Had stayed cooped on for a while, hadn’t traveled out yet. As usual it was an impromptu trip. Was trying to ‘procure’ a bike but Azhar decided to come along, so transportation was arranged for.  It was all boys trip and we had packed change of clothes for when a situation arose.

Hanumangundi – The road less traveled in pictures. The destination does not match the hype.

The roads continued to weave their fascinating spell on us all, and as we travelled up the winding roads, we unwound and relaxed and finally staged a major halt at the spot. Took in the panorama, took out the Man U ball to play around a bit, used innovative techniques to click snaps in the rain and generally slow down.

The Tops of the Chaturmukha Basadi in Karkala

The joy of empty open roads and the rich greenery! On the road to Hanumangundi, Kudremukh

Football in the Western Ghats – On the road from TAPMI, Manipal to Hanumangundi, Kudremukh

Posing for a photograph at Hanumangundi, Kudremukh

When we finally reached the waterfalls we barely had 15 minutes left to actually take it all in and we met some less than amenable security personnel who gave us an extra hard time about finishing up early. Didn’t bathe in the falls as planned, and the spray of the fall made photography tough( I had to use the hair dryer to do some basic damage control for my lenses. L ) . My personal perception was that the hype about the place was more than it deserved. But nevertheless, it was beautiful.

The trip was a classic case of the journey overwhelming the destination. The roads that we traveled through really won the prize on that day , and having a warm protected roof over one’s head when there is constant rain outside is also ( sometimes) a comforting idea.