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Oh, grime, fumes and potholes of the city, we bid goodbye to you. The countryside is calling and away we go...

There is some sense of fulfilment when we tread the paths that few tourists take. Maybe it reaffirms the image that we have of ourselves as hardened travellers... This is one such journey.

The Jog Falls maybe the most popular tourist spot that we hit, but the rest of the countryside, the charming tea and coffee estates of Kudremukh and the poet Kuvempu's memorial were some of the real gems that we found in this journey.

We travelled through the windy roads of North Kerala to enter the coastal highway that would take us to the neighbouring state of Karnataka. We went for miles and miles in the blistering heat with only the thoughts of Kudremukh to keep us cool. We had to get to Udupi, a temple city and the centre of delicious eateries. The promise of good food lured us.

' The scenery on the way reminded me of the hill station Ratnagiri in Maharashtra with lolling hills, pastures and narrow roads rising and plummeting all throughout the journey 'Udupi is 60km from Mangalore city. It is known all over the world for its authentic Kannada food, so much so that majority of eateries in Karnataka are run by the people of Udupi. It is also an ancient temple city where it is said that Madhvacharya, the great guru who propounded the Dvaita* philososphy, lived 700 years ago. He established eight monasteries here to teach those principles to his disciples. These monasteries are situated around the Shri Krishna Temple in Udupi.

While wolfing down super soft idlis and crispy vadais with sambar and coconut chutney we set up a plan for heading to Jog Falls. To reach there we should travel 90 kms to Honnavar, and then take the Shimoga route. Honnavar was the naval capital of the Portuguese, the Vijayanagara Empire and Tipu Sultan.

The scenery on the way reminded me of the hill station Ratnagiri in Maharashtra with lolling hills, pastures and narrow roads rising and plummeting all throughout the journey. We found the route to the Jog Falls after about 60 kms. Crossing the bridge of River Sharavati we reached the falls. Sharavati was plunging down the steep hillsides in four silver strands of water. Raja, Rani, Rocket and Roarer were the quirky names given to these four waterfalls. They were not the gurgling and aggressive type of waterfalls that we had expected. With scanty rains and the fierce summer sun there was not much water to gush down as we would have wanted to. But the place was beautiful with the faint glimmer of a rainbow adding an air of mystery to the place. After a while the cruel sun started spewing fire but we persisted on spending some more time there.

For a stay here you can choose the Karnataka Tourism Department's guest house or tourist home. You can also opt for the Inception Bungalow, provided you get permission from the District Commissioner of Shimoga. The guest house of the Hydro Electric Project is another alternative that could be available.

In the present Karnataka state, Hampi is part of the Hospet taluk of Bellari district. It was almost dark when we reached the dusty roads of Hospet which can be called as the gateway to Hampi. To reach the heart of Hampi we would have to travel 13 km more.

On the way to Kudremukh, we stopped at a little town called Sagar to ask for directions. We were told to take the NH 13 that passed through the town of Thirthahalli. This leg of the trip was the best. It led us through the sleepy villages dotted with small houses here and there looking like giant mushrooms. We were surrounded by so much greenery that it was quite refreshing to the eye. Most of these villages bore uncanny resemblance to the villages in the Malabar region of Kerala. After a while we had a small inkling that we were going in the wrong direction and looked everywhere for road signs or milestones. Unfortunately all of the signboards were in the native language of the region, Kannada. When we asked the villagers for directions, they would start out in bits of broken English but always ended in Kannada confusing us to no end.

Cattle marched down the roads as if they owned it and little children treated the roads as part of their playground. The roads itself were not helping -- puddles and bumpy stretches made it really difficult to drive. But nothing could spoil our mood because the view made up for everything.

Kuppalli Venkadappa Puttappa, the poet more famously known as Kuvempu, is the one who makes the small village of Kuppalli famous. Kuvempu lived in this tiny village in Koppa till he died. This Jnanpith award winner's house is now converted into a museum in his name by a trust called The Kuvempu Prasthana. The quiet and unassuming three-storied house had a tiled roof and the beautifully manicured gardens lent it an air of dignified grace. The Kuppalli village which nestle cosily among the hills make this memorial more than just a museum.

The museum does not get hordes of visitors but those who come here are true admirers of Kuvempu and the house has become a Mecca for the followers of Kannada literature. It would have been a severe loss if we missed this place, a place deeply rooted in the culture and history of Karnataka.

The stones here are symbols of a past entwined with myths and history. They sit in their pensive silence despite having countless tales to narrate and mysteries to reveal. We bid goodbye to Hampi, the land of memories.

In the dark we lost our way again on way to Kudremukh and wandered around the city of Jaipura. We were supposed to take the straight road from Upper Koppa to Sringeri and from there to Kudremukh. But we wandered around a lot and it was at 8:30 at night when we finally reached there. Not booking a room in advance was a major blunder. We found that there was no room available in the iron ore company guest house of Kudremukh. So we had to take the small roads through the jungle in the pitch dark of the night to reach a small town called Kalasa. There we got a room in a tiny hotel. The room was small, but it was clean and tidy.

Kalasa can be described as a small heritage site with its neatly arranged rows of old Brahmin settlements on the banks of River Bhadra. It is one of the Panchakshetras and there are five pools here called the 'Panchatheertha'. In one of the pools we could see a smooth round rock, said to have been placed there by Guru Madhvacharya. On top of the rock a small figure of the Guru had been engraved. The main centre of worship here is the Kalaseshwara temple which is located on top of a small hill.

The next morning started off with a brisk journey back to Kudremukh. In the brightness of the day we saw the brooding dense forests that we passed the other night on the way to Kalasa. There was no sign of human presence anywhere in these parts and the evergreen forests crowded the narrow roads. The only signs of civilization there were the signboards placed along the roads which warned us of wild buffaloes, tigers, leopards, and deadly snakes.

Kudremukh lies at 6250 feet above sea level and it is said that you could see the Arabian Sea from the top of the peak. The mountain ranges have the second highest peak in southern India. This forest area is a paradise for adrenaline junkies. A 15 km trek would get you to the top, provided you walk for 8 - 10 hours uphill. But first you would have to earn permission from the Forest Department Office that is located in the Kudremukh town, near the police station. We didn't attempt the trek (it would have probably killed us!!). If you trek you can see Gangamoola in the Bhagavath Forest Reserve from where the rivers Tunga, Bhadra and Nethravathi originate. It is said that these three rivers start as small streams that begin from the caves of the Varaha Mountain.

The entry to the Kudremukh Wildlife Reserve is restricted. All the vehicles passing through the reserve will be given a free pass. The vehicle that does not go out of the reserve after a fixed time will have to pay a fine in tune with the extra time taken.

Most parts of Kudremukh are bare except for a small town that has cropped up next to the Iron Ore Company. The populated hillsides and valleys are surrounded mainly by coffee plantations. There are not many tea estates here. In spite of all the spectacular landscape, Kudremukh has still not become much of a tourist area, possibly due to the restrictions imposed by the Forest Department and the Iron Ore Company. But things can change in a few years.

We left Kudremukh by noon with Sringeri on our mind. It was 90 kms away from Chikmangalur. The Sharada Peetham and the monastery established by the great guru Sankaracharya is the main attraction of Sringeri. The golden idol that we saw at the Peetam was installed in the 14th century replacing the original sandalwood idol installed there by Sankaracharya. We also visited the Vidyasankara Temple built by the rulers of Vijayanagara in the 14th century. The temple combined the architectural features of Hoysala and Dravida styles.

Dharmasthala, one of those major pilgrimage centres in Karnataka where thousands arrive each year, was 110 kms away from Sringeri. It is a temple village on the banks of the River Netravathi, in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The place represents religious tolerance where everybody is welcome irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. Over 10000 people are given free food two times a day and a place to stay. Though the main deity of Dharmasthala was Lord Manjunatha(Shiva) we saw the religious practices of Shaivites, Jains and Vaishnois merged harmoniously there, in an unusual way.

Dharmasthala Temple Trust runs several charitable institutions from schools to medical colleges all over Karnataka. The trust owns acres of priceless property and is completely devoted to social work. It has made a lot of positive changes in the lives of people who are associated with it. The trust is headed by Veerendra Heggade who owns a fantastic vintage car collection. The vintage car museum was the one place we missed but we vowed to visit it the next time we come to Kudremukh.

And we were sure there will be a next time.

 

*Dvaita, or Mâdhva siddhânta, is the name for the doctrine of Vedanta that asserts the eternal and immutable difference between the individual soul or jiiva, and the Supreme Lord or Ishvara.

© travelbird