Ethina Bhuja ('Ox's Back'): Easy Trek to the Crazy Western Ghats Summit View | Chapter 154 (Nov 12-14, 2017)

Place: Ethina Bhuja betta trek

Distance: 275kms x 2 = 550kms

Total Trek Distance (time): ~ 2kms. Route we took is from Nyanbhairaraveshara temple(1hour – ascend ;0.5h - descend)

Directions: Bangalore > Kunigal > Hassan > Sakleshpura > Hanbal > Ethina Bhuja

Krew: Deepak (Deefu) > Datta (Dattu) > Ashok (Momz)  > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Beat                                                                                     

Previous Visit: Horsley Hills

Budget: Rs 5500/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Alright, this was an amazing trek to conquer one of the most sort out peak of Western ghats as a mark of Deefu's birthday. As I was down with fever and cold we decided to experiment a little and go in car. From the Hanbal side the trek is pretty easy and can be covered in just 3-4 hours in total. The view from the summit of this hillock is just crazy – the entire western ghats!

Ethina Bhuja = Ox’s Back (Kannada)

INTRO & PLAN:

Acchooo, yeah that was my status. Bad, terribly bad and down with cold. A week had passed since Deefu’s birthday so we thought we could celebrate it in Western Ghats. So, the major peak of Western Ghats was planned – Ethina Bhuja. Also, finally after a lot of fluctuations I agreed to go in a car hehe. This trek from Nanya Bhaireshwara side can be planned as a one day trip in car easily, we had other plans in agenda so crashed for 3 days.

TIME: 22:00 (11/11/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30, still down with little cold had forgot to charge my camera. Damn, I thought, did a few push-ups & sit-ups and had a hot cup of coffee. Rode to Dattu’s place where the meeting was scheduled. Once Deefu and Momz arrived we left Bangalore.

TIME: 09:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Nelamangala  - Kunigal – Hassan – Sakleshpura – Hanbal - Homestay)

This was 250km drive pretty much straight forward and simple. As we left Dattu was in control of the wheels and Deefu and me sitting behind had other plans haha. After covering a good 75kms we pulled over for some yummy breakfast at our regular hotel.

TIME: 11:00

   

After some yummy breakfast, we pulled over next near Yadiyur to re-fill out stocks. After we left all hell broke loose. We put Contra theme song and started discussing on different levels of the game. Hahaha took us back to school days for sure. And with head floating around, next was Adventure island hahaha. After we crossed pass Hassan, we pulled over for a small break. Continuing further we reached Hanbal and with the directions clear in my head we proceeded to reach the home stay where Kushan was eagerly waiting for our arrival, it damn good to see an old friend.

TIME: 15:30

WOODS HERITAGE:

As Kushan welcomed us, I asked as o where Pintu (his super dog) was. He said it was resting as it was hit by a sickle and had picked up a brutal scar. Quickly we freshened up and began having a yummy lunch awaiting us. With no signal for next 3 days I packed both my phones into my bag.

Since it was a Sunday, most of the people had left and we had the entire home to ourselves, it felt freaking great. Still afloat, we made It down and relaxed outside for a while. Then we as soon as we saw the new badminton court oh yes, it was on. 

   

Enquiring about Ethina Bhuja we played on for another couple of hours. After which we decided to take our stuff and have a session in the middle of the plantations – the elephant route hoping to sight the mighty creature. As the sun began to fade for the day, it light the mountains afar with a reddish hue. Darkness descended quick and we went having round after round sitting on the rocks amidst the dark.

We returned to the homestay gliding along the plantations, looking out for elephants and then as we made it, we realised the camp fire was already lit and awaiting us. We got some more wood and sat around the camp fire having snacks and discussing about tomorrow’s plan. The session went on until 12AM and then we finally decided to crash.

TIME: 23:45

DAY 2 – The Reckoning Day!

PREPERATION:

No prizes for guessing who was up first. Yup, was up by 4AM, and went outside and sat immersing myself in the solitude and pouring. Went on and on until I finished a whole full bottle. Once everybody were up we began playing carom. Once we finished a yummy breakfast we awoke the lizard’s sprit within us and were all set for the trek. We drove till Nanya Bhaireshwara temple, parking the car at the temple were ready for the trek.

TIME: 10:30

ETHINA BHUJA TREK:

Alright, the trek was an easy one. It took us exactly 1 hour to reach the top inclusive of breaks. We ascended the hillock from the Nanya Bhareshwara temple side. So, like said earlier 3 days might not be required. The segments of the treks are as follows:

i)   Initial Stretch

ii)  Through the forest

iii)  Climb the ox back

So, those were the 3 strecthes, now try to keep up with me here,

i) Initial stretch

As we left the temple premises, the route was quite clear. And we began to move into the jungle

in quite jolly mood, making sure our ears were ticking. The jungle is known for elephant attacks

so better keep that ear ticking.

