Old is bold – Trekking in the jungles of Goa (Bhagvan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary) and Karnataka (Dandeli).

Lazing on the beach watching the sun rise and set, experiencing the skies change hues from blue to a psychedelic continuum, getting tanned (for the white-skinned ones), whizzing past quaint colourful houses on a hired scooter, cheap booze, sea-food delicacies in abundance, shacks and flea markets lining the beaches, churches and cathedrals, casinos and Tito’s, tattoos and shorts and not to forget the ‘I love Goa’ t-shirts – that’s what Goa had been for me till the 23^rd of December 2022 and I’m sure it still is for the multitude that don’t lose an opportunity to throng its beaches.

Trekking in Goa sounded crazy, vegetarian food in Goa sounded even more so and going to Goa and not boozing sounded completely insane. But there I was, with a huge backpack, checking in at the YHAI Campal base camp, waiting for the others to join in and the adventure to begin. I had ridden pillion from Karmali railway station and it cost me INR 300. One can easily walk a few meters to catch a bus to Panaji bus stand and then take another bus to one’s destination from there; Panaji being the central location for one to avail buses going to most parts of Goa. Thivim and Madgaon stations are the other options if you’re travelling to Campal, near Miramar beach.

At the orientation, I was amazed to see a group of above 75-year olds from Pune; one of them was an 83-year old. This blog is dedicated to this bunch of enthusiastic nature lovers who have defied age and are an epitome of fitness and liveliness. Without any support, without any complains, this group walked and trekked through the different terrains for about 13-15 kms each day of the trek and their pace could easily put others to shame. They also have a group called Sahyadri Trekkers and frequently trek the ranges in and around Pune. They are the b(old).

Day 1: Mobor to Benaulim beach and Day 2: Benaulim to Velsao beach

Over the first two days of trekking, we were to cover the longest stretch (around 25 kms) of pristine beaches in Goa from Mobor to Velsao. The beaches here derive their names from the villages. We travelled from the base camp in Campal to Mobor in a bus. The houses and villas surrounded by green everywhere were a delight to the eyes. Goa has a very relaxed culture; shops don’t open till 10-10:30 in the morning and you’ll find very few people in the narrow village lanes unless it’s a church-going day.

The entire stretch from Mobor to Velsao was extremely clean and sparsely populated, except for at Colva which somehow seemed to be the most happening place for Indian tourists – it was like a dark cloud in the clear skies out of nowhere with thousands frolicking in the water and on the beach. There were tiny translucent crabs, almost everywhere, emerging and rushing back into their holes in the sand; it was funny to watch their hurried game of ‘catch me if you can’. The sand on this coastline is hard and suitable to walk and run on, not like the ones where your feet sink and make it difficult to walk. There were incredibly exquisite patterns made by organisms in the sand all over the beach and a lucky few from our batch spotted starfish as well. The shacks too weren’t that populated, except for a few foreigners lazily tanning themselves in the hot sun, considering it was Christmas time, 

However, what started in Mobor as an exciting walk by the sea listening to the sonorous sounds of the waves, later turned to a rather monotonous trudge, especially with the weight of our bags and the scorching sun draining our energy.  I found the walk on Day 2 to be really boring and an unnecessary part of the programme (YHAI listening?) but those are just my thoughts; probably others enjoyed it. We did have interesting conversations though as the batch got acquainted to each other better en-route.

At both places, Benaulim and Velsao, our camps were in football stadiums. The camp at Velsao was more of a haunted place in the middle of a forest. The setting sun greeted us at both places. As we stepped off the beach to reach the football stadium (our camp) in Benaulim, we witnessed fishermen readying their nets for the next catch. The nets probably ran kilometers in length and it looked like an arduous task to get them ready for the next catch. The strong smell of fish left to dry by the roadside, the fishing nets spread along the narrow lanes, the clamour in Konkani from a group of people playing cards as they sipped beer right outside a wine shop, the tall coconut trees accompanying you all the way gave a truly rustic feeling to the sight.

The morning at Benaulim, as our camp leader rightly said, we spotted a lot of birds. There were storks, herons, lapwings, magpie robins, coucals and many others and I was surprised to sight the black headed ibis too. Brahminy kites hovered over the beaches all along during our walk. From Velsao, we were to reach the train station and catch a train to Collem from where the jungle trek to the Dudhsagar camp was to commence. Thankfully!

