Shishila to Ombattu gudda

You must have read number of posts on Ombattu gudda (OG) trek from Gundya side, Shishila to Ettina Bhuja (EB) and then to OG but, you will not get a single post on web for a trek from Shishila to Ombattu gudda directly because I'm writing the first post here :). If it interests you read further else close this page.

As avid trekkers we always wanted to climb new peaks and last year while returning to Mudigere after completing OG (from Gundya side) trek (Aug 2012), we had seen the beautiful EB from Byrapura side. We had then decided that we will come back after few months to climb EB. Well, this was the preamble for this trek.

Planning

In Dec 2012, I sent an email seeking participation to EB & OG trek. Everyone was in holiday mood & no one responded. Again in Jan 2013, Laxmi re-initiated this trekking plan but the response was poor.We then decided to go with any number of participants and sent a final call to the group. Surprisingly, there were eight people who opted for the trek. I took charge of logistics this time & booked tickets from Bangalore to Dharmasthala (onward) & Chickmagalur to Bangalore (return). After reading few blogs on EB to OG trek from Shishila, we decided to do the same since going to EB from Byrapura will be less adventurous. In Feb, none of us expected rains in this part so we decided not to carry tents and go with minimum luggage. I had booked Non-AC Sleeper to Dharmasthala which leaves Bangalore at 9:30pm and reaches destination at 3:45am. Take a room there, get refreshed, have breakfast, take a drop to Shishila & start trek northwards to reach EB peak. Stay somewhere near the peak or Bhyraveshwara temple on Day 1, and start trek towards OG on Day 2. From OG, we know how to reach Hosakere & catch the last bus at 5:30pm to Mudigere. This was the plan but did we stick to it ? Read on,

Journey Start (15 Feb, Friday)

Everything was fine until the previous day, when Prabin asked me to cancel his tickets as he has got an emergency. Two of his friends followed him stating no reasons. We were only five now; Ravi, Roopa, Laxminarayan alias Laxmi, Shreyas & me. Shreyas was in dilemma initially but joined finally. I reached Majestic at around 9:15pm and could locate the Bus easily. I must appreciate KSRTC for sending me an SMS with Bus registration number, platform and the crew member's mobile number. I never expected it from a government service. Indeed, Technology has made an impact on our lives. Laxmi, Roopa & Shreyas were already there & Ravi joined in time. The bus started on time & I was all set to fade into sleep while others engaged in a chat. The journey was very good until Hasan or Sakaleshpur (my guess) and once we entered Shiradi ghat life was miserable. To add to my woes, there was a child in the back seat who was crying continuously & disturbed my sleep.  

Day One (16 Feb, Saturday)

We reached Dharmasthala by 3:45am and after enquiry got to know that rooms are available in "Saketh" complex which is two furlong down from the main temple. I was surprised to see huge accommodation complexes bigger than the main temple itself, all managed by the temple trust. They charge a nominal rent of Rs 100 but have maintained it very well. I now know the reason why Dr. Veerendra Heggade is very much appreciated. We got into room quickly and stretched our body on the floor trying to get some more sleep. At 6:00am, after bath we went to see "Lord Manjunatha" before the breakfast. I had been there long back and lot of things have changed now. Instead of entering from the main door, you now have to go through multiple rows separated by iron mesh something similar to Tirupathi. It was hard to guess the rush from outside but it is lot better than the Tirupathi crowd any day. We joined the queue and could see only 15 people in-front of me and thought that "darshan" would get over in less than 10 minutes. I saw a person selling morning news paper to the people in queue. Aha!, it is definitely going to take more than 4-5 hours if he is selling paper here and all our plan has to be reworked & I thought of retreating from there. But, the fear of sin I would commit by retreating from Lord's darshan forced me to stay in the queue. It took nearly an hour to pass through the queue and come out. A short drizzle indicated something big in the future though we ignored it. On the way back to "Saketh", we finished breakfast in a hotel which looked very modern from outside with name boards lit in pure white bulbs. It reminds me of the adage: "All that glittering is not gold". We had no option but to eat whatever that was available and after breakfast we vacated the room to start our mission. We hired a local Tata sumo for Rs 750 to drop us at Shishila (Car owner: Chandra, Phone#: +919448153017/8970554857) which is at around 32kms from Dharmasthala. On the way, I purchased a sickle at Kokkada for Rs 250 (a bit high price but I failed to bargain) which was of great help later. Finally, we ended up in Holegundi which is some 8kms away from Shishila and had to pay Rs 50 more to Chandra. 

