As described in the last article, the trigger for many wild flowers during the summers of the Western Ghats is usually the summer rains. Many rhizomatous plants emerge from the ground, usually accompanied by flowers. Some plants, otherwise blended into the greenery, completely cover themselves with flowers, making them distinguishable. In this article, we shall go through some of the wildflowers, and some backstories associated with them.

The Curcuma

The otherwise dried, brown mountain shola grasslands are dotted with yellow and white flowers a few days after the first summer rain. These are the flowers of the Curcuma species, with yellow flowers likely belonging to Curcuma karnatakensis.

Some Curcuma species, including common turmeric (Curcuma longa) and black turmeric (Curcuma caesia) have a long flowering bract that hosts multiple flowers. The bract itself is as attractive as the flower.

Once they flower, the leaves of the plant start to appear, in the usual style of the coiled leaves unfolding in a beautiful spiral. Due to the spiral leaves, the plant is also called “Suruli Gida” locally, meaning the coil plant.

The leaves are in full force during the Monsoon, at the end of which, the plant flowers for the second round, before finally wilting down in the winter.

Ground Coconut

The yellow dots amongst the dried grass mentioned earlier are also contributed by the starry flowers of Curculigo orchioides. They follow a similar flowering cycle as Curcuma — flowers, leaves, and flowers again before wilting. Their leaves superficially resemble those of the coconut — hence the name “Ground coconut”.

I’ve seen a few varieties of this species, one with hairy leaves and flowers, another with pale-yellow flowers.

Members of Melastomataceae

Some grassland hills of the Western Ghats were subject to afforestation with the introduced Acacia mangium trees — due to the colonial-era mindset of grasslands being wasteland, and to harvest these trees for timber later.

The introduced trees have gained a foothold and are now spreading naturally. As a side-effect, these trees changed the soil composition, allowing some native forest trees to grow under their shade.

The sequence of succession starts with trees and shrubs of pioneer species, nurturing the seedlings of the native forest trees. Once the native trees gain a foothold, they will shade these pioneer trees, forcing them out. The shrub Melastoma malabathricum is one such pioneer, and puts up attractive pink flowers during summer.

A miniature version of these flowers, of the plant Osbeckia aspera, belonging to the same family is also found during the summer. The plant is not as shrubby as the earlier mentioned Melastoma malabathricum.

There is a member of Melastomataceae, Memecylon umbellatum that has a completely different look from the plants that we saw earlier. Its small flowers completely cover its stem with shades of blue, making it very pleasant to look at. If you zoom in closely, you can see some flower buds closed, some open. In the below video, you can see its flowers covering the middle story of the forest.

The adaptive nature of the many members of Melastomataceae can make them successful invaders outside their native habitat. While researching for this article, I came across the plant Miconia calvescens, a native of Mexico, with its beautiful big velvet leaves, which has become an invasive species across the tropical forests of Hawaii, Australia and even Sri Lanka! I found a video of its eradication efforts in Queensland, Australia.

The Thorny Invader

While we are on the topic of invasive plant species, we cannot ignore the species Lantana camara, a native of the American tropics. Originally prized for their colorful and attractive flowers, they soon escaped from the gardens and spread to the wild elsewhere.

Today, they are found almost everywhere in the wild habitats of India, and have the potential to completely take over barren farmlands and grazing fields. There are several initiatives that encourage the locals to use this plant as firewood and as a raw material for furniture, arts, and crafts.

Wild Jasmines

This is one of the flowers that stands out as white dots from the surrounding green foliage. The plant Jasminum malabaricum is blended with the surrounding vegetation otherwise. After the first rains, it rapidly climbs to tree tops and starts flowering. It flowers and fruits till monsoon, after which it dries and disappears until the next summer. Apparently, the fruits are edible as well, though I’ve not tried them yet.

While flowers, White Sap

One of the attractive fruits during Monsoon is of Tabernaemontana alternifolia with the shape of a crescent moon, hanging from the branches, opening to reveal the red seeds inside.

The flowers are equally attractive, with its five petals with one overlapping the other. The plant is locally known as “Madd-arasana-gida“, meaning the king of the medicines. All the parts of the plant exude a white sap when cut. The medicinal uses of it are quite forgotten now.

There is a relative of this plant, Tabernaemontana divaricata, that is popular in gardens prized for their showy flowers. They fruit rarely.

During my early days of acquaintance with this family, I confused another plant Rauvolfia verticillata with the Tabernaemontana alternifolia mentioned earlier, due to the similarity of their leaves and sap-exuding property. However, its flowers are much smaller and rounded, with the fruits being rounded as well

Little Dragons

You might be familiar with a house plant that is marketed as Lucky Bamboo or the Vastu Plant, Dracaena sanderiana, that is supposed to be placed in a certain direction of home to bring fortune. It is neither a bamboo, nor might it bring any fortune. However, the plant is quite attractive.

I was amazed to see a plant resembling this at the foothills of the Western Ghats alongside a riverbed. One of my friends noted that it should be the Lucky plant itself, however the stems were woody and it was definitely a different species. I found the same plant some years later, which I could closely observe.

Much to my delight, I observed it preparing to flower one day, with ants visiting the flower buds. The flowers, when open, helped identify the plant as Dracaena terniflora, confirming that it belonged to the same genus as the Lucky Bamboo. The flowers are white, semi-transparent, tube-like and attractive. I’ve yet to observe the fruits.

The genus is named Dracaena — the female dragon, as some of the species produce blood-red resin, being compared to dragon’s blood.

The Caffeinator and its family

Although Coffee plants are not native to India, they are also critically dependent on the pre-monsoon rains to flower. If the rains arrive too early, they fruit during the monsoon, causing them to rot. If the rains arrive too late, they might not flower to their full extent. When they are in flower, they blanket the entire plantations with their jasmine-white color and an intoxicating aroma.

The mass blooming of the coffee plants is a feast for the pollinators, with bees being one of the important pollinators.

The pollinator abundance also attracts the predators, and it is a feast for them alike!

There are many plants that belong to the Coffee family that are native to India. Many of them flower at the same time as Coffee plants, but their fruiting schedules are different. One such plant, Chassalia curviflora, is attractive with its white flowers and their arrangement on the flower stalk.

The Semi-Parasites

Once the trees reach a certain height, they become a habitat of their own — ranging from plants that use the tree as a support (epiphyte), such as orchids, to some who steal the nutrients from the tree for their survival. There are a few plants in the middle of the spectrum that steal water from the tree, but still photosynthesize themselves — semi-parasitic plants. The semi-parasitic plants of the family Loranthaceae put up showy flowers full of nectar to attract birds to aid their pollination. Their fruits are attractive as well, relying on the birds to help them spread to other tree tops.

Time to Stop

The flowers and plants that I covered here are a mere fraction of the biodiversity that exists. Even I could not cover all the flowers with their backstories here, or the article itself will run longer. Below are a few interesting flowers:

What’s Next?

As you might already know, the gift of a highly biodiverse environment comes with the threat of destruction, be it human intervention or the natural hazards.

The wildflowers are a world of their own, and the discovery starts with the observation. As a next natural step, you will be identifying them with the help of Google Lens or other AI tools — they have become so good that the cost of discovery is low. You might want to keep observing a few plants daily to observe their flowering, pollinators and fruiting behaviours. Then, you will start collecting the seeds, helping germinate them and conserve them.

Even when you have a small collection of plants that you observe, document and share, that is a good effort on its own. Do let me know if you are doing/planning to do anything like this — let’s connect and share our thoughts and initiatives!

Notable resources

• Khandige Vikas Bhat’s Instagram Gallery — Although not active, a very good collection of photos of wild flowers of Karnataka

• Khandige Vikas Bhat’s Daily Observations in YouTube — You will get to observe, understand and identify wild plants in their habitat

• Ravichandra Hegde at Instagram — often posts about wild fruits and their uses that are not known to the broader audience.

A few trees in the forests shed leaves, covering the land with a blanket of dried foliage. The dried organic matter is in perfect condition to start decomposing as soon as the first summer rains fall, supporting a variety of fungi.

The summer rains also trigger a variety of wildflowers, including orchids. They flower at such a time of year that their seedlings have optimal growing conditions during the monsoon. This is especially the case for orchids, as their minuscule seeds need a perfectly matched fungus to begin symbiosis and germinate. For this reason, orchids can be used as a proxy for the health of the ecosystem. Orchid diversity directly correlates with fungal and pollinator diversity.

In this article, we will take a look at a few orchids that I captured flowering this summer. You can also check out a few orchids from last year’s monsoon as well.

An Index into the World of Orchids

The Western Ghats host a variety of ecosystems, leading to a greater biodiversity density. Orchids are found on tree trunks (epiphytic), on the forest floor (terrestrial, saprophytic), and some even on bare rock (lithophytic). I recently got to know about a book (linked at the end of the article) that lists the orchids of Karnataka, along with excellent photographs and tips to grow them. All thanks to an Instagram post of the orchid intros by @flying_farmer_17. Out of the orchids listed in the book, I've not even come across 10% of them yet!

The White Glory

On a fine evening after a weather system swept clouds over the mountains of the Western Ghats and cleared the haze, I set out to a nearby mountain with one of my friends, hoping for a view of the nearby and faraway mountains. Since there was no plan, I could not bring my camera, missing out on some beautiful shots. While we got the view of the distant mountains that we deserved, we were also in for a sweet surprise.

The hill that we climbed is fully covered with grassland species, with a few stunted trees scattered around. The tree was completely leafless at this time of year. There were also signs of grassland burning a few days ago. I was surprised to see a kind of flower on that tree that is unusual for the genus it belonged to. Upon careful inspection, I found out that the flowers were not of that tree, but of the orchid Dendrobium barbatulum. The leafless orchid blended in with the leafless tree, creating a perfect illusion!

I also came across this orchid on another nearby mountain, but it was a smaller specimen.

