Agumbe is a small village located in Thirthahalli taluk, Shimoga district in Karnataka. Snugly nestled in the Western Ghats (Malnad region) this village is famous for more than one reason. It receives the second highest annual rainfall in India, next only to Cherrapunji; hence the sobriquet “Cherrapunji of the South”. The Sunset view point, at a height of 825 mts above sea level, is world famous and attracts visitors from all over.
Western Ghats is considered as one of the bio-diversity hotspots of the world. Agumbe, being located in the Western Ghats, more than justifies that tag. Many new species of flora and fauna have been discovered here. The place infact lends it’s name to some of them discovered and they include plants, shrubs, fungus, a fly and a spider. Just as an example the spider has been named Selenops agumbensis. A few other plants and a beetle too have been discovered here which have been named agumbensis. That should be an indication enough to the bio-diversity richness of this place.
Agumbe has the distinction of being the only location in India which can boast of a permanent rainforest research station. Established by the well known herpetologist Mr. Romulus Whitaker, the research station has a main goal of studying and conserving rainforests of South India. Mr. Whitaker, in 1970s, spotted the King Cobra here in this area and hence uses it as the flagship species for his research station.
Add to this a Medicinal plants conservation area established in the year 1999. There are as many as 182 plant species here identified as medicinal out of 371. Sadly some of them are red listed, meaning they are endangered.
Is it even possible to forget the… Oh!!! so lovable Swamy of “Malgudi days”, a teleserial which became a household name. This teleserial, directed by Shankar Nag, was shot in none other than this very place.
If I were to dig a little more I am sure I can find many more wonderful things about this truly bewitching beauty of the Western Ghats. However, with reluctance I now proceed towards recounting my latest trip to Agumbe.
I haven’t even mentioned anything about the bevy of waterfalls in and around Agumbe and that is what compelled us to visit this place. Kunchikal falls, Barkana falls, Kudlu teertha, Jogi gundi, Onake Abbi falls, Jomlu teertha and a host of others including the ones which have not been named.
The plan was to visit as many of these as possible. Despite it being November the un-seasonal rains threatened to upset our plans and they did. The richness of this place is such that inspite of not being able to stick to our plans we had a truly memorable time. Let me now get down to the specifics of the trip.
14th and 15th November, 2009 were the two days ear-marked for our visit to Agumbe. My contact, Mr Sudheendra, in Agumbe had informed me that it is raining. It wasn’t enough to stop us though. So on 13th night we took the bus to Agumbe. Reaching there early morning at around 7.00 am we checked into the hotel. We were ready in no time and waiting for Sudheendra. His arrival did not really bring good news. The rains could make an appearance any time he said. With this in mind and after a short discussion we decided that we would head for Sirimane falls near Sringeri.
It was still pretty early when our guide and driver Ganesh dropped us off at Sirimane waterfalls. I didn’t realize we were the first visitors of the day when I bought the entrance tickets. As I started climbing down the steps my soul suddenly soared at the sight of the magnificent falls. Eyes wide, feet rooted and mouth agape I stared at the water cascading down the rocks. Add to it the fact that there was no one just made the scene absolutely stunning. The next few seconds were a blur. Once I reached the end of the steps I just stood and tried to let it sink in. It did not take long for me to be under the water. After the previous night’s bus journey it was sheer bliss to be standing under the cold water hurtling down with enough force to drive away the blues and the aches & pains from the aging bones.
Was it 10 mins? Was it half an hour? Or had it been more than that? I really don’t know and I don’t really care. I hadn’t felt this good in a long long time. Even the presence of a family of 4 did not deter me from enjoying the natural massage from the waterfalls. With reluctance I finally stepped out of the water and the crowd began to appear and swell. Armed with my camera I tried my best to capture as much of the beauty of the place as possible.
We were just a few minutes away from the famous Sringeri temple. Ganesh dropped us off in front of the temple. After the darshan of Goddess we wandered around, spent a few minutes watching the fishes in the river and then decided it was time for lunch as the time spent in the water had made us very hungry. Simple yet delicious food for lunch meant that we were now exhausted from eating too much.
Making our way back to Agumbe we decided we will go to either Barkana viewpoint or Onake abbi falls. The dark clouds in the sky looked ominous. Jogi gundi it would be we decided. Within a few minutes of walking through the woods the soothing sounds of water could be heard. After the spectacular experience at Sirimane falls it was a completely different feeling that greeted us at Jogi gundi. It was calm, silent and serene. The presence of three youngsters enjoying themselves did very little to blemish the serenity of this place.
Climbing up a rock we managed to see the water gushing through rocks. This is not visible from below and it was a nice sight to see the water making it’s way through the rocks and settle down into a nice little pond below. It was interesting to watch spiders and their webs between the rocks. We did not spend too much time here and we were on our way back pretty soon. Just as well. The lure of world famous Agumbe Sunset was too strong.
Elements of nature had different plans altogether. Sipping a hot cup of coffee we witnessed the heavens open up. There was no way we could now go to the Sunset view point. Holed up in the hotel we reminisced about the days events and were very happy that we were indeed able to do all the things that we did. Just then a green grasshopper caught my eye as it gingerly made it's way on top of the railing as the rains came down heavily.
