If you slow things down, you notice things you had not seen before – Robert Wilson
Dusk had kicked in; I was in Deniyaya bus stand where even the street lights were off. I heard a voice…it was Ranjith, Tuk Tuk driver who had come to pick me up. A relief, but was still not sure if I got into the right Tuk Tuk. He stopped at a point and asked me to get off, it was as dark as black. I could only hear water gushing; I flashed my torch & saw few trees. We had to cross the river with my two big bags to enter the forest. After 20 minutes of hike, I finally saw a light. We entered the gate & he introduced me to Katrina, Hi I said & then took a deep breath that I am safe, sound & alive! Sigh!
Next morning I woke up to the bright sun rays kicking through the window, glared quietly to a view of dense forest, Sinharaja Forest. I knew I was going to stay here for long, when I saw those trees & heard birds chirping, I was sure that I will. Traveling is an experience, once you stay longer in any place all these experiences grows into you spreading around like branches and keeps you grounded like roots. Those experiences are like nutrients that keep you enriched which moulds to be a better person.
Sam & Karina who quit their jobs & came here few years ago to setup their dream home, they also witnessed deforestation at the same time. They have planted around 800 + tress growing their own vegetables & fruits practicing sustainable living, using only solar power: they call it as Natural Mystic Sanctuary. It is heart wrenching to hear the trees that have been cut & was replaced by tea plantations. As most of the forest, Sinharaja Forest is also under threat; they are doing their bit to contribute to the nature.
The farthest white dot seen is Natural Mystic Sanctuary.Open natural shower at their house!
One of the late evenings, Katrina took us for a hike in the forest which is now slowly converting to tea plantations; we watched the sunset through the shimmering leaves & headed back. This is what happens when the need is replaced with greed 😦
My reading spot by the river, also some work for the fish to nibble on my feet.
I have always found coolest places to do yoga and this was one of the best where a place was setup under an old oak tree where apparently a big cobra lives in, the thought of it was even more fun to practice yoga 😉
As curious as always, I had to see the local market where farmers sell their crops, and we all headed to shop. This market was covered by netted clothes as roof which seemed like a colorful path when the sun rays were passing through the net.
Wood fire pizza we made on one of the rainy day!
Renuka from a nearby village comes here to cook, one day she came to me with a plate of Vade and she said India. She meant this is from India; I giggled, nodding yes and she says she watches all cookery shows from India and learns lot of recipes. Next day, a mid aged man says Vanakkam (greeting a person in Tamil), he said he is Renuka’s uncle. She had told him that I am from India; he invited us home sharing his stories that he was brought up here; his older brother (Renuka’s father) speaks better Tamil than him. He also mentioned that many years ago, most of the property in Deniyaya was owned by Chettiyar’s: one of the renowned Tamil families. It rained all day and we couldn’t go to their house, next day Renuka seemed upset that they were all waiting for us with pan cakes, tea and tender coconut 😦
We promised to go with her the same day, Jabba also accompanied us. It was raining all through our walk, locals taking a dip in the water, washing clothes, glittering paddy fields, tall palm trees, cows grazing, tired trees with scorching heat looked all cheered up soaking in the rain!
She lives in a nearby village called Batandura, houses here are painted with bright colors which looks like a painting by itself. We were served with super delicious tea & I was conversing with her father in Tamil. He said his father moved to Sri Lanka many years ago and they later got adapted to Sinhalese culture. Renuka’s husband works in a tea factory which was shut recently as they did not have work due to less rain, Renuka works as a cook to manage the family. Her kids got dressed up in their new clothes & shoes that were purchased for their New Year and we all stood for a group photo! Say cheese!
Why do we travel? To meet such wonderful people and for such experiences that keeps you enriched & also moulds to be a better person.
I love not man the less, but Nature more-Lord Byron
I saw this rugged jeep parked in the side, acting cranky to start. I was walking around checking out the mountains, glancing at the jeep every now & then. He was whispering something to me, I went closer & he said. Take a deep breath, sit up straight, and open up all your senses as you may not be able to do this when I take you for a ride. It was a 10 Kms off road drive through the forest on the rocks, passing the trees, mountains all around. Sunil parked the jeep at one corner and said the white dot up there, which is where we are going to. Right there, at that moment I was just telling to myself, days of research poured in finding a place like this was just more than the worth of my time.
