Dandeli: A Hidden Treasure

Let me tell you how I came across this beautiful and hidden place named Dandeli, part of North Karnataka region and just a heads up, Goa is just 100 km away from this place.

Last year, I came across this trekking community called Hyderabad Trekking Club, with whom I went on a trek to Harishchandragadh, situated near Pune. While going through their list of packages, I came across the tour to Dandeli, where we can do the White Water Rafting. It’s the South India’s largest White Water Rafting. Obviously, Rishikesh is the top. But if you want to have a first hand experience down south, keeping that Delhi is quite far away, Dandeli should be your go to option.

Since then, I have been wondering to visit this place, but never got a perfect chance and time. Then came, March 2020. Holi was around the corner. Luckily, we had an off for that. Hence, we decided to explore this clueless place, which has not much information on Google, like the to do list, where to stay etc. That was quite some feat.

So I started off from Hyderabad, reached Dharwad, met my friends there and Dandeli is one and half hour bus drive. Let me tell you a quick fact about this: When I landed in Dharwad, we had “the perfect dosa”, crisp, slightly brown, such a delicacy to the taste buds. This dosa can be better than that which you eat in Tamilnadu. Me being a tamilian, have to admit the fact. In Karnataka, you can have the best and crispy dosas you will ever have.

To tell about the resort we stayed in, it was unexpectedly a pleasant surprise for the amount we paid for. It was definitely one of the best surprises there, and it just got better and better by the end of the trip. So let me share some pictures of them here, so that you can witness for yourself.

It was a beautiful cottage surrounded by the forest cover and almost 10 kms away from the main town. To talk about the perks we got from the package we took were: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner; Campfire; Some additional water sports activities, which were not that fun except for Kayaking, Zorbing.

So the first day was just sight seeing and lazying around. We went to an eco park where we had pretty much things we could do. I can attach some pictures below for the fun we had there. Visited a crocodile park, and that was the first and so close by view I got of. Phew. Chills down my spine.

The second day was the most adventurous and fun part. River rafting. This was not included in the package we took and it costed 1300 per head if I remember correctly and it was worth the money. It’s a 12 km ride with quite a few rapids. Rapid means where we get a bump over the water and that is one hell of an adrenaline rush. It lasted for around 2 hrs in the water I guess. Post that, we had our lunch break and headed to the other water sports activities which were included in the package: Kayaking and Zorbing. I sucked at both. But had awesome fun in zorbing the ball, where we kept falling and falling till we got the hang of it.

The third day and the last day of our trip turned out even more exciting. The resort had cycles which we could use. Hence, we took a cycle trip all the way to the town. Though it was quite tiring, the experience was exhilarating and rewarding.

On a whole, we had lots of fun, adventure and all the unexpected surprises the trip gave us. It was quite satisfying, even though it was a short one.

To end with, I feel like we get to decide on opportunities like these whether to take that undecided instant trip or doing something which was always out of your comfort zone, but still you ended up doing it, trust me, you would be a totally different person after that experience. That’s how experiences make you a better person day by day.

One experience at a time.

A lifetime experience at Kasol-Kheerganga

 

The itinerary of our trip goes on like this:

March 21-March 25

21st March: Bus from Delhi to Bhuntar, 22nd March: Hangout in Kasol, 23-24 March Round Trip of Kheerganga Trek, 24th March Night: Return Bus from Bhuntar to Delhi

In this article, I am mainly gonna focus on the trek to Kheerganga, as it has become one of the recent attractions near Delhi. I really got nervous and tensed after reading so many articles to Kheerganga while planning for it, as it was too confusing.

So I am here to make your lives simpler with this article.

As we reached Bhuntar on 22nd Morning, it took one hour from there to reach Manikaran, a 4 KM distance from Kasol. That took almost afternoon for us to settle down in the hotel and get ourselves freshened.

Then we took a walk from our hotel towards Kasol, ‘the Mini Israel of India’.

It was a peaceful walk which is a 4 KM journey. Below I am attaching a link where I have collated the pics which I clicked on the way towards the town.

