Sandakphu: Trekking for amazing views

Sleeping Buddha (Kumbakarna, Kanchenjunga)

Location: Sandakphu, West Bengal
Date: Oct 31st to Nov 6th 2021
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore, flight to Bhagdogra. Then on a Jeep arranged by IndiaHikes(IH) Vehicle to Srikhola where our Base camp (teahouse) and the trailhead were located.
Trail type: Mixed trails. Kutcha roads, paved/pebbled/rocky trails, soft narrow muddy trails, and steep climbs through pine forests on narrow trails. We did not encounter snow at all. I trekked the whole time with camera and binoculars around my neck. So, it's a moderate trek and can be done by anyone who is reasonably fit.

Facilities: Once we left Srikhola, I do not remember any populated places with general stores and such. Samanden was a small village but we did not visit any shops there. Sandakphu on Day 6 is when we started seeing more houses and people but again did not really check out any stores. We had prepared for all our needs during the trek and our food requirements were entirely taken care of by IH. Also, our trek leader explained in detail how IH was prepared to take care of any medical emergency including evacuation if necessary. That was quite comforting.

Everest range (Lhotse, Everest, Makalu)

Himalayas always calls you back, I guess. As with the Kheerganga Trek we did in 2018, this was also initiated by a friend of ours and as then, we did not need to be asked again to return to Himalayas for what looked to be an amazing trek organized by India Hikes or IH. Updated details on this particular trek on their website can be found here.

So, it was that on 31st Oct 2021, 17 of us which included 6 kids, were at Bangalore Airport taking the flight to Baghdogra, then met up with 3 more trekkers there and the 20 us of traveled together in 3 jeeps to reach Srikhola for what turned out to be a trek that gave us all that was promised on paper and much much more. 

As a change from my usual trek writeups, this time I created a photo/video blog with text in it to describe how this trek went. It gives better context and flows with the visual aids to relive our experience. You need to click on the 3 dots on the phone or (i) icon on the laptop to show the text always as you swipe through the images/videos. 

Photo/Video Blog of the Sandakphu Trek

My other photo albums:

Birds

Flora

Insects

Views

People

Ebird checklists from the trek:

Srikhola

Srikhola to Samanden

Samanden

Samanden to Molley

Garmin activity tracker for most of the trails we took with its various metrics:

Srikhola to Samanden

Samanden to Molley

Molley to Phalut

Sabargram to Aal

Sandakphu to Gurdum

Gurdum to Srikhola

Campsite at Aal with Sleeping Buddha

A compromised but worthwhile Urban Nature Preserve

Location: Turahalli Tree Park, Bangalore

Date: Nov 12, 2021

To get there: Take the Kanakapura main road. About 6km from Sarakki Signal, you will pass DMart on your left. Take the next right towards Turahalli forest. Turn left opposite Sobha Forest Edge apartments.

Trail type: Broad paved and unpaved paths. It also has extensive narrow trails for exploring the park boundaries.

Facilities: Parking. Benches to sit and relax. Forest officials are present sometimes. Toilet facility has been built but was closed when we went. Gazebo and large viewpoint with plenty of seating to relax.

Map: Turahalli Tree Park Main Gate

Rugged trails

This park exists adjacent to the larger Turahalli Forest for public access and enjoyment. The forest and the park are divided by a 100 ft road. The forest itself has been closed off to public access for a few years to protect the flora and fauna from human disturbance. So, the Turahalli tree park is the alternative to experience a bit of the forest ambiance. I say it is compromised because there is much pressure to turn into a normal park solely for the entertainment of us humans than ensuring the well-being of the creatures and plants which inhabit it. For example, a children's play area has come up now. Many statues have been installed, presumably to share nature information with the public, like Tiger, Pangolin. Though the intent is commendable, I feel they don't belong if the idea is to keep the park as natural as possible. Shouldn't information posters be sufficient? But then that's just me and in the minority on this, I am sure.

View point in middle of park

Wide paths

Anyway, back to our visit and I hope yours too sometime soon. Even though this park is very close to our place, we had never gone there mostly because Turahalli Forest was a better option for bird watching. When the forest was close to public, we decided to do a bird walk here with little expectations. About 4 of us managed to make time in the morning and we were at the main gate around 7.30am. A wide path greeted us as soon as we entered the park through the side gate. We chose to take a narrower more natural path by turning right after the gate. Vegetation was quite wild and thick here. We continued until we hit the park bounday near the road and then did a counter clockwise walk along the edge of the park on narrow natural trials. At some points we came inwards a bit to check out the Gazebo and the view points. 