  

ii) Through the Forest:

After quite some distance, the muddy trail turned into pebble filled terrain. This made things tricky and slippery. We missed out a turn and actually got lost into the wilderness here but not for long. We were wading out way through chest level crops chopping off and clearing path using knives and sticks.

  

iii) Climb the ox’s back:

After pulling through the forest we had one hill to ascend (locals call it the 1^st hill) the peak was

not visible from this point. But knew 100% it was quite close and it was just over that 1^st hill. We fooled around, played along and once we finally completed the 1^st hill, the goal was clear in our sight. Pushing hard, we reached the final ascent. This was a muddy trail and was quite easy as well. But I’m sure in monsoons it would slippery and offer hell to climbers. Afte 15-20mins of pushing, we were on top. Wohoo!!

TIME: 11:30

TOP:

We were actually a little disappointed with the easiness of the trek. But the view the summit offered blowed us away. We could actually see the entire Western Ghats and it filled us up with Pride and Joy. Jennukallu &Deepadkallu could be seen afar. Staring right into our face was the mighty Amedikallu. We sat on a edge of the cliff and just took in the greenery amazing it was. We had a few chocolates and water and sat enjoying the view for some more time. After spending an hour on top we decided to head down.

TIME: 12:30

  

DESCENT:

The descent hardly took us 30mins. We were totally rejuvenated from the view atop the summit. It was time to dance and head down. And we pulled each other’s legs all along the way to make it back to the temple in 30mins.

TIME: 13:00

We visited the temple as a mark of respect to the place, we were offered fruits and water. After refreshing ourselves we decided to head back to the home stay and belt some good lunch.

   

HOMESTAY:

As we reached the home stay, a yummy lunch awaited us. We freshened up and started belting down some good good lunch. I came down with fever, the plan was to visit Aarekall gudda for a small trek. But I crashed in and had a deep sleep. Woke up by evening, by then Ashok and Deefu had gone for another round of session supplies. Dattu and me continued to play badminton. Once the sun began to go down, we put up a campfire and began. Pintu and all the other dogs were with us and we had a great time. Finishing the dinner we crashed pretty late as there was no pressure for the next day.

TIME: 01:00

  

DAY 3 – RIDE BACK

And the award for the early bird goes to? Yeah, was up again at 6:00, not bad, still feverish but ready to kick some ass. The left over 1 full was opened right in the morning and started carom. After a heavy yummy breakfast we thanked Kushan and bid farewell to the awesome Pintu hehe.

TIME:10:00

On the way back, we visited the Abbi falls for 5-10mins. And then it was a non-stop drive towards Sakleshpura and Hassan. On the way, Deefu made us listen to Donnu Donnu song from Maari (Tamil) and that was it. It was my first time hearing that song and , that was it :P. Next 3-4hours, it was the only song that was played until we reached Dattu’s place haha!. From here we thanked each other for making it and split to reach our respective homes.

TIME: 15:00

CONCLUSION:

“This was more of relaxed and fun filled chapter. Ethina Bhuja despite of the fierce reputation proved quite easy. Enjoyed all the three days and more importantly the might peak of the Western ghats was conquered with running nose hahahaha!   “

If you are planning to head out this side, drop me a mail or message so that I can hook you up with the same home stay.

Until next time, Cia \m/

PICASA ALBUM:

MAPS:

⬅️ 153. Horsley Hills 155. Marikanive Dam ➡️

Follow us on Insta
📸 Follow @theloapers_90

Jenukkalu & Deepadakallu: Conquering the Twin Peaks & 500km First-Batch Trek | Chapter 152 (Sept 8-10, 2017)

Place: Jengal & Digal betta trek

Distance: 250kms x 2 = 500kms

Total Trek Distance (time): 20-25kms (6-8hours. Ours came upto 5hours)

Directions: Bangalore > Kunigal > Hassan > Sakleshpura > Hanbal > Jenukkalu & Deepadakallu

Krew: Prashanth (Pach) > Sukesh (Banda Bro) > Nitya (Don) > Sujan (Suz)  > Karthik (Sp)

Bikes: Enfield > Pulsar (2)                                                             

Previous Visit: Nidagal Betta trek

Budget: Rs 5500/head

IN LESS THAN 50 WORDS:

Alright, this was an amazing trek to start things off in Western Ghats. Jenukallu and Digallu are known as the twin peaks of the western ghats and can be covered within a day. Crashing at a super duper homestay with good’ol friends made our 3 day trip a very memorable one. I’ve kept the article short and concise, so here goes nothing!

