Agumbe : The Cherrapunji of the South

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.” - Rumi

OVERVIEW:

Agumbe, known for its scenic beauty and bio-diversity, is nestled on a plateau on top of Someshwara Ghat. It is situated 380 km away from Bangalore, in Shimoga district, Karnataka. It is also called as “The Cherrapunji of South India” because of the rainfall it receives which is of 7,640 mm mean annually.

It’s a small hamlet which is home to several rare species of medicinal plants. India’s sole permanent rainforest research station is based at Agumbe. The station exclusively monitors changes in rain forests. And also the famous TV series ‘Malgudi days’ was directed here. It is also called King Cobra capital because of the high number of snakes of that species being found here. Agumbe Rainforest Research Station has pioneered the world’s first radio-telemetry project on the King Cobra.

The best time to visit the place is during the months of November to February. Many waterfalls will come to life during these periods especially; Kudlu Theertha falls, where many tourists trek to this place.

My Experience:

Agumbe ride happened to be in the year 2015 with two of my friends. It was a two day ride, left early morning from Bengaluru towards Chickmagalur via Hassan. On the way to Agumbe, we reached Sringeri temple in the noon. After the darshan, we had our lunch and continued our ride from Sringeri to Agumbe. It was too good with dense forest cover. We reached sunset point view in Agumbe and we were able to witness a beautiful sunset.

Next day we took the Shivamogga route via Thirthahalli to reach Bengaluru. And that route is one of the best, dense forest with a curvy and clean roads and water stream flowing beside it. On the way there is a place called Mahishi in Maluru, it has a temple with river Tunga flowing beside it. To reach this place, we should take little deviation from highway around 5-6km inside which is worth for the place.

After Mahishi, then we left for elephant camp in Sakrebailu. We spent some quality time in the camp and it was a good one... Later we reached Shivamogga by noon and we finished our lunch on the way in one of the dhabas. By late evening, we reached Bengaluru. After all, the ride was simply a good one. We will never forget the beauty of Agumbe-Thirthahalli-Shivamogga route.

Food/Accommodation:

One can't find many hotels in Agumbe as it is a small village, only few are available like doddamane homestay and mallya residency. We stayed at Mallya residency, it was a decent stay. For food, should tell them in advance so that will arrange for it.

How to reach:

To reach Agumbe from Bengaluru, it is of 370 km via Hassan. On the way one can visit Belur, Halebidu,Sringeri and there are frequent buses to Agumbe.

This trip was originally published on Savaari..