User talk:(WT-en) Bindaastrekkers

(WT-en) Bindaastrekkers 03:51, 20 February 2009 (EST) Trekking destinations "To feel falling on the lap of Nature find yourself at Rottilkallu" 

Rotti-kallu
Bilisare village, Sakleshpur Taluk Hassan district, Karnataka state INDIA Phone :Harsha 9986432225 / 9611322225

How to Reach From Bangalore:
Kms: 250 •	Take Bangalore -pune highway •	Take a left diversion to NH-48(Bangalore - Mangalore) @ Nelmanagala (1 hour from Bangalore) •	Continue in NH48 till Sakleshpur. (Via kunigal, Channarayapattana, Hassan) (220 Kms from Bangalore) •	3kms past Sakleshpur, take a right diversion from NH-48 @ anemahal towards Hanbal. •	Continue in the same road about 14 Kms to reach Hanbal (A small town) •	Take left diversion in Hanbal circle towards Devrundha •	Continue for 5kms. After crossing water streme take left turn (Magajhalli) (you can find our board on electric pole) come to dead end of that road for 6 Kms. Probably more than the beauty of the place we were going to visit what seemed to be more attractive for me(Yogesh) was the place of stay Harish Athrey had arranged in Rotti-Kallu. It was supposed to be a home stay in the midst of a huge estate though we all had our own apprehensions about how good it might be.

The very idea of staying in the midst of greenery gave rise to excitement. By the time we picked up everyone and hit the Bangalore- Hassan road it was 8PM in the night on Friday 24th, October 2008. We were traveling in a Tempo Traveler and the plan was to stop at Rudresh Home in Hassan and wait for 4 peoples coming from Mysore. We reached Hassan by 12.30 AM. Rajnikanth, Ajay, Shaibu and Vishal coming from Mysore joined us at 2.30AM at Hassan. We left Hassan at 3 AM and reached Saklespur at 4.30 AM.

The Resorts was around 25 KMS from the NH and road was pretty good. But last stretch of 3 KMS was bumpy and muddy with lot of pot holes. We reached the estate around 7.30 AM in the morning after traveling around 250 Kms from Bangalore.

Day 1:
The First glance of Rotti-kallu, created a homely environment. Our Accommodation was a Big Dormitory (with attached bath) portico and a huge front yard. By the time we played a couple rounds of Shuttle cock and Cricket, breakfast was ready! What else will make you happy than a idly/chutney/Chithranna /Tea breakfast!! We all proved our self that we live to eat.

We finished our breakfast and started playing Lagori....which was our best childhood game. Then we started playing Rugby ahhh!!! no words to say. Only with our under garments, fully drenched in soil, sand and water....was looking like a buffalo enjoying her bath in a clay pit......It was a totally different experience.

Then we started playing in the stream water for few minutes. Then we tried Tarzan swing, which reminded the thrills we were getting on the Columbus / Giant Wheel ride.

After Lunch We caught up the badly needed sleep for couple of hours. Just after sleep we were very happy to see a well lit camp fire adjacent to the Restaurant. Sat around the fire with Beer and Whisky cups and some chakkali/ Mixtures/Chips.

After a peg Mr.Vijay, the owner of Rottikallu started showing us few cards tricks which were amazing. Later Other Rottikallu staff like Harsha and Tilak also joined our party with few tricks and jokes. Harsha's trick with half filled whisky glass, was a shock to all of us. He managed to balance the glass on the table by slanting it 45˚.

After 3 or 4 pegs, Mr. Vijay took us to the Tree top house for last peg. What a good memory was that....holding a Whisky glass and sitting on a tree house...where you can here the sound of the stream passing nearby, feels like a person playing Ghazal and Jaltarang along with insects and birds sound.....Wow!!!! Dinner was ready and again it was a wonderful meal! Totally "To feel yourself falling on the lap of Nature find yourself at Rottilkallu"

Day 2 :
We got up early at 7 AM. The plan was to go for stream trekking with guide Tilak. After playing shuttle cock for an hour we had bath and finished the breakfast. We started trekking at 9.30 AM from Rottikallu. All of us were holding a stick for support and we trekked for an hour in the stream and then we started trekking on the man made trails. We trekked for 2 kms to reach the top, which was a beautiful view point. At this point we could see mountains called Saalugudda, Baalekolu, Haaluhola and kallugudda. It needs minimum 2 days time to trek all these places. From there it was only ½ km trekking to the Falls. This path was very wet and with lot of leeches. As per our Guide Mr. Tilak's instructions we moved very fast and did not stop any where until we reached the falls.

As we reached the falls we were shocked to see that lot of leeches had already climbed our legs. we had entered the leeches territory. We all removed our shoes and Tilak helped us to get rid of the leeches. He asked us to enter the falls because there will be less leeches near the falls. As usual leeches are very fond of Rajanikanth's blood and we could see him struggling to remove lot of leeches on his legs.

The leeches had diverted our attention from the falls for few minutes. Now when we looked at the beautiful falls, we were all happy. Soon in few minutes we were all under the falls. The falls was around 20 Ft and it was falling with a great force. We spent nearly an hour near the falls. Then we started trekking back to Rottikallu.