Back in the room that day, we had looked at Forest survey map and had found that we need to go 10kms northeast to reach EB and then go 10kms southeast to OG and back some 13kms to reach Hosakere. In a hurry, I exclaimed why should we go that way, instead we can go OG first and then to EB and then exit at Byrapura. That would save us some kms. The idea was good but I had not thought of any trials or the distance from Holegundi to OG. Everyone agreed and Ravi was more happy to try something new :). There was a clear jeep track & foot trails marked on the map but none of us knew, how far that could be. We identified "Herike" as the last village enroute OG and "Nayi halla" a big stream flowing southwards to be exactly mid point between Shishila & OG. That's interesting! If we reach "Nayi halla" in 4 hours it would approximately take another 4-5 hours to reach OG. So by late evening we would hit the OG grass lands & we are safe. But before venturing into it we thought of asking locals about the route and if anyone have gone there recently. Shockingly, nobody knew about that route and those who were aware, knew little about it. One person told no such route exists, and another person told it takes about 3 days to go to OG. That was really discouraging but, Ravi factually believed that there is a jeep track to OG and we must take that route, Roopa had strong faith in Ravi, so she was  supporting Ravi's decision, both Laxmi & Shreyas nodded in support and reluctantly I bowed to the team's decision. I just wanted to reach EB peak & enjoy the evening there but it looked like luck something different in store for us.

From Holegundi, we walked back a kilometer and inquired about "Sathi kallu" with a local lady and she was very generous to show us the right direction from her backyard. We thanked her and crossed the Kapila river to move towards "Sathi kallu". We had one last beautiful sight of EB while crossing river. After walking 1-2 kms we reached a place called "Herike" and inquired about "Nayi halla" in a house. The oldest of the family told something about OG in Tulu and his son translated it in Kannada to say that OG is around 10kms from there and "Nayi halla" is around 6kms from his house. He then guided us through a narrow path towards "Nayi halla". It was around 11:00am and I was not confident that we will reach OG in day light. I suggested that we will go to "Nayi halla" and return from there but Ravi was not in a mood to listen and he said "Let's see". It was a proper trail till "Nayi halla" and we reached at around 2:00pm at a pretty good walking speed of 2km/Hr. We took a very short break for lunch, just 5 min to finish 2 chapathis. Laxmi had stomach upset due to fantastic breakfast in the morning and wanted 5min more rest badly. We quickly checked our co-ordinates with SatGuide GPS receiver and approximated spotted our position on the physical map. We had to follow the stream towards North a little, cross it and take a turn towards East where we will get another stream which we had to follow for 1-2kms and cross it to hit the Jeep track. But it wasn't that simple. From "Nayi halla" there was no prominent trail to North and in the best interest of time we had to take a quick decision. Anyway we had to cross the stream at some point and turn right, so we decided to cross the stream here itself and go North so that there is a chance of hitting the second stream very soon. We took best decision at that moment and as expected we hit the stream, but it looked like the same stream where we had lunch. There was a prominent trail on the other side of the stream here, but there was no route from the lunch place to this point. It was totally confusing. Again, we checked our co-ordinates & position on map, and decided to go East. Unfortunately, there was no trail and we had to make our own way through the forest and it was the toughest part so far. We saw a falls on the left hand side but to go to East, we had to head right. It was a steep ascent and any small mistake would be disastrous. Since I was leading in the front, I went ahead to check out if there is any trail available but that was a futile effort. It was 4:00pm by then and we had no glimpse of grass land. Ravi looked at the map and suggested that we cross the falls & climb on the other side, at least there are chances of hitting a Jeep track. We started to descend slowly, but we ran out of luck.A heavy downpour of rain worsened our problems. We had no choice but to continue in rain. We crossed the falls carefully and started climbing up again. It was also equally steep and any mistake would render us in the falls 15ft below. Heavy rain softened the soil and we could not get hold of small rocks. They come out if you hold them, and fall down if you step on them. Most of the tree branches are dried out and they break even before you hold them making it much more difficult. Only hope was the small plants and roots of big trees and finally we all managed to climb up in 1 hour. It was 5:30pm by then and we had no clue of grass land. Rain had stopped by then and we dragged ourselves in search of Jeep track. I could see light above a small hillock and assumed it to be opening to grass land. It was getting darker and we had to get out of the forest at any cost, but it looked bleaker. We did hit a Jeep track and I & Laxmi suggested that we camp there since the road was wide, but it looked like Ravi still had hope that we will hit grass lands soon. It was around 6:30pm and was pitch-dark inside the forest, and we continued on the Jeep track. Unfortunately, we missed the Jeep track and took a path which looked like a trail but it was actually a dried stream. Unable to continue further, or go back we were stranded inside the forest and halted there. To "rub salt into one's wounds",  it started raining and we had not carried tents except a 6x4' plastic sheet which Laxmi had brought. We quickly tied ropes to four corners of sheet and made a best possible shelter. None of us had thought we will end the day like this. All of us sat under that small plastic sheet praying Gods to stop the rain. It was only 7:00pm and we had to spend next 12 hours in the forest, in complete darkness & heavy rains. Luckily, there were no leeches around and that was a great relief, but the deadliest snakes of Western ghats: Pit vipers, Cobras & King kobras ? What if they come and bite us ? We neither know what is the antidote or have nor carry the person to nearby village. "Ignorance is a bliss", I stopped thinking about all that and tried to get some sleep. Rain has stopped & Ravi fell asleep fast and we started chatting on, What we could have done better, Why we took decision of coming this way & What should be our strategy next ? etc. Night was running very very slow and I used to ask time every one hour. We were complete wet and could not change dress. I was getting shiver from within the body which was lasting few seconds. We all were trying to get some sleep, but at 1:00am it started raining again & kept us awake. I started chanting all the stotras that I could remember, but rain didn't stop. There was another round of heavy downpour at 4:00am in the morning for almost 30 minutes. Never in my life I have stayed awake beyond 3:00am, and it was the first time. It was then 6:00am but Sun was in no mood to rise.