It was decided to go to Kundadri hills early next morning to see the Sunrise. During my previous visits I had been to this place in the afternoons and it was going to be different this time around. I was eager to witness the Sunrise at this place as I had heard a lot about it from the local people.
Ready and eager we got into the car that would take us to Kundadri hills. When we reached it was still dark and we made our way up the few steps to the top of the hill. A Jain temple dating back to the 17th century stood majestically overlooking the valley. The valley.... ? I wondered where the valley I had seen during my previous visits was. All I could see was a sea of white clouds. Mesmerized I drank in the magnificent sight in the pre dawn twilight.
There was another group which had come to witness the early morning magic. Patiently we stood with our cameras ready. It was soon evident that the clouds were not going to allow us to enjoy the Sunrise. Disappointment writ large on our faces about having missed watching the Sunrise we strolled around. The sight of the white fluffy clouds hanging between us and the ground 3200 feet below however made up for it. We spent a few minutes at the pond where one can find huge fishes of different colors.
If we wanted to go to Koodlu teertha we had to get going and we did. Arriving back at Agumbe we were greeted with some bad news. Because of the heavy rains the previous day the path to Koodlu teertha had become treacherous. We were told that an army of leeches had surfaced and were ready to attack any being which dared to venture into their territory. Quickly finishing breakfast we contemplated on our options for the rest of the day. As we strolled along for a nice early morning walk we discussed whether we still should risk going to Koodlu teertha or should we do Onake abbi. However the visuals of an army of leeches strewn along the paths to these places prompted us to consider other options too. The sight of a vibrantly colored flower distracted us for a few minutes as did the sweet calls of birds.
My friend who is very much into literature was as eager as me if not more to visit Kuppalli, Rashtrakavi Kuvempu’s village. Having made up our mind we decided to take the bus to Teerthahalli and from there another bus to Kuppalli. It was almost as if the buses knew of our plans and we didn’t even have to spend a few minutes waiting for them. Finally when we got off the bus on the main road and we started our 2 kms walk to Kuppalli. Just as we came off a bend in the road something bright red in color on one of the trees caught my attention. As we neared I could not help but take a few photographs of it.
I have seen many a scare-crows in my life. What I saw in one of the fields along the way though made me whip out my camera to take a photograph of it.
We then proceeded and reached the house where Kuvempu was born and brought up. The original house which was built from bricks and mud had been razed to the ground and a new structure built in it’s place. They have maintained the original plan though. Even the wooden pillars are the old ones. Walking through this house which has now been converted into a museum evoked a sense of pride in me. The household articles, photos of the family and friends, awards and certificates bestowed upon Kuvempu and even a few locks of his hair make this place a wonderful experience. The few glimpses into his life one gets to see remains etched in memory for a long time. One addition I found this time around was the statue of Kuvempu which had been installed in the garden.
A shop next to his house was where we quenched our thirst and devoured some snacks before trudging along to Kavishyla. This is the place where Kuvempu used to spend a lot of time alone and also with his friends. It takes just a split second to realize why these eminent giants of the literary world spent long hours at this place.
Stone slabs artistically arranged as arches and gateways lend a unique touch to this place. A simple arrangement of stones marks the final resting place of this giant of a man of the literary world. Nearby is the final resting place of his son Mr Poornachandra Tejasvi who was no less a giant with his exploits not only in the literary world but also in many other fields like environment protection and photography.
Having spent time to our heart’s content we started our way back only to be stopped in our tracks. It started raining cats and dogs. A small thatched structure came to our rescue.
A group of young school kids and their teacher who had come there for a visit too took shelter here. Till the rains abated I spent my time observing these kids and what a wonderful time it was. Their innocence was evident in all it’s glory. Their repartees to each other’s comments were laced with an ample amount of naughtiness. When one of the kids refused to dry his hair a girl went up to him and forcefully dried his hair with her veil. Only later when she called his name did I realize he was a muslim kid and she was a hindu. How much time will take for our elders to corrupt these young pure beautiful minds? I shudder at the thought of how such pure feelings of care and affection for each are going to be destroyed.
We walked back to the main road once the rains stopped. It was a long wait and a few birds kept me running around while we kept craning our necks and ears for the arrival of the bus which would take us to Teerthahalli. Finally the bus arrived and after another long wait we boarded the bus to Agumbe.
We went to the hotel for a hot cup of coffee and the owner informed us that it had rained very heavily and there was abundant proof all around of it. During the conversation he asked if we were leaving the same night. I responded in the affirmative and he asked if we were taking the 8.00 pm bus. I said we were leaving by the 10.00 pm bus. He was surprised and said there is only one bus which leaves at 8.00. My heart skipped a beat and frantically searched for the bus ticket. Voila!!! It was indeed the 8.00 pm bus.
Hearts racing we hurried back to the hotel to pack and settle the bill. Thankfully we had ample time to do all this. After a quick dinner we finally settled down in the bus for our journey back to Bangalore. Thus ended an eventful trip to Agumbe. But not before a promise of visiting this place once again in the near future.
To see all the photos Click Here
