The Wandering Soul's Wander Tales..

A Wild Monsoon Outing & My First Tiger Sighting - K Gudi Jungle Lodges at BR Hills

Last week I spent 3 days in the dense forests of Biligiri Rangaswamy Hills in Karnataka along with fellow travel blogger Anita Bora, on invitation from Jungle Lodges. BR Hills is where the Eastern Ghats meet Western Ghats and you can see the landscape change quickly from one side to the other. This little known Wildlife Sanctuary also happens to be a Tiger Reserve with 44 Tigers, 75 Leopards and 600 Elephants! Ever since my visit to Kanha & Bandhavgarh last year and Dandeli earlier this year, I have been slowly growing fond of wildlife and jungle safaris. This trip sealed the deal with the beautifully green, rain-soaked forests and my first ever Tiger sighting in the wild!

Did you know? Unlike other National Parks in the country, Wildlife Sanctuaries in Karnataka do not close down during monsoons. Meaning, you get a chance to witness the beauty of the forests in full monsoon glory!

The generous monsoons have turned the forests of BR Hills into a magical green paradise! We went on the safaris with constant drizzle and heavy downpour for company. It was so cold in the open jeeps that I caught cold right away but it was totally worth it.

KGudi Jungle Lodges, Monsoons in BR Hills

Our first sighting was handsome Changeable Hawk Eagle. I am usually not that fond of birds but look at the beauty of this majestic bird!

One afternoon, we went to the centuries old Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple on the hill top. We walked up the stairs and I walked around the temple to find this breathtaking view of what looks like Eastern Ghats to me.

If you go towards West, this is the kind of forest you encounter which is very typical of Western Ghats. The forest was green beyond imagination, drenched in fresh rain and full of misty views.

Look who's behind the bushes! My first Tiger sighting in the wild, it was as exciting as I had always imagined. The sighting lasted less than 5 seconds but we could hear the pair moving around us and grunting loudly for more than 10 minutes. It is extremely difficult to sight tigers in the monsoons and even more difficult to sight them in BR Hills with its dense forest. But I guess, my time had finally come to witness the magnificence of this creature.

All the ponds inside the forest was full and brimming. We saw Stripe Necked Mongoose next to one pond, several deers and sambars next to others. It was so nice to see the forest lush and thriving!

We went on a total of 4 safaris - in the morning and in the evening. We saw many birds, Indian Gaur, Wild Boars, Barking Deers, Serpent Eagles, Jungle Owlet, Wild Mynas and many more birds whose names I do not know. For such a dense forest, it was surprisingly easy to spot wildlife. Loved all the safaris.

Stunning view of the dense, layered and forest-covered mountain slopes from the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple. Dark clouds moved swiftly across the sky pouring down like crazy one moment and disappearing the next. Being in the Western Ghats in monsoons is an unparalleled experience!

A Crested Serpent Eagle gracefully sitting on top of a dried up tree. It sat there quietly as we drove towards it. It was very curious and from what I could make out of its head movements, it was checking us out too!

A nightjar, which apparently is quite rare to see in the daytime this being a nocturnal bird, stopped us in our tracks as you can see. This particular safari was even more enjoyable as we were in company of avid birders and a knowledgeable Naturalist.

A Barking Deer wondering when is the right time to run away into the bushes to escape the incessant clicking noises! Shortly after we, the photographers, started clicking, it ran back into the dense forest.

Where to Stay? - KGudi Jungle Lodges at BR Hills

This camp is one of the very few resorts in India which is located inside a wildlife sanctuary and offers a truly wild experience. Since it is located inside the forest, there is no power supply. Generator is used for electricity needs through the day only for few hours and it is shut down strictly by 10PM leaving the camp in absolute darkness. There are no fences to keep the wildlife out and wild animals freely walk into camp after dark and many times during the day as well. There are 8 well appointed tented cottages and 3 wonderful log huts(stayed in one of these). The camp overlooks densely forested hills and is surrounded by tall trees that sway like mad on windy days. There is absolutely no noise pollution apart from the sound of screeching insects and wild winds.

