Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mandalpatti

It all happened in a day, Including the one that caused me a week of house arrest. It was a place that I wanted to visit since a long time and there was that opportunity on that day to be there, serene, wild and weathered. 


Mandalpatti  is a magical beauty and an absolutely scenic place in Coorg. Stands mightily at 30th km from the place Somawarpet. The only disappointment and the only concern for all of us who care for nature is that there is a road till the peak. But the access to it, the canopy and the woods through which we pass through is unbelievably wild.

A lonely tree stands impressively welcoming all those and more.


One can see the whole range of the Western Ghats of Coorg


When it is about to set, It doesnt matter where we are, we will be blown away anyway
And I so much liked this view! 

One can camp here if they take permission from the forest department in Madikeri. We were lucky enough to get the permission and experience the wild in the night. The wind, like a monster consistently tried to knock us down the peak; but, it could not sustain the force when the other side was heavy enough with 5 hooligans. 

Just before the sunrise. 

Sun peeking out over the Kotebetta - the 3rd highest peak in Coorg. 

It is an absolute joy to see the woods in the early morning

It looked as if it was lit up with the golden flames of the morning sun.
 The flora and fauna were abundant. Many forms, many varieties. Some of which I had seen, and some were absolutely new. Whatever form they were in, they looked stunning when they were in full bloom. 


The forest office at the peak. The road connects till this point.

Colorful forest with tall trees, some in bloom. Some not. 

One of those wild flowers in full bloom.

Some orchids looked breathtakingly beautiful (Coelogyne sp)

Some more beautiful epiphytes (Dendrobium sp)

some wild flowers in style. (Sida sp)

It may look beautiful, mind you, dont play! 

One of the beautiful riverbed I have seen, One can stay here for any long!

If one wishes to go, take prior permission, take huge responsibility on your shoulders, not to spoil the place and not to be harmful for anything in Nature. Keep it clean, natural and beautiful. 

Srik

8 comments:

Narasim said...

As usual, great photographs.

For me the best one is the 11th from the bottom. The hills draped in fog appear magical.

I did not know that 50 km from Somvarpet is such an aesthetic feast.

I am always conflicted in bringing attention to such natural wonders. On the one hand I would like everyone to go and commune with nature. On the other hand I am fearful of Niagara Fallsification of nature. My greatest concern is the trash left behind by irresponsible visitors. There is no easy answer except to raise the awareness level of all potential visitors.

By the way, is there any truth to the rumour that you were trying to dance on the slippery stones in the river? As you have realized, slippery stones can place you under house arrest with no effort.

Anonymous said...

Lovely pics and nice post maga !!

Its looks a very nice place to pitch tent and spend a night !!

Thanks for posting the details , hope i will make it sometime.

vanitha said...

Great! Nice photography.......... can u tel me which place is that, looking like very much familiar(photo: It may look beautiful, mind you, dont play).

Srik said...

Hello Vanitha,

Thank you.

Its the stream that flows downhill just at the start of the Mandalpatti. I think its about 10 km from Madikeri.

vanitha said...

Thx for ur reply

yogesh said...

to spend a night at the top of the hill where v hv to take permission

Sharath.Vishnu said...

Can you people tell how to get the permissions to camp there?? Any contact nos of the Forest office or something like that?
Thanx

Annyarun said...

I had the best weather when I visited. It was raining plus foggy. Made this video documentary as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuGqmjxWwb8