Events & seasons

The estates pick, pulp and dry through these months, and it is the only time of year you can join in rather than just watch. Mornings start early and the whole district smells of drying cherry.

Routes reopen as the ground dries, and the clear mornings make the summits worth the alarm. A certified guide is compulsory on approved forest routes.

The Bhadra runs high enough for rafting only in the months just after the monsoon. Outside that window the operators are not on the water.

Hebbe, Sirimane, Kallathigiri and Manikyadhara are at their most dramatic during and just after the rains. Several approaches need a jeep once the tracks soften.

Migrants arrive over the winter and the Bhadra backwaters are at their best. Early morning, always — by nine the day is over for birds.

Hot, hazy and empty. The falls thin out and some forest routes close for fire risk, but rates are at their lowest and you will have the estates to yourself.