Location - 86km from Mysore and 225km from Bangalore

Reservations and Details here - http://www.junglelodges.com/k.gudi-wilderness-camp

The comfortable Log Hut we stayed at. (Left) The interiors of the Log Hut - 3 beds, attached Bathroom, and a beautiful balcony to see the mist rolling on the hills opposite to the hut. (Right)

So this was my first monsoon foray in this season and I couldn't have asked for a better start!
Where have you escaped/planning to escape this monsoon? Let me know in the comments.

{P.S - I was about to leave to BR Hills with just an Ultra Wide Angle but in the last minute I rented an 18-200mm Canon Lens from Tapprs - my gear partner, just in case I saw a tiger! Highly unlikely scenario but so glad I borrowed it. :)}

More Monsoon Magic Here
Monsoons of Rajasthan - Photos of Desert in the Rains!
Monsoons of Kerala - The Offbeat side of Mystical Munnar
Monsoons of Sikkim - Photos of Nature Extraordinaire
Monsoons of Maharashtra - A Photo Essay of 1800+km Weekend Journey!
Monsoons of Karnataka - Photos of Cycling in the Rain, Madikeri

16 comments

, by Neelima Vallangi

GoechaLa Trek

Goecha La Trek: Surreal Beauty of Sikkim, In Pictures

Goecha La is a high altitude trek in West Sikkim famous for grand views of Mt Kanchenjunga. Over a week, we climbed to 5000m and were suitably rewarded with surreal views. Here's a quick story of what happened and what we saw, in pictures!

Note : The beautiful zoomed in pictures of the mountains was possible only because of the super steady Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens I rented from Tapprs - A Bangalore Based Photography Gear Rental Company. It was really really hard to stay still in that cold! :)

I'm not going to make you wait to show you what the trek was all about! Here's a grand view of the 8586m high mammoth of a mountain, the mighty Kanchenjunga, third highest mountain in the whole world. We trudged up to a height of 5000m, walked for a whole week, in the night, in the morning, in the evening for this. For this view, we hiked from 1AM till 3PM the next day, worth it? Totally!

Sikkim is famous for two things, unobstructed view of Mt. Kanchenjunga and the stunning rhododendron bloom that paints the landscape in all shades in April/May. We didn't miss the glory, we saw flowers of all colors - pink, yellow, red, white! This was on the second day of the trek, we gained a height of whopping 5000ft in a single day. It was crazy as hell.

The treks starts from Yuksom in West Sikkim. The first day we entered Kanchenjunga National Park and walked through dense forests with nasty little flying insects and abundant yaks for company. We started from Yuksom and camped at Bakhim(9000ft) for the night.

The next day was a long day. We started from Bakhim towards Dzongri at 14000ft high. The climb was long and endless but this view at the Devrali Top made up for it. For the first time, we saw the clouds clear up to show the mountains hiding behind them. It was a glorious day, two things Sikkim's known for were right in front of us - the mountains and the flowers.

The third morning, we woke up at the ungodly hour of 3AM and climbed to up to a sunrise point, Dzongri Top at 15000ft. Because sunrise happens here at 4.30AM. It was so damn cold that it was impossible to stand still, we had to keep moving to generate body warmth. Taking pictures was next to impossible for me as I tend to get very cold very easily. But having a good lens helped! Early morning glory shining on the mountain tops. This looks like Mt. Kabru but need confirmation.

Same morning, same place, another view. Turning back from Dzongri Top I saw clouds fill up the valleys, ready to leave.

On the fourth day, we marched towards Lamuney, the camp before Goecha La. The terrain was flat, felt like high altitude with little vegetation and stark landscapes. We walked on the pleasant terrain for a while before the altitude dropped like crazy. We went down to Kokhchurung all the way down to the river and walked up again to our campsite. From 14500ft we lost the altitude just like that.

So it turned out the campsite at Lamuney was full, so we stopped at Thansing. But the catch was on the summit day, we'll have to cover that extra distance and climb to the pass and walk back extra to reach back to Thansing. So we did, woke up at 1AM and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. It was a long climb to 5000m/16000ft and back! But we did it, for the sake of mountains. Seen here is Mt. Pandim glowing in the moonlight.

