Miles to go before I Sleep...: Hattihole

The Experience -

We had a long weekend coming up and guys at the office started discussing plans to head to anyplace out of Bangalore. The number of enthusiasts being large, the number of choices that came up also was too many. Finally, after discussing various options, Coorg was finally zeroed upon. Now we all knew that traveling to Coorg in early December was bound to be a seriously ‘Chilling’ experience, but we decided to brave the cold nevertheless and so Coorg it was.

With the place decided, the search for the exact location began. I had previously traveled to the home-stay at Hattihole with an earlier team of mine. But that was a good 5 years earlier and neither did I remember the details of the place nor the people to contact. In fact, I had well forgotten the very name ‘Hattihole’ itself. So we decided to start searching for good home-stays at other places in Coorg. However, after a few tens of calls, we were still not completely bought-in on any of the options available on the net. Some didn’t fit the budget, while some just didn’t sound convincing enough. Moreover, somewhere in the back of my head, I still wanted to go back to Hattihole – only I didn’t remember anything about the place or how to get there. Finally Malhar used ‘God knows what contacts’ of his and finally found the contact person there. So after another series of calls, fixing up the cab and buying the booze, we were ready to start our travel late on a Friday night (or very early on Saturday – depending on how you see it).

The trip did not begin as auspiciously as we would have wanted to. Prajeet, who had planned the whole thing and was the most enthusiastic of us all, could not make it due to a family emergency. I too had a fever running and didn’t know for sure, if I wanted to do this trip. Finally the salaries had not yet come :-) (it was the salary day) and all of us were dependent on the salary hitting the account before we actually began the trip.

But things did begin and we headed off at about 3:00 AM that Friday night, reaching Hattihole about 8 hrs later. The journey was of course not short of action – Beer gulping contest among a few, repeated stops to release the bladder (the beer effect of course), a couple of movies running on the DVD player and dancing as wild as it can get… just to name a few.

The place is of course mesmerizing. It wasn't a surprise to me as i had been there before, but the team did like it no-ends. A winding road to get to the home-stay, a couple of rope-suspension bridges on the way, hills on all sides, a perennial steam running nearby, coffee plantations all around, the amazing Abbi falls (not to mistake with the Abbey falls at Madikeri – look at the picture below) – just amazing.

And then the trek... It is definitely one of the biggest highlight. There are two possible treks that can be done – one up Kottibetta (which is what we did) and the one up a hill (don't know the name) that is right opposite the home-stay. The trek up Kottibetta too has various routes – some tedious, some not so, some through dense vegetation, some up barren rocks, some going up vertical, some following the more horizontal paths… it all depends on the guide who is accompanying you and of course your fitness levels. The trek was painful to a lot of the guys, as the effect of a sleepless, beer-filled and non-stop dancing night showed on many – and they just struggled to reach the point at about 75% of the hill. Though a few of us were eager to reach the top, the majority decided on otherwise and we headed back.

The other highlight ofcourse is the waterfall and that is where we headed the next day. Just at about a kilometer away (perfectly walkable distance) Abbi falls is beyond description in words – but to give it a try – There is ice cold water running at perfectly bath-able levels (I say so, cause am scared of water :-) ) – There are natural rock bath tub formations, where you can just lie down, as the water flows in and out - There are loads of shedded snake skins all around (for those that derive pleasure in such things :-) ) - and there’s an amazing waterfall that lets you take some truly amazing picture…

The home-stay in Hattihole is the perfect place to spend an activity filled weekend with a large team...

How to get there -

Hattihole is about 25 kms from Madikeri town.

Madikeri is 260 kms from Bangalore and 120 kms from Mysore. You cannot reach Madikeri directly by flight or train. The nearest railhead is Mysore and Bangalore has the nearest airport. From Madikeri, you need to take the Madapur road (the road that goes to Somwarpet) and at about 25 kms, you reach Hattihole.

To reach the homestay, you need to take a diversion off the main road (through a very narrow road) and travel another 3 - 4 kms. It is best to have the Homestay guys pick and guide you from Hattihole onwards.

When to Visit -

Never go to Coorg during the monsoons. The mountains of Coorg is the birthplace of Cauvery and hoards of other small but perennial streams and rivers, and during most monsoons the place is flooded.

February to May would be the ideal time to visit. Summers in Coorg is never hot; just pleasant enough to keep you outdoors throughout the time. The post monsoon period (September to January) also is good, but it could get very chilly. The months December and early January is extremely cold.

Stay & Food -

To stay at the place we stayed in, would involve committing to a lot of sacrifices. There is no electricity at the place (though this homestay had a couple of lights running on Solar Power). Mobile network too is not available anywhere except on top of the hill, to reach which you need to trek a good 5 kms :) The rooms though are neat and comfortable. When in a large group, you have to make-do sharing your cot (large enough and hence comfortable) and the blanket (small and hence definitely not comfortable, especially if you have gone there during winter). The toilets are clean and there is continuous supply of mountain water, diverted directly from a nearby spring into the bathroom. The absence of hot water would be seriously felt during winter.

Food is not fancy; just regular home cooked stuff. 3 meals and coffee twice a day is part of the package. Non-Veg food can be ordered at extra cost. They also prepare additional snacks if required (at extra cost ofcourse)

Things to Do -

- The Trek - you can choose the level of difficulty and inform the guide accordingly and he will take you through the routes that is best possible for you. To do the complete trek you need a good full day though - but hard core trekkers do it in just about 4-5 hrs.

- Take your lunch up on the trek. The people at home-stay can pack your lunch and you can carry it along when you leave on your trek. You can have your food at any of the places in the way.

- There is an amazing place on the way up where you would find natural spring water trickling down the rock (see picture below). The water is amazingly ice-cold and works as a great refreshment to all the tired trekkers. The place is also a great point to take rest or have the meal that you are carrying. Reaching here depends on the route chosen by the guide, but do ask him to take to this place and he can take a diversion.

- If you have no aversion to eating pork, ask the hosts for some 'pandhi curry' (hot pork curry). It is not part of the menu, but pork is prepared almost everyday at Coorg, so the hosts would definitely have it.

- Get the hosts to arrange for a camp fire at night. It is definitely needed after a long hard day's trek.

- Spend atleast half a day at Abbi falls. You will definitely cherish the experience.

Duration and Budget -

It is an ideal 'weekend break' kind of place and 24 hours is more than enough. But for those who want to do multiple treks or just layback and relax, a two day stay would be good.

In terms of Budget, the biggest cost is in reaching the place. On reaching there, there is absolutely nothing to spend on. You pay a fixed charge per person for a day's stay (it was 750/- when i went) and that takes care of everything - stay, trek, food... If you are carrying a camera, take loads of spare batteries as there is no provision to charge your batteries or your phone for that matter (no electricity).

Photo Gallery -