A trek near Ettina Bhuja

Like most of the trips planned during this time, this had multiple plans and postpones. The unseasonal rains, spurts of COVID and general uncertainty aside, some of us were quite out of shape due to 2 years of work from home. With a very light trek on the plan and the usual fun bus journey completed late at night, we arrived at the home-stay closer to the morning. The home-stay had a small pond and huge grassland ahead of it for a short walk in the morning to see some birds.

We had originally planned for an Ettina Bhuja trek, but that was ruled out due to the trek being closed after the recent heavy rains, so we settled for a different hike nearby. To get to the hill, we were packeed into the back of a pickup jeep and driven through a hilly terrain for over half an hour. Although the trek was less than 4 km and not too steep, the lack of a proper trail on the hill and fitness in our WFH bodies made it more challenging than it should have been. After soaking in some good hilltop views and another bone shaking drive back, we were able to also take a quick dip in a nearby pond.

A short drive to another more accessible hilltop called Devaramane (God's House) the next day before starting back to Bangalore closed the weekend trip. True to its name, there was a temple next to the hill and there was a small lake in front of it. There was more of a crowd here but the hike up and down was more accessible being a common tourist spot.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NeQzQX2QoWfsSL3S9