Location:
Agumbe - Shimoga District
Karnataka State
Someshwara Wild Life Sanctuary - Udupi District
Karnataka State
Distance:
Bangalore to Agumbe - 405 Kms
Bangalore to Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (Seetanadi Nature Camp) - 425 Kms
Route:
Estimated Travel Time:
Bangalore to Agumbe - 8 Hrs by Car
Bangalore to Seetanadi Nature camp - 8.5 Hrs by Car
Best Time to Visit:
November to April
Stay:
The best place to stay is Seetanadi Nature Camp or Shimoga.
Places Seen:
1. Seetanadi Nature Camp
2. Sunset Point - Agumbe
As this was a pre-planned trip, we had reserved train tickets in IRCTC for ten people from Bangalore to Shimoga & back. Later Mr. Vinay suggested for travelling in one car by five people from Bangalore for substantial reduction of cost. Though in the last moment, Mr. Nagabhushan fell ill and Mr. Arun Ajjampur dropped from trip, we had Mr. Trived & Mr. Mahalingappa as substitutes.
The train to Shimoga started at 11:00 PM from Bangalore Central railway Station with half an hour delay where I and Mr. Vinod boarded and picked up Mr. Shankar, Mr. Mahalingappa & Mr. Suresh in Yeshwanthpur Station. In the mean time, another team started in Mr. Vinay's car consisting of Mr. Atul, Mr.Sundaresh, Mr Trived & Mr. Upendra at about same time.
We reached Shimoga at 05:20 AM where Mr. Vinay & Co as well as another car arranged by Mr. Sundaresh were ready for further travel.
On the way to Agumbe, we stopped in Thirthahalli which is about 62 Kms from Shimoga for breakfast. With the tasty breakfast in Mayura Hotel which was under renovation, we started our last stretch of travel.
Agumbe is about 32 Kms from Thirthahalli. There is a check post at the entrance of the rain forest in Agumbe we have to enter our details in a register maintained by forest department. Just a few minutes travel from here leads us to the "Sunset Point". We took few pics here and decided to come back in the evening before sunset.
There are "13 hairpin bends" with many potholes on the way to Seethanadhi Nature camp from this place. Necessary action needs to be taken for covering pot holes and provide a smooth ride to the visitors. After travelling 20 Kms from here, we reached "Seethanadhi Nature Camp".
1. Seetanadi Nature Camp:
It offers varied types of accommodation to suit the preferences of visitors. There is a dormitory which can accommodate ten people, tents that can accommodate three people & cottage that can also accommodate three people. We chose dormitory as it is cost effective and all people can stay together.
The charges for the accommodation (in Feb, 2015) are:
Opposite to the dormitory, there is Childrens Activity area with various activities for the kids to play and enjoy.
Herpeto trail, Trekkers trail, Nature Trail & Birders trail are the four trails in the nature camp.
2. Sunset Point (Agumbe): On the way to sunset point, we stopped in Someshwara village which is in the middle of nature camp & sunset point to have tea & snacks.
Beside the hotel, there is "Mahaganapathi temple". The roof of this temple is constructed with wood and the outer architecture of this temple is completely different from the other south Indian temples. As very less devotees were there, we had darshan of "Lord Ganapathi" immediately. With the blessings of god, we move further to Sunset point.
There were many vehicles parked near the sunset point with many people standing on the platform to enjoy the view of sunset. The Sun was very much alive at 05:45 PM and we thought that it may take another hour for sunset.
We had a chance to see both Sun and Moon at the same time one on either side of us.
As the view here is slightly obstructed by a huge tree, we walked further to trek a small hill to have a clear view. This place is about 100 meters from the platform made for viewing sunset. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the Sun in mixture of yellow & red colors in between the splendid green valleys covered in fog.
The Sun became big & clear as the time progressed and the sunset commenced at 06:15 PM. We can clearly see a line below the Sun in yellow color indicating the end of one side of the Earth. For every few seconds the Sun was falling down and started to fall below the yellow line. In fifteen minutes, the Sun was completely down below the yellow line and was missing from our sight completely.
After having marvelous view of the sunset, we traveled back to the nature camp in about thirty minutes. We had dinner in between dancing as we received the food in installments. The day ended in midnight after everyone became tired and were in need of sound sleep. Sleeping in a nature camp inside the forest is a thrilling experience to be experienced by everyone at least once in a life time.
Agumbe - Shimoga District
Karnataka State
Someshwara Wild Life Sanctuary - Udupi District
Karnataka State
Distance:
Bangalore to Agumbe - 405 Kms
Bangalore to Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (Seetanadi Nature Camp) - 425 Kms
Route:
Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Channagiri - Shimoga - Tirthahalli - Agumbe - Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary (Seetanadi Nature Camp)
Bangalore to Agumbe - 8 Hrs by Car
Bangalore to Seetanadi Nature camp - 8.5 Hrs by Car
Best Time to Visit:
November to April
Stay:
The best place to stay is Seetanadi Nature Camp or Shimoga.
Places Seen:
1. Seetanadi Nature Camp
2. Sunset Point - Agumbe
 |
| Mr Vinay with his Ford Ecosport |
The train to Shimoga started at 11:00 PM from Bangalore Central railway Station with half an hour delay where I and Mr. Vinod boarded and picked up Mr. Shankar, Mr. Mahalingappa & Mr. Suresh in Yeshwanthpur Station. In the mean time, another team started in Mr. Vinay's car consisting of Mr. Atul, Mr.Sundaresh, Mr Trived & Mr. Upendra at about same time.
We reached Shimoga at 05:20 AM where Mr. Vinay & Co as well as another car arranged by Mr. Sundaresh were ready for further travel.