Sunil hails from Bangalore/Bengaluru who found this property few years ago in Sakleshpur after a continuous research & traveling all across south India looking for a place like this. He is a certified River Rafter, Scuba Diver, Sky diver and what not; who has traveled to many places across the world and has immense knowledge of birds, trees and animals. 80 years ago, this place was always spotted by herd of tigers and hence the villagers named it Hulibana (Huli is Tiger and Bana is to meet); Sunil didn’t want the history to be changed and retained the same name; in the interest of travelers to understand it better he named it Hulivana.
Villas here are built by the rocks found in forest, mostly by the water stream. Sunil was explaining on how difficult it was to construct the villas by carving the stone to the right shape and have them fit in the right place. Room in the Villa opens up to two French windows on the side and in the front with the view of trees & water stream, wooden flooring and also a fire place inside. Wash room is one of its kinds with pebble flooring & electricity here is generated with hydro turbine during monsoon when there is more current in the water.
Dining hall overlooking the mountains, a place to also have some coffee & conversations.Heaven for foodies with different varieties of food in every meal I ate, was also served with traditional Malanad Kadubu with chutney and beautifully presented water melon.
Hammocks to read or to take a nap or to gaze at the trees or to just listen to water stream, just on the perfect place.
I had this quest to get into a forest alone, never thought I would have it conquered this soon; all thanks to Hulivana setup here. We took a short walk towards a water stream close by, Sunil mentioned about civet cats & I was all excited to see them. I stayed here alone for some time, finally spotted a civet cat for the first time in India (shy animal I must say, as soon as the cat spotted me; he ran away) I had the place to all myself, to sit, to meditate, to think, to dance, to sleep. Although there was fear of elephants passing by, I was just watching these unique creatures: Water Striders who walk on water continuously creating ripples in water.
Later in the evening, we went for a short trek around Ettina Bhuja (Back bone of a bull as the shape of the hill looks like it), I saw an olive green colored scorpion, and excited again as he was my first visitor too. Mesmerized by the view of 360 degrees of mountains everywhere which was topped with thick dense Kabinala forest, the slopes looked like slides connecting from one to other; I just wish I had the power to slide over from one mountain to other one. We sat down discussing the crazy elephant chase stories that has happened around these places and then spotted this bird called “Shikara” which would hover in one place against the wind for few seconds and then keep flying, hover and fly.
Breeze was churning up my bones, somewhere deep in the forest I could hear water rushing through, Sun was getting prepared to slide through those mountains, it was amazing to see the mix of color change on the sky & the hill top. We headed back where fire flies were throwing the light all around and moon was pouring the light from the top. Coffee & Popcorn was waiting for me in a moon lit sky, I have to mention about the hospitality here. Everything was very well organized; from the day email hit my inbox on the confirmation of availability to me reaching my next destination safely.
Bonfire setup!
Over coffee, Sunil was talking about this drink prepared by locals using Jaggery & a seasonal fruit; I just couldn’t deny tasting it. Later in the night by the bonfire, I took the first sip and I knew this would give some buzz around; we started sharing our travel stories. Sunil shared about his stories from seeing dead bodies floating in Rishikesh to his adventurous trek in Himalayas. With the little buzz in my head, all these stories were circulating around me virtually!
Early morning view through the window!
Woke up with the noise of water stream passing by the room which felt like a virtual massage running through my veins from head to toe, chill breeze sliding through the window which made me snuggle under the blanket gazing at those French windows looking at the trees.
Headed for a trek to Deepada Kallu (Deepa is lamp & Kallu is Stone: as the hill looks like a lamp) and Jenukallu gudda (Jenu is honey, kallu is stone & gudda is hill), seemed like there was a thunder storm coming up and the first step I took, there was a drop on my forehead. Every step I take I had to photograph every corner of this place, sun just didn’t want to come out and was playing around with the clouds and the hills. Looked like an ocean of endless mountains, bed of thick forest on them, I just wanted to float on that bed and snuggle under the rug of those clouds.
Clouds were on a war to pour rain,
I did feel a drop on my brain.
I looked at them & said, not today; pretty please?
