Trip to Kashmir

Went for a visit to Kashmir on 8th September 2012 for 3 days. The stay duration was very short, so instead of planning to visit all the beautiful places like Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pehelgaon, Srinagar only concentrated on Srinagar and Pehelgaon.

The weather played spoilsport and ensured we were surrounded with constant rain and drizzle. The lofty mountains were engulfed in clouds and were barely visible.

Yet managed to click some photographs which shed just a glimpse of what the views could have been had it been not for the rain and the dark monsoon clouds.

Sunset at Dal Lake, Srinagar

JKTDC huts, Pehelgaon

Pehelgaon

Horseman at Baisaran

Fountains at Dal Lake, Srinagar

Approaching Pehelgaon

Colours of sunrise, at Jammu

The way to Baisaran valley, Pehelgaon



Colours of sunrise

The Cheshmashahi gardens, Srinagar

On the way to Kashmir Valley, Pehelgaon

                     Saw this beautiful play of light at Baisaran valley in Pehelgaon, Kashmir. The day was cloudy and sun was playing hide and              seek between the clouds. Saw this ray of light falling on the horse and thought to capture the pic.

The park at Pehelgaon

Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar

Colours of Sunrise

Dal Lake, Srinagar

The Nishad Bagh, Srinagar

The Waterfall, enroute Kashmir Valley in Pehelgaon

Sunrise at Jammu, while coming back from Mata Vaishno Devi Darshan

Horse at Baisaran valley

Landscape enroute Baisaran valley

                          

Short trip to Kemmanagundi and trek to Mullayanagiri

Went to a short trip to Kemmanagundi on Saturday 23rd June 2012
We were 4 guys, Vijay, Raghavendra, Satish and myself. Planned to frive down in my Ford Ikon.

Started on Saturday early morning by 3:00 AM and after picking up the rest, left Bangalore by 5:00 AM. Route taken was : Bangalore->Hassan->Belur->Chickmagalur->Kemmanagundi.

The excellent Bangalore-Mangalore expressway ensured we reached Chickmagalur by 10:00 AM. The toll road is a dream to drive on and I drove consistently at 100 km/hr, occasionally touching 120-130 km/hr. From Chickmagalur, we had 2 options to go to Kemmanagundi, either through Lingadahalli where the roads are good but it is a not so scenic route. The other route was to go through Baba-Budangiri->Bhadra wildlife sanctuary->Kemmanagundi where the roads were supposedly very bad but it had to offer some of the most breathtaking sceneries one can behold.

We chose to drive through the scenic route through Bhadra wildlife sanctuary. Weather was fine and rain was not playing the spoilsport. While driving to Kemmanagundi, found the road has been newly laid, and it was very enjoyable to drive on. There were not crater sized potholes which we had encountered when travelling by this road about 2 years back. Till Bhadra wildlife sanctuary it was a breeze.

On the way, we came across numerous viewpoints where I utilized my Nikon D60 to the fullest. Finally we reached Kemmanagundi at 1:00 PM.

I will let the photos do the talking now.


On the way to Kemmanagundi




Vijay




The beautiful backdrops are enchanting




Vijay, Sharath and Raghavendra






The road on the way to Kemmanagundi through BabaBudangiri hills



The beautiful Baba Budangiri hills





Sharath




Vijay




Sharath at the start of the journey




Myself and Sharath




Vijay, Sharath and Raghavendra









Sharath at the base of Mullayanagiri





Shot at a viewpoint enroute Kemmanagundi





After conquering Mullayanagiri peak







Photosession in progress





Bathing at Hebbe Falls



The misty Mullayanagiri hills





 

Majestic Mullayanagiri range as seen from the base point, Chickmagalur