Rambling around Nature

Kurinjal Peak, Kudremukh

[Writing in progress]

- stay at Bhagvati Nature Camp, Kudremukh

Kudremukh, or more correctly Malleshwara Mining Town, is where I truly feel influenced me the most in my formative years. My father worked at Canadian Met Chem who were consulting for KIOCL to setup the infrastructure for mining Iron ore. Our family relocated for 2 of those years and I did my 6th and 7th standard at Giri Jyoti Convent there. So, it was always my desire to go back and see the town where I first learnt to converse in English, appreciate nature, aped the kids in Enid Blyton in the forests around us, had diverse set of friends, and just grew up!

So, it was after 45 yrs, that we finally booked to stay for couple of days at Bhagwati Nature Camp, Jungle Lodges, about 8kms from Malleshwara which we were told had become a ghost town. We drove past it to reach the camp which is a typical JLR setup with cottages and tent surrounded by forest with a river flowing close by.

- trek to Kurinjal peak

We had not really planned any activities but few other guests, young couple and four engineering students, started planning a trek to Kurinjal Peak, we joined in enthusiastically. It checked off a long standing box for us on trekking in the western ghats shola forests, something amiss after several treks overseas and in Himalayas. They helpfully took care of getting the treak permit for KFD which required a drive to the check point early on the morning of the trek.

The trek is 7km each way with some elevation gain and takes about 5 hrs to complete. Our assigned guide Kumar was ready to start around 7am which is ideal as it gets hot and humid as day progresses with chances of heavy rain with lightning by late afternoon! Crazy change of weather from cold to hot/humid to monsoon. However, we decided to have our breakfast first which pushed our start to nearly 10am. It also meant that we had no time to go slow or rest in between or on top if we wanted to avoid getting caught in dangerous weather conditions.

The trail starts from the entry point to Bhagwati on the main road. We parked our vehicles and walked a few hundred meters, then turned left into the hills. A river crossing is scenic and the initial trial is winding through shola forests and grasslands which to me looked to taken over by invasive species of plants. Birds were scarce but butterflies plenty. I could not take enjoy or capture their images as pace had to be fast.

Soon, we entered the moist forest trails of Sahyadris and were quickly greeted by leeches which were lying wait for us. Everyone was helping everyone else to flick the creepy crawlies which do the downward dog asana climbs to find a nice succullent spot on the skin while the guide looked on amusedly. After about 6kms and 2 hrs.. we reached a lovely view point.

later we climbed past the abandoned house... part scrambling up a trail and part on road... to reach the peak. naseau for me due to oily breakfast. stayed at top for 10 mins... and then down via a shortcut. back by 2.30pm.

Glacier Express on Landwasser Viaduct

Switzerland had been on our wishlist for a long time. So, our 2024 Europe schedule was around Switzerland with a meetup of our European friends who flew over to trek its famed mountains together.

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne

Our first sight of Switzerland was early morning on our overnight bus from Brussels to Lucerne where we stayed the longest, 4 out of the 9 days. Lucerne is a quaint city centrally located for many popular tourist spots. Our Airbnb host graciously offered to pick up our luggage after we reached early in the morning so we could do some local sightseeing before our late afternoon check-in. That worked out perfectly. We freshened up in the nearby railway station and then wandered around. We visited their famed Chapel Bridge,

Chateau Gutsch

Lion Monument, and Chateau Gutsch. At Gutsch our Google map showed that there was a Funicular to go down but we couldn't find the entry point even though we could hear the train! After searching for a bit, we saw some people come out from behind a building and point out the entry. Another surprise awaited us as this funny (first time for us!) train ran without anyone at its controls like an elevator in a building. There was no one else taking it to guide us! We read the instructions... got in... door closed... down it went at a very steep angle.. and got us to the foothills safely. *phew*. Quite an experience indeed.

Water fountain, Lucerne

So many things were new and interesting for us on our first day in Switzerland. Water fountains with cute spouts that gave drinking water continuously, on-time buses (we had city passes for free rides), nature all around, etc. Finally, we visited the wonderful Museggmauer Fort with incredible views before heading to our Airbnb and finally checking in exhausted after a full day of walking and sightseeing.

Lion Monument, Lucerne

From the many possible destinations to experience the Swiss mountains around Lucerne, we chose to visit Mt. Rigi. It is known for its views, ferry ride, cable car, and cogwheel train. The ferry gave us some fantastic views whichever way we looked with idyllic sailboats, towering mountains, birds, quaint lakeside towns, and so on. The ferry itself was quite an experience with exposed engines and drink services on board for first-class passengers.

