+ Also see: Earlier trip to Yedakumeri – trek on the rail tracks
My association with KempuHole is more than a decade old. She flows down from the green mountains in the Sahyadris, boosted by several streams that join her along the way, carrying their cool, pristine and perfectly transparent water. Swimming in Kemphole was an idea I was toying with for a few months now.
Come Friday evening, we boarded a bus to Dharmasthala. The friendly bus conductor was willing to give is an unscheduled stop wherever we wanted, and after much thinking and debate, we decided to take the bus till Gundya cross. We reached there as early as 5.30am and were lucky to find one of the many shacks selling food already open. We barged in, threw our bags down the floor and got busy with a cuppa hot coffee. One of us, it seems was real hungry – he jumped on the bunch of bananas hanging in front of the shop with an eagerness no less than a monkey and helped himself to them one after other. The shop-keeper looked at us, smiled and asked us –
“ivarige ellu oota sikkilva antha..!”
This guy had not had anything eat for sometime?
I settled for just a cup of coffee since it was too early to eat anything. It was soon 6am and light started spreading slowly. Energized by the coffee, I decided to take a short walk on the Subrahmanya road, where I knew I will find Kempu Hole after a short walk.
It took less than five minutes to hit the river. She was flowing wide and clear down the bridge, amidst thick evergreens. I walked down and settled myself comfortably on a stone, with my legs dipped into the mild flow – a pleasure I have always cherished. A few minutes passed with abundance of calmness captivating the surroundings. Fish swam past me and a kingfisher – the early bird – hunted them close by. Egrets occasionally flew past, with their white dazzle reflecting in the calm waters of the river. Many birds were still waking up and murmuring their morning prayers.
Image of the region made three years ago during monsoons. Kempu Hole flows deep inside these jungles, somewhere in its valleys
When I came back, I saw my buddies had surrendered to slumber, tired after the night long bus journey. It did not take them much to find a place to sleep – one had slept off on a bench in the ‘hotel’ and the other had found a clean cement bench on the bus-stop nearby. Both were already fast asleep. I did not want to waste my time just like that; I found another good cement bench in the bus stand.
It was nearly 8am when we were up and ready to go. A quick breakfast later, we stood near the road, ready to flag every vehicle that came on the way. The first truck on the way stopped for us. Depressingly, it carried fat trees that donned the jungles somewhere deep in the Sahayadris. A 10 kilometer journey back towards Bangalore and we were near Kempu Hole, where we intended to spend rest of the day.
We got down from the truck, walked a little to find a nice isolated place in the river and settled down lazily on its bank. Lazing was the only thing in our mind. We found some comfortable place among the boulders on the bank. Listening to the soothing sound of the flow, we spent an hour or so quietly, and dozed of again on the rocks.
It must be a little more than 10am when I woke up. Now I was ready for a dip in the water. The place we had chosen had shallow water, which dropped down through a small waterfall of multiple steps and then formed a deeper and narrow section of the river. The current was not very strong but sufficient to drain the energy if I tried to swim against it. I was not well verse with swimming in the rivers and was worried and hesitant initially. Tense would be the right word. I was very unsure if I should take the plunge, as there was no one who could rescue if I were to be carried away by the flow or got injured by hitting a boulder. After a few minutes of contemplation I took the plunge!
Once I was in the water, it took no more than a few seconds to feel comfortable. I moved into the deeper section and swam freely as I pleased. Sometimes I tried swimming against the river and then would let my body flow down with the water. Occasionally I crossed to the other side, flirting with the current. I found a bounder in the middle of the river, with only its tip raising above the water, that was nearly in the shape of a bath tub. Perfect, I thought, as it served as a place to rest between swims. Lying down on it in the gentle current and listening the whispers of the flow is a pleasure that I don’t know how to describe.
I spent more than two hours in the deep water before I moved towards the waterfall. I lied below the waterfall that served as a jacuzzi, massaging my back and leaving me feeling good.
Nearly drained of all the energy, we eagerly consumed the lunch that we had packed in the morning. We then packed our bags and headed deeper into the forest. Walking upwards for an hour and a half next to a small stream, we arrived at Yedakumeri railway station around 4.30pm.
Image of the region made three years ago during monsoons. Train tracks leading to Yedakumeri
Yedakumeri station lies halfway up a hill, is surrounded by forest all around it and has no habitation or whatsoever except railway workers. We slept on the platform isolated by rest of the world, with stars twinkling high in sky and wind of the mountains soaking our body.
Next morning, we walked back through the forest into Kempu-Hole, crossed it and reached the road, and flagged a bus back to the city.
