Burude falls to Unchalli falls - A trek to remember

When I was in high school , I used to commute from Siddapur to Sagar. We used to catch same bus in the morning. One conductor he used to ask many questions regarding the rivers and the waterfalls nearby our place. I still remember he mentioned about Burude falls and Unchalli falls. That was the first time I heard about these waterfalls. 2 years back when I decided to cover hidden falls near my native, these falls also came into our mind. Last year when we were in Dabbe falls, we heard about the trek from Burude falls to Unchalli falls. In both cases it didn’t materialise. When Vineeth mentioned about this trek by BAT, without any hesitation I said Yes. What an amazing trek it turned out be.

Though 2800 Rs for this trek looked costly, I decided to go with my heart. Outside Nomads group, this is the second trek for me. Generally we don't go with other organisers. We go on our own since the learning and freedom will be more.

We assembled in Majestic at 9 PM. Our organiser Raju Aralimad was little bit late. We started at around 10 and reached Sagar in the morning. Raju was very energetic person who was a very good organiser. We all got our nature names and we were supposed to call with that name instead of our name. My nature name was river.

In Sagar we met Sandeep, our guide and owner of Green leaf adventurers. At the age of 22, he has been an entrepreneur. He took us to tourist bungalow where we got 2 hours for freshening up. Then we moved to our trek starting point Kyadagi via Siddapur. The below place is the starting point of our trek.

On the way we visited a school where we met these beautiful kids. We gave few chocolates and moved towards our destination. We came near the point after 3 km from where we needed to climbdown 1 km to reach Burude falls. During Monsoon it will be very tough since it will be slippery. January and February is the right time to visit this place.

Burude Falls, also known as Illimane Falls, is situated at a distance of about 20 km from Siddapura of Uttara Kannada District (my home town). This waterfall is formed by a small river Illimane, which falls down in 5 steps forming waterfall at each level.

Beauty of this waterfall doesn't end in one step. We climbed up from left side of the falls further. There is one more level of falls which is little deeper but you can enjoy to the fullest. I was initially little bit scared of getting into the rocks where water was falling down. Long back I fell from the rock and was hit in ankle in Sathodi falls because of slippery stone. But more you fall , you need to get up and climb. That is the reason I am still living even after hit with many obstacles.

This team was very sportive and supportive. Mani was a kid who enjoyed to the fullest. Raju used to crack jokes and even we used to pull his leg. Sunil has covered almost all states in India. Dharukesh, Devaraj and Vijay were unstoppable. Vivek was silent throughout the trek. I was very much impressed with Vasuda. She looked like an experienced trekker and is a very brave girl. Then my three great buddies. Megha has improved a lot. In total this team was one of the best team I have met.

Sandeep and Santhosh prepared rice and Sambar for us. It was very tasty and delicious. We had our lunch near the falls. It was mandatory for us to bring tiffin boxes. However they provided plastic boxes for us in case we missed. I was one among them who forgot the tiffin box.

By the time we reached the mud road from where we started climbing down, we were totally tired. We took a little bit rest and moved further. We crossed paddy fields, muddy roads and reached the Unchalli falls diversion. From there we took right diversion.

When we reached the river bed, it was dusk. Sandeep and his brother Santhosh went in search of a place for our tent. By the time we found the place it was dark. River crossing became difficult. We passed our bags first and then slowly crossed the river with holding each other's hand. It made this trek more memorable.

Sandeep and Santhosh cooked for us. The chapathi, curry and sweet was tasty. It reminded me the Chandrakani trek. Morning when we woke up, it looked like a heaven. This trek is one of the best trek in Karnataka because of the night stay here.

What an amazing place it is. You can not get better place than this for calming your nerves. I was tired of the work in office. In between hectic work, it gave me the the break I needed.

We had coloured rice for the breakfast and packed Upma for lunch. And again I don't have to mention it was very very tasty. This time Megha also helped Sandeep for cooking.

After having breakfast, we moved towards Unchalli falls. It was nearly 6 km walk and we reached the entrance of the Unchalli falls. By the time we reached, our vehicle was waiting for us. We put all our bag in the Tempo Traveller and only took water bottles and packed food.

Again we climbed down and when we reached the bottom, it was full of rocks. We crossed the small rocks and jumped from bigger rocks. When we reached near the falls , I was totally drained. I rushed to the corner where the water was falling from the top. This was not the Unchalli falls I have seen. Water has dried up and there was no force in water. Still I never dreamt that I will be facing the water from Aghanashini river in Unchalli.

Last time also I visited Unchalli during the summer. I didn't expected the beautiful waterfall to be dried up like this. It is certainly not the best sign for the people , nature and the tourist. This is all the effect of deforestation, land acquisition and the negligence.

We enjoyed the 360 degree view of the hills and came back to rocks where others were relaxing. We had our lunch and I started climbing with Sandeep. We reached to the top in only 30 minutes. By the time everyone reached it was bit late. We changed the dress and moved towards Siddapur. We had snacks in the hotel near Siddapur bus stand. We visited our house also. It was a homecoming for me after long time.

This trek had all the ingredients of a beautiful trek. A fun with water , a river bed tent and the 360 degree hill view and ended up with sweet home visit. Thanks to everyone for making this trek more beautiful. Thanks to BAT for organizing this trek.