We reached Goecha La View Point 1 by sunrise time, it was a very difficult climb for me considering I hadn't exercised at all in 2 years but I made it. Barely so, but I reached. We got a small glimpse of might Kanchenjunga, the same picture you saw at the beginning of the post. But then we proceeded towards Goecha La View Point ahead for a close up view of Kanchenjunga. That was the longest hike ever, at least if felt like that. We crossed a desert, a barren rocky field and a huge mountain slope covered in scree. Only I know how I crawled through the landscape, and thanks to few other friends who were equally tired but wanted to reach the viewpoint2, I managed to reach the second viewpoint. But what a disappointment because Kanchenjunga was right in front of us, completely shrouded in clouds! No view, zilch! But the silver lining was this gorgeous glacial lake, Goecha Lake.

This is the view of Kanchenjunga from Dzongri Top, since we didn't see anything from Goecha La View point 2, I'm showing you this. :) My friends went ahead on another hour long hike to the original Goecha La while me and a friend embarked on the impossibly long hike back to campsite.

The hike back to the campsite, Thansing was so long it felt like an eternity. We we were so spent with the climb up that walking back felt impossible. We slept on the desert, stopped by the moraines, sat by the lake side and yet the campsite was nowhere near. We walked all afternoon and finally reached 14 hours after we started.

The sparkling blue Samiti Lake just below Goecha La Viewpoint 1. The sun sparkled for few minutes to reveal its colors. It was cloudy for most of the trek, I didn't see blue skies, gorgeous sunsets or glorious mornings. It was cold and cloudy all the time but at least we got view of Kanchenjunga when it mattered!

The surreal landscape of high altitudes in Sikkim. The land was barren but stubborn vegetation dotted the landscape. A clear water stream ran through the valley and somewhere between this is Lamuney campsite. We walked past it to the next campsite.

On the fifth day, we were back to greenery. We walked along the river for a long time before entering dense forest where no yak has littered the path. It was extremely long again, but beautiful nonetheless. Our guide, Basant enjoying the view or rather waiting for the laggard, me! ;)

Yaks are used as the pack animals in Sikkim. And the thing with yaks is they carry little, are quite stubborn and they shit a lot! So you can imagine the trail with the rains, slush and abundant yak shit. The trail was the dirtiest I've ever walked upon and I wondered at my own decision of hiking with yaks. Sometime in future I'd like to do away with pack animals and hike alpine style. But for now, I had to live with the guilt. This trail from Kokhchurung to Dzongri however was only for hikers, yaks go through another route. This day was again very long but also extremely beautiful. We climbed through narrow trails amidst dense misty forest and full of rhododendron bloom. The next day, another long walk later we were back in Yuksom.

Goecha La is a trek unlike any other I have been on so far. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful in terms of views but the route is a little bit tricky. You climb almost every day, even when you are returning back. But there are trekkers huts everywhere making the trek a little bit comfortable. The views were worth the effort however, Sikkim is very very beautiful. I was convinced of this again.

So what do you think of Sikkim?

Also Read:
Monsoons of Sikkim - Photos of Nature Extraordinaire
Goecha La Trek, Sikkim - Instagrammed!

34 comments

, by Neelima Vallangi

Bhutan

7 Interesting things about Bhutan you probably didn't know!

Bhutan, the last Shangri-La and a beautiful Himalayan Kingdom, was once reclusive but now charms visitors with its unique culture, history and a whole lot of natural beauty. Earlier this month I spent a week in this magical land and was quite taken by this country and its many fascinating peculiarities. Here are 7 things you probably didn’t know about Bhutan.

1. A flower was so rare, it was thought to be a myth, like the Yeti!

Rare Himalayan Blue Poppy

One cold morning, I was languidly walking on a trail at Chele La(3700m). Prayer flags fluttered ferociously as the mountain gust forced its way over the pass. Yet I walked absentmindedly, when a brilliant blue flower suddenly stopped me in my tracks. The petals of the clearest blue were gently hanging from a yellow center and a long stem. It was mesmerising.

