TRIP KALASA, KARNATAKA:

I reached Central at 9 0’ clock for the 10.30 Bangalore Express train. Waiting for my friends to arrive, I was sitting amidst the hundreds of fellow passengers in the huge hall. After boarding the train, the usual chit chats started which continued till 12 and then we all slept. We reached Bangalore at around 5.30 AM. While we were sipping our morning coffee, our cab had already arrived. We noticed that the Innova had the capacity to accommodate only 6 and we were 7 of us. So we waited for an hour until the next Innova with 7 members capacity(i.e no partition in 3 seater in the middle row) arrived. From there, we set off on the isolated yet amazing roads to KALASA. It took around 7 hours from Bangalore to reach the resort we had booked including the time we spent for breakfast and coffee.

We had already started moving up on the hill and we wanted to reach the “Silent Valley Resort” as soon as possible. So we didn’t stop anywhere for lunch and reached the resort by 5 PM hungrily. The resort was very friendly saying lunch was available even at that odd time. Appreciate their hospitality.  Lunch was reasonably good with decent amount of varieties. The resort was located on top of the hill giving beautiful view of the mountains, mist and forests surrounding it. Different kinds of accommodations are present - cottages, villas and tree houses widely spaced from each which gives us more space to walk around and take pictures.

We started from resort the next day morning to tea plantation and hanging bridge. The hanging bridge was a perfect scenic spot as it hung between two mountains separated by river below.  Many places were devoid of any tourists – maybe because we didn’t go in the right season. After taking pictures on the isolated bridge we decided to walk down to the river through a slope. It was kind of steep but we made it. The river was very shallow and transparent giving us a view of the stones, pebbles and fishes underneath. Seeing a rock in almost middle of the flowing river, we decided to sit on that rock for a while and take pictures. Crossing the river was fun. Water was chill and clear (and sweet – you can actually taste the water), stones were slippery enough to let u fall down. Careful not to step on the stones and just walk on the pebbles one by one to the rock in the middle was at times hurdled by the small fishes in the river which kept biting the feet. No harm though! Pedicure for free of cost: PAnd then we reached the rock successfully. After a while we climbed up the slope and got back in the car. 

Then we set off to Hanumanagundhi falls. Stepping down to around 800 steep steps beneath through the mountain, you can’tfail to notice your legs shivering and you will desperately want to sit. But the view is worth the pain. The falls has a level where everyone can get down. But there are places where tourists need to careful failing of which might prove fatal. Thankfully we happened to find many tourists there. But there were no ‘signs of danger’ kept for tourists’ guidance. If walking down the steps was difficult, you can imagine how it is to climb back up.

By then it was lunch time and we headed back to our resort. After finishing our lunch, we stopped to visit a place which was once a dam but now it is not being used. Till our eyes could reach, there were only dryness and scorching heat wanted us to leave the place soon. Probably, a bad season! Made me wonder how such a place could exist in the midst of mountains. On the way, we found some interesting places like lake view and valley point. We stopped there to take pictures and then returned back to the resort by 4.30 PM.

We again set off from the resort by 5.45 to have a view of sunset which is said to be famous from a viewpoint. The viewpoint was hardly within a kilometer from the resort.  Already being tired because of the steps in Hanumanagundhi falls, we found it difficult to again walk fast through a steep and longmuddy slope to get to the viewpoint. So we started slow and by the time we reached the top of the slope, the sun had already set and the moon hadrisen :D (We cant be blamed).  But I must mention that the slope was really haunting since it was through the mountains with no proper fencing to prevent animals (if any) getting in the tourists’ way. To top it off all, the slope and the viewpoint were all deserted and we were the only tourists up there. So we decided to descend down the slope before it gets too dark to avoid any danger. There, another reason how I ended up getting muscle pull in my legs for the next 2 days L

Tired and exhausted, we reached the resort and spent some time in camp fire. Dinner was great and there was no restriction in food consumption. We kept having desserts on and on till 12 and they were only happy to keep serving us till we were done. Very customer friendly and their hospitality wasadorable. We checked out of the resort next day by 12 PM and got in the cab and started our return journey to Bangalore which will take around 7 hours. By 7.30 PM we reached Bangalore. After our dinner, we boarded the bus from Bangalore to Chennai and we all reached back safe by 6 AM in the morning.

Bottom line is Kalasa was a place worth to be explored.

Some pictures for you:

                                                              View from the resort

                                                              Hanging bridge

                                                              View from Hanging bridge

                                                                    Valley Point

                                             View of hanging bridge from the river below

                                                                  Hanumanagundhi Falls

Hope this helps!Let me know what you think through comments :)

Happy Blogging!