The Bug Mimic

I was on a random walk with one of my friends when I found this orchid. The place where this orchid is growing is near a stream and farmland that offered beautiful views of the nearby mountains. The day was hot, humid, and cloudy, with chances of a light rain at any time. We enjoyed the landscape and, upon returning, stumbled upon a unique orchid.

This Cottonia peduncularis orchid was an unexpected find for me. The leaves of this orchid are like any other Vanda orchid — long, bilobed leaves. I could not have known it was a different species had it not been in flower. This particular specimen was growing on a decomposing tree trunk that is still standing, exposed to the sun. The flowers were on a long stalk that was relatively far from the orchid’s roots. The flowers mimic the appearance of an insect when viewed from certain angles. This is a strategy employed by many orchids to lure insects into pollinating them.

The place where this orchid was found is under the threat of rapid urbanization, reminding us of the habitat loss that is making such species vulnerable — and the importance of conserving their habitats.

Bamboo growing on Top of Trees

The orchid Dendrobium herbaceum is a very common sight across the Western Ghats, where it sometimes inhabits rocks and often the trunks of large trees. They are completely leafless when they flower. In the leafless state, their stems are yellow and segmented, making them look like miniature bamboo. Their flowers are tiny but cute. Their leaves start appearing after their flowers have wilted, and tend to grow toward sunlight.

The Pink Dendrobium

There is a lot of diversity in the flower patterns among orchids of the same family. This orchid, Dendrobium lawianum, was found in a shaded forest. Their flowers are attractive, but do not last more than a day or two. I observed that even if one of the flowers gets self-pollinated, all of the flowers turn into fruits with no seeds inside! I'm not sure whether this peculiarity is limited to this particular specimen, or is observed elsewhere. Do let me know in the comments if you know of such pollination behaviors.

I confused this orchid with Dendrobium crepidatum listed in the book. Both of these orchids have similar-looking stems, but their flowers are slightly different. This goes to illustrate the diversity among orchid species — you sometimes cannot tell species apart if they are not in flower!

The Starry Bulbophyllums

The flowers of Bulbophyllum fimbriatum are very peculiar in that they do not look like flowers at all! One of the specimens in the photographs below was growing at around 1300 m altitude amidst a shola ecosystem, and another was growing at around 1200 m altitude on a moss patch on a granitic rock at the summit of a mountain. They do not have leaves when they are in flower, but soon put up leaves once the flowers wilt and the rains arrive.

You can notice the diversity in this orchid from the photos on flowersofindia.net and below — green vs. red, circular arrangement vs. half circle. Even the two specimens I captured are vastly different.

The Ghost Orchid

This orchid was a rare find when I decided to take an unusual route up a nearby mountain with one of my friends, taking a sudden detour. We saw a flowering stalk coming out of the ground under the shade of coffee plantation trees.

The stalk was white, and the flowers were white with patches of pinkish violet all over them. They looked similar to cardamom flowers, but there was no cardamom plant nearby! Google Lens promptly identified the flowers as belonging to the orchid Epipogium roseum, which was triggered by the first rains of the year.

These orchids symbiose with the fungi on the ground, obtaining their nutrition from them. They have no leaves or any other photosynthetic parts. They flower, get pollinated, set seeds, and die — waiting for the next year’s rains to trigger the cycle again. Perfectly ghostly! Note that there are several such orchids with this behavior that are called ghost orchids.

Orchids on the rock

Alongside the starry Bulbophyllum that was growing on the rock, there was another orchid with pseudobulbs growing on rocks, Coelogyne breviscapa, that I found interesting. I had seen this species of orchid growing on tree trunks, but it can also grow on moss patches on rocks. This orchid produces a cluster of flowers, with bright white petals.

The Gramophone

An otherwise uninteresting tree trunk alongside a walkway was full of patches of red one day. These patches turned out to be the flowers of the orchid Porpax reticulata. Their flowers are taller than they are wide, and closely resemble the horn of a gramophone.

The Long Dendrobium

The orchid Dendrobium macrostachyum is common across the roadside trees of the Western Ghats, with slender stems that can grow very long. Its flowers are triggered by the first summer rains, while still leafless. Its long stem covered with flowers is a beautiful sight.

Until next time

I covered a few orchids in this article and plan to cover many other non-orchid wildflowers in the next article, as this article was running too long with their stories!

Orchids are quite neglected in local cultures, with few words existing in local languages to identify individual species. On the other hand, orchids are a world of their own, with their innovative flower structures to attract pollinators and an unusual germination strategy — all pointing towards a highly specialized, biodiverse environment.

Some of the orchid biodiversity is threatened by habitat loss and climate change, among other things. The specimen of the orchid Trias stocksii found in the video above no longer stands in the forest — the tree was cut down in the process of fencing the forest land. Let's remind ourselves to observe nature (who knows, you might stumble upon an unseen orchid next time you go out!), appreciate their beauty, and help conserve them.

Extended Reading

There are a few people who are doing excellent work documenting biodiversity and helping understand and conserve it. I came across the following people and initiatives that I found interesting:

• Khandige Vikas Bhat — Runs a YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@vidaripollen in which he explores plant species, flowers, and their backstories during his daily walks.

• The Orchids of Karnataka — The book mentioned earlier in the article covers orchids belonging to 48 genera found in Karnataka. You can purchase it through Amazon or Navakarnataka (the book is out of stock at the time of writing this article, so a link to the web page is not available)

• The Naturalist’s Rabbit Hole — A blog and field observation notes detailing phenomena that would go unnoticed in day-to-day life. For example — why are flowers structured the way they are? Which bees actually need conservation?

• Kew Gardens — One of the largest collections of plants in the world, conserving plant diversity in their greenhouses in London. A recent video by them covers why orchids are important to the ecosystem.

• Flowers of India — A great catalog of plant species in India. Most Google Lens results for wildflowers point to them!

• You — The reader interested in observing, understanding, and helping preserve the natural beauty and biodiversity!

To the Plains

My journey started early in the morning, and the morning mist had not lifted completely yet. Most pollution particles are trapped under the inversion layer around this time of day, causing the mountains to appear dull and hazy.

We soon cross the river Bhadra, still close to its origin and still having a narrow channel.

The route takes us through mountains and valleys, still hazy, but all evergreen.

The haze and morning mist create beautiful layering effects on the mountains.

Soon, we enter the back of the “Top Mountain”. The usual route does not take us through this mountain, but I stepped on another bus by mistake. That mistake was fruitful, as I could record the timelapse of easterly winds and clouds passing through the Top Mountain.

After the Top Mountain, we head north to the lower hills of the Western Ghats. The hills here are forest-clad, and the nature of the country starts becoming more open, hosting vast rice fields.

Slowly, the transition makes the hills disappear; now we are in endless rolling plains, dominated by rice fields and lakes.

Hills of the Plains

The plains of Karnataka are dotted with several granite hills and a few small ranges that mark the joining of ancient landmasses. Due to the lack of rains, these hills do not support evergreen forests; rather, the hills are either grassland or scrubby. The valleys are often covered with the remaining stands of deciduous forests. The hill formations near Malebennur (lit. the village at the back of the hills) are remarkable in this aspect, with the exposed bedrock greeting us at roadcuts.

These hills force the rice fields to be terraced, bringing memories of the Malnad.

Crops like corn do not require the land to be flat; hence, they are cultivated on moderate slopes, now harvested and dry.

There was a hint of smoke in the air, and it was due to a small fire inside a dried patch of forest. The cause of most such fires tends to be man-made.

With the advent of irrigation projects, people in the plains are exploring water-demanding cash crops, mainly areca nut. We can see areca nut plantations popping up everywhere.

Back to the Mountains

As we prepare to depart from the plains, we are greeted by Bhadra’s twin river, which we met earlier in the journey — the Tunga. The rivers Bhadra and Tunga originate in the middle of the shola grassland–forest complex of Kuduremukha National Park. Since the Tunga is now flowing in the plains and far from its origin, we get to see a wide river, with a backdrop of a small hill range. A few kilometers from this place, the Tunga and Bhadra rivers meet to form the river Tungabhadra.

The transition from the plains to the mountains is smooth, as described earlier. With areca nut plantations blooming everywhere, the transition is even more seamless. The discernible difference lies in the types of forest — from deciduous scrub to evergreen forests.

The rice fields look much different too, now not as big, with the backdrop dominated by the hill ranges.

Gaining some more elevation, the once forest floors are now covered with extensive coffee plantations.

There are also a handful of large tea plantations, which do not conserve as many trees as coffee plantations do.

Evening Colors

The presence of moderate haze creates beautiful colors in the evening sky, with shadowed mountains creating sharp contrast with the sky.

Even the same place can look noticeably different under the influence of evening colors.

I could not resist capturing the evening colors and took a fun picture of the mountain through the back glass of the bus.

If you are near a river with a hilly backdrop, the reflections and the colors take the sunset to the next level.

In the evening, the haze line starts to become clearly visible, masking the western sky.

To the “Top Mountain” again

I got a chance to visit the “Top Mountain” again with my friends on a hazy evening. Although most of the view was lost due to the haze, the shadow of the mountain created an interesting effect on the valley floor.

The haze also reveals the layers of mountains cleanly.

The sunset was also dull, with the sun disappearing into the haze layer before the proper sunset.

Once the sun had set, the crescent moon and nearby town lights created a serene environment.

Colors of Life

Although the core Western Ghats consists of evergreen forest, there are a handful of deciduous trees found here and there. Some evergreen trees also bloom in the winter. When they bloom, they put on a beautiful show of colors.

Also, we get to see and hear the birds, which are hard to spot during the monsoon.

A few plants put up flowers during winter, as the dry winter and sunny summer create the perfect conditions for their seeds to ripen and dry, ready to be dispersed and germinate in the next monsoon.

Some orchids tend to flower during the winter as well, putting up their unique flowers.

Moving to the next year

Winter is a perfect time to end the year, with the crops coming to harvest and the plants preparing to start a new cycle of growth. The year 2025 has lapsed in the blink of an eye, although it had a lot of packed moments. Let’s move forward to 2026 with optimism and an urge to enjoy and protect nature.

