steep;while scaling Ballala-Rayana-Durga. Chikkamagalooru district, Karnataka[dec6,2008]
It is here that you can hear the earth breath, smell the choicest of perfume and wonder at the vast expanse of the unspoilt Sahyadri. In the enormous district of Chikkamagalooru, Karnataka you get the perfect slice of the ghats and her forests and rivers, her men and their old temples, Gods, Goddesses and the still silence of their abodes. Unruffled by the bustle of IT but accessible from Bangalore are the pristine ranges of Kudremukh, a fort named BallalaRayanaDurga three hours and a half uphill the ghats, River Tunga kissing the age-old Sharada temple at Sringeri and the benevolent gaze of Shiva at Kalasa and Annapoorneshwari at Horanadu. The HanumanGundi falls and the water-snakes, Gangamoola the source of three rivers, the Mangalore state highway flanked on both sides with the densest of forests and the fragments of iron and mica of this rich land; these, for the intrepid traveler, makes Chikkamagalooru, a dream destination.
![unconstrained; river Tunga kissing the steps from Sharadamma temple, Sringeri.[dec-7,2008]](http://indianscapes.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/unconstrained.jpg?w=655 "unconstrained")
unconstrained; river Tunga kissing the steps from Sharadamma temple, Sringeri.[dec-7,2008]
Half way through the two days you may take to tour Chikkamagalooru, you might faint due to the sheer visual impact of a land so beautiful. And like what happened with the Kaveri you will be instantly hooked and decide that this is not the last time.
To the far south of India lies a storehouse of natural beauty. Sahyadri; which stretches from the base of Gujarat to the southern queen of Kanyakumari, it envelops many districts both huge and small; like Chikkamagalooru, Wayanad, Hassan, Shivamogga, Kottayam, Idukki, and Trivandrum.
Agumbe, Kodagu, Nilgiris, Chembra, Mudigere, Agasthyarkoodam all become ‘destination nexts’ for men who are enthralled by Chikkamagalooru.
Yes, there needs be men who size the south; men who love landscapes and languages.
In this far south there are such men who are lost to the shrill delectable beauty of the ghats.
Man !! .. Great pics, great trips …It makes my soul go wandering while staring in to the bland laptop screen in this frigid existence inside the hell-hole called office. Aaarghh!
Chikkamagalooru?! How do you find these places? But wow what a place. I love that picture! And really theres a Sahyadri that covers Trivandrum? Wow.
And all those places next – I understand are your next destinations! Happy nomading little bro! And keep writing these beautiful descriptions! Some day I will pester you to take me to these places too!