They were too nice to me & got into peace.
Instead sun was peeping out shedding the ray,
it was such a memorable day.
Cold war seems to be over in blink of an eye,
People ask me why I travel, and this is why!
These are “Shola”, patches of trees that grow amidst the valleys surrounded by grasslands; they are found in only few specific areas in Western Ghats & nowhere else in the world! When it rains water accumulates in the valley which leads to the growth of these trees, these trees hold the moisture & remains green all through the year!
We then trekked upto Jenukallu gudda which is at the height of 4500 feet, first steeped mountain I have climbed on. Fear of heights to turn back, slippery stones, and grass to hold on which can even come out if you held it harder. Totally worth the entire struggle to be on top to see the view of cone shaped mountains, clouds covering them, sunlight spraying the sprinklers; 2 eyes were just not enough to enjoy this beauty & neither these words are enough to describe them.
Sipping a cup of coffee watching the hills around and the thickest of forest, my lungs were all cleansed with the fresh air that got in. I have said this before in my earlier post on Chikmagalur & will say it again, whenever I come to Western Ghats, I feel there is still lots of hope for nature to remain the way it is and this is what pulls me to come to this place again & again & again.
Deep in a rain forest they say, even deeper into the soul of a forest I would say!
Add this to your list of the place that you need to see before you die, you wouldn’t regret! Trust me.
Some facts about Animals & Insects Sunil shared:
Elephants: Post monsoon elephants go through some hormonal changes which lead to pressure in their brain that gets them disturbed to attack human beings. Mostly seen on male elephants but are common on female as well.
Fireflies: There are many kinds of fire flies which can be distinguished by the pattern of the way they shed the light. Say there were 2 kinds of fire flies with Bigger & Smaller patterns: Bigger one changes themselves to a smaller one and goes near smaller like mating and eats them as prey. Smaller one change themselves to bigger one, goes closer near bigger one & mate. Confused? Read again, Confused again? Keep reading. I had to ask 2 times to understand the process 😉
Cicadas: These insects that make noise in the night, gets all together of more than 100 which almost sounds like somebody is screaming, the noise is so loud they have a membrane in their ear that covers automatically. God’s a little too partial to them, isn’t it 😉
Honey Bee: Since honey bees sting is barbed, when the bee stings a mammal & pulled out it tears its abdomen & causes immediate death.
Water Strider: These unique creatures that walk on water gets attracted to ripples formed on water, when an insect falls and creates a ripple that is when these striders hunt them & eat.
When a Wild Flower spotted another Wild Flower.
*I was hosted by Hulivana; luck was all on my plate!
Maulie who owns this beauty purchased land here and have this beautiful setup right in between a jungle, surrounded by a beautiful lake. We had conversations from traveling, politics, religion, food to marriages. I have an inclination towards antique pieces; the kind of art and paint on the walls, interiors in the rooms, open (firewood) kitchen everything formed to be an antique piece which is one of its own kinds.
Being a foodie needless to mention, this is the best vegetarian food I have had till date. Most of the dishes here are cooked on fire wood; every meal/snack I ate was unique and super tasty. They make Jaggery and this sweet syrup (Kitul Pani) out of this Palm tree called Kitul nut. I sipped the coffee and took a bite of the Jaggery, that’s how it is supposed to be had. Later I had this yogurt made of buffalo milk along with the sweet syrup; I just couldn’t get enough of it and requested Maulie to serve me this the next day as well.
These two boys took me around to show this beautiful lake, with the silence all around, literally one of these guys walking in front of me and other one walking behind me. It took me few minutes to get them together for a picture.
I sat by the lake and meditated for a while; peace is what I had around me. Sun was almost wrapping up for the day, birds chirping, gentle wind cooling the lake, trees moving with the flow and their reflection on the water. I was trying to figure out if the tree was moving or it was the water, there was one dry tree amongst all the green trees which dragged my attention while most of the birds were resting on it. Extreme levels of Solitude with only birds, animals, and nature around, Paulo Coelho is right: if you really want something the entire universe will help you to achieve it; yes universe was all around me and this is what I had wished for. While I was relishing on my dreams, could sense someone tickling my stomach. Oh, it was those caterpillars turning into colorful butterflies 🙂
Not all those who WANDER are LOST – J. R. R. Tolkien
This was more of an Instinctive decision to test my guts of traveling solo to an unknown, a place that I had never heard before. It happened on one of the long weekends in March, while I was wondering where to step out my brain reminded me of a cousin who collects articles about off beat travel destinations, there were many options but this place pulled me towards it. I immediately booked a place to stay, packed bags and hit the road!
