Waynaad ~ Mysore [Trip]

Introduction:

From Mysore Palace at 0300 hours :)

2010-02-26 - 2010-03-01 [3 Day TT Trip]

1st March holi - And a long weekend. We decided we go out on a trip to Waynaad covering Masinagudi and Gopalswamy Betta. Initially 8+ showed interest finally 7 showed up. Fuel prices were hiked at the stoke of Midnight. To our fate, our driver was unaware of this. Starting right from 0030 hours we were on the look out for Diesel on the outskirts of Maddur. We were kept waiting till the new price was formally announced and the equipments re-calibrated We spent about 2 hours doing nothing. Girish and his accomplice deserted the group on reaching Mysore.

The road to Waynaad via Bandipur National Park is closed between 2100 hours & 0600 hours for animal safety. We ended up waiting b/w 0400 to 0600 hours. We freshened up at "Way to Life" in Kalepta. We visited Pookat lake -> Meenumuthy falls -> Kuruva Island in order and finally halted for the night back in Gundlepet.

From Chembra Peaks as seen near Meenumutty Falls..

Pookat Lake is just another lake, the only entertainment here is boating, it's more of a hype. Meenumutty Falls is in a Reserve Forest. One has to trek 2 kms starting from a Private Tea estate and then through a forest. The fall is pretty good but the visit comes at a premium. There is a INR 300 for entry for a group of <=10.

From Meenumutty Falls

Kuruva Island is again a hype, reminds me of Cauvery Nisarga Dhama in Coorg, with the exception that there's no rope bridge here instead we have a bamboo raft to cross over. However this place closes down by 1630 hours for fear of Wild Elephants; we reached here at 1700 hours and weren't allowed to cross over to the adjacent island.

From Rohit @ Kuruva Island

Day 2 - Mysore ~ Madhumalay

Next morning we headed off to Gopalswamy betta, by the time we reached the top it was 1000 hours and we weren't lucky and din't spot wildlife. We trekked into the forests of Bandipur upto 1500 hours after a brief visit to Himavad Gopalswamy Betta.

From Drive Down Gopalswamy Betta

We next got to Madhumalay Wildlife reserve. We went on a safari tour. The safari put me to sleep, it was even hard to spot even deers and elephants. The best part is this entire stretch had no crows.

Our next destination was Nanjangud temple. Since it was Sunday a big crowd had gathered and we eneded up waiting an hour. It was too late and we missed Palace lighting.

We next head off the Pizza Corner for dinner. Dinner went on for 2 hours after a long wait. We next need pan, our driver misunderstood it as pawn and took us to Cauvery Emporium. We finally got the pan we were after near St. Philominas Church. By the time we made it home it was 2 am.

Finale:
1. Total Expense per person worked out to INR 2050.
2. No crows in and around Gopalswamy Hills