That afternoon, I came to know that the gorgeous flower was Blue Poppy (Meconopsis Grandis) and that it is the national flower of Bhutan! Perfectly makes sense, a beautiful national flower for a beautiful country. But what I didn’t know was that this is a super rare flower, thought to be a Himalayan myth like the Yeti for several years because only a handful had ever reported seeing it. And if you are batman fan, you know that rare blue flower that grows on eastern slopes that Ra’s-al-ghul wanted Bruce Wayne to find so he can join the Shadow of the Leagues? Yup, this is the one! But that’s not all; this plant grows only in the barren high altitudes from 3000m to 5000m for several years before blooming only once and then dies. Oh if that’s not exclusive enough, it blooms only during a short window during early monsoons (Late May to July).

Talk about luck, that I walk about on some random hilltop and find the exotic rarity, the iconic Blue Poppy! (P.S - Still can’t wrap my head around it, that I saw something so rare)

2. A Capital City with no traffic lights!

Thimphu, A Capital City with no Traffic Lights

The glowing capital city of Bhutan, Thimphu.

Thimphu is one of the only two capital cities in the world to not have a single traffic light. They had one installed at one intersection but had it removed and got back the traffic police upon popular demand! The residents felt traffic light was too impersonal. Now that’s a thought. If the country’s busiest city doesn’t have a traffic light, I think it is safe to extrapolate the whole country doesn’t! I’m not sure but it seems like a good possibility.

Anyhow, having seen the way people drive in Bhutan I guess they’ll do just fine without traffic lights. They easily give way to other vehicles and do not mind waiting to let other’s pass before them and when someone gives way, the driver always thanks them in return. Turns out Bhutan got the roads, motor vehicles, electricity etc only after the 60s, I wonder how long before they give in to the ways of the rest of the “developed” world like incessant honking and such. But for now, it is still the last Shangri-La.

3. Is it a goat? Is it a cow? It’s both, it’s a Takin!

Takin, Bhutan's National Animal

And giving the national flower tough competition in the exotic category is the national animal, Takin! It’s a weird cross between goat and cow, both the face and the height falls somewhere between these two animals. It’s found only in Bhutan and parts of China and northeastern India.

The legend goes something like this; there was once a “Divine Madman” who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan. He was asked to perform a miracle during one of his lectures, to which he obliged but only if he was provided lunch – a full cow and goat. After his sumptuous meal, he rearranged the left out bones of the cow and goat, goat’s head on a cow’s body. With a click, the strange chimera was bought to life and it started grazing the pastures. Since this animal had many references in Bhutan’s folklore, the king deemed it fit to be a national animal. It was declared so in 1995.

Also, the National Bird is a raven!
Three eyed raven anyone?

4. That’s right! It’s an erect penis you saw painted on the house.

Phalluses can be seen painted on the walls of many houses in Bhutan.

Apart from Takin, another oddity that can be attributed to the “Divine Madman”, the maverick saint Drukpa Kunley, is the ubiquitous phallus! Known for his crazy ways of enlightening others, legend has it that he subdued evil spirits and turned them into protective deities by hitting them with his erect member, which by the way is also referred to as “Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom”. He is known as the fertility saint and the site blessed by him is home to the famous Temple of Fertility, Chimi Lakhang. Women from all over the country come here seeking blessings to conceive a child, and you ask how is one blessed? By being struck with a wooden phallus, of course!

This belief that Kunley’s “thunderbolt” can ward off evil spirits led to the tradition of painting giant phalluses on the walls of houses and hanging little wooden replicas on the four corners of the roof. Thankfully, we skipped visiting Chimi Lakhang, otherwise it would’ve been quite awkward with family in tow. But I did see houses with phallic paintings and shops selling wooden phallic souvenirs in plenty.