+For more information and places to see in Coorg, see my comrehensive post on travel to Coorg.
As we drove up the hills beyond Kushalnagar early in the morning, the ubiquitous fog announced the arrival of the town of Madikeri. On a wet, cold and foggy Saturday morning, with visibility reduced to near nothingness and no soul seen on the roads, we arrived at Madikeri on our way to Kakkabe in Coorg. I first drove to Raja Seat – a garden where the king of Kodagu once used to sit and relax against a picturesque valley, but was predictably rebuffed by endless fog blocking the views, and the incessant drizzle of the cold morning. Despite the fog and the drizzle, it was beautiful, comforting and elating. A plate of steaming Idlis and hot coffee later, we were quickly on our way to Kakkabe.
More about Coorg on paintedstork.com
* Hiking up the Brahmagiri
* Driving to Coorg
On the few occasions when the rains did not lash the car‘s windscreen, a constant drizzle still kept the wipers busy. Every inch of the road was wet and every bit of earth was green. Distant hills were covered with clouds indicating many more rainy sessions ahead in the day. We were on our way to climbing Thadiyandamol, the tallest peak in Kodagu or its more popular anglicized name – Coorg.
Views of the distant hills from the place where we stayed
We reached Kakkabe village at the base of Thadiyandamol at around nine in the morning. One look at the cold and cloudy weather and we decided against climbing the mountain and check-in to the cozy and comfortable home-stay resort run by Poovannas on the way. To tell you the truth, even when we started from Bangalore, I secretly dreamt of sitting and relaxing in the lobby of a warm Coorgi house, though I put up a brave face and made claims of climbing up Thadiyandamol. To my delight, I realized that my fellow travellers were no different and had the same thing in mind! And the fact that I had already climbed up Thadiyandamol twice earlier helped making the decisions. But end of the day, that‘s just an excuse, and we were just being lazy and looking forward to indulge in good things that came with the rains!
The estate of Poovannas is at a picturesque location
We settled down to the warm hospitality of Poovannas and hot fresh coffee made from homegrown beans. We did not need much to do beyond sitting on the lobby and relax with a book or a cup of coffee while we watched the raindrops come down. In fact when I called the Poovannas previous evening telling that we shall be arriving tomorrow, the lady of the house said – “It‘s raining heavily here, are you sure you want to come?” And we had smiled, since it is the rain that we wanted to experience.
There is water and greenery where-ever you see
After we settled down, Prasad, the younger one of the Poovannas directed us to a waterfall close by. It turned out that the fiercely roaring waterfall was just five minutes walk behind the house and right inside their coffee estate.
Waterfall at the estate
I wonder how does it feel to live in a coffee estate with plenty of greenery and a private waterfall at your expense! We definitely relished the experience as we walked into the stream that flowed with full vigour. We stood in front of the fall, with its droplets lashing us as the wind blew into us, making us all wet, but completely amused. But for the cold weather, it was tempting to walk right into the falling water and get a back-massage from the pouring water – something I always look forward to when I am at a waterfall.
The stream is beautiful and was full of water when we were there
When we were not visiting the waterfall, watching the heavens bless the earth with raindrops or not indulging in the coffee, we spend our time talking to the Poovannas. By their own admission, they seemed to live a happy life with little to worry about. They spent a good part of their time looking after the coffee estate or setting little things right, like fixing the small leak in the roof or worrying about the slippery ground on the rainy days.
Coffee estate
But not everything was that simple. Being a little far from town, they had a hard time trying to get a mechanic to come all the way to where they live and see what‘s wrong with their new Maruti Omni. And then they spoke about all the good time they had entertaining eccentric foreign guests like the one who loved climbing tree after tree or the one who walked and walked and ate coconuts and nothing else!
The estate is a quiet place to relax and rejuvenate
Wind, rain and good views were always there
Another thing that we looked up to was food. The good thing that comes with a home stay is sharing the meal with the family and enjoying good local food cooked with love. You don‘t need bother to tackle professional waiters with a fake smile sticking on their face or run through obscure menus only to find nothing worth eating. Instead, sit with the hosts in the dining hall and serve yourself with all the delicious home cooked food piled on to you over an interesting conversation. Kodava food is delicious and especially worth remembering is the Kadambuttu with great chutney, ghee and honey to go with!
The Nalknad palace
View of the hills from the palace
The next morning we walked down to Nalknad palace that is just five minutes walk from the estate. The palace, built nearly 250 years ago was a retreat of then king of Kodagu – Doddaveera Rajendra. It looks hardly palatial but is pretty and is an ideal retreat. Anand, the resident in-charge who was looking after the palace showed us around and explained us of the courtyards, darbar hall, living room, escape routes for the king etc. It is built using plenty of teak pillars with carvings of designs and pictures of reptiles. Some faded paintings of animals and images of king‘s court on the wall are now being restored.
