East is east and west is west. The twain shall never meet. However, at BR hills both eastern and western ghats do meet. The end product is amalgamation of vegetation and wildlife from both corners. Deciduous trees rule with some specks of shola vegetation.Animal sightings include dhole, sloth bear, wild boar, bison, elephant, leopard. Common bird sighting include paradise flycatcher, racket tailed drongo, crested hawk eagle...
So what is BR hills (Biligiri Rangana Betta ) claim to fame- Weekend getaway from bangalore ? Eco-sphere of dreaded Veerappan ? Home to temple of Lord Rangaswamy ( revered by the local tribe called the Soliga) ? or last but not the least BRT wildlife sanctuary?? Well all......
For me the reason was a quick weekend getaway from Bangalore (mostly to trek). When I woke up the rumbling thunder and lightening added a perfect backdrop to my already elevated spirit. Made cuppa for me and my husband. Had some porridge to counter the early morning sugar drop and we took the liberty to leave around 7 as there was a bandh call ( which is becoming a regular feature in the state of Karnataka ). It of course proved to be a boon for us as all lorries, buses, cabs, trucks etc were off the road and there was no bumper to bumper traffic which is the norm here in Bangalore.
We took the Kanakpura- Malavalli-Kollegala- BR route off the NICE road. Road was good, traffic was less, and it was drizzling. couldn't have asked for anything more.
The journey provides beautiful vistas all the way till the destination. Attaching some of the photographs:
Its about 220 kms distance which can be covered in about 5-6 hours depending on your speed and halts. we reached around 12:30 and were booked at Rajathadri Hill Villa ( home stay )
Contact person is N. Ramesh Babu ( very pleasant and enterprising).
Contact details : Temple Road B.R. Hills
Chamarajanagar dist- Karnataka. Phone- 9740820508 / 90368 09218
Email : rameshbrh@gmail.com.
Website : Rajathadrihillvilla
Tarrif was 1500 per person . This would include basic welcome drink, lunch, dinner next day breakfast . And a nature walk.
Overall the stay was basic and pleasant. Would like to share that please keep your vehicle well stocked on fuel as there is no bunk at this place. God forbid if you do happen to run out you will have to shell out Rs 100 per litre for petrol which is sold in 1/2 liter plastic bottles. Moi is guilty. The nearest pumb would be around 40 km from here .
Generally people around were going on the safari or visiting the Rangaswamy temple. We did not do either and instead went out for treks. You can see small trails ..well trailing off... from the main road. Just pick any and trek away.....Weather here was hot and the sun glared with all its might. Would suggest to carry a good sunscreen, large hat, good Polaroid sunglasses, water stock, walking stick, binoculars and off course a good camera. I am using canon 1200 DSLR with 18-55 lens fitted with a filter to cut the perpendicular glare of the sun. I have not done any post processing to any of my pictures .
We went back to the home stay for hot tea and pakoras. This refreshed us and we were ready for another round. This time we took the road opposite the Medicinal plant demnostration garden . This lead to a sun set point.We were not aware of this and the sight bowled us over. Check the photos to know what i mean......
So this castle like building over looking the beautiful sunset point belong to the forest department. I was told apart from department officials some "influential people" can stay here !! Someone shouted out...its closing time....OK..I thought to myself..I will come later early in the morning to view the sunset. LOL. (VVIP raj in every nook and corner I tell you)
The moon was out and it was time to turn back and head for the home stay. We had dinner at about 830 and went off into deep slumber after an almost 3 hour trek.
So what is BR hills (Biligiri Rangana Betta ) claim to fame- Weekend getaway from bangalore ? Eco-sphere of dreaded Veerappan ? Home to temple of Lord Rangaswamy ( revered by the local tribe called the Soliga) ? or last but not the least BRT wildlife sanctuary?? Well all......
For me the reason was a quick weekend getaway from Bangalore (mostly to trek). When I woke up the rumbling thunder and lightening added a perfect backdrop to my already elevated spirit. Made cuppa for me and my husband. Had some porridge to counter the early morning sugar drop and we took the liberty to leave around 7 as there was a bandh call ( which is becoming a regular feature in the state of Karnataka ). It of course proved to be a boon for us as all lorries, buses, cabs, trucks etc were off the road and there was no bumper to bumper traffic which is the norm here in Bangalore.
We took the Kanakpura- Malavalli-Kollegala- BR route off the NICE road. Road was good, traffic was less, and it was drizzling. couldn't have asked for anything more.
The journey provides beautiful vistas all the way till the destination. Attaching some of the photographs:
Its about 220 kms distance which can be covered in about 5-6 hours depending on your speed and halts. we reached around 12:30 and were booked at Rajathadri Hill Villa ( home stay )
Contact person is N. Ramesh Babu ( very pleasant and enterprising).
Contact details : Temple Road B.R. Hills
Chamarajanagar dist- Karnataka. Phone- 9740820508 / 90368 09218
Email : rameshbrh@gmail.com.
Website : Rajathadrihillvilla
Tarrif was 1500 per person . This would include basic welcome drink, lunch, dinner next day breakfast . And a nature walk.
Overall the stay was basic and pleasant. Would like to share that please keep your vehicle well stocked on fuel as there is no bunk at this place. God forbid if you do happen to run out you will have to shell out Rs 100 per litre for petrol which is sold in 1/2 liter plastic bottles. Moi is guilty. The nearest pumb would be around 40 km from here .
Generally people around were going on the safari or visiting the Rangaswamy temple. We did not do either and instead went out for treks. You can see small trails ..well trailing off... from the main road. Just pick any and trek away.....Weather here was hot and the sun glared with all its might. Would suggest to carry a good sunscreen, large hat, good Polaroid sunglasses, water stock, walking stick, binoculars and off course a good camera. I am using canon 1200 DSLR with 18-55 lens fitted with a filter to cut the perpendicular glare of the sun. I have not done any post processing to any of my pictures .
We went back to the home stay for hot tea and pakoras. This refreshed us and we were ready for another round. This time we took the road opposite the Medicinal plant demnostration garden . This lead to a sun set point.We were not aware of this and the sight bowled us over. Check the photos to know what i mean......
So this castle like building over looking the beautiful sunset point belong to the forest department. I was told apart from department officials some "influential people" can stay here !! Someone shouted out...its closing time....OK..I thought to myself..I will come later early in the morning to view the sunset. LOL. (VVIP raj in every nook and corner I tell you)
Nicely written, well composed with nice pics :)
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