Day 3: Collem to Dudhsagar camp

One needs to cross the foot over bridge at Collem station to go to the other side and cross the parking lot to reach the forest check-post. Permission is required to enter the Bhagvan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary. Tourists visiting the Dudhsagar falls and lake avail the jeeps to travels to the falls. They are provided life jackets as there have been many deaths by drowning in the lake formed by the falls. In fact, there’s a plaque bearing the names of unfortunate people who haven’t lived to tell their tales.

We were to walk. And we did. Soon we left the jeep trail and entered the dense forest. It felt amazing to witness the canopy of dense foliage throughout the trek over the days, as the branches and leaves of the tall trees shared secrets whispering to each other in different shades of green, as if conspiring. However, they failed against the formidable rays of the sun that penetrated and forced themselves to reach the ground, making their path and illuminating the conspirators in different shades and beguiling the onlooker with nature’s magical presence.

There were marks (arrows) made for us as no guide accompanied us; this being the first YHAI trek without a guide. In spite of the marks, we did lose our way a couple of times. At one such spot, we were lucky to see a kaleidoscope of butterflies, one of the clusters probably was that of Monarch butterflies. The day’s climb was an ascent all the way. We had to take off our shoes every time we crossed a stream; there are 4-5 streams you’ll cross on this route. We had lunch, as we usually do on most jungle treks, sitting on the banks of one such stream.  Drinking the water of the stream was more rejuvenating than the packed lunch all of us reluctantly had; it wasn’t that we weren’t hungry, just that the food wasn’t appealing at all.

Post lunch, the climb got even steeper and the jungle denser. However, we didn’t spot any animals on this trek. Most were on the lookout for the Shekhru (Giant squirrel or Flying squirrel) but it remained elusive. It was a relief to reach the Dudhsagar campsite, perched on a clearing in the middle of the forest. We could see the mountain we were supposed to trek the next day to our left. The biggest treat awaited us – a river gushing just below the campsite. Even though the water was cold, no-one missed the opportunity to spend enough time in the therapeutic water that magically took away all the exhaustion from the trek. Rejuvenated, we got back to our tents for a game of Uno illuminated by torch light as there was no electricity. The sky was incredibly clear and the innumerous stars reminded me of my enthusiastic stargazing co-trekkers from the Har-ki-Doon trek. We were warned of the presence of wild animals at each campsite but I don’t know which one was worse – coming across a wild cat as you dared in the dark to answer nature’s call or having roaring and snoring two-legged animals in your tent who made sleeping impossible.

Day 4: Dudhsagar camp to Kuveshi via Dudhsagar waterfalls

Our camp leader came along with us for a distance the next day to show us the way. There were hundreds of tourists wearing life jackets (mandatory) at the foothills of the falls. We crossed them and a quaint wooden planked bridge to enter the forest again.  The day’s trek was an ascent again and soon we met the railway tracks and crossed three small tunnels and witnessed the Dudhsagar waterfall en route. The waterfall reminded me of the lone lioness I saw in a sanctuary in Silvassa which was in such a bad condition that it didn’t look any bigger than a dog; the trickling waters of the Dudhsagar fall I’m sure would be a roaring majestic spectacle in the monsoons but now it was just a poor trickle. On the other side of the tracks, in the valley below, we could see the same hundreds of tourists looking like red ants with their red jackets on, enjoying in the water.  The honking and passing of a goods train as it emerged from a tunnel, workers and engineers clearing and working on the tracks in the tunnels as we passed them felt like witnessing a scene taken right from a book.

