The Leech Kingdom Nishani betta and Deveragundi falls

Nishani Motte was a long time plan for us to visit and hike. We have heard that its also called as Leech kingdom as its surrounded by so many leeches during monsoon season. On a Saturday early morning we left Bangalore with 4 of our friends and took the Hassan road which is good to drive in Monsoon months.

The first stop we planned was to Visit the Deverakolli falls which is few kms after the Madikeri in Madikeri - Mangalore road. This falls is just parallel to the main road and there are some shops to refresh and have some snacks. We cant take bath in this falls but few good pictures can be taken here.

After the short break we hit the road and the next plan was to visit the beautiful Devergundi falls which exactly 13 kms from Sampaje and located in the village called Thodikana. We need to park the vechicle 2 kms before and do a small trek of 2 kms on a flat jeep track to reach the falls. This falls is so majestically placed inside the forest and is easy accessible and suitable for family and kids too.

More than we expected this falls was very beautiful and was gushing in the peak of monsoon. We heard till Januray end we can have descent water in the falls for taking bath and gets dry in peak summer season. We can take bath here but please handle kids with care as the water gushing area is little steep as informed by the local villagers.

After a refreshing bath we reached Mayura cauvery in Bhagamandala where we are supposed to have our night stay. The rooms were descent enough for a night stay and we had our dinner in the small village of Bhagamandala..

Next day morning we woke up, visited the forest office in Bhagamandala and got our permission from the department to Trek Nishani motte after paying a nominal Entry fees and Guide charges. There were also another group who joined us in the trek.

The Nishani motte trek is around 5 kms in total and we need to hire a jeep or carry on in your own vehicle to the base from the forest office. The base is around 5-6 kms from the forest office. We started our trek around 9 am and the intial trek was a mild climb among estates and huge trees. In 20 mins all the grasslands arrived and along with that the leeches too. No wonder this place is called Leech kingdom as thousands of leeches jumped over us but the good fact is that leeches doesnt give any pain during a bite or give any infections. 2 hours from the trek we reached the peak and it was such a misty and fogy day for us. We enjoyed every minute of the trek exploring the greenery and escaping from the leeches. 

It started to rain during the last leg of the trek and it was an amazing experience to completely get drenched and enjoying the walk with friends. Finally we reached the other side of the base and had our hired jeep waiting for us to drop us back to the forest department office.. We reached the forest office around 2.30 pm, had our super lunch and then finally visited the Thala cauvery temple which is just a 15 mins drive from Bhagamandala..

After visiting the thala cauvery temple, which is interestingly the birth place of cauvery river we started back our drive to Bangalore with lovely memories to cherish. People can also visit Kalyala falls and Kopatty hills if they plan for a 3 day trek

Places to See

1) Devaragundi falls & Devrakolli falls (300 kms Approx)

2) Nishani motte ( 300 kms from Bangalore and 65 kms from Deveragundi falls)

3) Thala cauvery wildlife Sanctuary and Temple ( 8 kms from Bhagamandala)