Happy New Year in advance! See you next year.

You might remember the many times I traveled to Mysore from my hometown, avoiding the boring (though fastest) routes that pass through the plains, and instead choosing to go through the mountain roads, capturing the tallest peaks of Karnataka along the way.

This time, I decided to make a few stops in the mountains of the Kodagu (Coorg) region to explore them more deeply. When I was reading about the geologic processes that created the mountains of Coorg, I came across a research paper that described Coorg as an “exotic Mesoarchean micro-continent”, thus the title of this article.

The Journey

The journey to Kodagu passed through all the familiar routes and mountains mentioned in the earlier articles. I couldn’t take many pictures this time from the bus, as it was hard to get a window seat due to the crowd. However, I did manage to spot the pointed peak of Kumaraparvata (1712m) near Sakleshpur. Remember this mountain — it’s going to take center stage soon!

Due to bus delays, I missed the one that passes through the mountainous regions of Hettur and Mageri to Somawarpet. Check my previous articles for glimpses of that route! This time, I had to make do with the less mountainous road that goes through Shanivarasante. Along the way, we come across the backwaters of the Gorur Dam, built across the Hemavati River (I’ve written an article about the mountains where this river originates—go check it out!).

As we approach Somawarpete, smaller mountain ranges began to rise gradually in elevation. When I reached Somawarapete, it became cloudy and dark, so I had to stop taking photographs, hoping for pleasant weather the next day.

Unfortunately, I accidentally lost all the photos from that day. So, please check out the earlier articles for some visual delights!

The Fort Mountain

Many hills and mountains were historically fortified. These forts were later dismantled as administration became centralized and preventing rebels from using them as bases became important. Our particular destination was a fort mountain called Kotebetta, which stands at an elevation of 1635m, though no visible remains of a fort exist today. Near its base lies a temple dedicated to the god Shiva, which was our destination. There is another temple dedicated to Shiva at the top of the mountain, which I explored in a previous article. Unfortunately, I couldn’t plan a hike this time due to time constraints.

We had a good start to the day with blue skies, scattered clouds, and pleasant sunshine illuminating the coffee plantations.

The view of the mountain looked promising as well, clear and free of clouds.

As we gained elevation and reached near the base of the mountain, we had a superb view of the rocky mountain, with sunlight highlighting the water-stained rocks.

This mountain’s base consists of exposed rock, which is slowly eroding over geologic time, forming cracks and breaking away smaller boulders. The scale of these exposed rock faces is gigantic.

From near the base of the rock, we could get a good view of the surrounding mountains. Although I had high expectations for the visibility range, I had to settle for reduced visibility due to the clouds. However, the combination of clouds and the morning sun created beautiful views.

Soon, clouds began rolling over the mountain, and a light drizzle started. Wherever sunlight still broke through, it was a perfect moment to capture the mountains. The smaller ranges near Shanivarasante, which I mentioned earlier — with the prominent peak of Malambi (1354m) — stood out beautifully amid the drifting clouds.

We could see a few distant hills marking the border of the plains. Under ideal visibility conditions, the view would extend much farther, encompassing the plains as well.

The farthest peak I could identify was Bantamale (731m) near Sullya, located in the coastal plains. The visibility of that mountain wasn’t very good either.

Ideally, we would be able to see the rocky summit of Kumaraparvata from this mountain, but it was covered in clouds, making it difficult to identify.

However, we could spot the Surlabbi waterfall, which was running low on water and had been unrecognizable when I visited this mountain during the dry summer.

Soon, the rain began to intensify, and the clouds started to obscure the view, forcing us to leave.

The Shola Ranges

Later in the day, as the sun finally returned to duty, we headed toward another mountain located on the edge of the Western Ghats. The place, known as Mandalapatti, is popular among tourists visiting Coorg. As we began our journey from the deep valley near Kotebetta, we started spotting grass-covered mountains along the way.

Soon, Kotebetta revealed itself in all its vastness.

Kumaraparvata was not far behind either, beginning to peek out from behind the other mountains along the way.

Soon, it was time for Kumaraparvata to reveal itself — at least a little more than just its peaks.

There were many named and unnamed shola mountains, all lush green and covered in a mosaic of light and shadow created by the passing clouds.

The forest department has put up a (useless?) gate in the middle of the wilderness to signify that we’re close to the final viewpoint!

At the viewpoint, we were greeted by a lazily grazing herd of cattle. The place truly lives up to one of its names I found in a map, “mandal-hatti,” meaning “a grazing place for cattle”!

Views and the Scars

The viewpoint at Mandalapatti offers a stunning view of the coastal plains and the surrounding mountains. The previously seen Bantamale of Sullia draws attention as it rises prominently above the coastal landscape.

We could see the steep, densely forested slopes of the mountains descending toward the coast. These slopes are marked by scars from the landslides that occurred in 2018 and 2020 due to heavy rains.

Apart from the steep slopes, we could also see parallel ranges with peaks peeking out from behind them. Since the day was cloudy, we couldn’t spot or identify many mountains. I had hoped to catch a clear view of the Kuduremukh Range about 90 km away, but that still remains a distant dream!

To the Plains

Since I had to continue toward my actual destination, I couldn’t stay in the mountains forever. As a final stop, I stayed at a friend’s place (if you’re interested in travel, history, and folklore within and beyond the mountains, you should definitely check out her blog!) and decided to visit a nearby mountain that offers a great view of the town of Virajpete and the surrounding peaks.

The journey to the plains took me through the Nagarahole Reserve Forest, which was lush and green thanks to the recent monsoon rains (it usually dries up during the summer). Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any pictures along the way due to the crowded bus — same story as at the start!

Return Journey

During the return journey, I couldn’t explore more mountains, as Cyclone Motha brought drizzling weather across the Western Ghats region of Karnataka. I took a route through the plains instead of the mountains.

Due to the clearing of pollution by the cyclone’s winds, I was able to spot the Nilgiris from the outskirts of Mysore, something I had managed to do once before. Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture a photo of it this time.

The prominent mountain visible across the plains was Bettadapura Hill (1318m), located just outside the core Western Ghats range. This mountain accompanied me for a good part of the journey.

Apart from that, there are no significant mountains in the plains, only numerous granite hillocks scattered across the landscape.

When I re-entered the Western Ghats, I was greeted by rainfall and nightfall at the same time.

Until Next Time

The Western Ghats, though not as grand in elevation or terrain as the Himalayas or other Alpine ranges, are incredibly diverse. The geographic barriers they create have led to a rich cultural variety that can be experienced in the region’s cuisine, languages, traditions, and customs. Beyond the human elements, the serenity of the mountains themselves is truly captivating.

After spending so much time living and traveling in the mountains, I felt a kind of jet lag when I returned to the plains of Mysore. I only recovered once I made it back home. Truly, the mountains have a way of capturing both the heart and soul!

One such fine Sunday, I woke up to the clear blue skies and decided to hike a nearby mountain with one of my friends. The mountain is called the “Top Mountain” affectionately in the local language and sits at an elevation of 1659m above sea level.

The Route

The route to the mountain is mostly navigable, thanks to the coffee and tea plantations extending (and encroaching 😅) till the base of the mountain. In the route, we slowly gain elevation and get a nice view of the mountain and the surroundings.

As we near our mountain, we see its side ranges, which also have a good deal of elevation.

Finally, when we arrive at the base, we are welcomed by the grandeur of our destination.

The Hike

As you see from the photo above, the most logical way to hike this mountain is from the gentle sloping side that runs right-left in this image. This path takes us through a coffee plantation, and then opens us to the montane grassland. In the past, we did a mistake of climbing this mountain by its side, which proved to be tiresome!

The route passes through several smaller sub-hills of this mountain, creating beautiful panoramas.

If you are observing enough, you will see the rocks beautifully bent and folded all over. These rocks are rich in iron and are called as Banded Iron Formations (BIFs). They formed in an ocean environment some 3700 Million years ago. The tectonic and mountain-building processes made them end up in the top of hill, now facing monsoon erosions. I will likely elaborate on the processes that happened here in a future day, when I’m confident enough about my knowledge!

The sub-hills also offer a nice view on route, helping to console tiredness from climbing.

Hills of various Shapes and Sizes

You are in for a wonderful view at the peak provided that the peak is free from clouds and the visibility is good. The experience is better summarized by the words of a late Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg Provinces during British India, which got later quoted in the Gazeteer of the state.

Although the visibility looked great for us when we started in the valley floor, the summit told us a different story. We could see a maximum of 40km radius, which can ideally be upto 80-100km given ideal conditions. In the northwest, we could see a little farther than the granite inselberg of Kundadri, near Agumbe.

The tallest mountain in the Karnataka, Mullayyanagiri, was obscured with clouds.

The farthest point in the core Western Ghats that we could make out was Amedikkel, which is 36km away.

Although the long range visibility was impacted, whatever was visible with covered with shadows and lights, making up for a beautiful view.

The immediate mountains in the tail were visible clearly, hinting at the activities of the Tea plantations.

The side-ranges of the Chandradrona range compete with the elevation of this “Tall mountain”.

Another contender for the elevation is the Kuduremukha Range that stands mighty.

After the Chandradrona and Kuduremukha ranges, there are no contenders in terms of elevation for our “Tall mountain”, making it a good viewpoint of the surrounding areas.

The light and shadow over the shola forest-grassland complex mosic of the mountains of Kuduremukha National Park was beautiful.

Even when there was no shola complex, the cloud shadows created interesting effects.

Where we were ideally supposed to see the sea (80km-132km), there was haze in the horizon. I wonder if anyone have seen the sea from here, although it does not seem impossible based on the distance.

The richness of the greenery, from grass to the rice fields, makes a feast for the eyes.

It also rained over some parts of the area, from which we were fortunately spared.

The Life

Life at this elevation surely has a lot of challenges — from torrential rains and winds of monsoon, to the dry winds of winter, and, the manmade fires of summer. However, the life thrives. The grassland, apart from the grasses, is host to a multitude of the plants, including famous Neelkurinji family (Strobilanthes). At the end of the monsoon, most of these plants will be flowering, preparing for the dry season ahead. We managed to capture a lot of beautiful flowers along the way.