That day we had a lovely lunch nearby the Parvati Valley in a restaurant named Panj Tara Bar & Grill. We also bought some biscuits and bakery stuff from a nearby German Bakery Store. The whole ambience there was pretty chill and I really could witness why everyone died to be in Kasol. 😉 (If you know what I meant)

The next day was our most awaited experience to be. *The Trek To Kheerganga Camp*

We started early at 9 A.M. the next day. And luckily, we got a bus to Barshaini immediately. Barshaini is the starting point of the trek.

So I am gonna explain the route of the trek. There are basically two familiar routes. One is along the Parvati River and the other is through the Forest, which is to the right of the former route.

I am posting a picture below for a better understanding.

(So as mentioned above, you can see a straight road which leads to two opposite paths, we took the left route and the right one is through the forest)

Both of these routes intersect at a common point named ‘Rudra Nag’, about which I will talk in the upcoming paragraphs.

The next stop for this route was Nakhtan, which was around 3-4 kms away.

I am sharing some pictures below, which I have clicked on the route.

Okay, now this is a big list of pictures. Hope you liked them 🙂

So when we reached Nakhtan, it was around 11-12 in the morning. Nakhtan is a small village where the houses are pretty cool and are wooden ones. I can show them in pictures.

After this there were apple orchards. There were clouds floating by and I could witness the majestic peak with its snow-capped ranges. You can have a look at it.

From Nakhtan, we headed towards the next stop Rudra Nag. So yes, to talk about Rudra Nag, it is the half way through of the trek, i.e. you have covered 6km when you reach Rudra Nag. And the whole trek is a 12km one.

At Rudra Nag we had our mini lunch break and had chai with hot maggi. We also hydrated ourselves with nimbuzz, buttermilk, minute maid etc whatever was available. And yes, keep snickers with you to re-energize yourself.

Until Rudra Nag, we were taking short break for every half an hour to forty minutes. At that pace, we wouldn’t have completed the trek by evening. Hence, after Rudra Nag, we reduced our pit-stops to 2-3 min ones, so that we can make it before it gets dark.

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This trek through the forest was too tiring and too steep. You should be very careful while you take your steps. Make sure that you wear strong shoes or boots, whichever comfortable. We had a bunch of co-travelers and hence we didn’t feel that demotivated all the way through the trek.

And Finally, we made it to the top by around 4:45 P.M.

The Kheerganga Camping Site. It was a sheer of joy. I couldn’t express my joy after seeing the snow-capped mountains all around me and I was living my dream. Oh man! It was INCREDIBLE!!

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We stayed over the camp for the rest of the night and it was my first ever experience in a tent and it took a hell lot of time for me to get accustomed to the tent atmosphere. I literally was fearing of the heavy sound of the winds along with the gushing out of Parvati River.

The next day we woke up pretty early at around 6 in the morning and to witness the sunrise on the snow-capped mountains. It was a magical experience, literally.

These pics will make you believe.

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And then after the photoshoot, we had an amazing bath in the hot springs. It still was a reminiscing moment for me, when I had all the snow-capped mountains surrounded by me everywhere when I was in the hot springs. It was one hell of an experience.

To cherish this moment, you need to be a bit early so that you can be the first person or you can get some privacy to stay in the hot springs. And believe me, they have wonder powers to reduce all the pain you had after trekking up such steep edges.

After this we had an awesome breakfast with the majestic mountains infront of us.

With this we started off downward all the way to Barshaini.

Some key point to note before you start for this trek:

1. Buy all the essentials you feel like you need to have, before starting the trek
2. Buy the stick for making the trek a bit easier, if you are a beginner to trekking
3. Talking about the physical fitness, if you are confident about your physical health as average then ,voila, you can easily finish off this trek successfully.
4. Don’t lose hope at any point of time. Be cheerful. Enjoy the nature. Immerse with the beauty. That is the only distraction you get, as your mobile networks will not be in coverage area
5. Keep yourself hydrated. Avoid beverages like coffee and tea. I would suggest lots of water, buttermilk or any other juice you prefer.
6. There is honey lemon ginger tea famous out there in the Kheerganga Camping site. Don’t forget to try that.
7. Always keep some extra warm clothes. Trust me you would be needing them.

Whoever has done this trek, would be feeling so tiny in this world, that there are lot more amazing things to witness than to crib about our day-to-day problems. Yes, we are the tiniest of the tiniest of this world in front of these majestic and beautiful mountains. Save Mother Earth. She is inexplicably beautiful. Let her beauty be witnessed by every single creature born into this world. She is a lot more worth than what we can even think of. Try to be a bit responsible towards Mother Earth than you are today. Bit by Bit can bring a hell lot of change. Be that Change.