We walked along the tracks for a while before reaching an old, forgotten, dilapidated railway cabin which we had to enter and cross to enter into the forest again. The climb only got steeper from here. After huffing and puffing in the dense jungle, we were on the lookout for water to have our lunch beside. We could hear the gurgling of water but it remained elusive for quite a while. Finally, to our relief, we came to a large open space with a stream flowing. Small black fish hurried towards the foreign feet that we dipped in the water. There were enough boulders to sit and have our lunch on. If our guide wouldn’t have hurried us, we would have easily spent more than an hour there and that was the right thing to do. Grudgingly, we crossed the stream and started walking towards our next campsite at Kuveshi. Immediately, we encountered steps that led to a canopy walk. The canopy walk was so exaggerated in the previous campsites that people didn’t want to miss it. We were now in Karnataka, in the Kali Tiger Reserve, in one of the densest jungles of the country – Dandeli. As we finally came to flat land, we saw jeeps which were meant for safaris in the Kali Tiger Reserve. Another 30-40 minutes walking along the jeep tracks and we reached our campsite at Kuveshi. 

Kuveshi is a small hamlet with a few houses and farms. It was terribly hot and we ventured out again looking for a water body to bathe in. The locals pointed to one and though it wasn’t as exciting as the one in the Dudhsagar camp, nonetheless it was better than having none at all. The night had group members singing under a clear starlit sky led by one of the most enthusiastic bold members.

Day 5: Kuveshi to Anmod

Today and the next day were supposed to be the longest routes of the trek, around 16 kms each. After listening to a glorious ‘black panther’ story (haha) by our camp leader, we embarked on our journey. We didn’t have to walk for long on the jeep track and took a left to get into the jungle again. The day’s trek wasn’t very steep and it happened to be a little different than the earlier days as we came across open grasslands at intermittent intervals. It was a beautiful sight. It was amazing to see the roots of trees spread across and running across our pathways, various symbiotic formations on tree trunks and branches stooping low to create hurdles on our path. I banged into one. :) A few of my trek-mates collected a snake’s shredded skin, a troop of mushrooms (to enhance the décor of their homes), bay leafs and one filled his bag with curry leaves emanating a strong healthy smell. Asking and answering ‘Dad Jokes’ (a new concept for me) with a fellow trek-mate made the trek less arduous and we covered almost two thirds of the route and reached the village of Castle Rock without realizing it.

A statue of Shivaji welcomed us. We had lunch in the village and chatted with the villagers before recommencing our journey. Thankfully, a guide met us in the village and he was to escort us to our next camp. Soon, taking a diversion we were guided again into a steep jungle path. The arrows were present everywhere guiding us till we reached the Anmod camp at around 3 pm. Anmod boasts of having a Pidilite production unit where the product Araldite is manufactured. Our tents were pitched right outside their Manager’s official accommodation.

We had a yoga session in the evening before our dinner where our instructor (one of our trek-mates, a yoga instructor) made sure that we could hear the crackling of our bones. Post dinner, we continued our camp fire event in our tent so as not to disturb the Pidilite Manager.   

Day 6: Anmod to Tambdi Surla

We saw an amazing sight in the sky very early next morning while it was still dark. A tiny chain of lights moved right before our eyes and disappeared in a few seconds. They had to be satellites – well that was what our guess was. I have witnessed satellites in the sky before, but never so many closely following each other like Santa’s reindeers pulling a sleigh.

Another jungle trek, another long one, though a complete descent after one crosses a few fields and the highway to get into the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary yet again. We were warned of leeches. A few of us were bitten by them too. Many find descending more challenging than ascending and rightly so.  One has to be constantly cautious of their footing while descending, especially on loose rocks, with creepers and roots and thorny branches in your way, though after a while your body adapts to it so well that it becomes mechanical.  However, one wrong footing and one could break a leg. We descended for about 16 kms to get out of the forest and reach Tambdi Surla, where an ancient and beautiful stone temple dedicated to the Lord of the mountains, Lord Shiva awaited us.

Our bus took us back to the base camp. Most dozed off on the bus while a few were already thinking and planning the next trek. We didn’t particularly have a very warm welcome at the base camp as a college group from Delhi had created a huge ruckus the previous night in the camp. Anyway, this has been a common observation for the last few treks with YHAI – a lot has changed, and definitely not for the good. Certificate distribution used be ceremonious and now has become just a chore for them. 

Goa, on the other hand has changed drastically as well but definitely for the better. It is cleaner, more disciplined; no drinking or smoking in public and the beaches are being taken care of. A friend and I finally went to a fish restaurant nearby and feasted on the delectable Goan cuisine along with a couple of well deserved beers. Cheers to good times!