Some slopes of the mountain are shielded from winds and host a shola-like forest. Most of the accessible parts of these forests are converted to coffee and tea plantations long ago. Only a few strands of the original forests remain, home to Indian Bisons (Gaur). These bisons often wander into the plantations, sometimes inducing the human-wildlife conflicts.

We (fortunately?) did not spot any bisons. The animal life we saw was a Brahmani Kite suspended in mid air (which I could not take photos of due to camera power running low) and a ladybird.

Bottomline

Seeing a 3.7 Billion year old rock, deformed, folded, now sitting happily at the mountaintop and subject to the weathering, makes the human timescales look miniscule. Yet, as a species, we are affecting these ecosystems in a significant way — either it be causing the loss of biodiversity, encroachment, poisoning the soil while doing agriculture, plastic pollution among other things.

This mountain in a corner of the Western Ghats is not out of the reach of such practices. It is upon us to respect the nature, learn from it, and be a part of it in harmony. In the end, we should not be battling with the nature, we must coexist with it.

During the past few years, I managed to collect a few orchids from the wild—some fallen during rainstorms, some from cut trees. I mounted them on the trees near my house for close observation. In this photo-article, we will explore some orchids and their flowers!

The humid conditions during monsoon also favour orchid sprouting in the wild. Growing them artificially requires lab conditions!

The Western Ghats hosts a variety of orchids across its diverse ecosystems. Some orchids are found in windy shola mountaintops as well. The orchids below are from ~1700m mountain in Kuduremukha National Park.

Orchids face threats in the form of their ecosystems being destroyed for various human activities. Individuals can take action and spread awareness about them by actively helping to conserve them — like the efforts in Kerala supported by Kew Gardens and Gurukula Trust.

Next time you find an orchid fallen from a roadside tree, bring it to your house and mount it on a tree where there is neither bright sunshine nor damp shade. By the next monsoon, it will put out new roots, and hopefully flowers, and become stabilized. A small act can go a long way in conservation!

The mountains forming the western limit [of Hassan District] extend from the pass at the Bisale ghát to Jénkal-beṭṭa, including within a grand panorama the towering height of Subrahmanya or Pushpagiri, close to the south-west border, rising to 5,626 feet above the level of the sea; Devar-beṭṭa (4,206 feet), Múrkan guḍḍa (4,265 feet), and the superb Jénkal-beṭṭa (4,558 feet).

The highest point [of Baba-budan range] is the symmetrical Mulaina-giri, 6,317 feet above the level of the sea. It is towards the south of the range and is the loftiest mountain between the Himālayas and the Nilagiris.

The conspicuous conical peak on the outer verge [of Baba-budan range] of the eastern face is Deviramman-gudda. A beacon is lighted here at the Dipavali festival, which is visible to all the surrounding country.

Ballal-rayan-durga. — A fine spreading hill in the Western Ghat range, crowned with extensive fortifications. It is situated in 13° 8' N. lat., and 75° 29' E. long., in the north-west angle of the Múdgere taluq, over against Kellaggur. The fortifications were erected, as its name indicates, by the Hoysala kings. The old entrance is to the north, through what is now the Horikán coffee plantation. There are two gates, the diḍḍi bágalu and the simha bágalu. The citadel is a small square fort on the highest point, overlooking the South Kanara District. To the east of it is the old tank, now a bog, overgrown with impenetrable bushes. The pass to Kanara, north of the droog, is tremendously steep, but was formerly in regular use. To this fortress the Ráni of Bednur fled for refuge on the capture of her capital by Haidar Ali in 1763, and hence she was sent by him as a prisoner to Maddagiri (Tumkur District.)

Búnd Ghat. — The Búnd Ghát (coffee ghat) is the principal outlet to the western coast from the south of the District. The Ghat road runs from Múdgere and is led through the Wombat-maraḍi or nine hills. The views from Kotigehára of the approach to and down the ghat are very fine. Near the head of the ghat is a hill, called Hulikal, with two boulders on it supposed to represent the petrified forms of a tiger and a bull. The descent is by easy gradients of 1 in 20 to 1 in 15.

Mr. Bowring, who visited Gangámúla, says, "It is in truth a wild country, and has a desolate grandeur about it, seeming to be the end of the world. On every side tower up magnificent mountains, spreading for leagues in every direction, and covered with immense forests, while nowhere can one detect the faintest trace of human life, either in the shape of houses or of cultivation." It was to these solitudes that the father of Pandita Ramábái retired for many years, and here it was that he taught her Sanskrit.

Hemavati. — This river, a principal tributary of the Kávéri, is more fully described under the Hassan and Mysore Districts, in which most of its course is run. But it rises in this District, in Jávali, in the Melbangáḍi mágani of the Múdgere taluq. The reputed source is a spring, behind the house of Lakshmayya, a coffee planter, which is led through a stone bull into a square stone well. The stream runs in a south-east direction to the Hassan District, which it enters at the common boundary of Manjarabad and Belur.

It[Kalasa] is situated in a valley surrounded by the lofty hills of the Western Ghat range, and at the southern base of Merti, the grand hill of Kalasa.

Going through Melangadi and keeping on to the river, a sacred bathing-place called Ambu-tírtha is reached, where the stream rushes very deep between some water-worn rocks. At one point is a large boulder, a big square-shaped stone placed horizontally on another. On the former is an inscription in Sanskrit, stating that Srí Madhváchárya brought and placed it there with one hand!

The areca-nut produced in the neighbourhood is reckoned the best in Mysore, being known as Desavara, in distinction from that grown in other Malnád parts, which is called Honnavara, and from Volágra, which is the produce of other inland gardens.

Kudure Mukha. — A peak in the Western Ghats and one of the loftiest points in Mysore, the summit being 6,215 feet above the level of the sea. It is situated on the frontier in the south-west of the District, at the point where the line of the Ghats bends more inland. The approach from the Mysore side is by way of Samse, the hill being sometimes called on the spot the Samse parvata. Its name of Kudure mukha, or Horse-face, is descriptive of its appearance seawards, where it is a well-known mark for navigators. The officials of Malabar have a bungalow at the top as a hot weather retreat, and a bridle path has been formed from the Malabar side, which is the easiest means of ascending the mountain.

Merti-gudda, also called the Kalasa hill, is situated in the Bále Honnur taluq, in 13° 18' N. lat., 75° 26' E. long. It is the loftiest peak between the Bába Budan and Western Ghat ranges, the summit being 5,451 feet above the level of the sea. To the north it presents a majestic conical aspect. Towards the south-west it is connected with two lower heights and is so surrounded on all sides with high hills that its true elevation does not appear except at a distance.

Mr. Bowring, who left few hills unscaled, says: "After a toilsome climb up its steep sides by the ‘windy gorge,’ one revels in a view which surpasses all expectation. On every side tower up hills of various shapes and sizes, stretching far away to the horizon, and presenting a wonderful spectacle of wild sublimity.”

“The foot of the steep ridge which runs up to a sharp point forming the actual peak is called the Túral bágalu (entrance gate), and is in a gap between the Mérti Parvat and another hill to the south. A very tough pull of twenty-five minutes takes one hence to the summit, the higher of two peaks, between which there is a dip."

"The top of Merti is quite bare, but its sides are clothed with fine forests, in which are splendid specimens of the champaka tree, so much esteemed by natives for its fragrant white flowers; while one sees beneath, in secluded nooks and sheltered valleys, stretches of paddy land in successive layers, one below the other, and numerous gardens of areca-nut, which, in this remote corner, attains an excellence surpassing that of any other place where the fruit is grown. The sides of Merti, where the nature of the ground admits of it, are cultivated in a series of terraces, in which abundance of rice is grown, with a little coffee: this, however, does not succeed well, owing to the humidity of the climate."

Closing Quotes

The quote below exists in a short form in Rice’s Gazetteer. A full form is found in Bowring’s Eastern Experiences.

At Báléhonúr, the second stage from Hariharapur, an extremely difficult mountain path leads W.S.W. to the secluded Kalasa Mágani (Mágani is a name given in the Malnád to a portion of a Táluq, or sub-division, which in the plain country is called a Hóblí). This curious region is quite unique, both the country and the people having many peculiarities. A concise description of it is given in the following Kanarese saying —

Múrú Sávira Varahá
Áru Sávira Gudda
Hanéradu Sávira Paisách
Kádella Sampige
Úrella Heggadé

which, being translated, signifies —
Three thousand pagodas (i.e. 10,000 rs. revenue)
Six thousand hills
Twelve thousand devils
In every thicket the Champaka (a tree famous for its fragrant flowers)
In every village a Heggadé (a Jain Headman)

The Rabbit-hole

While reading the Gazetteer, I began to read the sources quoted there, among which I found The Experience of a Planter in the Jungles of Mysore by R. H. Elliot, who came to Sakaleshapura and started a coffee plantation when he was eighteen. His writings cover a broad range of topics including coffee planting, the local language, customs, and social norms of that time in the remote corner of the Western Ghats. The book Gold, Sport, Coffee Planting in Mysore, published in a later year, covers more ground, omits some details, and notes the political shifts happening in the country as a sidenote.

While looking for the Bowring “who left few hills unscaled,” I came across the book Eastern Experiences, half of which is devoted to the Mysore State. The Bowring in question was L. B. Bowring, who was Chief Commissioner of Mysore at a time when the power of the state was temporarily placed in British hands due to differences between them and the Raja. The book contains an extensive account of his tours across the state and other parts of the world. The final section views these tours through the eyes of his wife, in the form of letters written to her friends back home in Britain.

Both of these books, among other colonial-era works, are worth exploring, which I will do in the coming days.

