It all started when we were looking for some place to visit over a long weekend other than the regular Chikmagalur or Coorg. We wanted to go somewhere which was relatively unexplored and a place whose natural beauty could awaken a corpse from death. After researching for a week, we finally came up with the idea of going to Bisle ghat. Initially I was a bit skeptical of the plan as there were no reviews at all of the place. I wanted a new place to visit but not so new that no one has ever been there. The gang however convinced that it's a really pretty place and the views from here will be engraved in my mind for a long time.
So we started our trip with 6 bikes on a Saturday morning with the target of reaching Bisle Ghat by around 2 PM. When there are more people on a trip, naturally there are more breaks and the time taken to cover a certain distance becomes 1.5 times of the stipulated time. We started from Bangalore at about 10 AM so as to reach by 2 PM. The roads to this place need a special mention. Till Bisle Ghat the roads are in near perfect condition and the curves will just make you enjoy the ride to the fullest. At that time, I was a novice rider and didn't really know how to bend the bike on curves. I preferred to brake and take a turn rather than bending and taking the turn at same speed. It was a bit scary for me. The road to Bisle ghat is extensively composed of Ghat sections. By the time we reached back to Bangalore I had nearly perfected my bending capability on the bike because of the extensive practice which I got on the road to and from Bisle Ghat.
After taking a few breaks and covering 250 km, we finally reached our home stay in Bisle Ghat. Bisle is a village which is at the boundary of Hassan and adjacent to Bisle forest reserve. The thick forest is home of king cobras, tigers (rarely seen), peacocks, Sambar deer, numerous species of birds and Spotted deer along with other animals. Elephants often cross this area and the forest reserve serves as an elephant corridor in Western ghats. Our home stay was at the edge of forest reserve and the way which went into the forest reserve lead us to Bisle Ghat view point. There are a few watch towers near the view point and the crowd is sparse. When we went there, there was literally no one to watch the beauty of setting sun except our group. From this viewpoint you can have a clear view of the valleys and the Giri river carving it's way through the valley. You can hear the sound of flowing water, but the river is not visible. The whole landscape makes one hell of a sight for the eyes to relish.
If one had to relate the sights with something similar, I would suggest relating it to the beauty of green valley which is a viewpoint near Shimla and is heavily crowded any point of the day. Remove the crowd, add an extra hill or two, increase the greenery 3 fold and you'll get the sight from Bisle ghat view point. This was the first day of Bisle ghat trip and I was already more than satisfied that this trip was a successful one. After enjoying the sunset from the view point, we headed back to our home stay. The way to view point from Bisle village is more or less like off roading. The road at that time was under construction and we had to drive at a speed of not more than 20 km/hr through the middle of Bisle forest reserve. Another thing which went unnoticed initially in the excitement of reaching was the lush green forests which we had to drive through to reach the view point. After the sunset though, this beautiful forest turns into a scary forest reserve where the only source of light will be your bike's headlamp and you'll be praying to god to not have an encounter with any wild animal. After the scary ride through the forest we finally reached our home stay and had a nice dinner with some desserts. I don't remember the home stay guy's name but if needed, contact me personally and I'll dig through some old contacts.
The second day began with a lazy morning and some tea. The whole area was engulfed in a thick layer of mist and fog. With every passing hour, the mist started clearing making for a brilliant landscape right in front of our stay. Every sight of this place was mesmerizing in its own ways and just made it's way towards the sweet memories of the place to be relished later. Even today, I remember that mist filled sunrise and the views which we enjoyed from the comfort of our stay with a cup of tea in our hands.
After having breakfast and getting ready, we headed for our excursion which was planned for the day. This was a 4-5 km trek through the hills of Sakleshpur which was guided by our home stay guy. We started from our home stay towards the Bisle view point and after about 3 km, we noticed a trail going up the hill. That was where we had to go. We revved our bikes and climbed the slopes for a good 1.5 km before giving up and just parking the bikes on the trail itself.
The trail was pretty rough with stones and pebbles all over it and a steep incline causing the bikes to lose grip and slip. From here, we proceeded towards the peak on foot. While trekking towards the peak, we went through a series of different landscapes. It started with steep inclines through the jungles, then it opened up in a clear field from where we had vision of the peak we were going to hike. Meanwhile at one of the places we had a bird's eye view of the surrounding hills and the home stay from where we came. Every view was just surreal.
After hiking for about 30 minutes, we finally reached the peak. The views from the other side of the peak were just ravishing. It gave us the same green valley view with Giri river which we experienced from Bisle viewpoint but with a different perspective. Directly in front of us was Kumar Parvatha, considered to be one of the toughest trek of south India. The views from here were just too good to be described in words.
After enjoying the views for some time, we headed down the peak but in a different direction. We descended towards the famous Bisle Ghat trek boulder which is more like a cliff and a little scary to climb to the edge. Personally I am quite scared of heights. So, to get to the edge i had to literally crawl on the boulder and reach till the edge from where I could enjoy the views.
After enjoying the views from the boulder, we started our journey back to the home stay from where we had to go back Bangalore. The trek back to our bikes took another 1 hour and on the way a 12 ft python crossed our path which made us shit scared but well what's a trip without a little excitement. Our guide made sure we were safe all the time and took extreme caution in taking paths which were safe.
How to reach:
Bisle is a small village about 250 km from Bangalore and is at the edge of Bisle Forest Reserve. The forest is extremely lush and could turn scary in a matter of minutes after dusk.
Google is the best guide for reaching Bisle ghat.
After reaching you need to know some locals for the trek. For the viewpoint however, you can take the road leading into the reserve and after covering about 10 km you can see the gates leading to the viewpoint.
Things to be careful of:
Don't wander in the forest reserve after dusk. The locals also strictly advised us against wandering outside post dusk. One of the reasons is wild animals. While other reasons revolve around local stories of how people vanished in the forest reserve.
Carry your trekking shoes. Forclaz 100 was my choice but any trekking shoe should suffice. The trek is long enough to cause discomfort if you are wearing sandals or slippers.
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