Agumbe....
Agumbe is a small village tucked away in Shimoga district of West Karnataka.With a literacy rate of 100% this unassuming village has nature's best kept treasures.
The easter weekend was almost the perfect setting for a mystical experience... and we were on our way to Agumbe.
Known for the setting of the famous Malgudi Days this sleepy village held us in its trance the moment we entered it.
With forests as dense and green as a city lad like me would never have seen, Agumbe was the perfect place to calm your senses and indulge in a mystical foreplay with nature.
It was an experience which makes you think about the futility and triviality of an adulterated and complicated city life. It was an experience which makes you wonder whether all our ambition and struggle to succeed in life is worth it. Wouldn't it be so perfect to live in the lap of nature with her caring for you in her own divine way.
Our journey started with a trek to Onake Abbe falls, around a km walk from the heart of the village. The trek which goes through the dense forest area is a rich experience in itself. The path filled with fresh leaves fallen from the dense canopy is full of leeches. While some would shriek at the idea of a slimy unearthly insects feeding on your blood, I found them interestingly intelligent and pretty awesome. Either ways the trek, which leads to the falls is truly worth it. Here you are trying to rid yourself of all the leeches trying to feed on from from every possible way when you suddenly look up at a scene which leaves you speechless.
The panorama is spectacular, almost out of a mystical land. You find yourself staring at an endless stretch of rainforests, it feels sublime, it feels peaceful.
This is when we realize we are at the top of a waterfall, where a quiet stream dives below to make a picturesque fall. It is as though we've discovered something new. Something we never knew we would experience. Little were we to know that this was just the start of an amazing sojourn.
Still in a state of trance with the tryst with nature, we trekked back through the jungle to reach the highway.
We also soon realised that the next point in our itinerary - the 18km trek Narasimha Parvata was out of the question. We could not afford more leeches.Though I would suggest adventurers to trek into the rain forest to the hill top.
We decided to spend a quiet evening waiting for the sun to put on a show while it sleeps for the day.
The next day saw us winding up the road to Kundadri Hills - a bit over 18km from agumbe.
The sheer beauty of this place held us in its awe. Seeing the sun wake up was magical even though the clouds did try to delay its morning. The wide vistas of natural bliss was breathtaking and I found myself contemplating on this newfound silence.
The Jain temple which we guessed dated back to few hundred years just added to the awe and mystery of the place. As the sun pandiculated and woke up for the day we headed to our next destination - Koodlu Theertha falls.
Touted as the most beautiful and picturesque falls in the state we started our journey towards this majestic waterfall even as we considered the possibility of more blood sucking parasites coming our way.
We reached our destination in about an hour from Kundadri hills and found our cab driver venturing through muddy roads and water bodies to the point that we just had to start trekking.
The hour long trek through the rain forest passed almost like a breeze ans as the sound of gushing water grew louder I found myself almost attuned with the forest. The view ahead simply took my breath away. It was one of those moments which leaves you speechless, in awe of nature's beauty. The falls were the most beautiful sights I have ever encountered.. Language would be a disgrace to describe the beauty of the Kudlu-Theertha falls. Even pictures would do grave injustice. It was a snapshot of the promised land, in an eternal time.
What was unfortunate and so depressing was seeing the ruthless littering by tourists in this amazing place.
As the sun got overhead we realised that more groups were on their way and soon this place would turn into a dirty picnic spot and ruin our experience. While heading back we saw truckloads of people on their way to the falls, and just thought how lucky we were to catch the falls in its true brilliance before being tortured by the onslaught of tourists.
We headed back to Agumbe for our journey back to our lives and back to Bangalore. This was surely not a worldly experience.
Traveller's guide :
1. Visiting places in/near Agumbe
Agumbe is a small village tucked away in Shimoga district of West Karnataka.With a literacy rate of 100% this unassuming village has nature's best kept treasures.
The easter weekend was almost the perfect setting for a mystical experience... and we were on our way to Agumbe.
Known for the setting of the famous Malgudi Days this sleepy village held us in its trance the moment we entered it.
With forests as dense and green as a city lad like me would never have seen, Agumbe was the perfect place to calm your senses and indulge in a mystical foreplay with nature.
It was an experience which makes you think about the futility and triviality of an adulterated and complicated city life. It was an experience which makes you wonder whether all our ambition and struggle to succeed in life is worth it. Wouldn't it be so perfect to live in the lap of nature with her caring for you in her own divine way. Our journey started with a trek to Onake Abbe falls, around a km walk from the heart of the village. The trek which goes through the dense forest area is a rich experience in itself. The path filled with fresh leaves fallen from the dense canopy is full of leeches. While some would shriek at the idea of a slimy unearthly insects feeding on your blood, I found them interestingly intelligent and pretty awesome. Either ways the trek, which leads to the falls is truly worth it. Here you are trying to rid yourself of all the leeches trying to feed on from from every possible way when you suddenly look up at a scene which leaves you speechless.
This is when we realize we are at the top of a waterfall, where a quiet stream dives below to make a picturesque fall. It is as though we've discovered something new. Something we never knew we would experience. Little were we to know that this was just the start of an amazing sojourn.
Still in a state of trance with the tryst with nature, we trekked back through the jungle to reach the highway.
We also soon realised that the next point in our itinerary - the 18km trek Narasimha Parvata was out of the question. We could not afford more leeches.Though I would suggest adventurers to trek into the rain forest to the hill top.
We decided to spend a quiet evening waiting for the sun to put on a show while it sleeps for the day.
The next day saw us winding up the road to Kundadri Hills - a bit over 18km from agumbe.
Touted as the most beautiful and picturesque falls in the state we started our journey towards this majestic waterfall even as we considered the possibility of more blood sucking parasites coming our way.
We reached our destination in about an hour from Kundadri hills and found our cab driver venturing through muddy roads and water bodies to the point that we just had to start trekking.
What was unfortunate and so depressing was seeing the ruthless littering by tourists in this amazing place.
As the sun got overhead we realised that more groups were on their way and soon this place would turn into a dirty picnic spot and ruin our experience. While heading back we saw truckloads of people on their way to the falls, and just thought how lucky we were to catch the falls in its true brilliance before being tortured by the onslaught of tourists.
We headed back to Agumbe for our journey back to our lives and back to Bangalore. This was surely not a worldly experience.
Traveller's guide :
1. Visiting places in/near Agumbe
1. Sunset view point - 2km
2. Onake Abbe falls - 3km
3. Jogi Gundi - 2.5km
4. Barkana falls - 7 km
5. Kundadri hills - 18km
6. Kudlu Theertha Falls -36 km
7. Narasimha Parvata Trek - 18km
2. Contacts :
Sudeendra (Lodge) – 09448759363
08181-233042
Guide (Mr Nayak) 08181-233039
Distance from Bangalore around 360km
3. There are 3-4 hotels which serve decent food. Localites may also offer to let you come over for lunch if your lucky!!!.
4. There is just one KSRTC bus which runs from Bangalore to Agumbe. Check their website for details.
