Hiking the Western Ghats in the Monsoon

I've always loved monsoons in the Western Ghats. The rain makes everything look so green and colourful and adds a special touch to the region. The rain also makes everything so lively. It was under these conditions that I decided to ride to the Western Ghats for a weekend sojourn.

The purpose of this roadtrip was two-fold; I wanted to meet my favourite dog Django and also hike the western ghats if possible in the monsoons. It is a different experience and I wanted to enjoy nature under such conditions. It was going to be two of us on this trip.

YettinaBuja - The peak that we hiked to. YettinaBuja translated from the native language is "the neck of aOxen".

We started pretty early from Bangalore. I always prefer starting early so I can get out of the city before the weekend traffic builds up. I also love watching the transition between the misty and overcast skies to the first rays of the sun coming out. Everything gets a golden hue to it and the warmth brought upon by the early morning sun is something I enjoy. The distance was about 250km at the most and I knew we would arrive quite early to my friend's place in the western ghats which was our base for the weekend.

The rain fell continuously that morning, but we were not to be stopped. We had enough rain gear with us and that made the ride a lot more comfortable. We reached Japavati River Camp which is owned by my friend just before 11am.

Japavati River Camp which is owned by my friend Nakul is located 30km from Sakleshpur in Devarunda Village. This is one of my favourite places to visit not only because of its location and Django, but also for the fact that I do not get cellular network. Peaceful and quiet. Possibilities to hike 3 peaks around the Western Ghats. The scenery is nice and is the perfect weekend getaway.

And of course, Django, my favourite dog was there and looked excited to see us.

Here he is, demonstrating his excitement by bringing us the ball.

Can you throw me the ball, hooman?

We pretty much had the entire day to ourselves, so we took a couple of walks with Django in tow.

Roads like these give me tremendous enjoyment. Exploring the backroads of the Western Ghats gives plenty of enjoyable sights and sounds as well as new destinations that are not common knowledge to most tourists.

It poured for most of the evening, so we stayed put at camp. We had a balcony to ourselves and it was a relaxing feeling to just sit back and watch the rain fall. The patter of raindrops and the rush of the wind made for a really nice ambience. Hot coffee completed the setting. There is a very simple bliss that is obtained by days like these. They really nourish the soul and bring peace to the mind. Away from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore city, days like these are a good way to get back in touch with the simple pleasures of life.

And we went hiking to Yettinabuja, with Nakul for company and Django in tow. And were we in for a surprise!

The atmosphere was simply beautiful. This made for a lovely trek!

It was foggy everywhere. This made viewing the surrounding forests from the peak impossible. But not that we particularly cared. We loved the trek and that was all that mattered.

And Django loved it too. He was our guide, always walking forward and exploring around. He would make sure we were in tow by looking back often and waiting for us to catch up.

She says "Come hither", but Django says "Woof, you come hither"

This was by far one of the best hikes i've had in the last year.

On the way back, we picked up the trash that the city dwelling folks had left behind. It is quite disturbing to see the callous way in which trash is thrown around in places like these. And it is disappointing to see how insensitive people are. Most do not care about their actions. They simply do not know how to enjoy the place, leaving behind bottles of alcohol, wrappers and plastic bottles everywhere. We picked up all the trash we found on the path during our climb down.

If you cannot respect the place, why even come? Places like these are not just for our enjoyment, but for others as well, But more importantly, it is nature's gift and it is up to each of us to ensure we keep them the way they are for everyone and the animals that live here.

And before long, it was time to get back to Bangalore. The weekend was nearly at an end. Only 250km of ride to go. We said good bye to Nakul and Django and headed back to town. It was a nice and sunny evening. We stopped for a quick lunch and made it back to Bangalore just after dusk.