Sources

1. Mysore : a gazetteer compiled for government - Volume 2 - Mysore, by districts - B. L. Rice - https://archive.org/details/mysore_gazetter_gov_v2/page/n6/mode/1up

2. A more clear version of the above book, where maps are clearly seen are found with Karnataka Gazeteer Department. For example - https://gazetteer.karnataka.gov.in/storage/pdf-files/pdf/Mysore%20Vol.%20II%20by%20Benjamin%20Lewis%20Rice-2004/KADUR%20DISTRICT.pdf

3. The experience of a planter in the jungle of Mysore - Volume 1 - R. H. Elliot - https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.02031

4. The experience of a planter in the jungle of Mysore - Volume 2 - R. H. Elliot - https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Experiences_of_a_Planter_in_the_Jung/gRs7AQAAMAAJ

5. Gold, Sport, Coffee Planting in Mysore - R.H Elliot - https://archive.org/details/GoldSportCoffeeMysore/mode/2up

6. Eastern Experiences - L. B. Bowring - https://archive.org/details/EasternExperiences

The region of present-day Karnataka was largely ruled by the princely state of Mysore, along with parts administered by the British provinces of Madras, Bombay, and Hyderabad. The British also directly administered the small state of Coorg. The three-volume series Mysore and Coorg: A Gazetteer Compiled for the Government of India, compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice (B. L. Rice), offers a detailed view of the region.

B. L. Rice is best known for his work Epigraphia Carnatica, in which he pioneered the collection and interpretation of inscriptions from Karnataka. His efforts laid a crucial foundation for future epigraphical and archaeological discoveries in the region.

In this series of articles, I will explore the regions and landscapes described in the gazetteer, accompanied by present-day photographs and direct quotes from the book.

What Wales is to England, Coorg is to Mysore, in miniature ; a picturesque mountain region, situated on its western side …. Its name, properly Koḍagu, said to mean 'steep mountains', graphically depicts the character of this interesting alpine land.

Its shape on the map has been compared to that of an infant's knitted boot, the heel pointing north-west, and the toe south-east. A narrow arm, about 12 miles long, by about 6 wide, projects northwards into Mysore on the north east.

Behind Nalknád palace, Tadiándamól, the highest mountain of this range, raises its gracefully shaped head over its majestic neighbours. Its height is 5,729 feet above the level of the sea

At an acute angle upon this line, the main chain of the Ghats is continued in a due easterly direction as the Benga-nád range, till, nearing Mercara, it makes a sudden turn to the north-west, and forms with the latter the Sampáji valley, which leads by a gradual slope into the low country of Canara.

At the head of the valley, and supported by a high ridge with steep abutments on its southern front, the Mercara table-land is situated.

This plateau, crossed in all directions by minor hills and ridges, is bounded on the west by the continuation of the Ghats, which culminate near the Bisilu-pass in the Subrahmanya or Pushpagiri hill, 5,626 feet above the sea level.

This is a remarkable two-pointed hill of precipitous height and peculiar shape, and resembles, as seen from Mercara, a gigantic bullock hump.

Amongst the many ridges that branch off from the Subrahmanya range of the Ghats, the most remarkable is that which attains its greatest height in Kóte-betta, about 9 miles north of Mercara. Its elevation is 5,375 feet, and its base covers a very large extent of country. Its summit, which is divided into two peaks, one rather pointed—the Harangal-betta—and the other broad, forms a comparatively flat table land, while its sides are clothed with forest and innumerable cultivated valleys occupy the recesses.

Close to the apex there are two reservoirs of water, one for the use of the Brahmans and one for the Coorgs, which all the year round retain a constant supply

Close to the summit, on a spacious platform, is a small temple of rough granite slabs dedicated to Siva.

This hill, as well as the Nūrokal-betta, offer, on account of their height and central position, the finest general view of Coorg; and even to the lover of nature familiar with mountain glories in Scotland, Switzerland or Italy, no more delightful excursion could be recommended than that to these hills.

The last remarkable range, that which extends from the northern frontier of Coorg down to the Kávéri almost due south, is the Yélusávira hills, with the Málimbi and Kánangala peak. The former is distinguished by its beautifully conical shape, which strikes the eye in every part of Coorg. Its altitude is 4,488 feet.

These quotes are from the opening pages of the third volume. I’ll be exploring several more places in the coming days, so make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already!

References

• Mysore and Coorg : A gazetteer compiled for the government of India, Volume III - https://archive.org/details/cu31924071131605

Edit on 2025-05-12

I recently came across the book “Gazetteer Of Coorg” —https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.94276/ — published in 1870, from which Rice’s Gazetteer seems to have taken some quotes

In these conditions, a small spark of fire is enough to set the entire mountain ablaze. During the day, the fire appears as distant smoke, clearly differentiated from the clouds and mist.

As the sun sets, the lines of fire become visible, slowly moving across the mountain, consuming grasses in its path.

These lines can break into multiple chains depending on the availability of fuel. Sometimes, sparks can fly with the wind and ignite distant grasses.

These fires, combined with smoke, can create a silhouette of the mountain terrain, revealing its layers.

The Recovery

Once ignited, the fires will not stop until they have consumed all available dry grass, turning it to char. The fires are limited by the green patches of forests and any water bodies, typically not raging for more than half a day.

The fires usually stop at the boundary of the shola forests, where the still-green plants resist the fire and prevent its further spread.

Several grassland species appear to have adapted to fire events, making them resilient and unaffected by the fires.

The grasses also recover quickly, fueled by the availability of morning dew. They fully recover once the summer rains begin.

The rate of recovery can vary between species, which may lead to certain species gaining an upper hand in the ecosystem.

Causes and Effects

Most of the fires in the Western Ghats are anthropogenic (human-induced), primarily caused by:

• Cattle grazing, to ensure a supply of fresh grass for livestock

• Control of insect and reptile populations

• Preventing fuel buildup

• Accidental fires spreading from nearby agricultural plots that use fire to clear weeds

Fires are common across all regions of Karnataka where shola grasslands are found. The photos of the fire and burnt mountain in this article were taken in the Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and Kodagu districts.

While fires leave the evergreen forests unharmed, their effects are more pronounced in the deciduous forests in the interior. There have been incidents of large forest fires causing harm to both wildlife and human properties.

While the existence of the grassland-forest complex, or shola, is believed to predate human evolution and settlement, there are arguments that the occasional fires help control the progression of the forest. They achieve this by burning younger seedlings at the forest boundary, while keeping those inside the forest intact.

The fires cause temporary air pollution and reduced visibility, especially if the affected area is large. Repeated fires in the same region can lead to irreparable damage to grassland species and cause soil erosion. Therefore, it is important to understand tribal practices, view them through the lens of science, and respect them.

Related

Following is a post from 2022 where I explored several aspects of such fires.

The mountain we visited stood at 976m above sea level. It was not as tall as the one I visited last time. Although we missed the sunrise mark by few minutes, the early morning sun greeted us with chill warmth appearing above a sea of inversion clouds.

The clouds looked static, although they had a slight movement due to wind. Sometimes, they organized into interesting patterns.

Out of the clouds, several mountains stood up with their high summits. Out of them, the conical Mertiparvata (1659m) with its five pointy peaks, behind another mountains with pointy peak stood out well.

The nearby peak of Narasimhaparvata (1159m) was pretty well visible, partly lit by morning sun.

Several prominent peaks of Kuduremukha National Park, where the rivers Tunga and Bhadra originate, stood out prominently.

To further southwest of these mountains, the distinct summit of Valikumja (1089m) stood out behind several small foothills covered with deep jungle.

Beside Mertiparvata, the Durgada betta (1221m) created a unique view in the layers of mountains.

As the sun rose, the clouds did not clear up as quickly as we had expected. They lingered as long as the mist stayed in the lower elevations, sometimes until around 9AM. Although the visibility was not as good as we had hoped, and we could not see the Chandradrona Range of Chikkamagalur, and despite missing the sunrise by a few minutes, we departed with a sense of satisfaction — the view of the stationary clouds and the distant mountains was meditative enough to send one into a temporary nirvana.

Inversion

Haze and winter lead to an interesting phenomenon known as inversion. This occurs when the air mass near the ground is colder than the air mass above, reversing the usual trend of temperature decreasing with altitude. As a result, particulate matter becomes trapped near the ground, leaving the air above it clear.

Inversion creates fascinating visuals and can enhance long-range visibility if the inversion layer is low and we are positioned above it. Recently, I found myself on a mountain just above the inversion layer during sunrise, all thanks to a friend who made sure I woke up that early!

The Lucky Morning

It was an unplanned trip, and we weren’t entirely sure what visuals to expect. I was uncertain whether we would be above or below the inversion line, which could make a significant difference. If we were below the inversion line, we’d have to settle for a hazy view, with much of it obscured by mist. Fortunately, we found ourselves just above the inversion line at around 1300m ASL, and the view was absolutely breathtaking.

Several prominent mountains rose above the inversion line, with the pyramid-shaped Mertiparvata (~1610m) standing out as a remarkable sight.

Behind Mertiparvata, the towering peaks of Mullayyanagiri (~1930m, the tallest in Karnataka) and Bababudangiri (~1895m) were visible, with the tower on Bababudangiri faintly discernible in the photos.

Looking to the southeast, Ballalarayana Durga (~1509m) stood just above the inversion line, blending seamlessly with it.

What initially seemed like a disturbance in the inversion line turned out to be the twin rocky peaks of Kumaraparvata (~1712m), located about 80 km away in a direct line of sight. This marks my thirds-highest visibility record, surpassed only by spotting the Nilgiris and Banasura ranges from Mysuru (105km LOS) and sighting Kodachadri from Mangaluru (94km LOS).

The Kuduremukha range, with its peak at ~1894m, stood gracefully, its sharp summits creating a striking contrast against the morning sky.

To the east, the shola mountains of Kuduremukha National Park were bathed in a diffused glow of early morning light, creating a mesmerizing and serene view.

Celestial Interruptions

We hadn’t realized that the day we planned our climb was close to a full moon. As we ascended the mountain, we were greeted by the sight of a setting moon in the west, glowing eclipse-red and appearing slightly oval due to atmospheric refraction.