Forest patches

View from gazebo

Overall the park has been maintained well with some healthy undisturbed vegetation in several patches. Most paths are narrow and natural with the exception of some near the gate which are wide with skirtings. An ill adviced childrens play area has come up now. Hopefully it is the first and last! as it does not support the concept of a tree park and will only disturb the wildlife there. Also, my personal opinion is that children should attempt to learn about nature in these types of parks and not to play on man mande structures. We also had a decent birding experience with Small Minivet, Gray-breasted Prinia, Black-shouldered Kite being highlights among others. Click this link for a complete checklist with the images on Ebird. 

City enveloping the park

In spite of some drawbacks, I feel this park is a good step towards creating family and public friendly nature parks which lets the average person experience nature easily. Hope the Karnataka Forest Department, maintians it well and does not succumb to construction pressure and build unnecessary structures that does not fit into a Nature Park. It also relieves pressure on the Turahalli Forest, only true foreast patch within city limits, to be opened up for public.

Enjoy your visit!

Bheemasandra Kere : Lake with a rich diversity

Location: Bheemasandra Kere, near Tumkur, Karnataka
Date: Mar 11th, 2021
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].

It is about 10 km from Tumkur and is one of the two lakes located at the outskirts of Tumkur called Imran Mushtaq Twin Lakes. It is located adjacent to the town Melekote. The two lakes are locally called Melekote Kere and Bheemasandra Kere. We did not plan where to start exactly and ended up reaching the lake bund at its southernmost point by going through Melekote. Roads were narrow but our car made it through safely. We parked on the mud road next to the bund and walked along the canal eastwards and then north after we crossed over the canal at a bridge. This path continues along the lakeside until it reaches the Sewage Treatment plant, at which point we are at Bheemasandra Kere. We walked along the west side of the STP observing the lake all along and backtracked to our starting point along the same path.
Trail type: Muddy walking path in the half circumnavigation we did of the lake. Not sure about the other half but should be the same. The total distance, if we one can go fully around the lake, maybe 4 to 5km. We did about 2 km out and 2 km back.
Facilities: None at the lake. Melekote village is adjacent on the eastern side.

A casual conversation on March 10th with my friend in Tumkur who is an avid bird watcher revealed that both of us were free the following day, which was a public holiday. So, we used that the best way possible, that is to go Bird Watching! The choice was between lake habitat or forest habitat both of which are very good around Tumkur. We settled on a lake in hopes of seeing migrant ducks.

We left Bangalore early morning and reached Tumkur for an early breakfast of their famous Thatte idlis and Dosas. Soon after, we headed towards the lake using Google for guidance. Unfortunately, Maps was not aware of bird-watching spots around the huge lake. It guided us onto open fields and muddy roads which my car was reluctant to go on. Somehow we navigated ourselves back into Melekote village and using my friend's memory and guidance of villagers, we managed to reach the southernmost point of the twin lakes. Not exactly where we had intended. But as with life, it turned out to be excellent giving us a nice surprise, as you will find out.

 

As soon as we got out of the car, we were greeted by warblers, babblers in the bushes, and cormorants flying overhead. But our attention was drawn towards a wagtail on the paddy fields which we found was a Yellow Wagtail. As we watched it hopping around and wagging its tail, we got the surprise sighting of a Bluethroat male feeding in a small stream alongside the fields. We stood mesmerized at the beautiful colors forming a necklace at its throat (hence the name) and watched its antics for a good 10 to 15 mins before reluctantly starting out for our bird walk. 

A canal runs next to the lake bund and we walked on its side past a check gate until we came to a bridge. On this path, a small pond and some woods on the other side of the lake gave us sightings of cormorants, swamphen, kingfisher, warblers, swallows, and drongos. In addition, a Marsh Harrier gave us a flyby, Greater Spotted Eagle a fly overhead, as well as a water snake a swim by! We crossed over the bridge to get on a wide mud road along the lakeshore. We could now see the wide expanse of the lake and plenty more water birds. On the other side was a large and thick patch of reeds. As we stood looking at the reed bed we caught a glimpse of a crake which came out to feed and immediately scuttled back into the reeds barely giving us a chance to take a photo. But the view was sufficient to identify it as Ruddy-breasted Crake. On our way back, the crake was kind enough to re-appear at the same spot giving us heart-fulfilling views. This plucky and shy bird was managing to survive in a disturbed reed patch. One hopes it continues to do so and raises a family successfully.

