Sun..Sand..& Turtles- 'Harihareshwar Turtle Hatching Festival'

I have been to the quite temple town of Harihareshwar twice. Even though I love this quaint little village for its clean deserted beach, three times would have been too much! But the last time I was there, it was for the love of beaches sprawled with tiny turtles!

About 4 hours away from the hustle of Mumbai city is Harihareshwar. It is known for two things, its temple and its pristine beach. This time I was there to witness the Turtle festival.

I had heard about the turtle festival and had been waiting for the chance to get out and witness it myself. Last year I did manage to do so and therefore, this year before the hatching season starts, I wanted to share a post on it so you can start planning for the same too.

Every year between February to March, thousands of newly hatched endangered Olive Ridley turtles make their maiden walk into the sea. Part of the Konkan Turtle Festival, this spectacular event is organized by the Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra (SNM) on the serene beach of Velas.

Tip: The Velas village is located on the picturesque Ratnagiri coast and is pretty close to Harihareshwar if you go by sea. By road it is about a 100kms.


The Konkan Turtle Festival is part of the conservation program aimed at protecting the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. During the festival, activists of the organization as well as tourists and locals release thousands of freshly hatched Olive Ridley Turtles into the sea.

From Harihareshwar we drove down to Bagmandale jetty, barely 4 kms away. Boats leave from this pretty jetty taking vehicles & passengers alike every half an hour.

Once we reached the other side, we drove through the village upto Bankot fort. This fort is situated atop the hill and stands at the mouth of Bankot creek. The fort history is debatable but according to the locals and the various tit-bits I heard, the fort was known to be under the control of Adilshahi and by 1548, the Portuguese took over it. Later, the brave Marathas, under the able leadership of the great Kanhoji Angre took control over Bankot and rechristened it as Himmatgad. Though this fort is beautiful with a fantastic view of the sea, not many tourists come this way.

From the fort, we headed down towards the Velas beach. The drive along the sea is spectacular. Completely isolated beaches fringed with beautiful trees, the view can revive you of all the city stress instantly!

Once on Velas beach, we waited until the activists were ready to release the baby turtles. Until then we walked around and explored the beach. Even though, the beach has black sand, it is absolutely soft and clean. Though it may not be very safe to swim here but it is perfect for a long walk along the shore to witness the romantic sunset.

Shortly the volunteers called the people to gather around as they expose the little turtles to the world. Looking at their size it is hard to believe that they would grow up to be at least 12 feet long! For now they slowly and shakily sweep their little fins towards the open sea.

As the sun sets in a lazy orange splash, we make our way back to Harihareshwar.

Soon it was pitch dark and the only light you can see are the stars scattered loosely on the sky! As we sat around the bonfire and sunk our tired feet in the cold sand, we could hear only one sound, the soft splashes of the waves!  

The next day we visit the Harihareshwar beach which is clean and deserted.

Nearby is the Kalbhairav temple. This shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva is widely revered and is also known as Dakshin Kashi.

A short walk from behind the temple up the hill, the path goes via a huge rock. According to legends, when the Pandava brothes visited Harihareshwar, this rock was blocking their path. So Bheema, the strongest of the Five brothers hit the rock with his gadda(a club) and split the rock in two. As you go down, you can see the fabulous natural design of the rocks. Sunsets here are fant-ablous and definitely not to be missed!

The Turtle hatching season starts next month, and Harihareshwar is a perfect weekend getaway with beaches, temples, wildlife, and forts all at the same place. So plan your trip now and don’t miss this beautiful event.

Trek to Paradise- Double Decker Living Root bridge & Natural pools of Meghalaya

After my trek to Tiger’s nest monastery in Bhutan, two months back, I got around to the fact that I wasn’t made for trekking and would probably never do it again.

Last month, between my huffing and puffing on the trail, I cursed for not listening to myself!

But here I was, on a long trek to the World’s only Double Decker Living Root Bridge and the natural rocky pools of Nongriat!