There were still knots in my stomach, and a little bit of fear in the head as it was my first time alone in an unknown place. From Pollachi which is the nearest town will have to take a bus to Valparai which is about one and a half hour journey in a local bus. Bus climbing up the hill, turning through the hair pin bends, watching the hills as sun was just opening the arms, clouds passing by as they were just waking up in the morning, an island that was like icing on the cake which later I figured out that it was Sholayar dam. As the view was quenching the thirst in my eyes, knots in my stomach were releasing and the fear in my head flew away in the air.
I stayed in River View Homestay and went around seeing the places in an auto. We were driving mostly through tea plantations and these tea plantations are covered by forest, had to walk for about 15 minutes to reach Nallamudi view point which has the rarest view of tea plantations on one side and forest on the other side.
Benny one of the hosts took me for a walk around tea plantations to see if we can spot elephants, they have even spotted leopards sometimes. Hard Luck, we couldn’t see elephants except for their dung but spotted few bison’s. It was a short trek; I have this dream to have snakes as pets. Benny was into Snake preserving and we had a long discussion about different snakes.
They also do offer night jeep safaris, if you are lucky enough you can spot leopards. As I was alone, hosts offered to take me around for a drive to check if we can spot any animals. We packed our food and headed on the road in Ghats again with really cold weather and fog all around. Hard luck again, we didn’t really get to see animals.
The next day, I visited a tea factory. It’s amazing on how different varieties of teas are made from the leaves plucked at different stages of their growth. Not being more of a tea drinker, black tea that I tasted there was one of the best tea’s I have had till now. While my taste buds were dancing with happiness, we headed to see Nirar Dam. The view from the dam surrounded by forests was surreal.
A place like this in Tamil Nadu which I had always assumed to be having hot weather, it is purely a hidden treasure and I am glad that I was able to find! I would really want to visit this place again during monsoon.
Quest in search of unknown bought me here,
with the tiny amount of fear.
I was in Solitude and so were you,
glad that I came to see you out of the blue.
Hidden treasure you are locked in the wood,
bidding adieu with a grin more than I thought I would!
Chikmagaluru has always been on the top list of my favorite places with the best of the climate that you can ask for, mountains stretching all around, waterfalls that you can see after every few meters on the road, the fog that hugs your body with the chill breeze where goosebumps too would feel good. I would never get bored to visit this place; my friend’s call it as my second home but I call it just like home. I have been going through a lot of blogs since many years and this travel blogger Shivya Nath is one of my favorites who had written about how to start solo traveling where she stated to start a solo trip with a known place that you are comfortable with and there you go, I knew which place to start with.
Been wanting to share this post from a really long time but there was something holding me back, maybe my conscious somehow knew I would be visiting this place again and again.
I have been to Chikmagaluru twice earlier so have pretty much seen most of the places around. As this was my first solo trip, I just wanted to feel comfortable in one place and come out of my hidden fears. I have always been scared of dark and staying alone, I really had to come out of that fear. One of my friends referred me to stay in this place, Devigiri Homestay, which had everything like I wanted. As comfortable as I want to be and as adventurous as I can be.
This is the tree house that I stayed in where there is no electricity, solar lamp is used instead and is about few meters walk in the woods from the main area. It was luckily a full moon night; there was moonlight peeping through those tall silver oak trees. I managed to walk all through gazing at the moon by telling thanks for shedding the light while I walked!
These pictures are from a short trek that I went through the estate I stayed in, got to witness the spectacular sunset amidst the mountains bidding goodbye for the day.
On the last day of any travels that I have gone so far, I have always felt wish I could stay longer. But on the last day of this one, I was very happy, there was a smile around me that kept saying this is not the last day, it is a beginning of many other travels in future. I made a promise to myself that I would never stop traveling and it will always or mostly be alone.
Yours Consciously Sneha 