INTRO & PLAN:

With Nitya returning back to India after a year from Switzerland, it was only right to plan a re-union of our batch mates. Initially a 2 day trip to Horsley Hills was planned but since we couldn’t get rooms we decided to head out to the Western Ghats. Pach, Sukhi, Nitya & Suz were on the confirmed list. Monday (4^th Sep) we found a nice home stay, applied leave for Friday and froze the plan. We were little worried about the heavy rains that was shaking Bangalore.

TIME: 22:00 (7/9/2017)

ASSEMBLE & LEAVE:

Yeah I was up at 04:30,  peaked outside – no rains, whew!, did a few push ups & situps, had a cup of coffee and sat back listening to music for some time. Woke everybody up, and once the sky was clear we left our respective homes to assemble at the Hassan deviation from Tumkur road. Greeting each other, we took off from Nelamangala. 

TIME: 07:30

RIDE 1: (Bangalore – Nelamangala  - Kunigal – Hassan – Sakleshpura – Hanbal - Jengal)

This was 250kms ride mostly on highways. As we left Nelamangla, we cruised at a decent pace to pull over at a new hotel Annapoorna hotel at 8:30AM, right next to Golden Breeze for yummy breakfast. After which we rode pretty much on god mode to reach Hassan with 2 intermittent stops.

The Hassan-Sakleshpura road was a total nightmare to ride on as it was filled with potholes and rash buses. We cruised our way and rode past Sakleshpura at noon. Here we took a call to skip Manjarabad Fort and settled in for lunch at 13:00.

Post lunch, the search for homestay began. We reached Hanbal and the one by one, our phones began to lose signal. Using a BSNL phone, we called up the owner and asking for directions from locals we reached the awesome place. Oh yeah, we bought some juice on our way to the place :P

TIME: 15:00

    

JENNUKAL HOME STAY:

We arrived at the homestay and good thing no other visitors were present. We had the entire estate stay to ourselves. We freshened up and as we didn’t have any other plans we opened the bottles and crashed in the corridor outside embracing the cold that had begun to set in. Kushan who was appointed as our care taker became more of a friend among us and provided us with snacks on regular intervals.  The homestay is about 110years old and is located amidst thick plantations. With no phones for 3 days we knew we would have a wonderful time.

Evening we went down for a campfire, and continuing the session we spoke to Kushan about the Jenukkal trek. He said he had been atop once and many years back, so we requested him to tag along us with his dog Pintu. Kushan also told we could go for a small trek to Aarekallu gudda within the estate itself first thing tomorrow morning as a warm up. After a few more rounds we had dinner and crashed.

TIME: 23:45

   

DAY 2 – The Reckoning Day!

PREPERATION:

No prizes for guessing who was up first. Yup, was up by 4AM, and realised it was raining outside. As it continued to pour outside, I began pouring inside and went out and sat in peace. With others awake after 3hours we were set for Aarekallu trek.

The trek was a decent one that begins with an initial walk through the estate and then involves a rock climb beside a stream of water. This was quite challenging as the rock phase was slippery. Once on top we got a wonderful view of the Jenukallu peak and then I realised I was wrong in thinking that Jenukallu was a small hillock. The thing looked freaking huge and this only got my energies up and thoughts calm at the same time. We returned back to the homestay to find a few leech attacks, with a leech repellent arranged, we had an awesome breakfast and with the lizard’s spirit burning bright within us, we were all set to conquer the mighty peak.

TIME: 11:15

JENUKALLU BETTA TREK:

Alright, the trek proved to be a thrilling one. Non-tiring but intense and super. It took us all 2hours to reach the top of Jenukallu, “us” here includes the people and the 3 estate dogs hehe.  One of them was that short but long one, he looked the most innocent but damn funny.

As we left the estate, we tucked our pants into our socks applied the leech repellent and began the walk through the plantations. Slowly the plantations faded and we found ourselves getting into thicker forest. We could spot a few streams and had to cross them.  The forest came on us dense, and as wild boars and elephants resided in them we were cautious in every step we took and with dogs ahead checking the way, we did our parts to ensure we were an awesome team.

TIME: 12:15

   

The forest left us into an open grassland were got a clear glimpse of the peak. Mist shrouded peak looked wonderful but sent mighty chills down our spines. Then we began a steep ascent holding tight onto the grass, the air was so fresh, I think I was high. The steep ascent in the grasslands helped us cover good ground in terms of altitude. We could see a beautiful waterfalls afar, a breath-taking scene it was.

The trek continued through pleasant grasslands and finally ended up at the final ascent. Here we all sat down and relaxed. The view was simply exhilarating, the poor short dog came and sat beside me, when I tried to pull it near, the poor thing felt like an over-heated processor. Taking advantage of its height it sat amidst the dew holding grass to cool itself down. (if u ask me this was the funniest and best part of the trip hehe!)

As we began the final stretch, the misty winds began to cover the top as though welcoming us to the peak. It felt quite dangerous at this point of time. The path turned narrow and we proceeded calmly amidst the howling winds to reach the top of Jenukallu peak.

