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Trekking around BallaLa
Rayana Durga, Bandaje Arbi.
Date:12/13/14 April 2003.
The route planned was to trek to arbi bandajje and ballalrayandurga
fort.The season promised some hot weather,but forecasts showed that
we might get some rain,and hence,some respite from the heat. Seven
of us caught the bangalore to dharmasthala overnight bus.Since there
was some uncertainty about the place we were to get down,we alighted
at dharmasthala itself.There are 2 access points to this route,one
at mundajje(16kms from dharmasthala) and sunkasAle(83kms from dharmasthala).We
decided to go start from mundajje.
From mundajje leads a dirt road to Narayan Gowda's house,behind
which a path (only a single path,as the locals put it) leads to
the arbi waterfall.This house nestles in the shadow of a hill(name
unknown),on the shoulder of which one can see arbi (arbi means waterfall
in kannada).What we decided ,was that instead of taking the dirt
road,we would trek in the forest towards this house.As it turned
out,this was extremely difficult because there are many paths in
the forest that lead to houses here and there,but none to the house.We
ended up getting lost many times,and only with the assistance of
two local guides did we reach the house in the evening.There are
cairns in the forest that mark the way,but the trail is not clear
and simply finding the next cairn is difficult.
By this time ,one of our team members was unwell,it
seemed,due to dehydration. Thanks to the assitance from Mr Narayan
Gowda,we were able to get a doctor who pronounced him fine,and a
day's rest should see him through.
Next morning after seeing off our friend,we got a local
guide to show us the path to arbi.From the house,although the waterfall
is visible,there are many forks in the forest path. It behind the
house through some nice tropical jungle,although very humid and
sticky.After breakfast near a waterpoint,we continued.The path is
almost always climbing,sometimes steeply. It traverses around the
shoulder of the hill and into a grassland(though,i suspect,this
was earlier a forest which was hacked away). Another steep climb
and a shola walkthro later,we were at arbi.
Arbi is a 200+ft waterfall,but the path leads to the
top of it.Going by the amount of junk there,it seemed to be a popular
spot. After bathing ourselves and cleaning up the place,the rains
came down in force,so we huddled in the covers and finished our
lunch.We found a small overhanging rock that served as a cave about
20minutes walk upstream ,and we settled in for the night.
An early breakfast and we were off to the fort.Ballal fort is visible
from the topmost point of the hill about an hour's walk up from arbi,and
another hour's walk along a clear path later,we were at the fort.The
fort is supposed to have been built by the hoysalas,is about 100m
square,and has nothing except a few trees and ramparts.The views,however
are worth the effort.The walk to the fort from arbi is also very nice,it
proceeds on top of the ridges with views of shola forest and valleys
as well.Eastward from the fort,one can see oorikan estate and below
that lies sunkasAle.The trail down is well frequented and one passes
houses and estates.It took us 2 1/2 hours to reach sunkasAle,from
where one can take a bus to horanadu(via kalasa) or dharmasthala(via
kothigere) to reach bangalore.
Useful Info.
Route: mundajje narayan gowda's house (jungle walk 5 hours) house
- arbi bandajje (4 hours steep ascent) arbi bandajje - ballalrayandurga
(2hours,no water available) ballalrayandurga- sunkasAle(2 hours ).
Road access is at mundajje,gowda's house and sunkasAle. Petrol ,hospitals
: at ujire(8kms from mundajje).
Shelter is available at a school near the house,and in a small cave
near arbi(about 7 can sleep).There is no shelter at the fort,but there
are houses an hour's descent away.
These might be useful: insect repellant,machete/sickle
for the forest walk,tents(if one goes in rainy season).A guide for
the route from house to arbi.
Watch out for: ticks,leeches,insect swarms(near the fort).
Possible variations:One can do the route the easier way (durga-arbi-house),but
the descents wont be kind on the knees. Another one would be from
mundajje to arbi directly,but this would need a guide.
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