Bheemana Buguri – An incredible Black beauty in the backdrop of green canopy

Bheemana Buguri was in my must visit list from very long time. Earlier I tried all the way to get contact of local guide but in vain. Off late, I got contact of Ravi. I ringed him on one Wednesday and requested to get details and accompany me for the trek. He is kind enough to get details through his friends and opted to trek with me on the coming weekend. The plan is fixed in 5 minutes over the call and zeroed in on date. This is my only trek, so far, confirmed in just few minutes of conversation.

Journey towards the base point - Sharp 7 AM, after having breakfast, we packed snacks and started driving towards the nearest village from where the trek starts. We reached the tiny village around 7:45 AM. Here we met Rama Venka Gouda, who his Ravi’s relative. Rama Gouda’s house and the surrounding is so beautiful which made me to take few snaps all around. Rama gouda served breakfast and hot Tea although we had earlier. I always admire the hospitality of the locals in many instances. Post waiting for 15 minutes, Vinod has arrived who was the localite and know the terrain very well. Along with Vinod, his other 2 friends also joined us – Vinod (Named him as Vinod 2) and Prashanth.

Trek Paths – There are 2 ways to reach to Bheemana Buguri. One way goes via seasonal waterfall which demands steep ascend and stressful, but return is comfortable. The second route is lengthy but not as strenuous as the first one. We decided to take the second route to reach the destination and the first route to return to the base.

1^st Stretch – 2.5 Hours gradual ascend – Reach lonely house in the thick forest

Sharp 8:30AM we started the trek. The trail begins with the narrow path and later submerge with the forest jeep track. It’s a complete uphill. Even in the morning all of us were started sweating. 

This terrain requires physical stamina. The entire vicinity is so quiet except the chirping sound of birds and butterflies.

We spotted many varieties of butterflies, wildflowers and snakes on the way.

After an hour, the route becomes narrow. After taking short break reached a tiny local temple where people offer pooja to Huli devru (Tiger god). It’s a symbolic of praying god to protect from wild animals.

We crossed 3 streams on the way while traversing.

After 2 hours of uphill reached the lonely house in the mid of the forest. Shirwad’s family lives here.  My eyebrow raised asking myself how this lonely family lives here as it’s in middle of the thick jungle and disconnected from the external world. They need to trek 2 hours to reach the nearby village. Vinod explained how this family commute and how do they carry heavy goods for the daily needs in this strenuous path. We have rested for few minutes chitchatting with the women there.

2^nd Stretch –1 hour gradual ascent from Shirvad’s house to Bheemana Buguri

The second stretch begins through the backside of the house and then passes through the stream. Thereafter it’s again a gradual uphill. We found plenty of birds and butterflies all around. The entire vicinity is silent except the chirping of birds and breeze.

Another an hour of uphill trekking made me to exhaust.

After an hour we almost reached the destination. Bheemana Buguri shows up gradually once we pass through the rocks.

First look of Bheemana Buguri - It’s really ‘Wov…’. The black coloured giant rock standing still on a slightly inclined wide rocky surface. It’s incredible and off course it’s amused me. The shape of the rock resembles like an egg on one side and the spinning top (‘buguri’ in Kannada language) on other side. As per the mythological story, Pandava’s were here during the exile. Bheema kept this long wide rock here on this inclined rocky boulder and he used to play buguri by tying the thread in between the nearby hills. Hence also named as ‘Bheemana Buguri’.

Crossing the rocks to reach the bottom of the Bheemana Buguri

It’s not over. To reach the bottom of Bheemana Buguri, one needs to cross the wider boulders. There is a gap of ~6-7 feet between the rocks wherein one must negotiate to reach the wider surface. Off course, you can’t jump. The locals built a wood passage with long twigs and tied up to the plants/rock to assist to step on. Vinod helped me to carefully cross this hurdle. Once I reached the wider surface and immediately touched Bheemana Buguri feeling FORTUNATE.

It’s simply amazing. The view of the valley from here is simply superb. We estimated the height of Bheemana Buguri would be around ~100 feet height. The view from the hilltop is amazing. We started clicking snaps all over with different poses in the backdrop of the giant rock.  The entire vicinity is remote and only 5 of us in the midst of thick jungle.

Lunch time...!  Had lunch and snacks in the backdrop of the Bheemana Buguri by babbling.

Return – ~2 hours descending the valley via waterfall route

We have taken the other route to reach the base point. Gradual descending of the valley along the stream demands physical stamina. The trail confuses with many deviations. Vinod was guiding us all the way leading from the front. Without a local help, one can easily lost in this dense forest. We have crossed couple of streams on the way as this was the monsoon season. After close to 1.5 hr, we have reached another stream and we gradually descended to reach the base of the seasonal waterfall. Spent some time drenching in the water.

After relaxing we traversed further to reach the base point around 4:30 PM.

Bidding adieu – My sincere gratitude to Ravi, Vinod 1, Vinod 2 and Prashant. Without them I couldn’t have made the day so mesmerizing.

Know before you trek:

• The trek is quite long and needs physical stamina
• Prepare for a trek of 12 KMs overall
• Take enough water bottles and snacks
• Never venture alone. Will lose the way easily in the dense forest
• It’s a pristine place. Don’t litter. Keep the premise clean. Ensure no clue is left of your visit except memory.
• Try in late monsoon season to witness the thick vegetation and greenery in the terrain. Summer will be hot and all the streams on the way would be dried out that time.
• Finally, every bit of effort is worth to reach and admire this beauty