TIME: 13:00

TOP:

At the top, we sat down. It was a small footprint, there was a small nandi well buried into the earth. The dogs had little water at this point and we were surrounded with a blanket of mist and nothing was visible. The outline of Ethina Bhuja appeared for a few seconds before being swallowed up by the mighty fog. We realised it would be suicide if we stayed any longer at the place, we decided to venture to Deepadakallu from Jennukallu – peak to peak!

TIME: 13:30

JENUKALLU TO DEEPADAKALLU TREK:

This was descent trek, more of a walk, it took us 45mins from Jenukallu to Digallu. But to start things of we had to descend Jengal severely in terms of altitude to reach a flat land. This was insanely steep and the misty winds made it horror show. This part we executed with extreme caution and holding on tightly to the sturdy grass.

   

Once we reached the flat land, the mist began to disappear as though again saying tata to us hehe! The sun was up and the weather turned pleasant. The walk was a long one, our energies had begun the downward journey and we finally touched the Digal peak. The peak covered in mist began to fade with the sun’s rays fallin over it. It was the opposite welcoming hehe! We sat here for few minutes, had few chocolates. The dogs gave us startling looks wondering where all these bafoons were taking them haha. After sometime we decided to head back down as it was via a different route and was getting late.

TIME: 14:30

  

DESCENT:

The descent like said earlier was via a different route. This was a pleasing stretch. We kept looking back at Digallu and it looked amazing as we kept taking a step farther away from her. The view all around was lit with only one colour – green green green. And finally Ethina bhuja made her appearance afar. Promising her a visit in the coming months we marched on further.

Finally reaching flat lands we entered back into the forests and 3 dogs were running all around us, who were walking like zombies. We found a nice stream which had super cold and fresh water. We relaxed here for sometime and then proceeded as out tummies had begun to growl. After a long walk we finally made it back to the homestay and the owner welcomed us with a yummy lunch.

TIME: 16:15

HOMESTAY:

He told us that we were the first batch from his homestay after the re-opening in 2012 to climb the hillock. Even though we were tired, two horns shot up our head and we wore a proud wicked smile to embrace the compliment. After which, we went back and had a nice hot bath and slept for a while. Wait, hang on, I got up in like 30mins and began pouring again hehe.

Late evening it started raining making the weather ideal for a good long session. As everybody were tired, some crashed early, Kushan, Nitya & me sat outside until 11:30PM and decided to crash as well as day 3 would be hectic.

TIME: 00:15

  

DAY 3 – RIDE BACK

And the award for the early bird goes to? Yeah, was up again at 4:30, went on pouring and trying to awake others. Finally went outside and sat staring deep into the woods. It was a liberating experience. Finally when Kushan arrived at about 6AM, we sat and spoke for an hour or so, when others started waking up. We had a round of coffee, freshened up and went for the breakfast. Once done with breakfast we cleared the amounts and thanked Madan (owner) and Kushan (friend) for taking care of us like family and said tata unwillingly to this wonderful place.

TIME: 10:15

RIDE 2: (Jengal – Abbi Gundi falls – Sakleshpura – Hassan – Kunigal – Bangalore )

This was a decent ride back. We were only worried about getting caught in the ruthless rain that had shattered Bangalore for the past two days. As we left Jengal, we rode into Abbi gundi waterfalls for a short visit.

Once out of there, it was a no non-sense ride until Sakleshpura. Then on it was a damn tiring and irritating ride to Hassan considering the traffic and the road conditions. As we reached Hassan which happens to be Sujan’s hometown as well (remember the Shettihalli church!?)  we met his mom and then proceeded toward Bangalore.

  

The ride was in full flow, when our tummies began yelling at us. So we pulled over at Murali Military Hotel for some yummy lunch at 2PM. Then on the ride was paced well, but our bodies had begun to falter. As we approached Solur dark clouds came all over us and showered us with some light rain, nothing serious. We actually enjoyed the rain, but only worry was, if it intensified. But as we reached Nelamangala, the weather turned very pleasant and the sun was up. We all pulled over at the NICE road junction on Tumkur road. Nitya departed directly, we 4 took the NICE road and reached our homes respectively.

TIME: 17:00

CONCLUSION:

“This will be one of the most cherished chapters. It was a great re-union and loved the way we started the march into the Western Ghats. Twin towers captured! And not only the home stay and its location but the care takers were amazing. Loved every bit of the trip! \m/ “

If you are planning to head out this side, drop me a mail or message so that I can hook you up with the same home stay.
Website link: http://www.thewoodsheritage.com/
Mr.Madan: +91-9481668233

Until next time, Cia \m/

PICASA ALBUM:

MAPS:

⬅️ 151. Nidagal Betta trek 153. Horsley Hills ➡️

Follow us on Insta
📸 Follow @theloapers_90