Bandajje Falls

Photographs from a two day trek to Bandajje Abbi near Dharmasthala led by Sunand (http://www.iquestindia.com/) & Deepak.

Trek Details:

Started off from Majestic at 11 PM on Friday night, reached Narayan Gowda's house early on Saturday morning. Started trekking after a sumptuous breakfast accompanied by a guide provided by Mr Gowda. Stopped for lunch around 2 PM after 5 hours of trekking (mostly uphill through forests) and feasted on Pulav/Raitha provided by Mr Gowda. Started again after a brief rest to what proved to be a very arduous trek in the afternoon over grasslands climbing uphill under a merciless sun. Reached the top of Bandajje Falls in the evening.

Pitched tents atop Bandajje and stayed overnight. For dinner, we prepared Maggie over the campfire. The next day (Sunday) we started off at around 8 AM and after lots of climbing up & down peaks (gaining altitude with each grudging peak) we reached Ballarayan Durga fort in the middle of noon. After a half hour break, we started descent towards the village and the latter part of the trek was completed through jeep tracks. Had lunch at the priests house couple of kms before the village. Post lunch, came down to the village where the van was waiting for us. Traveled to Hornadu after passing through picturesque Kudremukh, after a visit to the temple, drove back to Bangalore reaching early in the morning.

Note that water is available at very limited points throughout the trek, so carry sufficient quantity with you. Also the trek route is not obvious, have a guide with you who knows the route - otherwise it is very easy to get lost.

Areca nuts, pigeons & a tulsi plant at the beautiful Gowda Mane

Anushee with Pari. Being a member of Gowda's household, Anushee was not shy with strangers and happily played with all of us.

The 19 member team on the trek. Group photo before starting off from Mr Gowda's house.

Ascend through the forest.

For Deepak, it's all just a walk in the park! So glad to have his 15 years of trekking experience guiding us.

Glorious colors of the forest.

Dry season, so no leeches. Hurray!

Stream along the way. Only water point en route to Bandajje.

Resting a while before starting ascend again. Smitha in a contemplative mood.

Atop Bandajje Falls.

All of us had nice fun playing in the water. Sunand set the record for holding his breath the maximum time under water!

Steep waterfall on the ledge beyond this point. The adventurous can have a sensational view from here - advisable to be on the safe side and lie on your stomach.

If you want flowing water to appear smooth, put your camera in shutter priority (Tv or similar) and use shutter speed of 1/15 s or smaller. Tripod or very steady hands recommended to avoid blur.

Asking Krip to look to his right would have made a better composed picture.

The grasslands look golden under the sun!

Was too lazy and tired to take out my camera beyond this point. So no photographs of the fort or beyond that...