Read : In Bhutan, Phallus Worship Revives

5. Money doesn’t buy happiness and they know it!

Tiger's Nest Monastery or Taktsang Monastery

The iconic Tiger's Nest or Taktsang Monastery at Paro, Bhutan

Which is why Bhutan measures the country’s growth in terms of Gross National Happiness as opposed to the Gross Domestic Product as followed by the rest of the world. I don’t know how they measure the intangibles - sustainable development, environmental protection, cultural preservation and good governance but these four pillars form the basis of GNH measurements. As part of this they have taken several noteworthy measures like it is mandatory to maintain at least 60% Forest cover! To deal with the cultural obliteration and environmental degradation that unchecked tourism can bring in, they work with a concept of “high value, low impact” tourism where visitors are charged $250 per day as visa fees. But this includes accommodation, transport, guide charges. Locals are given a yearlong training in Bhutanese culture, history and hospitality before they can officially guide tourists. At the outset, people do seem quite happy as we expect them to be in a Shangri-La!

Reportedly, a local once told a NatGeo Reporter “In our most beautiful places, we build temples and monasteries, and everybody goes there. In your most beautiful places, you build five-star resorts, and only the very rich go there.” With that attitude it's no surprise Bhutan's one of the happiest nations in the world!

6. Indian Army has a huge base in Bhutan!

Indian Military Training Team Base, Bhutan

Indian Army Training Mission in Bhutan

One afternoon, we were driving towards Haa Valley in eastern Bhutan when a faintly familiar sight of green rooftops greeted us. Few winding curves later, we saw a group of women walking by. They were looking very much Indian. While we were wondering out aloud, quickly our driver quipped, “They are Indian wives!”

“Wives of whom?”

“Of the Indian Army men stationed below” he said pointing to the green rooftops below.

What I thought to be Haa Village turned out to be the Indian Army’s training mission in Bhutan. No wonder the rooftops looked so familiar, just like the ones we see in Ladakh. The Indian Military Training Team is responsible for training and equipping Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) and Royal Bodyguards (RBG) personnel. The RBA was formed in 1950s, one of the reasons being the pressure from India because the country saw Bhutan as its weakest link in its defense against China.

Roads and Telecom came to Bhutan only in 1960s, but do you who built those 1500kms of roads in the crazy mountain territory? None other than our very own experts at Border Roads Organizations! No wonder our two countries are so friendly!

Read: India building a security barrier against China

Read on Dantak : Project Dantak - Border Roads Organisation

7. Only 8 pilots are qualified to fly into this airport!

Landing and Taking Off from here is a tricky business, Paro Airport.

Rumour has it only 8 pilots can land on this narrow strip between mountains as high as 18000ft that surround the city of Paro. When was the last time you saw a landing strip with so many obstructions in every direction? The pilots are required to navigate the valley through a series of sharp turns before landing or taking off. As you can see in the picture here, the airport is surrounded by mountains on all direction except for the narrow valley to the right, the plane will take several sharp turns during take off and landing.

Looking at the videos posted online, it’s scary how close the plane gets to the mountains. At places like this, there’s no room for error. No wonder only 8 pilots are skilled to nail the landing and take offs. In the video featured in the link below, we can see the pilot is taking sharp left and right turns at 1000ft, 500ft and even 100ft before landing! So basically we need skills like Baloo Bear from Talespin minus the crash landings. It is one airport where equal importance is given and should be given to visual judgment than relying on instruments.

Read : The Himalayan airport so dangerous only eight pilots are qualified to land there

So what do you think? Shocked or intrigued by any of these?

Photography Equipment:
The images were shot with my trusty Canon EOS 500D, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and a Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM lens rented from Tapprs - A Bangalore Based Photography Gear Rental Company.

23 comments

, by Neelima Vallangi

general

That’s it folks, I quit! :)

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” - Henry David Thoreau

Last month was my last at work. I quit, finally!

Surprisingly, it wasn’t all about travel.

Although travel had a lot to do with this decision, it was also not entirely about it. It was something so much more than travel. Something that travel had introduced me to, freedom! The freedom to do things we want and things we must. I love to travel, no doubt, and having a steady job with good income and a great number of vacations per year was actually working out quite well for me. But somewhere along it felt like I was trying hard to play catch up and never really caught up. The last few months have been so crazy I’ve hardly been able to do anything I like. It was an exciting period both professionally and personally but it drained me out completely and left me mentally exhausted.

