Ambutheertha, Natures wonder in Theerthahalli taluk

Ambutheertha, Natures wonder in Theerthahalli taluk, is on the verge of losing its green glory owing to endless encroachments. B Jayakishore expresses concern.

Theerthahalli, the greenland of Malnad in Shimoga district, is a place where every nature lover wishes to ‘live and love’ forever! Enveloped by thick greenery and dotted with beautiful locales, Ambutheertha is nature’s wonder in Theerthahalli taluk and is unique in every sense of the word. Ambutheertha is also the birthplace of River Sharavathi, which flows towards west along Hosanagar and then to Pataguppa, where it meets River Haridravathi. From here Sharavathi flows towards Barangi to join River Ennehole. Before Sharavathi joins the Arabian sea in its 132 km-long journey in Honnavar, it takes a big ‘leap’ from a height of 960 feet in the world famous Jog Falls in Uttara Kannada district, where electricity for the entire State is generated. Also, Ambutheertha is considered a sacred place by the locals who say it was here that Lord Rama pierced the earth with his ambu (bow and arrow) to get water out to quench the thirst of his wife Sita, and hence the name Ambutheertha. This place, that has many interesting tales to relate, is fast losing its glory. Diminishing green cover and the negligent attitude of the Government authorities to develop the place has made the situation even worse. At Ambutheertha is a temple built around a Shivalinga, beneath which Sharavathi originates to start her journey. This temple was built and is run by the help of donations collected from the local people and the devotees from far off places who visit the place regularly. “We have approached both the Government and the local bodies several times. But our efforts have gone a waste as their promise to develop the area has not taken shape yet. The place has a tremendous potential to be developed as a tourist spot as well. But who listens to us?” says a priest of the temple here. According to Devarajaswamy, an inscriptionist and a native of the place, “About 25 years ago, when we were young, the ambience of this place was truly refreshing. Lush greenery, pure air, clean and holy water… Now we are on the verge of losing everything. The thick green forest around the place is fast becoming prey to encroachments.” How to reach Ambutheertha is about 10 km away from Theerthahalli. From here one has to travel via Araga-Aralasurali- Nunabur to reach Ambutheertha. “Dont be surprised if you encounter a number of Sati stones and Jain inscriptions on the way. You can also call this place the land of inscriptions!” adds Devarajaswamy. Sharavathi’s first leap Bayyappanagadde, about 8 km from Ambutheertha, is the place where River Sharavathi makes her first leap from a hieght of about 15 feet. Though there are no proper roads to reach the place, the adventurous can pave their own way.

Olavina Kundadri – Thirthahalli – Agumbe

Olavina Kundadri –

Kundadri : On the way to Agumbe from Thirthahalli, 9 kms from Guddekeri near Begar you can find Kundadri hill. A adventurous place for trekking lovers. You can reach the hill top by tar road also but its a shaking experience if you walk up the mountain using the shortcut route. On reaching the top you can find the Parshwanath Chaityalaya, a stone structure. Kundadri hill is in fact a single gigantic monolithic rock formation with various outgrowths. A rough stone paved path leads one to the top of the hill. From the hill top you can see the twists and turns of the Thirthahalli-Agumbe road. This place is also a jain pilgrimage centre. Packing some light refreshments and moving on to ascend the hill would be a great idea.

Ashok’s Trekking and Travelling Site http://reveler3.tripod.com/id4.html Kundadri   Home | Arasinagundi falls | Bandipur Route 10 | Kemmangundi | Bandipur Route 3 | Manchnaballe Dam and Big Banyan tree | Wayanad | Kundadri | Hogenekal | Horsley Hills | Sravanbelagola Enter subhead content here