In the east, right on cue as predicted by Peakfinder, the sun emerged from behind the haze line. The sight left all the tourists awestruck, their chatter falling instantly silent. It was truly a moment to behold!

The rising sun with the haze line created a beautiful view as if it was set in dreams.

The view did not last long. Soon, the haze line started rising and mist came running up the valleys. Soon, the visibility was decreased.

Until next time

The presence of haze often makes spotting distant mountains a challenge. However, with the right timing and location, inversion layers can help bypass the haze. The beauty of a sunrise, paired with the striking visuals of the haze line, makes sacrificing the comfort of sweet morning sleep truly worthwhile!

On a side note, we were fortunate to witness most of the top ten highest mountains in the Western Ghats of Karnataka: Mullayyanagiri (1st), Bababudangiri (2nd), Kuduremukha (3rd), Kumaraparvata (5th), and Mertiparvata (6th). It truly made for an unforgettable morning!

The strong winds and rain had cleared the pollutants, improving air quality and visibility considerably. The sunset, with its abundant clouds and clear air, turned out to be magical, showcasing a stunning display of sunrays.

During the sunset, the sun did not fade into the dull, dim red typical of hazy days; instead, it retained its intensity and vibrant orange hue.

Moisture interacting with sunlight and mountains can create striking fractus clouds, floating low in the atmosphere.

The air, lifted into the atmosphere by the mountain cliffs and condensing into clouds, creates a fascinating visual spectacle. This effect becomes even more intriguing when captured with a long-exposure shot, which softens the sharpness and highlights the direction of the clouds' motion, adding a dynamic element to the scene.

The clouds closely followed the ridges of the mountains, creating an intriguing visual. This phenomenon was particularly fascinating because the alignment of the mountain ridges with the wind direction is rare.

The train of clouds draped over the mountain ridge was a beautiful sight.

The moisture in the upper levels of the atmosphere, combined with wind patterns, helped form distinctively shaped clouds. Paired with the vibrant post-sunset colors, they looked absolutely astounding.

Mountains perfectly aligned to the west cast a shadow, creating a unique silhouette.

Varying levels of darkness in the southwest created a stunning layering effect.

This level of visibility is unfortunately rare, as pollutants often cause haze. On most days, viewers must settle for washed-out colors and distant mountains hidden from view.

Starting from October 17, the rains had subsided, but cloudy conditions persisted. I tried photographing the sky that night, but to no avail. Venus appeared as a tiny bright dot, and low-lying clouds covered the area. However, the 18th was more promising, as I could glimpse many stars amidst the clouds.

Later, the western sky cleared magically with clouds resting atop the mountains. Using the Stellarium app, I was able to point my camera in the general direction of the sky, and indeed, the comet was visible in the photo!

While the comet was faintly visible to the naked eye, it made a stunning appearance in the photos alongside an extra-bright Venus.

Shortly thereafter, the moon rose in the eastern sky. While it beautifully illuminated the mountains and clouds, it also hindered the naked-eye visibility of the comet. However, the photographs turned out well, with the moonlight highlighting the mountain grass and clouds.

On the day I took the photo, the comet was higher in the sky, but it appeared faint and occupied only a small portion of the sky. I can only imagine how magnificent its view must have been when it was brighter and larger, especially since it won’t return to Earth for several thousand years!

At the beginning of the Charmadi Ghat, these mountains are fully visible, from base to summit, with the transmission towers now appearing to contribute very little to their overall elevation.

Though I had seen these mountains every time I traveled to Mudigere and Charmadi, I had never visited them. Recently, when I needed to travel to Mudigere, I decided to take a detour with a friend and explore the hills.

The Weather

It was the period when the bountiful Southwest Monsoon of 2024 had just ended, and the southwesterly winds had subsided. The previous day’s rain had completely cleared by nightfall, allowing me to glimpse the Milky Way — perfect weather conditions for mountain hunting!

Mountains En Route

We started around 7 AM, and our route passed through the slopes of the Western Ghats. Near Hirebyle, where we hoped to see the Chandradrona Range, we had to make do with the sight of a mist-covered valley.

Continuing our journey, the view of Ballalarayana Durga near Kelagoor was truly majestic.

We stopped for a quick breakfast in Kottigehara, where we enjoyed a pleasant view of rice fields with small hills in the backdrop.

As we approached Devaramane (meaning "God’s home"), the landscape became less forested, giving way to Shola grasslands, resembling the grasslands of Kuduremukha National Park.

Upon entering Devaramane, we were greeted by the sight of transmission towers, a temple and its lake, and a viewpoint nearby. The viewpoint was just a short climb from the road.

The Viewpoint

The Devaramane viewpoint is located on one of the hills overlooking a deep valley.

From this vantage point, the distinctive rock peak of Ettina Bhuja (meaning Ox’s shoulder, 1163m) briefly emerged from the mist during our visit.

The view of Jenkall Betta (1355m) with its prominent Deepadakallu rock peak (1249m) is stunning. On clear days, this mountain is visible from Mudigere bus stand.

The rocky summit of Amedikallu (1254m), though covered by cumulus clouds, revealed its peak rocks briefly, allowing us to catch a glimpse for a short while.

This peak, along with Jenkall Betta, appears as sharp twin summits when viewed from Surathkal on the coast, creating a striking silhouette against the horizon, but they are visible only on clear days.

While the peaks of Kuduremukha (1894m), Kumaraparvata (1712m), and Metriparvata (1659m) would have been visible, they were covered in clouds. However, we caught a brief glimpse of the Chandradrona range, with Mullayyanagiri (1930m) peeking through the clouds.

The sharp peak of Devirammana Betta (1740m) in the same range is captivating. Since it sits slightly lower than the others, it often remains clear of clouds.

The side ranges of Chandradrona feature some intriguing rock formations, particularly one (~1590m) near Muthodi Estate.

We could also spot mountains outside the core Malnad region. Among them, Seegegudda (1300m, 55km line-of-sight distance), with its windmills atop, stood out.

Seegegudda is also visible from the roadside on the route from Belur to Hassan, providing a picturesque backdrop to Kalkere Lake.

Life

The elevation, terrain, and rainfall create ideal conditions for growing coffee and areca nuts. Due to the harsh and extreme weather, human settlements in the area are sparse.

Despite appearing uniform, the Shola grasslands are home to a variety of plant species. Among them, Impatiens bloom during the monsoon, adding a striking touch to the landscape.

The grasslands are dotted with shrubs, herbs, orchids, lichens, mosses, and fungi, some of which are endangered. Using Google Lens, we identified a few species:

• Carissa carandas (ಕರ್ಮಂಜಿ ಹಣ್ಣು1), whose fruit is used for pickles.

• Murdannia semiteres, known for its small, attractive flowers.

• Eriocaulon tuberiferum, with star-like leaves and small black and white ball-shaped flowers.

This rich plant life, in turn, supports a variety of insects and herbivores. However, we didn’t encounter much wildlife during our visit.

The Return Journey

After visiting Devaramane, we continued to our original destination, Mudigere. From near the bus stand, we finally had a clear view of Metriparvata, which we had hoped to spot earlier at Devaramane.

On our return to Kalasa, we decided to visit the source of the Hemavati River, located atop a mountain. The river begins as a small stream, then collects in a small lake before cascading down the mountain and into the plains.

The mountain where the river Hemavati originates, though completely forested, offers a great view of the surrounding hills from a clearing. We enjoyed a panoramic view of the smaller hills around Mudigere and Sakaleshpur.

On the other side, where the road descends to Javali, we caught sight of the flat peaks of Ballalarayana Durga with Kuduremukha’s jagged summits in the background. The recent rainfall had cleared the clouds, and the lingering mist created a magical effect.

The close-up photo of the Kuduremukha mountains turned out to be magnificent, with rising clouds over the summit adding a dramatic and intricate appearance.

As it was getting late, we didn’t stop anywhere else on our way back. The final photo of the day was of a sky bathed in golden hues, illuminated by the remnants of a thunderstorm — a perfect ending to the day.

The Journey

During our journey, we traveled through three river basins of South India: Krishna, Kaveri, and the West Coast. The river Hemavati is located near the border of the Kaveri catchment and forms a significant tributary. The Kalasa region hosts the river Bhadra. The river Bhadra, along with its twin river Tunga, together forms the Tungabhadra River, which is a significant tributary of the Krishna River.

Devaramane is situated in a location where, weather permitting, we can see most of the tall mountains of Karnataka. These include Mullayyanagiri, Bababudangiri, Kuduremukha, Kumara Parvata, Mertiparvata, and Kotebetta. In addition to these, numerous other mountains of the Western Ghats are also visible.

Although the staff at Devaramane insist that tourists keep the place free of trash, visitors often do not comply. This mentality needs to change if we want these places to remain pristine and enjoyable for future generations.

Out of all these mountains, our focus is on Chamundi Betta in Mysore and Banasura Peak in Wayanad, both located in southern India. The Chamundi Betta has a story of the goddess leader Cāmuṇḍi defeating Mahiṣāsura, a tyrannical king of Mysore, and restoring order. The name Mysore is derived from mahiṣa-ūru — the city of Mahiṣa.

The Banasura Peak is named after Bāṇāsura, the son of Mahābali — a celebrated king who was removed from Earth and sent to the underworld pātāla by the gods when he grew too powerful and threatened their rule.

The Geography

The Banasura Peak (2073m) forms part of the Western Ghats mountain chain, which runs parallel to the west coast of the Indian Peninsula. It is the northernmost peak above 2000m between the Himalayas and the Nilgiris. In contrast, Chamundi Hill is an isolated hillock located in the plains of the Deccan Plateau. Its elevation is modest, averaging 1060m, rising approximately 300m above the surrounding plains of Mysore city.

The city of Mysore is located nearly equidistant from several notable mountain ranges in South India:

• The Western Ghats of Coorg and Kerala

• The Eastern Ghats of Chamarajanagara - specifically Biligiriranga range

• The Nilgiris, where these two mountain chains meet

All of these mountain chains are located within a distance of around 100km from Mysore. While this makes for easy weekend trips, it has more interesting implications given that the limit of clear-air visibility is around 200km1.