Day 2 (17 Feb, Sunday)

It dawned at around 6:45am and we could see around. It was critical that we take correct decision, either to go back or continue further. Going back was very difficult because of slippery but we are certain to reach civilization. We decided to explore that area for another two hours and if we don't get a proper trail we will retreat. We then split into two groups to explore. Laxmi & Shreyas went up to see if they can penetrate the jungle, I & Ravi came down to see if we can trace the Jeep track seen last night. Ravi did a good job in finding the track by penetrating through a thick bush and that made all the difference. We saw a grand Jeep track and followed it. After 1hr of walking, the track forked and we had to judge the right path. Ravi suggested to continue on the right track & I on the left track. Ravi went ahead on the right track to see if there is any trial & I went on the left track. A huge tree had fallen blocking the left road, so we continued on the right track but it was leading to forest again. Something is wrong! Let's go back and check the left road. If there is no other way, we decided to go back. Ravi did yet another good job. He climbed up a small hillock & voila!, he screamed & called us up. Yeah, we were right in the Laxmi estate and out of forest. We had done it within two hours and thats great! 

We were welcomed by the estate workers and we were familiar to them already. We did breakfast with whatever was left (Chapathi, pickels, fruits) and ate the Bananas offered by the workers. It was 10:00am and we resumed our trek towards Hosakere. We had to walk another 10kms to reach Hosakere, it was very cloudy day and that helped in a way. We reached Hosakere by 1:30pm, got the bus to Mudigere and then to Chickmagalur. Our return bus was at 11:50pm and we spent the rest of the time playing Uno.

All of us returned safely to Bangalore on Monday morning. While some went to office, some worked from home, and I took a day off. I've decided that I will complete blog this time, so writing this while scratching my legs :).

Ending note

• I thank the brave-hearts in our team, who accompanied the trek through a less trodden path. We have truly made a history breaking through a virgin path :).  
• I did not carry my camera this time so no photos from my side. Ravi was happily clicking with his new Canon 5d markIV and I was only a silent watcher.  
• Some of the useful contacts during this trek are,

1. Chandra (Tata sumo driver at Dharmasthala): +919448153017/8970554857
2. Madhava (Villager at Herike who guided us to Nayi halla): +919480038314
3. Chennappa gowda (Guide at Shishila): +919480239185
4. Gopu gokhale (Villager at Herike, also called as Bhattara mane): 08251269246 

Ballalaraya fort to Bandaje

Side view of the Bandaje falls

     I'm writing this trek report after a gap of 7 years. So, whatever I'm writing is from the bottom of my memory. Some moments are still fresh in my mind since it was my first trek with Ravi & team. I never attempted to write down my experiences before, because I was not good at writing in English. I'm not an expert even now, but still want to write down my thoughts for my daughters, who might read it in future, and know about my interests and experiences.

