Heavenly Monsoon Ride to Bisle Ghat, Karnataka
One of the hidden gems in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Bisle Ghat is a gorgeous tract of montane rainforest, evergreen tropical forest and a less trodden upon narrow and winding highway that connects the temple town of Kukke Subramanya with the coffee estates of Sakleshpur. Usually, most visitors opt for the more popular and larger roads of Shirdi and Charmadi ghat highways and may be that’s why this forest has retained its true character. Even the forest department doesn’t have many stations here. It is just pristine rainforest all the way, possibly some of the best in Karnataka along with the ones at Agumbe.
I was so happy a few months back when I heard that the government had laid a new road on the tiny highway connecting Vanagoor and Kukke Subramanya, but that excitement was short lived as Bisle Ghat was one of the regions that saw many landslides during the recent Karnataka floods. In spite of knowing that most roads were closed, I still decided to embark on a motorcycle ride to this green paradise during the peak of monsoons.
Video Note: Experience of torrential rains at Bisle Ghat view point. Watch in 4K resolution for best quality.
Luckily for me, the minor landslides and tree falls were cleared just in time and I could ride a little bit beyond the Bisle Beauty spot. A few kilometers beyond the beauty spot was a major landslide where the entire highway had caved in, so access to Kukke Subramanya from Vanagoor via Bisle Ghat was totally cut off. Even though I could not ride all the way to Kukke Subramanya, I was fairly happy that I got to experience the winding Bisle Ghat roads and see the Bisle view point during the monsoons.
Heavy rains greeted me for most of my time here, but when they stopped and the mist cleared, the view was spectacular. Tall trees, rowdy brown rivers and a sea of green is what presents itself to you from the Bisle view point. On a good day, one can see the peaks of Kumara Parvatha (Dakshina Kannada), Pushpagiri and Dodda Betta (Kodagu) and Patta Betta and Enni Kallu (Hassan) from this view point.
When you drive from Sakleshpur to Vanagoor, coffee estates, pepper plantations and spice farms greet you all the way. In between, you can also see the vivid greens of the young paddy. As you cross Vanagoor and slowly head towards the forest check post at Bisle, the forests start getting taller and denser. There are no more man made plantations, but nature’s rainforests. And once you cross the Bisle check post, it pretty much becomes dark even during the middle of the day.
Due to the heavy rains, tree branches, leaves, slush, landslides, stones and other natural elements were present on the road. Hence, even though I was riding on a highway, it pretty much felt like off-roading and I was so happy that I had off-road tyres on my motorcycle. As the roads to Kukke Subramanya were closed due to landslides and because of the extremely heavy rains, I hardly saw a few vehicles on the road. It was pretty much our two motorcycles and the beautiful rainforest highway.
The Bisle beauty spot was the only place that was accessible and hence we spent most of our break time there. Extremely heavy rains, sharp winds and dense mist kept us company at the shelter built by the forest department to enjoy the view. The video above should give you a good idea of the rich monsoon experience. From time to time when the rains stopped and the mist cleared, you could see the panoramic view of the dense jungles and the thundering Giri river below, which eventually joins the mighty Kumaradhara river further ahead.
Just this ride through Bisle Ghat and the stop at Bisle view point during the monsoons is an experience in itself. Hopefully, I can complete the entire stretch when the roads are open and offer my prayers at the Kukke Subramanya temple.
Video Note: Heavy rains and misty views at Bisle beauty spot. Watch in 4K resolution for best quality.
If you like off-beat trails, a little bit of adventure, lush rainforests and enjoy getting wet, you will have an absolutely mind blowing time at Bisle Ghat and its various view points. More so if you are interested in trekking, bicycling, mountain biking and/or motorcycling. And the best season to explore this fabulous gift of nature is during the monsoons or immediately after it. For the best views, Jan 15 to Mar 15 are perfect.
