Gopinatham mystery trails

Gopinatham is the birthplace of Veerappan, a bandit who killed thousands of Elephants and more than a hundred people. He was also a sandalwood smuggler. Naturally, the hometown of such a person can only become infamous. The inhabitants suffered a lot because of the atrocities of the bandit and interference from the Police.

Things changed positively after the death of Veerappan in 2004. Karnataka Forest Department opened a few trekking trails in the forest area. I went on one such trek from MM Hills to Gopinatham with an overnight stay at Nagamale. Gopinatham looked like any other village in India. Gradually, memories of the trek faded, and I did not think much about this village. Later, the forest department stopped all trekking activities inside the forest.

Recently, Jungle Lodges took over the camp run by Forest Department in Gopinatham and threw it open to the public. Having been to many of their properties, I had a pleasant experience most of the time. Their property at Gopinatham looked beautiful, and when the opportunity came, Chaya and I decided to spend a couple of days at Gopinatham.

Drive to Gopinatham

We took Bengaluru->Maddur->Kollegal->MM Hills->Gopinatham route. The road conditions varied a lot. Road widening was in progress between Bengaluru and Maddur. Maddur -Kollegal was a decent stretch of single-lane road. Kollegal – Hanur stretch was in repair at many sections. The rest of the road was in ok condition.

The last 50 km of the road was through forests, and we enjoyed the drive. A Series of hairpin bends brought us to the temple town of MM Hills. All the altitude we gained had to be lost while reaching Palar at the Tamil Nadu border. The journey from Palar to Gopinatham was next to the Kaveri river. The river forms the border between the states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. We observed that the river did not “flow”. The reason was the backwaters of the Mettur dam pushed till the Hogenakkal waterfall.

On the way to MM hills, we encountered hundreds of people walking on the road for religious purposes.

The total distance was 230 km, and we took about 5.5 hours to cover this distance. Not bad, considering the ghat sections and a few rough stretches.

At Gopinatham

We settled into the mystery trail camp at Gopinatham. It was in a great location next to the lake. Here are some activities we did.

Jeep safari into the forest

It was a short drive in the forest. Unlike evergreen forests in western ghats, the Kaveri wildlife sanctuary has shrub and dry deciduous forests. Also, the density of animals is low. I do not know the exact reason, but there should have been a healthy population considering the water availability in the Kaveri river. We only saw a few spotted deer. We knew about this earlier, and we were not disappointed. The forests always look great!

Anyway, the area is rich in avian life. We did spot many birds during our safari – Kingfishers, babblers, warblers, woodpeckers, swifts, Imperial pigeons etc. Some rare ones like white naped tit and European bee-eater were lifers for me.

P Srinivas memorial

P Srinivas was a forest officer who was part of the Veerappan nabbing team. He worked a lot for the development of the villages and their people. But he naively believed that he could persuade Veerappan to surrender. Veerappan indeed invited Srinivas into the forest through his people to surrender. Srinivas went into the forest near Gopinatham, and while he was washing his face in a stream, Veerappan shot him from behind and later beheaded him. His head was found several months (or years) in the forest. It happened in 1991.

A memorial is now constructed at the place where he was shot. An anti-poaching camp is also built next to the memorial. It is located deep in the forest between the big hills of Nagamale and Malleshwara Temple hill. We felt that air of melancholy surrounded that area. It is truly inspiring and tragic to see people in the frontline sacrificing for the rest of the public who are shielded from such incidents.

Coracle ride in the lake

On one of evenings, we went on a coracle ride in the lake next to the camp. It gave us an opportunity to view surroundings in a different perspective. We also could go near to the migratory birds which had set up their nests. Unlike the ones in Ranganathittu or other bird sanctuaries, these birds were not used to human movements and flew away on observing any disturbance.

The lake is also a great spot to view sunset. As the sun goes behind the hills, the vibrance of the sky provides an enchanting experience. We just sat next to the lake and enjoyed the experience.

Next to the lake is a small temple dedicated to Muneshwara. The statue looks attractive and is worshipped by locals.

Hogenakkal falls

A well-known tourist spot, Hogenakkal waterfall, is just 14 km from Gopinatham. We had visited the falls a few times before, but we visited again as the waterfall was beautiful!! This time we were entering from the Karnataka side. Due to its remote location, the Karnataka side attracts few visitors (Less than 5% of the total visitors). The majority of the tourists are devotees coming from MM Hills. Tamilnadu’s side is located closer to the people from Bengaluru. But on the brighter side, the Karnataka side is less crowded.

We had to take a coracle to get to the falls. There is no clarity about the price. It ranges from Rs 700 to Rs 1500 per coracle based on various parameters and your bargaining skills.

Overall experience was similar to the one we had on the Tamilnadu side. Karnataka side does not have facilities like oil massage, but it is much cleaner due to lesser crowd. There is a parking space, toilets and small eateries in the area. We did not see any places to stay.

Nature walk

We went for a morning walk on the periphery of the village and into the forest. As we walked, the sun came out of the surrounding hills. A great view, I must say. We also got a closer look at the life in that village. The cattle population is very high in Gopinatham, putting pressure on the forest.

Is there anything related to Veerappan in the village?

His family does not stay in the village. We understood that his relatives are in Gopinatham, leading their own life. Apart from the memorial of Srinivas, there is nothing today to associate this place to the bandit.

Return journey

We returned from the Tamil Nadu side. The route was Gopinatham->Palar->Mettur->Toppur->Dharmapuri->Krishnagiri->Hosur->Bengaluru. The roads were in excellent condition, and the highway after Toppur was a tolled road. But we missed the forest and the ghat section of the Karnataka side. The drive on the Tamilnadu side was “boring”.

Information and tips

• The only place to stay in Gopinatham is the Jungle camp. MM Hills, being a religious location, has many accommodations.
• The route to reach Gopinatham depends on the location of your house in Bengaluru!! I liked the Karnataka side for its scenery, even though the roads were rough in certain sections.
• It falls in rain shadow season and receives little rainfall. The summers will be hot.
• BSNL is the only mobile operator that is available in Gopinatham.
• Jungle lodges call this property a camp and not a resort. Gopinatham Mystery trails camp is not luxurious when compared to its counterparts. But overall, they try to maintain their standards. Also, prices are lower.