Finally I broke free!! Free from all the hectic schedules of work-study-work-study and... finally broke free...
Headed to my friend's place near Kodachadri along with my parents, I never imagined that I will experience such a great pleasure in those two days! Simha Farms is where we stayed and thanks Adithya Biloor and his family for such a wonderful hospitality.
Kodachadri was in my list of must visit for the third time :) and this time with my parents! As they cannot trek (for obvious reasons!) we had to hire a Jeep to reach the peak and O boy! I found some of the world's best drivers! The road to Kodachadri is very very tough to say the least! The 8km road to the top will take not less that an hour to drive. The patience and skill of most of the drivers are something that deserves commendation.
Reached the top at around 5:15 to see the Sunset and by the time we started ascending the final small stretch to reach the 'Sarvajna Mantapa' from where you get to see the true beauty of the place, the peak started to cover in the mist completely. Thick clouds started hitting the peak and the feel was amazing. Though the visibility diminished quickly and so the photo opportunity, I was slightly optimistic that the mist will soon clear and may give an opportunity to witness some of the wonderful moments that the place is famous for.
And it didn't disappoint! Slowly after sometime the Sun started showing up....and.... there it was......the ground underneath was completely covered with the layered clouds and the atmosphere above became crystal clear for some moment! WOW! It was a sight to behold! Never in my previous times I had witnessed this drama of Nature in front of my eyes here. The setting sun was adding colors to the mood and it was a moment of sheer ecstasy.
The next day morning I spent time on the backwaters of Linganamakki Dam along with Adithya Biloor. We were there just when the Sun was opening his eyes and was getting ready to for the new day and we promptly waited for him to show up.
Couple of Ashy Wood Swallow pairs were having some jolly time and the perch they were on was giving some nice photography opportunities. I decided to go with minimalistic approach and tried some experiments around the same.
Later part of the day was spent in hunting down one of the elusive birds of that region - Black capped Kingfisher which was not very much recorded from that region. The place 'Pandavara Tali' was beautiful and serene. I was about to give up hope of witnessing that beauty and decided to take a plunge into the flowing water to beat the heat and there it was...flying in front of all of us and finally settling on the branch on the other shore.
The bird is really beautiful and the colors are very striking. I had never thought that I would be adding this beauty to my lifers list this much soon and that too from Karnataka region. Bhtarkanika of Orissa and Sunderbans of West Bengal are famous for its frequent sightings.
The evening was spent again in the backwaters but photography was less.
Overall a memorable trip after a long time and a very well spent break for me. A paradise well seen...again!
Cheers,
Ash
Headed to my friend's place near Kodachadri along with my parents, I never imagined that I will experience such a great pleasure in those two days! Simha Farms is where we stayed and thanks Adithya Biloor and his family for such a wonderful hospitality.
Kodachadri was in my list of must visit for the third time :) and this time with my parents! As they cannot trek (for obvious reasons!) we had to hire a Jeep to reach the peak and O boy! I found some of the world's best drivers! The road to Kodachadri is very very tough to say the least! The 8km road to the top will take not less that an hour to drive. The patience and skill of most of the drivers are something that deserves commendation.
Reached the top at around 5:15 to see the Sunset and by the time we started ascending the final small stretch to reach the 'Sarvajna Mantapa' from where you get to see the true beauty of the place, the peak started to cover in the mist completely. Thick clouds started hitting the peak and the feel was amazing. Though the visibility diminished quickly and so the photo opportunity, I was slightly optimistic that the mist will soon clear and may give an opportunity to witness some of the wonderful moments that the place is famous for.
And it didn't disappoint! Slowly after sometime the Sun started showing up....and.... there it was......the ground underneath was completely covered with the layered clouds and the atmosphere above became crystal clear for some moment! WOW! It was a sight to behold! Never in my previous times I had witnessed this drama of Nature in front of my eyes here. The setting sun was adding colors to the mood and it was a moment of sheer ecstasy.
The next day morning I spent time on the backwaters of Linganamakki Dam along with Adithya Biloor. We were there just when the Sun was opening his eyes and was getting ready to for the new day and we promptly waited for him to show up.
Couple of Ashy Wood Swallow pairs were having some jolly time and the perch they were on was giving some nice photography opportunities. I decided to go with minimalistic approach and tried some experiments around the same.
Later part of the day was spent in hunting down one of the elusive birds of that region - Black capped Kingfisher which was not very much recorded from that region. The place 'Pandavara Tali' was beautiful and serene. I was about to give up hope of witnessing that beauty and decided to take a plunge into the flowing water to beat the heat and there it was...flying in front of all of us and finally settling on the branch on the other shore.
The bird is really beautiful and the colors are very striking. I had never thought that I would be adding this beauty to my lifers list this much soon and that too from Karnataka region. Bhtarkanika of Orissa and Sunderbans of West Bengal are famous for its frequent sightings.
The evening was spent again in the backwaters but photography was less.
Overall a memorable trip after a long time and a very well spent break for me. A paradise well seen...again!
Cheers,
Ash
