Bisle forest.. I hadn’t heard of it before and when there were plans being discussed about a trip to this place, I nodded my consent in. 18th to 21st April, 2003 - It was a “long-weekend”; Good Friday and Easter Monday combined with a regular weekend and the team of about 11 of us from HSBC, Bangalore, which comprised of good “like-minded” individuals, or so we would like to call ourselves, embarked on the journey.
Pristine green hills, the smell of fresh dew on the grass, crisp wet wind on our faces greeted us as we stepped out at Sakleshpur for tea early morning. We hadn’t realized how hungry we were and succumbed to the hot cups of tea, buns and biscuits; some of the boys gobbled up boiled eggs too. The dormitory in Hotel Kanishka International was booked for our pithy stop and wash. All of us ready in our trekking gears assembled quickly in front of our van waiting for the guide to commence on one of the most memorable trek I ever had.
The Western Ghats homes an array of forest ranges and the guide explained that Bisle was in the heart of the mighty ghats. The string of mountains in its entire splendor enthralled us with its silence. We commenced the trek by moving along treaded paths for a long while and with the passage of time, we were moving into denser & higher parts of the forest. The untamed jungle with its tall evergreen trees, little streams flowing through it, the sounds of varied bird-calls, the narrow paths lined occasionally with guava trees & dense coffee plants leading us into the heart of the forest and the pleasant sound of the Giri River flowing nearby was mesmerizing. We were warned about possible “sighting” of wild boars, elephants, king cobras and leopards, if we were lucky (or rather not so lucky!!) but the fervent group had to be satisfied with the sights of fresh elephant dung that was spotted along the way.
Pristine green hills, the smell of fresh dew on the grass, crisp wet wind on our faces greeted us as we stepped out at Sakleshpur for tea early morning. We hadn’t realized how hungry we were and succumbed to the hot cups of tea, buns and biscuits; some of the boys gobbled up boiled eggs too. The dormitory in Hotel Kanishka International was booked for our pithy stop and wash. All of us ready in our trekking gears assembled quickly in front of our van waiting for the guide to commence on one of the most memorable trek I ever had.
The Western Ghats homes an array of forest ranges and the guide explained that Bisle was in the heart of the mighty ghats. The string of mountains in its entire splendor enthralled us with its silence. We commenced the trek by moving along treaded paths for a long while and with the passage of time, we were moving into denser & higher parts of the forest. The untamed jungle with its tall evergreen trees, little streams flowing through it, the sounds of varied bird-calls, the narrow paths lined occasionally with guava trees & dense coffee plants leading us into the heart of the forest and the pleasant sound of the Giri River flowing nearby was mesmerizing. We were warned about possible “sighting” of wild boars, elephants, king cobras and leopards, if we were lucky (or rather not so lucky!!) but the fervent group had to be satisfied with the sights of fresh elephant dung that was spotted along the way.
The guide then thought that it was time we put some food into our system; he and his helper set about making us tasty vegetable upma. I still remember the speed at which the food got consumed by all of us. When he told us that we were very near the Kumaradhara River, he did not expect 11 voices in unison for taking a dip there. Since we all had our change of clothes in the cab near the forest, we decided to spend some time in the water and then head back for the cab before we re-commence the trek. The cool gushing water among the rocks was a sight to behold. Without wasting any further time, we jumped into it. The magic of the place can only be experienced!! The guide was now slightly worried since we had miles to catch up on before the close of the day and we have been in the river for nearly 4 hours. We regrettably walked out from the water and changed into dry clothes in the cab. It was time for some lunch and bisi bele bath tasted like the most exquisite food in the world to me that day!!