Despite having never gone to gym, I used to be pretty fit thanks to frequent short yet strenuous treks. But over the last few years I have become so dull, I struggled to climb every single time I have gone trekking in the recent past. Being unfit in the outdoors is so not fun, trust me! No treks, no sunsets, no cool evenings, it seemed all that time was spent in traffic. And the rest of the time, I was busy playing catch up. I got a lot of writing done (Read : Reflecting on a year as a Travel Writer!), got a lot of experience and all that slogging was part of the mandatory early learning curve but it had to go away. It had to end.

I had already given up on material possessions in favor of meaningful experiences, you know how travel does that to you, but I wasn’t counting the mental energy and precious time I was still investing to keep up this lifestyle. One fine day, as I struggled with this new discomfort, I came across Henry David Thoreau’s excellent quote “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” That did it for me, I decided it wasn’t worth it anymore. I didn’t want the extra money at the cost of living with stress and restraint. I wanted freedom - the time to indulge in my passions, to travel, to read, to write, to go visit my family and have the bandwidth to explore and do/create something meaningful.

I did not want to settle for what’s been handed to me. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t escape me for one moment that I’ve been blessed with extremely good fortune where I have a good life, am free to travel, have my health, earn well and have a supportive family that doesn’t require my financial support. Because I had nothing stopping me, it made all the more sense to go after my dreams or make better use of my time than participate in the rat race. If not, all that good fortune seemed just like a crutch to take support from forever instead of making it a pedestal from where I could fly higher. I’ve taken the path of least resistance so far(finished school, took up engineering, took up the first job I got) but now it’s time to tread new waters and push boundaries.

Years from now, I don’t want to be wondering “what if?”. Travel has showed me how beautiful life and this world can be and I intend to experience as much of it as possible. Cliched as it may sound, I want to feel alive and be free.

Of course I will be traveling more but I am not taking off on a six month trip to some place exotic because time is what I need, not more travel. All I want now is the bandwidth to try out different things, enjoy the sunsets, think about how the next years of mine should look like, write and read more. I want time to stand still while I figure this out. But since we do not have that luxury, I want to slow down or just stop in my tracks, turn back and start over. I do not want to escape the hard work, just that I want to invest my time and energy in doing things that matter to me and are close to my heart. And that’s the freedom I dream of.

I am excited about the future, that which is unwritten, wide open and mine to create.

The one where endless possibilities await!

New possibilities, the future is bright?

NOTE : In case you are wondering, I used to work in the IT Industry. ;)

104 comments

, by Neelima Vallangi

Pages

A Wild Monsoon Outing & My First Tiger Sighting - K Gudi Jungle Lodges at BR Hills

Goecha La Trek: Surreal Beauty of Sikkim, In Pictures

7 Interesting things about Bhutan you probably didn't know!

1. A flower was so rare, it was thought to be a myth, like the Yeti!

2. A Capital City with no traffic lights!

3. Is it a goat? Is it a cow? It’s both, it’s a Takin!

4. That’s right! It’s an erect penis you saw painted on the house.

5. Money doesn’t buy happiness and they know it!

6. Indian Army has a huge base in Bhutan!

7. Only 8 pilots are qualified to fly into this airport!

That’s it folks, I quit! :)

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Pages

A Wild Monsoon Outing & My First Tiger Sighting - K Gudi Jungle Lodges at BR Hills

Goecha La Trek: Surreal Beauty of Sikkim, In Pictures

7 Interesting things about Bhutan you probably didn't know!

1. A flower was so rare, it was thought to be a myth, like the Yeti!

2. A Capital City with no traffic lights!

3. Is it a goat? Is it a cow? It’s both, it’s a Takin!

4. That’s right! It’s an erect penis you saw painted on the house.

5. Money doesn’t buy happiness and they know it!

6. Indian Army has a huge base in Bhutan!

7. Only 8 pilots are qualified to fly into this airport!

That’s it folks, I quit! :)

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