Bandaje Arbi – Ballarayana Durga Trek

Team members: Abhijit, Ankur, Angshu, Ayan, Bota,Pratap, Ranajit, Soupitak, Soumitra, Sumanta and Somnath.

Route info: Bandaje is a small village located ~300 km north-west of Bangalore. Rajhamsha buses are available from Bangalore to Dharmastala/Ujire (~20 km from Dharmastala). The trek starts from Mr. Narayan Gowda's estate at Bandaje. Jeeps are available (@ Rs. 200) from Ujire bus stand to the estate. The trek terminates at Ori Khan's estate near Sunkale. The nearest bus stop at Sunkale is ~10 km from the estate. Autos can be hired (@ Rs. 250 per auto) with the help of the locals to cover this distance. It takes 45 mins to an hour of journey by a local bus to reach Kalasa (~25 km from Sunkale) or Horanadu (further 8 km from Kalasa), from where Bangalore bound Rajhamsha/Express buses are available.

Get set, go: First week of April was full of holidays and we decided to celebrate it with a trek. Bandaje was chosen ahead of a few shortlisted destinations and the responses were overwhelming. We had to politely refuse a few to keep the group within 10-12. It is a long trek with overnight camping and we ended up making a long list of essential things - food, glucose, essential medicine, tent, sleeping bag, cooking utensils, salt for protection from leeches, “electric” torch, a compass in case we lose our way inside the jungle and miscellaneous ! Ranajit was unanimously selected as group leader and what a choice it turned out to be ! He made a nice presentation regarding trek route based on google map and it was a real confidence booster. Finally the D-day arrived and as usual we were running around with too many things to do in too little time. Despite a few tense moments and flaring tempers, we managed to set off in time and reached Majestic bus stand well in advance. Being the beginning of an extended weekend, Majestic was jam packed. The bus was full barring one vacancy – a last minute cancellation by one of our members. Thanks to Angshu and his fluent Kannada, we managed to get back 50% of the original ticket price. As usual the bus took a while to dodge it's way out of Majestic and finally hit the road – but fortunately there was no serious delay. As always, I had a severe attack of insomnia during overnight bus journey and spent some despairing moments fighting it in vain. I tried and retried many different positions (I seriously hope someone will come up with a list of formulas and write a book someday!), but nothing seemed to work. In between, we had a brief halt and I tried to drown my misery in a cup of hot coffee! The journey resumed shortly and the problem came back to haunt me before I gave up completely. By this time the bus was climbing the roads of western ghats. It was a rough ride – sharp U turns, hairpin bends and BUMPY roads. Thank God I was having a window seat and had the privilege of gazing at the dark-misty surroundings for the rest of the journey.
The bus dropped us at Ujire bus stand at 5 a.m. and I was relived to breath fresh air after almost an eternity. The small tea shop was open by then. A few guys went to hire a vehicle. By the time we finished our tea, a jeep was ready to take us to Mr. Narayan Gowda's estate – at the skirt of the hill covered by thick forest. The jeep managed to accommodate eleven people, each carrying a big rucksack – a near perfect Fevicol ad. It took nearly half an hour to reach the destination. At last we were standing at the gateway of the forest – THE MOMENT we waited for long. The gloom out of tiring bus journey was foundering fast in the swelling waves of excitement. We met a few local people, preparing for the days work. Mr. Gowda came out himself and exchanged greetings with us. He offered to send one of his men as guide. Being a bunch of die hard adventurers, we were strongly in favor of venturing on our own. Before departing, Mr. Gowda was kind enough to inform that the last of the habitations, a part of his estate, lies roughly one kilometer down the road. He advised us to request someone there to show us the correct trekking trail. After spending a brief time for ablution, we set out along the forest path. It did not take long to reach the last of Gowdas habitations (there is one intermediate). The road ahead bifurcated and we decided to stop at that point. Angshu, Ranajit and few others went ahead to inquire. In the mean time rest of us, led by Pratap, were busy preparing breakfast. The reconnaissance party came back with the info that the path going right will take us towards the Bandaje falls. The sumptuous breakfast - bread-cucumber sandwich, was over soon. It was time to move into the wild, leaving behind the last trace of civilization.
Jungle safari - It was mid-summer and the area did not receive any significant rain in recent past. This presented us with two privileges during the rest of the trek – an unambiguous trail and nonexistent leeches, the most hated creature by any trekker. We followed the trail, mostly uphill, through the dense jungle. Despite the forest cover it was hot and extremely humid. We adopted the good old strategy – slow but steady. It took almost two hours to reach the point where the trail crosses the Bandaje river. We were dying for a long break and could hardly resist the temptation to submerge all our misery into the cold stream of Bandaje river. Next half an hour was one of the happiest moments during the whole journey.
By the law of the nature, blissful moments are ephemeral. Fresh from the rest, we resumed journey with new enthusiasm that evaporated shortly in soaring temperature. Crippled by dehydration, we had to take frequent breaks to avoid cramps. Hardly did we realize that the worst is yet to come. Two hours after starting from the bank of the stream we reached the fringe of the forest, where it abruptly opened into a grassland. With the mid day sun in full glory and hardly any cover barring a few thorny bushes here and there, we were about to enter the toughest part of the journey. This prompted us to take another relatively long break at this point. While sitting at the edge of the forest, thoughts of various comforts available back in Bangalore, like ac sitting rooms, quality food and drinks and other entertainments passed through my mind. I could not help but ask myself – do I really want this ? However, others were already on move and it was time to act, not to think. Shaking off reluctance, I left behind the relative comfort of the forest shade and stepped into the inferno.
It was a steep upward journey along the ridge. Only consolation were the small bushes – little “oasislets” sheltering us temporarily from the merciless sun. In between, we got a glimpse of glittering Bandaje falls. The spectacular sight filled my mind with simultaneous joy and despair. Unambiguously we were on right track but the destination was sooooooo faaaaar away. We have to gain good altitude and then take a left turn to reach the top of the falls before we can call it a day. As we moved ahead, the magnificent falls went behind a veil of surrounding hills, that was not lifted until we reached the summit of the waterfall. Minutes passed into hours and we were hoping to rediscover the falls, much closer this time. With no sight or sound of waterfall, our hopes were turning into despondency. Finally we climbed to a point beyond which the hill took a rapid decent and the view below was blocked by thick forest cover. We started walking along the periphery looking for a suitable place to go down. At this point we almost lost track of our destination. We were hoping to see Bandaje falls to our left, but failed to realize that the ridge actually took us at least one k.m behind the summit. By this time our bottles were nearly empty and failing to reach the fall, the only source of water nearby, means serious trouble. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The guys at the head of our team saw two men with sharp weapons in hand coming towards us. Initially apprehensive, we were relived to know that they were from some adventure club of Bangalore. The two daredevils were Bandaje veterans, this being their third/fourth visit. They were out there to observe wild life at night and accordingly set up their tent near a small stream away from summit of the falls. They led us to the normal camping place for trekkers, very near to the tip of the Bandaje waterfall. While interacting, we came to know about bear attack on a group of trekkers a few days back. They also warned about leopards and snakes. The safety rules are simple – stay united and do not venture away from camping site after the dark. Interestingly, bears and leopards can be kept away by lighting a fire, but snakes are attracted due to warmth – a delightful privilege to choose one of them! After day long wear and tear, my mind was too numb to any such warnings. I just wanted to forget everything and rest in peace until tomorrow.

To be contd ............