Most of the times, getting to the destination is more interesting than the destination itself. I had one such experience while on the way to Kokkare Bellur.
I had been wanting to visit this place for a long time now. Every time I pass the sign-board on the highway , i vowed to make it the next time. The “next time” did not happen for a long time until a few days back when I had made up my mind to visit this place.
A brief about this place
Kokkare bellur is a small village , around 70 odd kms from Bangalore on Bangalore-Mysore highway. This village is well known for Pelicans and painted storks.
There goes a pelican
Getting there
Kokkare Bellur is 12kms off the Bangalore-Mysore highway. A nice and short drive of about an hour.
The signboard is very easy to miss. Here’s a tip as to when to look out for the signboard. After crossing the town of Chennapatna, and just before (5kms) the town of Maddur , a road branches towards the left and at the entrance of the road , you would see a small signboard mentioning this place.
The roads are decently motor-able with a few patches. I had a different kind of experience driving.
During the harvest season the “Raagi” straws are tied in bundles and they are laid down on the road. The reason is simple. The straws get thrashed under the wheels of the vehicles passing by. Thee bundles are removed and the fine particles are collected , refined and sent to the factory for further processing.
Carpet of straws on the road
Driving on the “Raagi” bundles is a different experience,.General tendency is to speed up once you get on the bundle of ragi sticks. Might not be a good idea as there is not enough friction between the tyres and the bundle of sticks.
After what looked a eternity, I finally reached the village of Kokkare bellur. If you are expecting to see a signboard which will point you to a “bird sanctuary” or similar, you would be disappointed. It took a while for me to realise that there is no designated place where you need to head to. I did see many cars go up and down the village trying to look for a “Park” where they would get to see pelicans. Finding none, all headed back. Not wanting to go back without seeing a few birds, I wandered into the village and parked in an open field.
As i stood wondering where to go, company came calling in the form of an 13 yr old boy who volunteered to guide me around :-) . Thanks to him , I did get to see quite a number of Pelicans perched on a couple of tree tops. Did manage to get some close shots of the birds. As I was leaving, he asked me for a “blue pen”. Luckily I found one in the car and gave it to him. The smile he had on seeing that was awesome. I left the place with a sense of fulfillment :-) .
mah local guide :-)
The best time to visit here is between Jan and March, when the painted storks arrive here as well. The Simha river which flows through this village is also a nice place to have some time off :-)If you pack enough eatables, you could spend the entire day in peace and tranquility here watching the birds or on the banks of the river. After spending some time here, I headed back again through the barrage of Raagi sticks on the road and by the time I hit the main road, I had collected enough of raagi sticks in the undercarriage of the car to make a meal for two :-)
Raagi straws collection
[
Dear Karthik,
You seems to be an expert on the places around Bangalore :-)
It was indeed a pleasure to know about the Raagi straws, an interesting concept. And yes the blue pen reminded of the blue umbrella :-)
The last two pictures are missing.
Now I can see the last two pictures, seems more like a problem of my browser.
Manish, Thanks for the comments.
The laying of the straws on the road are a common sight down south. I remember seeing such practice when I used to visit my native town during my school days :-)
Am not an expert on places, but love to explore places that are less known :-)
Nice post Karthik, really liked it. It made my morning good :-)
Thanks for the comment, Neha :-)
Seems like a good day option from Blr.
I think I would never be able to motivate you enough to have the right-sized pictures :-). 5550 X 350 is the best size.
What is Raagi ?
Nandan, Its a nice outing for a day as u said. Not very far and at the same time peaceful environment.
As for your question on Raagi, here is a reference link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_millet
Cheers
Karthik
I love travelling too and taking pix.Can anyone suggest me the best camera for travellers??Would be delighted to get suggestions.
Hi! Nandanjha!Woukd like to give my inputs on Surajkund mela.How to go about it??
Rachita – you mean, you want to write a story on ‘Surajkund Mela’ at Ghumakkar ?
Thanks for the link.
I now realize that its fairly popular back-home as well, its our Jowar/Bajra. Back home , its called ‘Marua’. Raagi sounds much nicer though than Marua.
Well written
I went there too, last year in June, after what seemed to be an interminably long drive on a horrid albeit scenic road off the Mysore BLR highway. No pelicans then but we saw quite a few painted storks and other storks roosting on the village trees. As you said, the village kids were very sweet and helpful.
this month is the end of the session, now few birds are there…not more…….
if any more information for Kokkarebellur pz contact Mr.Mahadevaswamy..9591125400 and this is my no..9880317149
I recently visited Kokkere Bellur. I suggest you visit after Jan 15th. Read about my trip there at – http://www.travelingbeats.com/blog/trip-kokkere-bellur-bird-pictures
The right time to visit the Kokkare Bellur…. If more information please contact me this is my no..9880317149…. My name is Devaraju.M
The right time to visit the Kokkare Bellur. If more information please contact me this is my no..9880317149. My name is Devaraju.M
please call this no +909535633860…
Dear sir, Madam and friends………
The End of the season (no birds)……
Dear All,
Please dont mistake me my cell no is change from 9880317149 to 9535630860….
Im from Kokkare bellur, If any more information about birds please contact me.
Devaraju M, my cell no +919535630860. (my no is changed)