It had been some time since I’d last done some trekking and there was a group visiting Onake Betta for the same. I decided since I was feeling reasonably well healthwise and Onake-Kunti Betta was a place I’d wanted to visit previously, I would give this a shot. With that consideration, I booked a slot with the visiting group for the trip.
ABOUT ONAKE BETTA
Onake Betta is a hill sandwiched between 2 other hills – “Awala Betta” and “Kunti Betta”. The association of the latter is with the Pandavas’ mother Kunti as it is believed this was one of the places where the Pandavas had stopped as part of their “vanvas”. It’s also supposed to be an area where the French had camped during the period they were aiding Tippu Sultan against the British.
The place where the hills are located is understandably called "Pandavapura". The average elevation is 709 m, although I'm not aware of the exact elevation of the hills. It is more than 120 kms away from Bangalore along Mysore highway and is closer to Mysore in Mandya district in Karnataka. It is known for the scenic views it offers and is considered a good trekking spot for the same reason.
MY EXPERIENCE
We set off early morning at around 6 A.M. or so by a min-bus which picked up the people going on this trip at respective pick-up spots. After around 3 hours in the vehicle and a breakfast break in between, we finally reached the foothills area of the 3 hills mentioned above. We had kept ourselves occupied by means of chitchat and games inside the bus. It was refreshing to finally have reached our destination.
We embarked on the ascent at around 10.45 - 10.50 A.M., starting from 1 temple. The intent was to climb “Onake Betta”, as that was supposedly the only hill of the 3 which could be climbed upon by pure trekking. I think there were 12 of us going on this trek, excluding the organizers.
It had started to drizzle a bit. The scenes of the foothills at the start of the trek, were quite amazing despite the gloomy weather. At the starting stages, the organizers informed us that we could try investigating and taking a short cut on 1 side, if we had some experience in trekking and felt like it. It appeared to be a steeper way with no visible path as such, which may not have been treaded upon often. Or we could go by a winding way around to the top. Most people chose the latter option. I was in a somewhat adventurous mood and decided I would try the short cut, if there was one.
2 other guys also seemed to start off the same way, but paused for some reasons. I went on, feeling the way as I went. Because this wasn’t the obvious path, all I could see were rocks and dense bushes. But I made calculated decisions as to which direction I should take where and surged ahead through the foliage and over some rocks at some points. This hill seemed to have plenty gargantuan rocks and thick bushes. After a relatively short but industrious burst of trekking, finding a way ahead I reached a point, where going ahead didn’t appear to be possible unless a pretty high rock would have to be climbed. On the right there appeared to be a steep, but maybe manageable way. The left, appeared to be relatively less steeper, but quite close to the edge of this stretch, below which there appeared to be a somewhat steep terrain. But the possible route on the right didn’t seem to lead towards the peak. So, I chose left. There were higher surfaces ahead. Once that stage had passed, I came upon a small opening between 2 rocks and took it. At this point, there appeared to be 2 options again - climb a rock and move ahead at a high altitude or continue along this path, which was moderately steep but appeared to be leading to the top. Not knowing what was above the rock, I chose to continue on the same path.
At this point, I also called out to the 2 others who had paused earlier, gazing at something. After a while, they appeared to call back from a distance and as their voice grew louder, I became sure they were coming along the same route. Just to avoid confusion. With that, I moved ahead again and was eventually joined by the 2 others who were also coming along. We appeared to have reached somewhere near the top. But just straight ahead, we saw 3 women standing and chatting at an altitude, slightly higher than us. From our vantage point, it appeared to be the highest area on the hill. Wondering what these gals were doing in the middle of nowhere, atop a hill, we also moved ahead to our intended destination. Just as we were about to climb the final rock though, the 3 girls I mentioned, seemed to disappear just behind the huge rock which appeared to be the highest point. A bit flummoxed, we moved on to discover that there was a narrow path (appeared just enough for 1 person) around the rock leading to a short opening from which there was a climb of another 2 -3 large rocks, the last one also having a short gap with the closest adjacent rock. Above that, was the highest point of “Onake Betta”. Around the narrow path was a steep fall, so I did that part, a bit cautiously. Once out in the opening it lead to, I used my own sense of whatever appeared to give me the right balance with my style and instincts to get to the highest point in a continuous series of swift movements.