Visibility and Luck

With no polluting particles in the atmosphere, visibility would be at its maximum. However, modern industrial civilization seldom allows this to happen. The atmosphere is often filled with particulate matter, oxides of sulfur, and dust particles of varying sizes. All of these contribute to the scattering of light, thereby reducing visibility. On an average winter day, visibility can be less than 30 km.

The arrival of the monsoon changes everything. Strong winds and rains help wash these particles out of the atmosphere, improving air quality. Even the rain-shadow areas of the Deccan Plateau benefit from this, while the Western Ghats are often covered with clouds and rain. During the "Monsoon Break" phase, when the rains subside, the mountains are still often shrouded in mist.

This is where luck comes into play—on extremely rare occasions during the break phase, the high mountains are not covered in clouds, and the plains experience less pollution. It turns out I was a bit lucky when I visited Mysore in late September of 2024.

The Lucky Evening

It was a break monsoon day. The weakened westerly winds had pushed moisture further inland, causing thunderstorms and showers over the plains. That evening, from Chamundi Betta, one side of the city was completely covered by pitch-black clouds pouring rain, while the other side had already cleared after the rain. The sun, setting behind the dark clouds, cast a surreal magenta hue over the entire environment, creating a scene both dramatic and confusing.

Neelgiris of Tamil Naadu

And it was the time for action for the 250mm crop-frame lens! Out in the distant sky to the south, I could barely distinguish the cloud bottoms from the peaks of Neelgiris (>2000m, ~100km Line of Sight distance).

Turning slightly to the southwest revealed more of the foothills and the rugged peaks beyond.

I'm not a first-time observer of the Neelgiris from Mysore. One of my friends captured a stunning shot of the Neelgiris during the COVID lockdowns, at the start of the monsoon. The air was much clearer back then than it is now!

Banasura and Cousins

The western horizon would have been completely dominated by the peaks of the Western Ghats of Kerala — as suggested by Peakfinder. However, all I could see were clouds and a red sky. While I could have called seeing the Neelgiris a success and given up on the rest, I decided to give luck a try and shot aimlessly where Peakfinder indicated the peaks should be. And voila — during post-processing, Banasura (2073m, 105km LOS distance) revealed its peak above the clouds!

Where I was supposed to see the peaks of Chembara (2100m, 106km LOS distance) further south, I instead saw its foothills, located within the Bandipura Forest.

To Coorg

While post-processing, I noticed a mysterious line within the clouds, which turned out to be a mountain — the Brahmagiri of Irpu (1608m, 83km LOS distance), where the River Lakshmanateertha originates. This mountain should not be confused with the Brahmagiri of Bhagamandala, also located in Coorg, where the River Kaveri originates.

More Western Ghats

While I was supposed to see the Bettadapura Hills (1318m, 64km LOS distance) of the plains, with Kote Betta (1635m, 104km LOS distance) of Somawarapete in the background, the view was obscured by clouds and rain. Theoretically, Kumara Parvata (1712m, 115km LOS distance) and even the Chandradrona Range of Chikkamagaluru (>1800m, 161km LOS distance) could also be visible. According to folklore, a light lit at Devirammana Betta in the Chandradrona Range, visible from Chamundi Betta, once signaled the start of Deepavali celebrations. Seeing such a sight in modern times would be nothing short of a miracle!

The Eastern Mountains

While the western horizon was vibrant with colors, the eastern horizon appeared dull and was slowly preparing for nightfall. However, squinting at the seemingly blank horizon revealed the Biligiriranga Range of the Eastern Ghats (>1200m, ~75km LOS distance).

While more mountains could have been visible under better conditions, it was getting dark and rainy, so I had to stop for the day, satisfied with the gems I had collected.

The Previous Day

Good visibility conditions had prevailed the previous day as well. From a rooftop, I could see the hillocks all around. I also aimed my camera in the general direction of the Neelgiris, as suggested by Peakfinder, but ended up with a partly failed attempt.

There were small hillocks scattered all around.

Moral of the Story

As someone who lives in the mountains, the plains with no mountains in sight often feel dull. However, the plains of the Deccan Plateau in India are dotted with small hills, and given the right conditions in both space and time, one can also catch glimpses of nearby mountain chains.

If you want to imagine and understand what mountains you can see from a given place, Peakfinder2 is an extremely useful tool, and their mobile app is especially handy when you're on location. It not only helps visualize what’s around but also makes us realize the serious impacts of pollution on visibility, making us wonder what other effects it might have on human society and health.

While we can see the hills and mountains in these photos, they would benefit from removing the dust spots on the lens and performing color corrections to address the artifacts caused by dehazing. I hope to capture the mountains more clearly next time, with better conditions both in terms of space and time, requiring less dehazing!

The Preparation

You should not watch an eclipse without any eye protection; for that matter, you should not watch the sun with bare eyes regardless of whether it is an eclipse or not. If the eclipse happens in the afternoon, it is very easy to not see the sun as it is above your head.

In the evening, it is a different story -- since the sun is directly in front of you, it is hard to not see it! I started finding the protective glasses two days before the eclipse, and could not find any. After rounds of calls with retailers to no avail, I had to find an alternative. It was not seeing the sun at all from my eyes, but through the camera display, all while me hiding behind a tree trunk or wall 😆. I went up a hill the previous day to find the spot and practice the shots 😅. Since it is winter and the monsoon has receded, there is significant haze, making the sun appear red, turning the shots good.

The Eclipse Day

When the eclipse started around 5 PM, a big cloud appeared in front of the sun, blocking its view!! For a moment, it seemed like all the practice I had done was wasted. I got distracted by a group of three Malabar giant squirrels, with one being standstill on the tree. It seems that in the face of the threat, these squirrels become a standstill instead of fleeing the place.

With a zoom lens on, prepared to capture the eclipsed sun, I shot the movements of the squirrels instead; it was the first video I ever edited and published!

When the squirrels were gone, the clouds have been cleared too, and I got to view the magnificent view of the eclipsed sun amidst the mountains through the camera display.

During the sunset, the sun was still eclipsed, and it was a breathtaking view to watch an eclipsed sun setting behind the mountains. Since the sun was so dull, I could watch it with bare eyes.

Until Next Time

The next eclipse is not happening in India anytime soon; we have to wait until 2031. For an annular eclipse, it is much more. For an eclipse with the sunset or sunrise, it is rare! Thus, this eclipse is memorable until the next one, for a long.

The Name and Fame

I'm talking about the Netravati Peak, which got recently hyped and famed. The actual name of the peak is not the Netravati, but rather maNNu.kuNi.Eri (lit. the slop with the mud hollow, due to the animals digging in the place). As with other place names (remember Mount Everest? 😬), people found the native name not too attractive for marketing, thus renaming it after the Netravati river, which originates nearby.

The place got popular recently due to social media attention and trekking groups. Finding the opportunity, the Karnataka Forest Department stepped in and started ticketing, making the visit too much costly for local people. Anyway, I decided to break down the hype and visit it even though it cost me ₹4000 for transportation (32km, two way, at this cost, I would have covered two way trip from Bangalore to Chennai 😆 ) and ₹500 for entry (there is an extra charge for the camera, another charge for a zoom lens!).

The Route

The starting point of the trek is already at an elevation of around 1100m, making the ascent to be around 400m, taking the course of 6km. At the start, we see all 4 out of 5 peaks of Mertiparvata.

Then we see numerous shola mountains of Kuduremukha National Park, which unfortunately was not looking good due to the haze that day.

The Rani Jhari cliff of Ballalarayana Durga can be seen majestically in the east.

We also see farmlands with paddy and areca everywhere.

We can view the destination itself en route, clearly distinguished by the grass-less pathway to its top. The grass here is cleared due to the footsteps of lots of trekkers walking along!

Due to the cloud and haze that day, we missed the sight of lots of other mountains. However, the Mallarasana Gudda of Hirebyle was a notable exception.

The route passes through several steams along the way, which are full of water (and leeches!) during the Monsoons.

Once we pass the last stream, a significant ascend begins. After climbing four hills, we finally arrive at Mannkuneri peak.

The Edge

At the peak, we were greeted with thick mist, which was ascending the ghats from the southeast. The Northwesterly winds were making sure that they remain in place, so it was a deadlock for them! However, the mist cleared after some time, and we could be able to see the beautiful view of the mist deadlocked at the side of the cliff.

We remained there to see if the mist below clears, allowing the view of the plains of the Dakshina Kannada district, and other mountains nearby. Unfortunately, that never happened and we satisfied ourselves by roaming around nearby small cliffs.

After spending some time at the peak, with no hopes of the mist being cleared, we started descending the mountain. During the descent, we could clearly see the trail that passed aside a ridge, with a cliff at the end.

The descent is very easy and fast, and we are at the base within an hour, that too with a slow, lethargic walk!

The Life

The forests at this elevation are Shola, a grassland-forest complex, which creates a beautiful mosaic view of light and dark green.

At the shola grasslands, apart from the grass, there were multiple other plants with beautiful flowers.

The trees outside the shola forest tend to be usually dwarf and display a twisted branching pattern due to the harsh weather.

It is very rare to see a display of a big-isolated tree.

Since the weather there is misty and humid, we can see moss growth atop the branches of most trees.

Sometimes, the moss provides a fertile environment enough for the shola grasses to start growing atop them! A perfect grassland-forest combination 😄.

Not to be forgotten, the display of the orchids is not rare at all.

The finger-shaped leaves of Oberonia orchids are especially attracting

Due to climate change and increasing temperatures, the composition of shola forests seems to be slowly changing, allowing the forest to take over the grassland.

Our Responsibility

While this mountain is relatively new to trek groups and travelers and branded as untouched, there are already signs of human-made pollution. To begin with, we already see plastic litter thrown away at all the places, cleaning which seems not to be a concern of anyone, although we pay a hefty entrance fee. I must also add that it is the responsibility of every individual to keep the place clean.

