Trek to Benne Kallu Gudda

...continued from Sunset point near Forest Homestay

After a hectic day of traveling by bus and cross country trek, that too with a bad cold, I was exhausted. Sridhar and Pushpa too were tired. Back at our cottage we freshened up and eagerly waited for the caretakers to fetch dinner. The most tasty relished items in the dinner were rice and thili-saar popularly known as rasam. I popped in a tablet to tackle the infected sinus hoping it improved my condition. By 9-30 we had switched off the light and hit the sack.

December 21, 2019
We were up by 4-15 AM. With undisturbed sleep, my condition had improved. With two bathroom at our disposal, were ready by 6-15. Our caretaker-guide Pradeep turned up at 6-30 with hot tea. He had also got a bottle of ragi-ganji, our hilltop breakfast at the end of the trek. Our trek commenced around 6-45. We were six of us including the guide and two co-guests. Pradeep lead the way and I was at the tail end. I kept little distance.. had to blow my nose now and then. Also, I didn't want to bother the group with my coughing noise. This is the newly carved path through the hills, I believe this will soon be a metaled road. The spot of light seen in the distance is from Pushpa's phone, she was shooting along the way.

The path became steeper, the heavy breathing actually helped me. At one point Pushpa wanted a long stick, it was easy to find one from the rubble the excavators had made. There she is, with her stick, bag and phone. This was the end of the machine-cleared path, we would be entering the wild path.

One of the points where the leading group paused for Pushpa and I to catch up. Good chance to take a picture. The young couple from Bnaglore, Sri and Pradeep. The rock is light grey under the black surface, same as the rock seen at the sunset point.

This jungle is natural, not the plantation type seen in some parts of Western Ghats. The thick vines are proof that the jungle hasn't been disturbed much. However, at some point of time, probably several centuries ago, large trees stood here. The jungle cover and the neighboring hills had cut off the sun from our view until we..

..reached this point. The gold-brown-blue sky.  One cloud formation close to the horizon looks like a long fish.

Another view of the sky, hills and jungle. What a glorious sight it was. It was quite silent, there might have birds chirping around which I missed because of my own noises.. blowing the nose and cough.

This part was quite steep but climbing was easy because of the comfortable grip. Its fun t climb such rock faces. There were low mounds of dirt held together by grass roots. The grass must've been green until November end.

I liked the shape of the grassy outline, looks like the peninsular India and black rock is Bay of Bengal. There's one mound in place for Andaman & Nicobar islands. Inside the green cover, there would be creatures of the Nature minding their business.

Our climb progresses, the column marches in the same order.. lead by Pradeep and me at the tail end. Actually the last person watches over the group, ensures that all members are present.

I took my time, pausing to see and shoot. These arches and circles of grass are admirable. How the invisible cracks have formed and grass managed to take root along those cracks. They look like rings of fire.

I shot this picture to give the viewers an idea of the slope. Not too steep at this point. Notice the undulations in the surface which let the rainwater play as it flows down in little streams, forming little overflowing ponds. I guess this part wouldn't be too difficult even during rainy season.

While I gave all the attention to Bhoo Devi, the sky was jealous. Our Surya Deva was peeking at the horizon while Varuna Deva's army dominated the sky.

Sri had caught us unawares. I thought he was shooting the landscape. Its a great shot, its like Pushpa and I were standing on the horizon. Somehow Pushpa is lagging behind. Some plants have managed to green here, perhaps this is close to the edge of the exposed rock.

I guess that's where Sri shot the previous picture from. Yes, we are close to the edge of the exposed rock. There would be much more moisture trapped in the soil here which would have kept the little plants alive. Anyway, even dead plants are alive in a way, all they need is water to become life again. Here we enter the jungle again.

Few meters into the green cover we saw a barbed fence of a coffee estate. Our path went along the fence for some distance and then we turned left and climbed again and came into the open again to see this amazing sight. The butter ball stone ~ Benne Kallu.

In the following post, I'll share the sights of the valley, hills, jungles and sky from this point. Do check  out Benne Kallu Gudda.

.........