Once at the top, the 3 of us noticed that the 3 gals were also there, gazing outwards at the beautiful scenes surrounding us. I learnt that they were college students from Mysore, who were taking a stress buster break from their “Speech & Hearing” classes. We all just sat there waiting for the others who were coming by the longer route. It had probably taken us 30 – 40 minutes to get to the top. I had left the packet with food packs in the small open area from where I did the final climb to the top. Seemed quite safe to do so at first. But as the winds got stronger, the packet seemed to be in danger of falling off the lower rock. On top of that, it started raining quite hard for a while. But the views from the top of “Onake Betta” were just fantastic, inclusive of a lake in the distance. Some clouds were below us too. Last time I experienced that was when I was a on a flight back to Bangalore. We also heard some peacock calls in the distance. As we enjoyed the views with some music and took some pics, we also urged the unknown gals from Mysore to shout out some names of people coming from the winding route. We figured these unknown female voices calling out their names from the top would startle them. It was good fun! :D It was easy to see from there why “Kunti Betta” and “Awala Betta” were not trekked. Some of the sides were just plain steep. Like walls! There appeared to be no place for any real foothold. Unless there was a way from around somewhere. I suppose those would have to be done by rope tethered climbing or something.
As these thoughts ran through my mind and I engaged in banter with the 2 who had accompanied me there and occasionally the 3 “mystery gals”, the others from our group did eventually become visible in the distance. After a while, all of us were at the highest point. The food packs on the lower rocks had survived the rains and the winds. We fooled about and took some good pics before bidding goodbye to the “mystery gals”, who were going back to Mysore. We had lunch there – pulao. The winds occasionally blew away some of the grains of rice every now and then. I skipped “raita” because I feared it would fly off too. Apparently, it did for someone. :D After some chitchat and spending time there, we made our way back down. This time through a route different to the 2 routes by which we had come up. This involved some trekking down the rocks and jumping was the best option sometimes (for me at least). After a brief period of trekking, we all made it down back to the temple where we had started.
THONNUR LAKE
Also, part of our plans, was to spend some time at a nearby lake, around 1 km from the foothills. This lake was supposed to be an artificial resurrected lake, where fishing was also possible. Upon reaching there, one could go to a beach like short stretch or take a small, but slightly steep hike and reach another place with rocky contours beside the lake. But less polluted and populated. We decided to take the latter option. Ironically though, having done the full trek without injury I suddenly hit my big right toenail against a rock leading to some bleeding. But I reckoned it wasn’t serious and moved on.
Once there, the plan was to sit by the water or enter the waters, as per our wish. Life jackets were available for those who wanted to use them. I already had my swimsuit on. After some cleansing of the toe injury, I entered the water. The rocky base beneath was quite uneven and slippery beneath my foot and I had decided against using a life jacket. Also, after about 4-5 feet of treading in the water, there were no rocks or anything else beneath my feet. Swimming was the only option or cycling to stay afloat while in standing position. After aiding some others getting into the water, I decided I would swim about a bit. Any swimming stroke which involved me facing water face down hurt a bit, as it also meant water was hitting against my injured toenail. So, I reckoned backstroke was the need of the hour. No strain on my toenails. And of course, floating around any water body like it’s your mattress is a different feeling in itself. But there were tides in this lake, which were sweeping in occasionally. So, my backstroke bursts had to be timed well. I also resorted to breast strokes at times, as it was reasonably comfortable, except pressure on my toenail. We could occasionally see kites come down to catch fish and fly back up again. I mostly stayed around the 20 feet radius from the shore. May have briefly breached the 25-30 feet radius twice. I didn’t go too far out as the water levels in the lake had risen, owing to recent monsoons and there was no telling if there were weeds growing underneath and if so, how far below the surface they were. Also, when you haven’t swam in a while, dealing with moving against water naturally without something to stay afloat can be a bit arduous owing to the stronger water resistance (compared to air) or possible cramping in your legs. Considering all that and that I wasn’t going to use a life jacket, I stayed within the distance mentioned and swam and floated randomly, giving in to the relaxation and satisfaction it provided. I think only once did someone try going a bit further, with a life jacket. Mostly, everyone stayed well within the 20 feet radius. Rightly so too, in my opinion.
After we were done with our respective dates with the waters of Thonnur lake, we emerged to the rocky banks in our own time with a refreshing feeling. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bleeding in my big toe had ceased. The pain seemed lesser too. We collected our belongings and treaded back to our mini-bus / van. We had seen a cabbage field somewhere along the way too.
Having boarded the bus, we headed back to Bangalore. This was another 3 hour or so journey during which we indulged in games, listening to music or banter. We were dropped at the same points as before, from where we had boarded. The trip cost was Rs. 1499 /-. This was my third trip with these organizers and it was a great day outing, with swimming, trekking and some unexpected adventures.
