On the evening of December 05
2008, I was in a hurry to end my day’s work as I had to join my friends for a road
trip. Little did I know that this would turn out to be a life changing road
trip. My friends and brother waited eagerly at home so that we could kick start
our journey.
As usual we borrowed our
sister’s Indica (car) for our trip and with the entire luggage packed and
stuffed into the car, headed towards Goa. We drove on the NH-4 up to Tumkur and
then took a turn towards Shimoga. It was time for dinner and so we stopped by
at a Dhaba (highway eat-out) for a sumptuous meal. Heading on, we kept driving
until midnight and decided to halt when we were about 15 km ahead of Shimoga (towards
Honnavar). We had a good night’s sleep in the car and the next morning we woke
up and found a nice spot to finish our morning ablutions and continued driving towards
Goa. We had Jog falls for breakfast and Karwar for lunch. Then cruising along
the west coast we reached Madgoan/Margoa, headed towards our family temple
where we had booked our stay for the next two days. The following morning kept
everyone busy but me, in marriage preparations. I had the privilege of resting as
I was the lucky (read it as not-so-lucky) bride-groom. I spent the day’s end by
the riverside dreaming about married life. The D-day arrived atlast! The marriage
was a very simple affair and went on smoothly. We finished our lunch at the
temple and headed towards Margoa railway station. Thanking them for being
there, we bid adieu to our friends and family who boarded trains to return to
their homes leaving the car to us. This was only the beginning of our new
journey. Me and my wife headed towards Colva beach and spent a good amount of
time enjoying the cool breeze. We later drove towards Panjim where we booked a room
at a lodge that had a riverside view and spent the night calmly just like the river
there. The next morning, we explored various forts and beaches around and did
some parasailing over sea and spotted some dolphins far away in the sea. After the
water sport, we rested for a while and moved on. On our way, we sighted a board
directing towards Arvalem caves and falls. Feeling very excited, we inquired a
few people and reached the caves and falls. The evening was spent enjoying the
falls and late evening we headed towards Karwar. At Karwar, we halted at a
fairly good lodge to spend the night.
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| Go Goa |
Making inquiries the next morning
at the lodge reception about places of interest nearby, we got to know of great
places such as Yana, Mirjan fort, Gokarna and so on. We headed toward Gokarna
and offered our prayers and moved on to the beach. Without wasting much time we
decided to explore Yana since we had heard a lot about this place before. We walked
by foot to enjoy the bliss of the Western Ghats during winter. With no
breakfast our 12km trek to Yana was wonderful and an unforgettable one. We reached a village on Sirsi-Kumta highway and
stopped by at a small shop and ate everything they offered us. So hungry we
were! From here, we decided to head towards Unchalli waterfalls near Sirsi. We
reached the crossing where we had to deviate towards the waterfall at around
5pm and had to travel 20km more to reach the waterfall. We were now in a
dilemma whether to proceed or not as it would turn dark by the time we reached.
We decided to head towards the falls and were greeted by a swiftly moving deer which
in no time vanished into the woods, thus giving us a signal of the wildlife
activity here. Finally, we reached the point from where the trek to the falls
began. The Sun had already set and darkness gradually started to engulf the
area. With a lot of courage, we walked towards the falls. After walking for
about half a kilometer, we realized it was too dark to proceed as nothing was
visible. We safely returned to our vehicle and headed to our friend’s house
near Honnavar, where we had our night’s meal and crashed onto our beds.
After a sumptuous breakfast the next morning,
we were at the jetty point waiting for the jetty to take us to an interesting
place revealed by our friend, the Mavina Kurve Island. Mavina Kurve is a small
and serene Island nestled in the River Sharvathi. The jetty ride was quite
pleasant and rewarding. Hereon we moved towards Mirjan fort, which was under
restoration by the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) during our visit. We had
no idea about its history at that time. The guard there told us not to take
photos using a camera though he allowed mobiles to do the same. After a good
stroll inside the fort, we drove towards Karikana Parameshwari temple
located atop a hill close by to Honnavar from where we had a good view of the Arabian
Sea, Sharvathi River and the surrounding hills. Now it was time to head towards
the Mighty Jog, considered to be the highest plunge waterfalls of India. On the
way we stopped at a view point to get a wonderful view of the Sharvathi River. We
reached Jog, and as the water trickled down the rocky hills, we only wondered about
how wonderful it would be during the monsoons. We were curious to we see the
spot where a scene for the movie “Mungaru Male” was shot. Later, while driving towards Sagar, a board
directing towards Ikkeri caught our attention and in no time we were in front of
a huge and magnificent temple built by the Keladi kings during the 17th
Century. We were quite surprised as we
were not aware of such a temple. It was late evening and we reached Heggodu, a
village that houses a famous cultural organization called NINASAM, started by K
V Subbanna (a famous Kannada artiste). We were quite hungry as we had forgotten
to have our lunch and went in search of the canteen here. The hot Idlis with
chutney served here were the best we have had till date. We inquired about the route towards Mangalore
and were directed to reach Thirtahalli first. Driving on the winding roads in
the dark was a pleasure. People at Thirtahalli recommended us to head on to
Sringeri for halt, where we crashed for the night.
We woke up little late in the morning and
moved towards the temple of Sringeri. At South Kanara border, we turned towards
Kudremukh and reached the Kudremukh Nature camp. Unfortunately we were not let
into the camp as we failed to get a prior permit. He suggested we visit the
Lakkya dam and Hanumangundi waterfalls. On reaching the Dam site, we realized
the visiting hours were in the evening. Not wasting much time we reached
Hanumangundi falls. After paying the required fee, we had to walk down to view
the falls. The falls looked majestic and seemed like it awaited for its first
visitor of the day. We spent a lot of time here enjoying and exploring the
surroundings until a noisy crowd walked down.
Our ascent was tiring. We decided to end our
exploration here and reached home for lunch.
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| A Wonder Called Karnataka |
Personally, this was the perfect
road trip I had ever been on. To have started this road trip as a bachelor with
friends and ended the trip with my friend for life (my wife), having traveled in
a borrowed car through unfamiliar routes, without much preparation or planning was
an adventure by itself and a once in a life time experience. It was undoubtedly
an amazing road trip, but most importantly it opened a new avenue in our lives
. “Team
G Square” was born with a desire to explore and discover every inch of
Karnataka and beyond. We only wish that this journey never ends…..
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