On Ferry to Mt. Rigi

We chose to get off at Weggis, took the cable car to Kaltbad and then the Cogwheel train for the final leg. All are free with a Swiss Rail pass and you don't have to worry about buying tickets. Mt Rigi was a fun experience with short trails at the top to enjoy 360-degree views. There are also several trails to go up or down by foot but we had not planned to do them.

View from Mt. Rigi

The next day we chose to go to Trummelbach Falls on a recommendation and enjoyed it thoroughly. The train from Lucerne is the same one that also goes to Grindelwald and the popular Jungfraujoch. How is that possible? Well, it splits at Interlaken with one part going towards Lauterbrunnen and the other Grindelwald! So, one has to board carefully at Lucerne paying close attention to the A/B part of the platform number. As expected we didn't, and had to switch over later in a mad scramble. The falls are a great experience to witness the power of water up close.

Trummelbach Falls

We chose to walk back the 3km which turned out to be the highlight of the day as the views were mesmerizing and better experienced on foot. We also painted small personal canvasses midway to capture the ambiance, which was quite fun.

Walk back from Trummelbach

Our Airbnb was called Apartment Mount Pilatus, so named because we could see Mt Pilatus from the windows and the Kriens Cable car station was walkable from there. So, this was a must-do for us. Our host recommended that we check the cloud cover before visiting it. But, since this was our last day in Lucerne it was then or never. We were lucky to get great views with clear blue skies as we went up on the cable car to the first stage, Frankmuntegg. We walked around there and enjoyed some exhilarating toboggan in a bobsled-like setup before taking the Gondola to the top or Kulm. And yes.... the top was completely under cloud cover.

Dragon Path, Mt. Pilatus

We walked the Dragon Path around the mountain top that was very deserted, freezing cold but thoroughly adventurous and enjoyable even without the views. There were rare (I think) high-altitude plants tagged with scientific names making the trail special. We headed back down via the worlds steepest cogwheel train which was quite an experience.

Lucerne is a wonderful city that helped us explore Swiss culture for the first time. It is located perfectly to visit many popular spots and mountains of Switzerland.

This, useful link to compare the mountains we could visit from Lucerne, helped us tremendously. Thanks, Alexx!

Zurich from Grossmuenster Tower

Next was our meetup with my wife's school friends to bond and trek in the Swiss mountains. We took the train to Zurich to join the group. We spent half a day exploring the city. In that short time we managed to visit the huge National museum or Landesmuseum of which we hardly explored 10%, Grossmuenster church with its city views from the tower, and even had a lunch picnic along with the locals on a city bridge. We caught up with our group for dinner at Hiltl after a lot of excitement with the 3 college classmates meeting after many years. Our treks were planned at Lugano but our stay was in Bellinzona, a quaint little town close to it. The train journey from Zurich to Bellinzona was quite interesting as two young friendly Swiss professionals riding along with us shared many aspects of Swiss culture.

Lido San Domenico, Lugano

Our first trek was the scenic Olive Grove Trail along the Lake Lugano shore. There were cute restaurants all along the trail. We relaxed at one, Lido San Domenico, for some drinks, after just 10 minutes into the trek! They were that irresistible. 😄. The trail winds through some extremely picturesque villages. We met a German team cycling all the way across Switzerland and beyond.

Monte San Salvatore to Melide

The longer trek we did was the trail down from Monte San Salvatore. The Funicular to the top was fun, the views at the top were spectacular. We could even see Italy. Since our goal was to trek down we could not explore the area which included a museum. We chose the trail down to the lake, that descended most of the time winding through villages along the way. From the lakeside near Melide, we took a bus to Morcote for our Ferry back to Lugano. Morcote was another lovely lakeside city where we had our Lunch with beautiful lake views. As a bonus, we got to witness a Harley Davidson rally who were in that area for an event.

View out of Glacier Express

Our next big Swiss adventure was the famous Glacier Express. We had booked the leg from Andermatt to St Moritz. Unfortunately, because of flooding in the area, we had to take the local trains for part of the itinerary, from Andermatt to Chur. So, we got to experience the Swiss mountains on both the local trains and the Glacier Express. The local trains were quite good. However, Glacier Express had larger windows, personalized service, and onboard catering. Regardless of which you choose to go on, the mountains and the vistas are truly magical to watch from a train window. As another blog described, no camera can do justice. Just put it away after a few images for nostalgia and enjoy the sight of mountains that go by. Highlight was going over the 122 years old picturesque Landwasser Viaduct.

Swiss Alps from GE

We planned only an overnight stay at St Moritz, a picturesque upscale ski city. Our stay was in a lovely youth hostel next to the forest into which we did a quick morning walk before heading off to the railway station to begin our Austrian adventure.