of snow, which soon turned into an ocean of snow. Some branches of the trees had small piles of snow on them that indicated fresh snowfall. It was fun to see it all so close. When we reached the ski lodge, there was snow everywhere we could see. It was the first time I was walking on the snow. And I obviously loved it.

Auli

Auli

Slopes of Auli

It was so much fun – to walk on it, to learn to ski and even to fall. I could finally experience the soft powdery layers of snow and enjoy the feel of it. I had more coming on my way. Two days of skiing later, the sky turned cloudy on an afternoon and the least anticipated happened. There were flakes of snow falling from the sky! One after another, they would fall and land softly on my head and shoulders as softly as petals of flowers. I suddenly felt a rush of happiness, which slowly morphed into a peaceful and joyous mood. I swayed with the falling snow and let them land on my tongue; I stood still and watched as mother nature blessed us with her bounty. It was all that I could ask for. Skiing was suddenly secondary and I felt all my wish getting fulfilled. My search for snow was complete at that moment!

Also see more about Auli in paintedstork.com

Visit to Auli in 2005
* Images from Auli(plenty of snow)
* Trip report
Visit to Auli in 2006
* Images from Auli(little snow)
* A back-breaking journey: from Rishikesh to Auli
* First Day at Auli
* The days of Skiing
* Spending time in Auli
* Trekking and walking around
* About Auli