Agumbe is about 32 Kms from Thirthahalli. There is a check post at the entrance of the rain forest in Agumbe we have to enter our details in a register maintained by forest department. Just a few minutes travel from here leads us to the "Sunset Point". We took few pics here and decided to come back in the evening before sunset.
There are "13 hairpin bends" with many potholes on the way to Seethanadhi Nature camp from this place. Necessary action needs to be taken for covering pot holes and provide a smooth ride to the visitors. After travelling 20 Kms from here, we reached "Seethanadhi Nature Camp".
1. Seetanadi Nature Camp:
Seetanadi Nature camp provides accommodation in the forest which is a part of Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. The huge trees and beautiful vegetation of the forest and the sweet songs sung by the birds gives a warm welcome to the visitors. A travel of few hundreds of meters from the entrance leads us to the accommodation area.
It offers varied types of accommodation to suit the preferences of visitors. There is a dormitory which can accommodate ten people, tents that can accommodate three people & cottage that can also accommodate three people. We chose dormitory as it is cost effective and all people can stay together.
 |
| Dormitory |
 |
| Tent |
 |
| Cottage |
Dormitory - Rs. 300 per person per day
Tent & Cottage - Rs. 1,500 per day
We had discussion with the cook for items to be cooked for lunch & dinner. The menu was decided to consist of both vegetarian & non-vegetarian items based on the preferences of the group. For food, we have to pay extra money apart from accommodation charges.
Tent & Cottage - Rs. 1,500 per day
We had discussion with the cook for items to be cooked for lunch & dinner. The menu was decided to consist of both vegetarian & non-vegetarian items based on the preferences of the group. For food, we have to pay extra money apart from accommodation charges. |
| Kitchen |
As all people were tired of the journey and were relaxing I, Mr. Atul & Mr. Vinod decided to explore the nature camp. There are various "trails" marked inside the forest where one can go into the forest in the paths made with the help of directions marked to enjoy adventurous walk.
The "Herpeto trail" is the shortest of all the trails. As we followed the directions given in the trail, we ended up in a nursery where different species of plants are being grown. However, this nursery requires immediate care as many of the plants were dried up
Herpeto trail, Trekkers trail, Nature Trail & Birders trail are the four trails in the nature camp.
From the Herpeto Trail, we went towards river bank which is full of different species of fish with various sizes. Swimming is not allowed here as the river is deep. We had peaceful time along the banks of this white water river under the shades of huge trees.
There is a white water rafting during the rainy season usually during the months of July to November every year. There are two routes of river rafting covering distance of 16 Kms & 22 Kms. We were not able to do rafting as we went in February.
From here, we moved to the other trails and when we were in the Nature trail, we were lost in the forest as we missed the directions. We walked for one hour in forest in search of base camp. This walk gave us the opportunity to see different species of plants & animals. We saw giant squirrel, monkeys, different varieties of lizards, mushrooms etc. There were many parasitic plants ie., plants which intertwine on the other plants and absorb nutrients from such plants for its survival.
We even saw the trees which are in different shapes and are very huge compared to the normal trees found in towns & cities. This might be because of fertile land, abundant water resources and several decades of age.
The withered leaves acts a s a natural fertilizer for the other trees and we saw many lizard species under such leaves.
Finally to our luck, we found a person in the forest who showed us the directions to the nature camp. So, please be careful when you go in trail and do not miss the directions. It was 01:15 PM when we reached our camp and immediately started having tasty lunch as we were very hungry due to two hours walk in the forest. This tasty lunch gave us deep sleep for three hours
This nature camp is declared as plastic free as well as non-alcoholic & smoking free zone. This is very much required to protect the forest as small fire can cause irreparable damage to the nature. We forced people to get up at 05:00 PM and left immediately to the "Sunset Point".
2. Sunset Point (Agumbe): On the way to sunset point, we stopped in Someshwara village which is in the middle of nature camp & sunset point to have tea & snacks.
Beside the hotel, there is "Mahaganapathi temple". The roof of this temple is constructed with wood and the outer architecture of this temple is completely different from the other south Indian temples. As very less devotees were there, we had darshan of "Lord Ganapathi" immediately. With the blessings of god, we move further to Sunset point.
There were many vehicles parked near the sunset point with many people standing on the platform to enjoy the view of sunset. The Sun was very much alive at 05:45 PM and we thought that it may take another hour for sunset.
We had a chance to see both Sun and Moon at the same time one on either side of us.
As the view here is slightly obstructed by a huge tree, we walked further to trek a small hill to have a clear view. This place is about 100 meters from the platform made for viewing sunset. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the Sun in mixture of yellow & red colors in between the splendid green valleys covered in fog.
The Sun became big & clear as the time progressed and the sunset commenced at 06:15 PM. We can clearly see a line below the Sun in yellow color indicating the end of one side of the Earth. For every few seconds the Sun was falling down and started to fall below the yellow line. In fifteen minutes, the Sun was completely down below the yellow line and was missing from our sight completely.
After having marvelous view of the sunset, we traveled back to the nature camp in about thirty minutes. We had dinner in between dancing as we received the food in installments. The day ended in midnight after everyone became tired and were in need of sound sleep. Sleeping in a nature camp inside the forest is a thrilling experience to be experienced by everyone at least once in a life time.
Please visit "Shower Bath in Koodlu Falls & visiting other places on the way to Shimoga from Agumbe" for the tourist spots covered in the next day.
Nice post about your trip in Agumbe. Thanks for sharing about this place, nice place to spend weekend. Love to explore this place. Agumbe is considered as Cherrapunjie of South India. Everyone can explore at this place by booking bus tickets in online bus ticket booking portal.
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