Drenched in the Western Ghats

Next morning, we were greeted by a thunder storm, a welcome start for the next two days of trekking at Wildernest in Chorla. We had been advised to fill petrol and check tyres every morning before the start of the journey, but we made an exception here, as just across the border into Karnataka, petrol was Rs.5 per litre cheaper. The advent of GST has removed most of these anomalies from our lives, but here was a reminder of the past.

On the road again…

The first rest stop at Karnataka was remarkable. It was as if the vibrant restaurant culture of Bangalore had permeated all the way to the border. Not only was the space clean, hygienic and well ventilated, the choice of food, from Arabic, Japanese, Italian options, to regular South Indian Thali’s, Rajasthani Thali’s etc. was unexpected.

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Chennamma Kittur - forgotten hero

We took the Kolhapur-Belgaum road to Belagavi. The town square has the statue of Rani Chennamma Kittur, a queen who fought the British 30 years before the 1857 war of independence, for 5 years. We discovered Belagavi’s own Rani of Jhansi, entirely by accident – my rendition of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's Jhansi ki Rani & accompanying history lesson followed:

सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी,

बूढ़े भारत में भी आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी,

गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी,

दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी।

चमक उठी सन् सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी,

बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी,

खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।।

The 'old' Western Ghats again

At Belagavi, we turned towards the Western Ghats again, driving through the scenic Amboli ghat pass (1 of 7 passes through the ghats). The drive was simply breath taking. Perfect overcast conditions, lush green foliage, limited road traffic (probably due to the rain), made the drive unforgettable. (One caution: In Karnataka, even on National Highways, potholes are not tended, and unmarked speed breakers abound.)

A little about the Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri Hills, are well known for their rich and unique assemblage of flora and fauna. It is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is one of the eight hotspots of biological diversity in the world. These mountains cover an area of around 140,000 km² in a 1,600 km long stretch.

WOW @ Wildernest

Soon enough, we are at Wildernest! They have upgraded. Last time, we were here, we drove up a stone brick road, bumping and bouncing along the way. This time we had an open air cable car ride, taking us up to the hotel, looking out over the vistas.

Wildernest has declared its 700 acres of forest a private sanctuary called Swapnagandha valley, and has limited the 18 eco-lodges and restaurant to only 5 acres. The views from our balcony are breath taking. The clouds coming up the hillside envelope us in a haze, and then reveal the valley and its waterfalls, once again.

The infinity ‘ionised’ pool overlooks the valley as well and at 4pm in the afternoon, in the overcast conditions, it feels like its evening already.

After Sun Down

The flip side of this eco-friendliness, is that when it gets dark, it gets pitch black, and you can hear the insects and reptiles (mainly frogs) come out to play. The incessant rainfall added to a feeling of damp gloom which was hard to shake. We hoped we would get used to this soon. Determined to see and learn as much as we could, we ventured out for a Night Nature Walk with one of the resident naturalists. The guides’ torch occasionally picked out frogs, snakes, insects of note, and despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

It was our first sighting of the gliding frog who lives in the trees, and gives birth to tadpoles directly from the tree to the pools of water below.

Among the snakes to note, we also saw a Malabar Pit Viper, mildly venomous (if bitten by it, we would need to be hospitalized but the anti-venom is common).

The piece de resistance were the bio luminescent plants – fungi covered trees and wood logs, that glowed eerily in the dark – like a haunted house.

Food is the Hero again!

For dinner, we were served local Maharashtrian/Konkani cuisine. We had the option of rice or jowari bhakri, basmati or red boiled rice, wide variety of vegetables and meat, and we had 8 lonache (achars) of which only one I had tasted before and 4 chutneys, each of them new to us. Whether it was the hunger, or the quality of food, we enjoyed our meal thoroughly. Vikram quickly notched up 2 more dishes which were the best he had ever eaten.

Vikram’s "Best Food in the World" Counter: 7

Morning Trek to Chorla Waterfall

Properly kitted in a rain coat, water proof trekking shoes, rain pants, anti-leech protection, etc. we started at 7am for a trek through dense jungle to see the Chorla Falls. Alas, there was no rain! And we were in a hot, humid jungle, slipping and sliding on moss covered rocks.

And then there was the waterfall!

It was magical.

It was loud.

Pure white gushing water - swollen with the monsoon rainfall.

The spray calmed our nerves, and gave us succour for the journey back.

And it started raining again, and our spirits rose.

Aside: My fitbit showed we had walked 6km, 16,000+ steps and climbed 49 floors.

Dance of the Vine Snake

On the way back, we were lucky to witness the dance of a vine snake. This snake is mildly poisonous (a bite makes you feel sick for 15 mins). Green vine snakes have binocular vision. Their eyes work together and focus on the same image helping identify prey easily.

Who has jurisdiction at the tri-junction?

Before sunset, we took a short walk to the top of the peak from where we could see all 3 states - Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Among the oohs and aahs from the people who had gathered there, my son asked the guide to explain to him, “if a person died at this place, which state would do the paperwork?” Gobsmacked by the question, the discussion changed to the merits and demerits of the current education system, as we made our way back to respective lodges before dark.

Is it broken?

An unfortunate outcome of the trek was that my wife had fallen on her left hand, and the thumb was swelling up. The guide and staff were quite sure that it was not broken, but we could not be sure. It was a Sunday, and the local village had no doctor or hospital.

Luckily we were able to fashion a splint from some twigs and medical tape, and that gave her some relief. Our focus shifted to first aid, then hospitals, doctors. The inconsistent mobile network did not help, and it was only by night that we were able to get information from friends in Mumbai regarding where we could go the next morning to have it looked at.

Food continues to be first class

The local cuisine continued to surpass all expectations at both lunch and dinner. The mooli bhaji cooked with green onion was the only time we had eaten mooli as the main vegetable in any dish. It was outstanding. Garlic lonache, a green spinach like preparation, the masala chicken, and bhindi gave the mooli a tough fight.

Vikram’s "Best Food in the World" Counter: 10