Darbar hall of the palace
Courtyard of the palace
After returning from the palace, I decided to sit quietly and listen to the sounds of the forest. Having missed my usual bird-watching sessions due to incessant rains, I decided to listen to them instead. The most raucous of the forest dwellers are the cicadas that never seem to get tired. Occasionally a bird or two was heard close to us somewhere in the bushes of the estate or in the forest near the waterfall. A pair of magpie robins and a few red whiskered bulbuls that I spotted moving around were the most prominent. Sunbirds and flower peckers came and went occasionally. Not to be seen, but heard often were woodpeckers and an army of malabar parakeets. The loudest of the lot was the unmistakable call of greater coucals. There was so much life in the estate and the surrounding forest, but it needed some careful listening to realize them. Unlike us human beings who always look for a shelter, they seem to go on with their life, come rain or come shine!
Along with coffee, they grow many other things in
the palace, including oranges
As the sun moved up(which we never actually got to see, thanks for the ever-present cloud cover) it was time for us to move on. We thanked the Poovannas for their wonderful hospitality and the great time they gave us. It was a pleasant journey back on the curved and inclined roads of Kodagu that gave way to the plains of Mysore and then Bangalore, with Dr.Rajkumar‘s melodies running on the tape. And as I write this, it is raining outside and I am still thinking of delicious Kadambuttu, the non-stop rains and the call of the cicadas.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The home-stay resort of Poovannas, called Palace Estate is located in the village of Kakkabe, around 40km from Madikeri and approximately 250km from Bangalore. The trek to Coorg‘s tallest peak Thadiyandamol starts from here. Other nearby attraction includes the Nalknad palace, which is just 5 minutes walk from the estate, a seasonal waterfall within the estate and the well-known Iguthappa temple that is a 10-minute drive.
To reach Palace Estate from Bangalore, drive on the Mysore road. Turn right 2km after Srirangapatna and continue till Madikeri. From Madikeri, take Bhagamandala road and ask for directions to Kakkabe. Once you are in Kakkabe village, it is another 10 minutes drive to Palace Estate. There are also state government buses to Madikeri and Virajpet from Bangalore, and Kakkabe is well connected by buses from both the towns.
For more on things to do and places to see, see my comprehensive story on travel to Coorg.
I had traveled to Chikmagalur two weeks ago. I was there, among other things, to have a look at the rare Neelakurinji flowers which are known to flower only once in 12 years. This was the year of flowering and they were in full bloom. In Chikmagalur, they bloom around the hills of Bababudangiri, also called Chandradrona Parvata.
While Kurinjis were the flowers I was looking forward to, I saw plenty of flowers different varieties all around. My first sight of flowers in abundance were much before I was at the hills. It was fun to see some jolly folks plucking lotus from a pond.
I also saw many touch-me-nots spread out in large numbers. Though they are pretty common, I think it has been a while since I had seen them before. So much for living in a city!
As I approached the town of Chikmagalur, I saw this hoarding inviting people to visit the hills to see the Kurinjis.
According to this, the flowering season is from September to November. So if you haven’t been there yet, hurry before they are gone!
As I climbed up the hill, it did not take me long to see the Kurinjis. They were in plenty, and they were everywhere. Some hills were entirely covered with just the Kurinji plants.
They looked beautiful and covered vast vistas of the hill range.
But they were not alone. There were so many flowers, many of them tiny, I could not not even count how many types were there.
And they had generously spread out all over the slopes and made the hills look prettier than ever.
And they came in many colors and sizes.
Some of them were so small, I would never have sighted them without looking hard for them!
But the most beautiful of the lot that I saw was also the biggest among them.
There were plenty of visitors to the hills, but to my surprise, almost everyone seemed to be oblivious to the flowers. But I was having a great time among the flowers and had no time to bother about that.
Purple flowers, I guess were the most dominant of all the lot, with Kurinjis having taken up most of the space. Small white flowers came next, followed by yellow ones.
Flowers of many colors spread together on the slopes was a treat for the eyes.
This pink flower below was one of uncommon ones on the slope. I would not have found it, had I not walked around so much around the hills.
But alas, it looks like we just can’t enjoy the beauty of these hills without doing our bit to spoil them. There were some disturbing sights too. Like some garbage, etc..
It was very pleasant day among the flowers, and watching the sunset among the Kurinjis before I headed back was a blissful moment.
Let us hope to preserve this pristine place and keep it clean and beautiful!