The trek re-commenced and the guide announced that we had to deviate a little into a clearer settlement and retire there for the night. The cab with our bags had already arrived there. After another long walk, we arrived at an open clearance which only had a roof but faced the repertoire of hills. It was like a watch tower and we were the only visitors there that night. I was beside myself with joy to know that we were spending the night there. Although April was supposed to be the hot month of the year in that part of the tropics, the night was cold and damp; the small bon-fires we lit up were very beautiful among the black around us. A host of fire-flies fluttered around our heads clearly unhappy with the human intrusion. Everyone huddled around the fire trying to soak in on the warmth it generated. Bottles of party-mixes got circulated around; a few swigs of those did a wealth of good to keep us in “high-spirits” literally. Most of us were exhausted from the travel and trek and one after the other we slowly fell asleep.
The day break was a beauty. The sanguine sun slowly emerging from behind the hills, peacocks calling out to their mates, a horde of other birds chirping in the woods, a herd of elephants trumpeting in the forest beneath the hills and the quaint waterfall in the distance, now appearing exuberant with the sunlight shining on it, was magical. The myriad of colours the morning brought was truly a sight to behold. The gang..our cab driver Ranganna, the guide with his helper, Maddy, PC, Pramod, Harish, Prashanth, Musheer, Veeru, Shameena, Sanjeeban, and I, stood facing the hills in silence. It was mystical. I am sure it made all of us think that there was something more to life than the office workstations and processes and SLAs.. I was soaking in as much as nature I could; even after 5 years, the experience is so vivid in my mind!!
The rest of the journey through Coorg included visits to Nisargadham, Bailguppe (Buddhist monastery) and Abbey & Irupu waterfalls, each sight contending with one another on how beautiful they can get.
It was the last leg of the journey and most of us rode in silence saddened by the thought of concluding this wonderful jaunt. The friendships that blossomed amongst us from this common experience were one that would last for a very long time to come and the journey had made me an instant nature aficionado. Every time I look at the photographs from this travel, my mind’s eye brings back pleasant memories.....my rendezvous with nature…...with friends…..with an unforgettable chapter in my life.
The trek re-commenced and the guide announced that we had to deviate a little into a clearer settlement and retire there for the night. The cab with our bags had already arrived there. After another long walk, we arrived at an open clearance which only had a roof but faced the repertoire of hills. It was like a watch tower and we were the only visitors there that night. I was beside myself with joy to know that we were spending the night there. Although April was supposed to be the hot month of the year in that part of the tropics, the night was cold and damp; the small bon-fires we lit up were very beautiful among the black around us. A host of fire-flies fluttered around our heads clearly unhappy with the human intrusion. Everyone huddled around the fire trying to soak in on the warmth it generated. Bottles of party-mixes got circulated around; a few swigs of those did a wealth of good to keep us in “high-spirits” literally. Most of us were exhausted from the travel and trek and one after the other we slowly fell asleep.
The day break was a beauty. The sanguine sun slowly emerging from behind the hills, peacocks calling out to their mates, a horde of other birds chirping in the woods, a herd of elephants trumpeting in the forest beneath the hills and the quaint waterfall in the distance, now appearing exuberant with the sunlight shining on it, was magical. The myriad of colours the morning brought was truly a sight to behold. The gang..our cab driver Ranganna, the guide with his helper, Maddy, PC, Pramod, Harish, Prashanth, Musheer, Veeru, Shameena, Sanjeeban, and I, stood facing the hills in silence. It was mystical. I am sure it made all of us think that there was something more to life than the office workstations and processes and SLAs.. I was soaking in as much as nature I could; even after 5 years, the experience is so vivid in my mind!!
The rest of the journey through Coorg included visits to Nisargadham, Bailguppe (Buddhist monastery) and Abbey & Irupu waterfalls, each sight contending with one another on how beautiful they can get. It was the last leg of the journey and most of us rode in silence saddened by the thought of concluding this wonderful jaunt. The friendships that blossomed amongst us from this common experience were one that would last for a very long time to come and the journey had made me an instant nature aficionado. Every time I look at the photographs from this travel, my mind’s eye brings back pleasant memories.....my rendezvous with nature…...with friends…..with an unforgettable chapter in my life.
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