(N1's narration)
Kodachadri is a beautiful place and we were going to trek there. We were going to trek the Kodachadri hill, and we were going to see the Hidlumane falls. We were travelling with a group called the Charana.
We left home about 8 o'clock and took a taxi to the bus stand where our bus would be waiting for us with the rest of our group. The bus were supposed to come at 9:15, but it was delayed and came only at 10:15. When the bus finally came, the others were ready to sleep in the pushback seats of the bus.
We reached Kodachadri at about 8:30 the next day. As soon as we reached our home stay, we freshened up, changed, had a breakfast of idli and chitranna, and left for our trek. We walked on the road for about 10 minutes and then entered the broad forest of Kodachadri hill.
.jpeg)
The sight we saw was mesmerising. The rain made it relatively harder for us to climb because the rocks were slippery and made it more challenging at one point. There was so much lush greenery. The whole experience of walking on the wood to avoid stepping into the slush was really fun. A few metres after we stepped into the slush, there was a river who was obstructing our path, and we had to cross this. This was really fun because our shoes got wet and the feeling was really amazing because the water was really cool.
Soon after, our journey finally reached the waterfalls. To reach the waterfalls, we had to climb using ropes. We had to hold on to ropes and be careful not to put a foot in wrong places. The falls was spectacular. We wore our raincoats and the water came up to our knees, and it was really refreshing and cool to be inside the waterfall. We looked at the gushing waterfall just a few metres above, and the sight left us in awe. The whole sight was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. After about 10 minutes, we removed our raincoats and continued on the journey towards the peak of the hills.
(P's narration)
Once we got wet in the Hidlumane waterfalls, the guide told us to climb the rock and wait there. While we were waiting, we had towels, so we rubbed ourselves. After that, we changed our clothes. The guide told us to move forward. While we were moving, we saw a rope. We tried to touch the rope but we could not reach it. So we let the guide go first. Once the guide reached there, he pulled the rope towards us. So it was easy for us to climb. What I felt was like I was rock climbing for a second. After that, we saw a valley but I could not see it fully because it was covered with mist. After that, while climbing, we waited to see which direction we should go in. While they were waiting, the other guide told us that they are going in the same direction, to go straight.
So while we were going, we saw a very narrow path. We were confused, there was no rope, how are we supposed to move forward? It was very hard. Our shoes were slippery because they got wet. It was very hard, so while we were crossing it, my leg slipped a little. So I held the rock behind me and started going. After that, we saw again a puddle of water that we could not avoid, so we again got wet in it. Our shoes got fully drenched. After that, when we were moving, we got lost for a second. We thought no one was there, but luckily, once we sat down there after a few minutes, a few people came. "Are you with a group?" "We don't know, we are trying to go to the peak." "Oh ok, where are we? We are also on the same side." "Are we going in the right direction?" He told, "Yes, you are, just move forward. And whenever we get a diversion, just stop. They would be there." So we went there. After going there, we stopped for a while to take rest because we were fully tired with the rain coming. Because of the coldness also, we got tired. After that, we started again moving, warming our legs, jogging. We started jogging again to warm our legs.
After that, we reached the road where many jeeps were going. We stopped to see where our other group members were. Once they came, we started clapping to appreciate them and to warm our hands. After that, the road was full of slush, and we could not go on any other side, so our shoes got stuck in the mud. It was very hard to pull it back, so it took a while to move. Once the road was not there, we again went in the sandy road. We saw a hill that we asked the guide if it was the peak point. They told "yes". So once we reached there, we screamed, "Yay, we reached the peak!" But the guide was joking. We had to go another hill. But because of the mist, we could not see which direction to go. So after a while we waited, we saw a narrow path. So we went through that.
Again we saw another hill. We asked, "Is this the peak?" We did not want to lose our enjoyment anywhere. They told, "No, it's another one." Like that, we kept going on and on. Another, another, another. "Is this the last one?" they told, "Yes, another hill. Just climb and you will reach the peak point." So while climbing, the road again got fully slushed. My shoes got stuck to the mud for a second, I could not remove it. I got fully tensed, but luckily, my cousin was behind me, so he pushed me forward, so my shoes came out. And I told that no one should go there or their legs would get stuck to it.
So after that, we saw a high plateau with no slush. It was hard mud, dry mud, so we climbed on that mud, and we went. Afterwards, when we went down, we saw a curve, we waited for our other cousins to come. We asked them, "Does anyone have food?" My cousin's mother told that "Yes, I have food." So we ate a little to fill our stomachs. After that, we kept going. After a few kilometers, everyone felt hungry again. They asked again, "Does anyone have food?" No one told they had because they did not have it. Luckily, my cousin N had food in his emergency kit. He had some dry fruits in it. So we ate the dry fruits to have some energy until we reached the peak. So once we started climbing, it went very cold because the rain did not stop, it kept raining and raining. So we were fully drenched. Our hands were fully white. We could not even feel a single thing.