My guide Fredrick says that there are nearly 6600+ steps, this part of the nearly 10 KM walking trail and the number of bridges one has to cross. The trek generally takes about 7 hours to complete but I took more because I, ahem took breaks after every 10 steps while climbing back!

When I was planning this trip, I was completely ready to do it alone. But my mum and dad insisted that they come along too. OKAY. Now the trek would take me 9 hours to complete because mom has this knee pain she keeps complaining about and they are both nearly 60. I was quite doubtful if this was their best decision. But nonetheless, early next morning, we got our walking sticks, packed our lunch, met Fredrick(our 22 year old Khasi guide) and reached Tyrna village, the starting point of the trek.

Endless steps down 

As we made our way down the endless number of stairs, I kept wondering how would we ever make our way back. Moreover how would mum make her way back! But so far so good, we were just rolling down the mountain side fast. Soon we reached the first of the narrow swinging steel bridge. As I stepped on it, the bridge started swinging, I looked around to see if someone had stepped on it too. No, it was just my knee shaking uncontrollably. I am really scared of heights and at this point, even though I was petrified beyond belief, I didn’t say a word and slowly and steadily crept on until I made it across.

Mom was next and just as I turned to encourage her...”Wha...tttt!!!” she was already on the bridge, smiling and walking down like a boss! *Did I tell you she ain’t scared of anything, least some height?*

After being humbled by mum, I silently climbed some more stairs and walked on through the jungle, till we reached another *gulp*another twin steel bridge. I was sure this must be some kind of punishment until I saw the aqua blue water below that literally took my breath away! The beauty around and the fact that if I scream and whine, my mum would tease me endlessly, kept me distracted enough to cross the bridge rather easily!

Fredrick, Mum and Dad taking a break 

Two bridge down and before we knew it, we were at our first living root bridge, small but really sturdy. These bridges are used by man and animals alike and are a boon for the villagers as it not only makes accessibility easier but also brings in the tourist.

While the steel bridges go weaker as times passes by, these bridges made from the living roots of the tree only grow stronger. It is an extraordinary example of bio engineering and a true marvel of the Khasi tribe’s ingenuity.

From this small living root, you can catch a glimpse of the ‘Daddy’ of Living root bridge, The Double Decker Living Root! But to reach the bigger one we had to walk up till the next village, Nongriat. This village with oranges growing wild and cute children running around was a perfect place for a tea break!

From here the legendary bridge is just about 5 minutes away.

Under the shade of the orange trees

You won’t realize you have reached the bridge until you are on the bridge. The roots of the trees are stretched across the river and woven so seamlessly with the support of bamboo and then embedded with stones; it is difficult to believe that the bridge you walk on is actually LIVING!

One bridge can take years to be completely functional but once ready it can last for years to come.

Once we marvelled at this bridge and walked on it like ten times at least, it finally sank in why people travelled so far just to see this piece of brilliant design.

The place was completely Narnia-like, apart from some people like me who had come from far and wide( and seemed like such outcaste).  

 After taking in all the beauty, we headed towards the natural pool. The trek to the pool takes about an hour or so and has no trails at some places since it is hardly used by anyone. Before we reached our destination, Fredrick tells me, “One more bridge...”, then gives a toothy grin and says, “the longest.”

By now he knew about my predicament with these bridges which amused him beyond my comprehension!

Soon we reach the last steel bridge and he wasn’t kidding! It was the superlative of all the bridges we had crossed so far, long-ere, narrow-er, slimsy-er, scary-er, every-err-thing-er!

I let mum go ahead, while I prepared myself mentally.

I switched on my camera on video mode and hung it around my neck. Unfortunately I cannot post the video here because I started howling when I reached somewhere mid way. Now when I replay the video, it’s just simply embarrassing! The last 2-3 minutes I just prayed hard and LOUD!

Realistically, even if I had tried really hard, I wouldn’t have been able to fall off this bridge but you never know right...

Right after this bridge was another crazy bridge which was actually a steel bridge but with roots strewn all over it. The roots had eaten of the bridge to such an extent that most of the footing was made of just tree bark and bamboo sticks. The trees with their roots all over and moss covered rocks looked magical. And I was sure that this was the kind of bridge Gandalf and his hobbits would use to pop in and out of the woods!