By the time we reached Rottikallu the time was 2 PM. So the total trek time was 4 Hrs. we were all hungry and again We all proved our self that we live to eat. After lunch we started playing cricket. It was 100 Rs betting match. Yogesh team(Yogesh, Lokesh, Harish, Sunil and Vishal) won the first match and Rajani's team(Rajanikanth, Shaibu, Dileep, Ajay and Harsha) won the second match.

The time was 4.30 PM and we were not in a mood to leave the place. Then we packed our luggages, had a cup of coffee and left to Bangalore. We had Dinner in Hassan and we reached Bangalore at around 12.20 PM.

'''

Yogesh P
''' Sr.Manager in Tulsiyaan Ideas Hobbies – Trekking, Adventuring, Photography and sharing my experiences in my website – www.bindaastrekkers.com

Waynad Trip and Meenmutty falls Trekking
We planned for 2 day trip to Waynad on 9th and 10th September 2006. Waynad, a district that is recognized all over for its hill-produce, is located much above sea level at the north Kerala's eastern frontier near the Sahya mountains. We planned for a 2 day trip to Waynad on 9th and 10th Sep 2006. The best place to stay is Kalpetta. 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 Waynad. It is around 250km from Bangalore. We left Bangalore at 6.30 PM on 8th September 2006 and reached Kalpetta at 3.30 AM on 9th September 2006. I had booked rooms at PPS Tourist home in Kalpetta for 13 of us. The accommodation was very cheap. We slept for few hours and we were all ready at 8 AM. We had breakfast at the restaurant attached to PPS Tourist Home. PPS Tourist Home, 220-920. 203431 ppstouristhome@sify.com www.ppstouristhome.com

Day 1: We first visited Pookat lake. There were a lot of Tourists when we reached the lake. This freshwater lake is one of the most popular tourist spots of North Kerala. A long walk along the path that goes all round the lake is indeed tremendously relaxing. For children, there is a lovely park. Just next to the lake there is a well-maintained aquarium and also a green house and nursery. Boating facilities are also available. We hired 4 Pedal boats for 30 minutes. Boating was an enchanting experience. Our next destination was Meenmutty Falls. After visiting Pookat Lake, We took a drive on Kozhikode highway, then turned toward Meenmutty waterfall. 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. The way to paradise is not easy. Same is the case with Meenmutty falls. It is around 3 kms from the Kozhikode highway. The first 1 Km path is muddy path and easy to walk. The remaining 2 kms is very steep and marshy. It is not suggested to trek in rainy season. But we, the Bindaas Trekkers planned to trek Meenmutty falls on 09-09-2006. We started our trek by around 3 pm after a nice lunch(time god without the coconut oil being used in the food). We applied lemon to our legs as a part of precaution against Leech; in spite of this some of us were still victims. The weather was quite encouraging when we started. Half way through the trekking there was a small stream. We stopped there to rest for a while and to click some snaps. We had almost completed the half way trekking, when it started raining. It was also getting darker because the path was very thick with tall trees. Sun rays were hardly reaching the floor. Now we stopped for a while and had a second thought of getting back. Many who turned back from MM Falls told us its very dangerous and steep. The rain started pouring very badly. In spite of all these difficulties, we managed to reach the falls by 4.30 PM and sight of the falls was worth taking risk. It was awesome. It was a big fall divided into 2 parts. We could not go very close to the falls because of the heavy rain. We were very happy with our decision to continue trekking in the rain. We spend some time near the falls and started trekking back. We were all completely wet and it was a great life time experience. Trekking back was also difficult and took us 1.30 Hrs to reach the Kozhikode Highway. We were back to the PPS Tourist Home at 7.30 PM. We were really very much tired and we caught up with a badly needed sleep for an hour and again gathered together in a room for boozing.

Day 2 :

Our second day’s plan was to visit Eddakal caves and Kuruva Island. We left the Hotel at 9.30 AM and reached the Eddakal caves at 10.30AM. It is located at a distance of 10 kilometers from Wayanad. To reach the caves we have to walk a distance of 2.5 KMS. 1 KM on road and another 1.5 KMS using steps. It took us 30 minutes to reach the cave. The Guide explained us about the place. He told us that the caves were formed out of three huge rocks, one resting on two of them thus, making a hollow space in between. The place was very cool. The Beauty of the nature was very scenic from the top and treat to eyes. The rock climbing using rope was a thrilling experience. It took us an hour to reach the place where we had parked the Tempo Tracks. It was around 2.30 PM. We then had lunch and moved towards Kuruva Island.

It is 40kms from Sulthan Bathery. This is a lovely island on the Kabini river. The relatively untouched island is slowly gaining popularity as tourist spot. The road is quite good and the last stretch of 4 KMS is very narrow. There were a lot of tea estates on the way. We reached the place at 4PM. We waited for the boat to cross the Kabini river. This boat can carry only 6-7 peoples at a time. So we divided our group into 2 and crossed the river. The island was a very quite place. We played some games there and spend sometime there. There was a small falls at 1 KM distance. We visited the falls and as it was getting darker we returned back soon, because the boat will not operate after 6PM. We crossed the river again and started traveling back to Bangalore.

Yogesh P Working as Sr. Manager in Tulsiyaan Hospitality Ideas Interested in Trekking. My website - www.bindaastrekkers.com