Afterwards we finally reached the peak point, but it was not fully the peak. It was the first part of the peak. So we ate lunch in front of the temple. My plate still did not come. I got very tense for a second. I asked, "Does anyone have plates?" They told, "No, they are with my parents." So I waited, but I got very hungry, so everyone ate. My parents came. The guide told us that they had curd, rice, and pickle, it was very good.
(N2's narration)
Finally, we got a jeep. The organizer told that only 8 people can go in one jeep, but everyone came in and there were 14 people in the jeep. All of us were wet, cold, and shivering in the cramped place. There were 6 people in the back, 4 people in the middle, and 3 people including the driver in the front. The jeep started and then it was a downhill. The road wasn't a normal road. It was so bumpy. After some time, we came to a stop. When I looked in front, I saw another jeep which was trying to pass, but the road was small, so it couldn't. So we had to reverse, but we were too many people, so 3 people had to get down for the reversal. Once we reversed, the other jeep could go. No, it was not only one, it was 2, 3, 4, 5, it kept ongoing. After like 20 jeeps passed, we finally could go.
The bumpy trip continued and the view wasn't that good because there were many bushes. We could not see the other side. Many big bumps and all of us inside went up and down. Nothing happened to the jeep because it was a 4x4 drive. As we were going, my mother asked the driver if any of the jeeps have fallen to the other side because there was nothing on the other side. The driver said none of the jeeps till now has fallen to the other side because they believe that the mountain God saved them. We were almost down when the cold hit us. We again had to reverse. This time, it was not much. He went back hoping that there were not many jeeps. Luckily, there were not many. When we went down, we reached the checkpost. I was thinking I could go in front because I was in the back and it was very cramped, but we didn't even stop to get down.
After the checkpost, the bumpy roads stopped and there was a nice tar road. We were going fast and after a while, we reached the homestay. We were staying there. We quickly freshened up and me and my cousins were searching for a game to play. One of my cousins had a ring. We kept that on a table and we were blowing the ring from one side to another, making sure it doesn't fall on our side. After everybody came, the visitors arrived and people sang songs. We all slept early because we had the next day ahead of us.
(A's narration)
After a soulful sleep on Sunday morning, we got up around 6 o'clock, freshened up, did all the activities, ate breakfast, and started on the bus at around 8:30. We left for Shivagange. Shivagange was a starting place with a Kalyani and a temple in front. The Kalyani was believed to be built by Shivappanayaka. It was 5 feet deep with 5 other small pools connected to each other. The architecture is still not known to us. The water in the Kalyani was filled no matter what time of the year it was and what season it was. It also had a drain through which excess water overflowed. The cool waters had energised our entire day. After spending some time over there, we left to Nagara fort, which is also built by Shivappanayaka. The cool waters welcomed us to the location of the fort. Though the entire fort was almost in ruins, the lush green of the fort left us mesmerized. We walked towards a watchtower, where our fathers were explaining us about granaries and the treasury and the importance of soldiers at the watchtowers. As we came near a wall, we peeked through them to see how the entire Nagara was protected. On one side was a river, and all the rest were protected by hills. As we reached the watchtower, we could get a 360-degree view of the entire Nagara. This showed we could see how the soldiers could protect the entire Nagara even in times of war.
After spending about half an hour over there, we came down and left to Kuppalli, Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa's (Kuvempu) house and memorial. We had to buy tickets to enter his house and go to the memorial. The different furniture and utensils used by him and his family, the books, awards and the things he made and bought were all displayed in a very organized way. We could also see different rooms such as his study, the hall, and his bedroom. The house was in the midst of a calm environment with tall green trees surrounding the house. Then we left for the memorial, designed by Shiva Prakash. The path was designed with tall block stools in the form of gateways. As we entered the memorial towards our right were similar pieces of those blocks and towards our left were small meadow-like hills with short trees, which added to the beauty of the memorial.
As we moved a little forward, we could see Kuvempu's meditating spot. It had a calm environment, surrounded with green hills, which gave us a feeling of comfort, stress, positivity, and peace. We could see why Kuvempu chose that spot as his meditation area, and that place as his memorial. After spending about 1 hour, we came down and settled in our buses at about 3 o'clock where we reached a lunch area which is called "Shri Lunch Home." After eating and buying fruits from the nearby shop, we left our journey towards Bangalore, ending our adventurous trip.