From here the trail got really steep and difficult since we had to make your own trail and walk down till the river bed. While I lingered around behind the gang, tired and hungry, I looked at mom and dad. These two were like swans, always with each other, helping each other out on this adventure.

Soon we were at the river bed which greeted us with a slow flowing rocky natural pool, blue as the deepest sky and clear enough for us to see the bed! This was P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E!!!!

I couldn't resist going in and before my mum could stop me, I was down for a dip in the icy cold water in the middle of the winter month! After the long trek, this was the most refreshing thing.

A quick riverside lunch and we were on our way back, the same way. Well, what goes down has to come up!

I choose to skip this part since most part of the climb up was about either mum pulling me up or dad pushing me up. And at this point I can say with absolute conviction that if it hadn’t been for my mom and dad, I would have still been somewhere in those Khasi hills with roots growing all over me!

Though the living root bridge was amazing, what left me truly amazed was the stamina and strength my parents have at their age to complete this trek!

This post is dedicated to my super mom and rock-star dad and their spirit for adventure!

\m/

..Back in time to the ancient temple town- Hampi

A beautiful pot pourri of history, culture, food and people, Hampi is indeed a backpacker’s paradise. 

Period.

Last year around this time I visited Hampi with the Blueberry trails. From Mumbai, a 15 hour bus ride to Hospet, followed by a quick auto rickshaw ride, you reach this ever-so-laid-back destination.

For me it was love at first sight. <3

The lazy river, the women on the ghats, the colourful boats bobbling up and down, big boulders and rocks scattered carelessly, I could feel a lazy smile steadily creep over my face.

Hampi is divided by the Tungabadhra river, and to reach the other side, Virupapur Gadde, you need to take a boat. We stayed at Shanti cafe, which was one of my highlight of the trip! Really, how many times have you woken up on a swing, with swaying green paddy field across and a flowing river beyond? Me, never! If chilling is your agenda, this place it is. Just walk down to the open cafe, order a continental breakfast and plonk your bottom on the gadda for as long as you want! *sigh

But chilling apart, I had to see Hampi. So all geared up, we pass through the Hampi bazaar to see the symbol of Karnataka tourism that resides in the Vitthala temple. The most important temple in Hampi, it encloses the iconic stone chariot right in the middle surrounded by other stone shrines. Ancient stone temples are a ubiquitous part of Hampi, so talking about each of them is impossible. But apart from temples, one thing you cannot miss here is a Coracle boat ride back to the main bazaar. Swishing around in the cool water, with beautiful rock structures (man-made and natural passing you by), the ride is unbelievably calming. 

Around the Hampi bazaar you can hire mopeds and then ride around wherever you want. And believe me, this is the fun part! After some more temple visits (Lotus Mahal, Elephant’ stable, underground Shiva temple, Queen’s bath etc.) and we reached the gigantic Monolithic Nandi. But more gigantic than that was the number of stairs that led to our next temple complex. It was a long trek uphill but once you reach the top comes into view the complete temple complex hidden amidst the banana and coconut plantations. *phew ...I felt like an explorer, straight out of a tomb raider movie, except I was still catching my breath! This walk and the heat literally took my breath away. (*Caution- Carry water all the time)

Perfect set for a Tomb Raider movie

On the other side of the Tungabadhra is Anegundi, the original capital that was said to be the erstwhile Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom from the epic Ramayana. Nearby is Anjanadri hill, the birthplace of the Monkey god, Hanuman. 

Anegundi, unlike Hampi, is less commercialised and hardly untouched. Huge boulder and open paddy fields comprise the landscape and provide a perfect opportunity for bouldering or climbing boulders without any equipment (*Caution- you need to be seriously flexible, fearless and crazy to do this!).

Well after my fellow travellers did some climbing, we sped off towards the water canal to cool off.

And Whoaaa....what a sight that was!

Blue water, blue sky with huge grey boulders...the perfect composition to the end of a perfect sojourn....

*SPLASH!!!