 

When dream turns into reality!

2017 is always a dear one to me as it has given me an opportunity to make my dream come true. Yes, Sikkim it is!

Having studied in NIT Silchar, I always regretted for the fact that I couldn’t explore much of North-East, especially Sikkim, the heaven-state of India. Before exploring and boasting about the beauty which other countries have, it is mandatory to explore the beauty present in your motherland. Among this, Sikkim is one of them in the list.

Ok, let me jump into my experience there. It was a 5 days long trip. A flight from Delhi to Bagdogra and then a road journey from there to Sikkim via cab. And by god, the route was mesmerising though I couldn’t capture in my phone, I have one pic from the flight journey.

                                                                                                      Location: Somewhere nearby Bagdogra(you can see the Kanchenjunga range, if you look closely)

So the Day 1 ends with a awesome journey from Delhi to Majitar, Sikkim.

Now comes Day 2. We are all set for visiting Gangtok, especially MG Marg, the cleanest and busiest road in India. It is just one hour far away from Majitar and the bus route took us through the Tista river and some beautiful sceneries. Here is one beauty when we landed in Gangtok.

Location: Gangtok

And man, what a place MG Marg was! It is one of the man made wonders. Once you enter there for the first time, you will simply stare at its sheer beauty and then start realizing that you are actually there.

Location: MG Marg

Wait till the sunset and you will witness the place transforming itself into a heavenly bliss. You will wonder yourself being in a foreign place. Here is a glimpse of the location.

Location: MG Marg in the evening

The next and the most adventurous destination was Enoute Gurudongmar Lake via Lachen.

So, the real fun and excitement kicked in when we headed towards Lachen in a four wheeler (Bolero).  And we could witness some majestic beauty on the way our vehicle stopped. Oh man, what feeling it was! I could have just sit there for quite a time, but given the time constraint we could rejoice it only through the frames we captured there.

Location: Seven Sister Waterfalls

This is the famous Seven Sister Waterfall, located near 30km away from Lachen. You just need to be present there to witness its beauty and feel it. It is one of the attractions in North Sikkim.

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Location: Somewhere Enroute Lachen

And yes, we finally reach Lachen by the evening of the same day and it’s freezing cold already (Freaking 0 degrees). And yes, we geared ourselves up with a good sleep to head towards Gurudongmar Lake the next morning.

Dec 14th 04:30AM: We are all set to start from Lachen in the vehicle again.

Dec 14th 05:00AM: Already headed towards the destination, half asleep

Dec 14th 06:00AM:

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 Location: Kalep

We stopped at a place named Kalep, where we had the morning breakfast. The much needed Garam Chai and Soupy Maggi Noodles.

Dec 14th 08:30 AM

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Location: Gurudongmar Lake, North Sikkim

This happened. Yes, the heavenly Gurudongmar Lake. Trust me, you will not regret taking that extra risk to feel the beauty and emotions the landscape offers you at that time. It will haunt you for the rest of your life with its eternal beauty.

Never have I ever experienced a breathlessness situation with low oxygen levels and high altitude. I had never been to a high altitude location except for the hill stations. Thankfully, I did not get affected with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), but I almost experienced the loosing the breath with low oxygen levels hitting me, allowing me to breathe through my mouth, still no use. That’s why they recommend to carry ginger or camphor balls with you there, as they produce warmth in your body and keep you steady. I could survive there because of ginger I had in my mouth.

Keeping all the difficulties we faced aside, I would like to share the essence and beauty of the place which offered to me. Snow capped mountains with snow over it being vaporized because of the sun rays, the almost frozen lake beside it, the bunch of Buddhist flags flying high along the winds, the gushy winds and yes the mighty Sunshine. Oh man, True Bliss it was! I consider myself very blessed and lucky for having witnessed this heaven on Earth. And I recommend to every person who wishes to visit Sikkim to keep this place in their checklist and yes also the timings to visit this place. Best time to visit this wonder, as per my knowledge, is during October to December second week.

So, I end this article here and share my experience to Nathula Pass in my upcoming article with some interesting pictures too :p