The muddy trail took us past the point where a man-made bund separates the lakes to get us on Bheemasandra Kere to the north side. Far off we could see a flock of Garganey and another of Spot-billed ducks. At one point along this path, there was a beautiful and serene pool of water which was full of Black-winged Stilts feeding and enjoying themselves. Among them, we could also spot the Wood Sandpiper. Soon we reached a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

As we walked in through the gate, my friend directed my attention to underneath the concrete walkways across the STP sections.  Wow. It was an intricate network of nests built by the Streak-throated Swallows and a sight to behold. 100s of them were flying around while quickly popping in and out of their mud nests. It was hypnotizing to watch their energetic activity with no letup. Reluctantly, we continued along the STP edge until we reached the north point of the lake to be greeted by the sight of Garganeys and Northern Shovelers sitting like school children in a line on the posts of a submerged fence.

By this time the sun was high. Hot and tired we headed back along the same path to reach our parked car around noon. Along the way, in addition to the birds, we had seen, we got to observe frenzied feeding of the Blue-tailed Bee-eaters.  When we reached our car as if on cue, the Bluethroat came out and hopped around the bushes and we could have sworn waved goodbye to us!

It was a great birding outing. As always sad to see some of the human activity close to the lake which is bound to destroy this beautiful habitat and with it the bird diversity. Hopefully, it will be limited and the birds will continue to visit this lake as they escape the harsh winters and provide us the pleasure we experienced that day as our guests for a few months in the year.

Click below for the:

Ebird Checklist

Photos Album

Neighborhood water bodies: Jogi Kere

Location: Jogi Kere, near Thallagatapura, Bangalore
Date: Mar 4th, 2021
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
It is located in South Bangalore on Kanakapura Road in Judicial Layout, Thallagatapura.
Trail type: Paved walking path going around the Lake for 0.5 km
Facilities: None at the lake as of now. 

Sometimes we travel a long distance to see birds but ignore good birding places in our neighborhood gardens and nearby lakes. For these, all you need is a couple of hours of free time. Binoculars and shoes are optional! Previously, I had written about other city lakes, Puttenahalli Kere and Doddakallasandra Lake. This time, we visited one such lake, smaller but close enough to just walk to it.

Jogi Kere is that water body to which we paid a visit, a mere 1km walk from our residence. Kere  translates to lake in Kannada language and Jogi means a hermit in many Indian languages. Surely, this lake is where one can meditate in the midst of nature! Jogi Kere will barely make the cut as a lake, but it has been cleaned up recently by local folks, government agencies, and NGOs. Sewage inflow is cut for the most part and the foliage in the island and boundaries are beginning to show signs of recovery. The lake itself, unfortunately, follows the ill-advised design of a soup bowl with rocky embankment all around and a walking path on the bund thereby denying the much-needed shore and vegetation near the waterbody for birds to thrive. But somehow nature overcomes and thrives!

It was a sunny weekday morning when 6 adults and 4 kids which formed our group started out after 7am on the path towards the lake. It passed through some undeveloped land with plenty of shrubs and trees. So, our birding started early as we spotted wagtails, robins, parakeets, bulbuls, etc., and stretched a 15 min quick walk into a 45 min exciting stroll. We could hear the Red-wattled Lapwing calling as we neared the lake. There is only one entrance at a corner and we were greeted by a mixture of water birds immediately, as we passed through it. Spot-billed ducks, Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen were on the welcoming committee. As we took in the birding bounty, there was a lot of energy and commotion on the large tree opposite dominated by Rosy Starlings, Mynahs, and Parakeets flying in and out constantly. A solitary Coucal decided to join the fun by hopping over the fence and climbing the tree. We suddenly saw a flash of blue streaking over the water and perch on a concrete platform nearby. Lo and behold, the very colorful Common Kingfisher had made its appearance and obliged us by staying there for a while. Walking around the lake we managed to spot few more birds like Pond Heron, Indian Robin, Pied Bushchat under the constant chatter of the migratory Starlings which were there in huge numbers.

After a leisurely stroll around the lake, we walked across the road to check in on an abandoned quarry opposite the lake which because it's isolated completely usually has some surprises. This time it was a flock of 10 Lesser Whistling-ducks and a solitary Purple Swamphen among other water birds. By this time the sun was up and it started getting hot. We headed back to our place and finished the neighborhood lake bird walk in around 2 hours. 

Overall, it was a wonderful experience for all. Easy walk to experience a healthy urban bird diversity spot in our neighborhood itself. Good luck and kudos to all the workers and volunteers, who are making this experience possible and fighting to retain the water body without letting it get destroyed or encroached. Bangalore needs every one of these gems, big and small, to remain in a healthy natural state for the survival of our feathered friends.

Selected images taken during our visits here can be viewed at the link below.

Jogi Kere Bird Images

Checklist of birds seen on Ebird