We( Myself and Ruchir) started off from bangalore on thursday night i.e 7th April . Reached majestic at 9:00 Pm and then tried to get a Decent bus but bcoz of ugadi all buses were full and we have to go in a 3 X 2 bus till sringeri as we could not get a direct bus to Agumbe ( 27 Km from sringeri). We reached Sringeri at 7:30 Am .( bangalore sringeri journey time :- 9 Hrs may be less in Deluxe buses) The plan was to go to Agumbe from sringeri and then after doing a one day trek to barkana and jogi gundi and reach back to sringeri in night and then leaving to Kodachadri next day . After having a informative discussion with driver we found that agumbe is between kodachari ( near Kollur) and Sringeri. So we decided to finish off sringeri and then lead towards Agumbe , we have also planned to visit Kundadri( On the way to Agumbe from Thirthahalli, 9 kms from Guddekeri near Begar you can find Kundadri hill. A adventurous place for trekking lovers. You can reach the hill top by tar road also but its a shaking experience if you walk up the mountain using the shortcut route. On reaching the top you can find the Parshwanath Chaityalaya, a stone structure. Kundadri hill is in fact a single gigantic monolithic rock formation with various outgrowths. A rough stone paved path leads one to the top of the hill. From the hill top you can see the twists and turns of the Thirthahalli-Agumbe road.  This place is also a jain pilgrimage centre. ) . After visting main temple and tunga river we are all set to head towards Agumbe by 10:00 AM .At bus stand , we were told that we can also visit Kagga temple which is just 9 Kms away but we couldnot visit that. We got dowm at Begur at around 11:00 AM and we started our walk towards the base of kundadri hillock. We walked for around 1 1/2 hrs ( 6 kms from begur?? to kundadri ) ; and reached the base of hill known as kundadri by localites at 12:30 PM. This 6 Km walk was kind of a walk in some sanctuary on a tar road and small trees on both side of road . I spotted a FOX also.When we reached base ( A big temple gate being built ) . we were told that we can either go by Big route (jeep route) and a steeper route through a small forest and then 70 degree rocks . We option the latter one .It was a really challenging trek and when we reached peak ( it takes 45 min through tougher route ) we were fully exhausted . we drank water and then  just relaxed there on top for around 1 hr , Agumbe can se seen from peak .We came down at around 3:00 Pm and then caught one bus to Agumbe . When we reached Agumbe it was surronded by dark clouds and raining would be very far. Police men told us that we cannot go to Barkana or jogi gundi as naxalites are there .So we caught a bus in no time for kollur ( 90 Kms from Agumbe ) , as soon as bus started it started raining and we have a nice scenery waiting for us . We crossed Sunset point and then bus crossed 10 hair bends , it was raining and too scenic . We reached kollur at 8:30 Pm ( journey time Agumbe-kollur – 3 hrs ) .Mookhambika temple close at 9:0 Pm we went for5 darshan and then took a room in lalithambika guest house for 200 bucks for a decent double bed room . Photos:- http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ashok_rathor123/album?.dir=9d3d&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ashok_rathor123/my_photos

 Thirthahalli – ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಸಿರಿ

ತೀರ್ಥಹಳ್ಳಿ (Tirthahalli), a small town in ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗ(Shimoga) District, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ(Karnataka) State, India.
Beautiful landscapes of Tirthahalli is typical of “Malenadu” – an area with ever-green-forests of the ಸಹ್ಯಾದ್ರಿ (Sahyadri) Mountain range (Western Ghats).
ಆಗುಂಬೆ(Agumbe) – a village in Tirthahalli, is on the western edge of Deccan Plateau and receives highest rain-fall in South-India. River ತುಂಗ(Tunga) – life source of Shimoga district – flows in her full majesty in the midst of thick forest known for sandal wood.
River ಶರಾವತಿ(Sharavati) springs up at ಅಂಬುತೀರ್ಥ(Ambutirtha) in Tirthahalli taluk, and walks gently towards west and before joining the Arabian Sea, she forms the famous ಜೋಗ ಜಲಪಾತ(Jog Falls) which also houses a major hydro-electric plant of Karnataka.
ಕುವೆಂಪು (Kuvempu) was brought up in a place in lush malenadu region of TirthahaLLi, called ಕುಪ್ಪಳ್ಳಿ(Kuppalli).
Also U.R.Ananthamurthy (Jnanapeetha Awardee)
The popular TV Series Malgudi Days was shot in ಆಗುಂಬೆ(Agumbe), Tirthahalli taluk.

Agumbe

Agumbe (Kannada:ಆಗುಂಬೆ) is a village located in the Shimoga district in the state of Karnataka, India. Lying in the Thirthahalli taluk and the Malnad region, Agumbe is among the places in India that receive very heavy rainfall earning it the sobriquet, Cherrapunji of South.^[1]. It is also the home of the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, the only permanent rainforest research station in India.^[2] The renowned herpetologist, Romulus Whitaker called Agumbe the capital of King Cobra.^[3] An area near Agumbe has been converted into a protected area for Medicinal Plants to help in their conservation.

ಆಗುಂಬೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲೂ ಅದ್ಭುತವಾಗೇ ಇರುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ನೋದು ನನ್ನ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆ… ಮಳೆಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಚೆಲುವು, ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ರೀತಿ.. ಬೇಸಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ರೀತಿ…

*  Barkana
* Jogi Gundi
* Koodlu Theertha
* Kundadri
* Nishani Gudda
* Sunset Platform
* Vanake Abbi

http://www.agumbe.com/

Agumbe is one of the highest peak of the western ghats, situated in-between Shimoga & Dakshina Kannada Districts. To enjoy the beauty of the western ghats & a stretch of the Arabian sea, one has to reach the peak of Agumbe maneuvering along the 14 steep hairpin bends.

The highlight of this place is to experience the delightful Sunset which gets reflected from the Arabian sea onto the Horizon. Agumbe is the home of the Lion Tailed Black Macaque (Monkey) and Yellow Ringed Kraite ( a endangered species of snakes).