     We went to Horanadu temple, and then hired a jeep to drop us to Sunksale. We walked few kilometers and reached a bungalow at the foot of the hill. It was around noon, and we finished our packed lunch quickly. I had kept a pack of curd and knife in the same pouch in my backpack. To my bad luck, the curd packet had swollen overnight, and the knife had pierced it ruining my bag. I washed my bag with the fountain water, and rearranged

We had lunch here on the first day

things. We started our trek around 2'O clock, and we followed the ruins of fort wall, as suggested by some other's trip report. It was a steep ascend, and for a first timer like me it was a hell like feeling. I was thinking, why did I come here to climb, putting all my well grown organs to difficult test. In fact, I had not carried anything in that trek. My back pack was as light as feather, compared to others who were carrying their sleeping bags & tents. On the way, shot some orchids, and some wild flowers. There were interesting insects also, but could not photograph them, due to bad light inside the forest. We were supposed to cross a stream after few hours of walking, if we had followed the proper trail. Unfortunately, we lost the trial and couldn't figure out where to go. The Ballalaraya fort was clearly visible to us, and that was our destination. So without thinking too much, we started climbing the hill straight towards the fort. It was a steep 85 degree climb and by evening 4'O clock, we were at the fort. It was a spectacular view of the western ghats from that fort. 

View of Western Ghats

     After clicking some photos there, we started walking towards Bandaje falls. I got to know from Ravi that, it was his second attempt to reach Bandaje and in his first attempt he lost the trail and could not complete. Gosh! my heart started pounding! What is the guarantee that we find the path this time?, what if we don't reach Dharmasthala in time tomorrow? All we were told by Ravi is to trek towards south to reach the falls. It wasn't a time to think as we had to walk very long distance. We decided to walk and walk till it gets dark, and then camp. After an hour of walking or so, we found a flat place, and pitched our tents. It was again first time experience for me, to sleep in tents on top of a mountain, with no one around except darkness and silence. Thought of wild animals especially elephants came to my mind, and I shivered once. Lights from a distant village was visible from there, and we discussed to somehow

View of Western Ghats

reach that village, if we don't get any other trail. We discussed strategy for next day, and one thing was very clear. We have to go only in south direction. I & Nataraj checked in to one of the royal cottages we had setup. Nataraj got sleep very quickly and started snoring. I wasn't feeling comfortable because of my wild thoughts, and slowly got sleep. Around 2 or 3 AM in the morning, I woke up to the sound of some grazing animal. I decided in mind that it is some Elephant or a wild boar, and I started carefully listening the movements. I shook Nataraj, and whispered, "saar, it seems some animal is there outside !!". He was least bothered, and said - "Its okay saar, sleep. Lets see in the morning". Rama !!, I started praying to all my known gods and slipped into sleep. 

Our Royal Cottage

When I woke up & looked around, it was like sea of milk. In our mythology, we read that Lord Vishnu sleeps on "Shesha", the serpent king in the middle of "Ksheera samudra". For a moment I felt, is this the one called us "Ksheera samudra" ? I looked around for signs of elephant dung, but couldn't find any. We packed our tents and started walking southwards. From the fort, we were walking always on the top of the mountain, so that was an easy walk. After walking an hour or so, we hit a valley, and had to cross it. After this, we started descending, and we could feel we are on right track, and could hear a water stream. We thought that must be the falls. Near the stream, we finished our breakfast and we had to cross the stream, but there were no proper trail to climb to other side. So, we walked in the stream for a furlong or so, then we heard noise of chopping a tree. We yelled in that direction. Few minutes later, few forest guards came looking for us, and they lead us to

Forest guards who helped us

the top of the falls. It was around 3'O clock, and we spent few minutes at the falls and started descending. The guards showed us the trail leading to Mundaje village, and that would take another 2-3 hours to reach there. While getting down through the grass land, we got beautiful side view of the falls, as seen in the first image. Then we entered the forest, and walked for some more time but still signs of civilization wasn't visible. It was getting dark, and we didn't have proper torches. There were lot of leech bites, but I ignored all of them, and was literally running towards the village. Few in our group were walking

Nataraj, finding a direct path to the base

very slowly, and chances of them reaching village before dark was feeble. It was me and Vijeth I guess, who reached the village first and asked for help. I think it was Babu Naik's house. The villagers were very kind and they sent 2 people looking for the rest of the group. By around 7'O clock, all came down, and we spent some time removing the leeches and cleaning. We asked for a Jeep to drop us to Dharmastala, and we could catch the bus right in time. It was a memorable first trip for me. I was initially thinking not to come for any another trek but after completing this trek, decided to join gym and be fit to climb. 

     After few years, I did Bandaje trek once again. More on that later :).