We observe that the hiking trail is quite devoid of any grass, which is common where humans or cattle regularly walk. However, the scale here is quite large, which could potentially contribute to soil erosion.

I have observed lots of the hikers plucking off the beautiful flowers for a photoshoot, and then throwing them thereafter. Plants flower for a purpose — to propagate their kind; and plucking them off might have a long-term effect of decreasing their population, or at worst, threatening the endangered species.

Foremost, we have to learn to respect the place, and the culture of the place that we are visiting, even if they are against some of our own beliefs. Discarding the local names of places for a fancier, more marketable name feels like throwing local culture into the dust. I have observed some locals using this mountain as a money-making venture, with some not even visiting the place and experiencing it firsthand. That is quite disgusting to me — while money making by tourism is good and encouraged (although extortion is clearly not! 😅), one must consider the delicate ecology of the place, and not allow it to tip off the balance, for our own good and that of fellow species.

The Road to Shivamogga

The route from my native Kalasa to Shivamogga takes us first through the base of the core Westren Ghats, and then through a tail of Chandradrona mountains of Chikkamagaluru. The route transitions from mountainous, to the paddy fields and then back to mountainous, before finally yielding to the plains of Shivamogga. The route offers the view of small hills and dense semi-evergreen forests all along the way, which are full of green during the Monsoons. Intercepted with them, there are paddy and areca plantations.

The route passes beside the Bhadra reservoir, which I could not photograph as I was sitting at another side window of the bus ​​.

We also encounter numeorous medium-sized lakes, which are unusual at my native, as the terrain there is much hillier.

At Shivamogga, we are at the plains with around 600m elevations, which means we lost around 200m elevation without ever noticing!

Back to the Mountains (Hills?!)

We decided to travel to Jog waterfalls from Shivamogga, which is located around at 90km Northwest of it as the crow flies. In the route, we get to see numerous lakes, this time without any hill to provide a backdrop! We also see power grid lines, which supposedly distribute the hydal engergy generated at Linganamakki reservoir, which is built across the river Sharavati, which creates the waterfall at Jog.

Situated around an elevation of 488m, the water falls an elevation of 253m to a deep valley. We were greeted by rains the view was covered with mist all along! Fortunately, the rains stopped and the mists cleared within half an hour, revealing the roaring water behind. Since the fury of the monsoon had reduced and the reservioir gates had been closed, the waterflow was less. Some streams would get barely noticeable during the summers.

The faces of the rocky slopes there are covered with forest wherever there is abundent soil available, otherwise with moss-like plants.

If you take time to roam around, you can see other waterfalls, which make a beautiful sight along with vegetation.

You can also see waterfalls in surrounding hills, few near and others far.

The waterfalls in the far away hills can be clearly seen if they not covered by mist.

Even if the mist is to blame for obstructing the view of the waterfalls, they create beautiful scenes on their own, playing with the rocks surrounding.

Near the waterfalls, there is also a small power generation facility, which sources the water from a nearby reservoir.

While entering the waterfalls, we come across the Sharavati bridge, after flowing through which the river falls into the deep valley. Near the bridge, you can neither guess the depth of the valley, nor the flow of water as everything seems plain and silent there!

To the Coast, and back to the Mountains ​​

After Jog and back to Shivamogga, I descended the Ghats at Agumbe and entered the West Coast. The route to Agumbe from Shivamogga passes through beautiful forests and Gajanur reservoir built across the Tunga river, which I could not catpure as I could not get a window seat in the crowded bus ​​. I also missed a beautiful sunset amidst light rain at Agumbe Ghat road due to camera not focusing well ​​. To compensate for these losses, I decided to come back the next day! The hills of the Agumbe Ghat look magestically covered with green from the Someshwara, where the ascend starts.

The forests of Agumbe are protected as reserves. Among their rich flora and fauna, one can easily spot varaities of monkeys.

Out of the monkeys there, the Lion-tailed macaques are endangered.

The Agumbe ghat is convoluted and has 14-hairpin curves. The route at lower elevations is covered with dense forest.

As one ascends the ghats, the density of the forest decreases, sometimes providing a clear view of the coastal area below.

After the full ascent, there is a viewpoint, which unfortunately was covered with mist. However, we can enjoy the Cloud Forest vibes, with moss-covered trees.

After we ascend the ghat, the mountains give way to small hills, and dense tropical forests turns into to vast paddy fields. Out of the hills near Agumbe, Kundadri (976m) offers a view of surrounding villages and distant Kudremukh mountain range on a clear day, as it raises around 300m from its base.

Sighting Faraway Mountains

As we enter Kundadri, to the south, we see high Kuduremukha range. The sharp peak of Merti Parvata (1663m, 37km LOS) is identifiable easily if it not covered with mist. You can remember me sighting it from Mudigere, from 36km LOS, which is around the same distance. However, the line from Merti Parvata to Kundadri is less mountainous, permitting for a clear view.

For the reference, here is a similiar view of Merti Parvata, taken from a much nearby hill.

Then, we can see the route from which we came, which is easily identified by a giant tower atop Agume ghat.

We also see a sharp peak of the Kuduremukha Range (there are two, actually, one is covered with mist here) descending to Kabbinale.

We also see the Kuduremukha Peak (1898m, 49km LOS) itself, which unfotunately was covered with clouds. Then, moving on to the right, we see Thulajankal Motte (1441m, 32.6km LOS), Kadamadi Kallu (1494m, 45.2km LOS) and Gangadi Kallu (1426m, 33.6km LOS) mountains in order. Remember their names, we will come to them later!

We could have seen Valikumja as well, but its surroundings were covered with mist, which too was a beutiful view ​​.

To the Northwest, we see the backwaters of Mani reservoir, along with a view of Kodachadri mountain (1376m, 46km LOS).

All these sightings are possible only if the air is clear, and the sky is cloudless (which was not when I visited!). Otherwise, all you can get is a good view of its base.

Although it was cloudy the day we visited, we could still get a nice view of the Kuduremukha range. Chandradrona range of Chikkamagaluru should have been ideally visible, but it was covered with clouds.

Kundadri is also under an in-situ biodiversity conservation plan. We see some nice shaped trees covered with mosses atop it.

Apart from Kundadri and its surrounding hills, the way forward from Agumbe to Shivamogga is mostly flat. Thus, we head back towards the Ghats, but this time a different one.

Back to the Ghats - Hulikall

The route from Agumbe towards Mastikatte, where the Hulikall Ghat starts, is hilly.

We also get to see backwaters of the Mani reservoir often, whose purpose is again to generate electricity.

Once we reach Mastikatte, the descend begins. We get a temple along mid-way, near which we get a beautiful view of the coast below.

Kodachadri is also visible from here, hidden behind serveral hills. For us, it was convered with clouds and we could barely see a part of it.

Another attracting view is of Mettkall hill, atop of which there is a temple dedicated to Ganapathi, which is painted in bright orange.

The descent of the ghat is very gentle, which is very much opposite to that of the Agumbe Ghat; thus, heavier vehicles tend to choose this route, making the road condition generally not good. Once we descend the ghat, we enter Hosangadi and then Siddhapura, after which the route heads towards Kundapura, a town beside the sea. Instead, we choose to move back the foot of the Westren Ghats!

At the foot of the Westren Ghats

From Siddhapura, we moved towards Thombattu, which recently had become famous among the tourists for its numerous waterfalls. On the way, we came across backwaters (again!!) of a small reservoir (to generate electricity, again), with the heads of the dead coconut trees still visible.

At Thomabattu, the Westren Ghats greet us again. It was becoming cloudy by that time.

We ventured into a nearby forest to get a view of a small stream jumping from the rocks.

With the Monsoon, the Impatiens bloom on nearby rocks was a sight to behold.

Their structure is pretty attractive, with a single leaf and a flower.

Another notable plant I came across is thorny Areca-like plam, most likely known as "Rattan Palms"

With the sun setting in and clouds getting darker, it was the time to end journey for the day.

Back to the Sholas

Ganesha festival lunch in and around the ghats of the Kundapura taluk is special -- you don't get any fried items; not even coconut oil to the side! However, you get a plenty of ghee ​​. There is a belief that the ones eating fried items that day will become bandicoots in next incarnation ​​ ​​. After enjoying the lunch there, I headed back to my native. The sky was dark and it started heavily raining amidst the route. I ascended Mala Ghat, which is in the Kuduremuka National Park. There, we start to see the Shola mountains again. The view of the Thulajankal Motte and the valley below from beside the road is breathtaking (remeber, we saw this mountain from Kundadri!). Motte literally means egg in the local languages, which aptly applies to the mountains because of bare head without any forest! There are numerous motte mountains moving south across the Westren Ghats!

We also get to the base of Gangadikallu mountain en-route.

From there, it is an usual journey for me amidst the sholas and forest to my native. I travelled around 800km exploring the Westren ghats, seeing forests, rivers and waterfalls, reservoirs, and, mountains along the way.​

Ending Notes

Anything that I saw more than mountains and forests in this trip are reservoirs, most of them specifically built for power generation. While they provide the clean energy, they also disrupt the surrounding ecosystem. We must research efficient ways to generate power at a small scale without disrupting the ecosystem.

The Westren Ghats I explored, although are not lofty as the Southren Westren Ghats and Sholas, they host deep tropical forests home to a rich biodiversity, which is threatened from time to time due to the power generation projects.

The Bhadra and Tunga reservoirs near Shivamogga are specifically built to provide water for drinking and agricultural needs of the plains. Some 10 years ago, there was even a proposal to build an upstream reservoir to Bhadra, agian to send drinking water to the plains. With the rainfall patterns now changing with climate change, the plains get harsh, unexpected rains damaging their crops and setting some historical records. Along with repenting for the losses, at least, we can now focus on reviving the lakes of the plain to harvest the rainwater.

A typical summer day in the Western Ghats starts with no signs of rain -- cloudless blue skies and the morning mist. Once the sun rises, it starts getting hotter and hotter.