Trek to Kumara Parvata..

Amidst the usual daily chores, my mind & soul awaited for a compose relaxation. An invite from Prashanth to join his select circle of friends to a trekking expedition provided me the much needed shift. I readily agreed to join his team. The mission was to scale the much sought trekking summit of Karnataka, Kumara Parvata. It is the third highest peak in Karnataka preceeded by Mullayyanagiri [in Chikkamagalur] and Tadiyendamol [in Madikeri]. I had no clue of the chosen route in this walk, but remember having heard from my trek freak friend that it was a moderate to difficult journey.

We all met as decided at the Majestic Bus-stand at 10:30p.m, awaiting the bus to KushalNagar at 11.11p.m. Once the bus arrived, we unloaded all our trekking paraphernalia in the belly of the Airavatha. The day's work at office made all of us to doze off within minutes the bus started its onward journey. It was the conductor who awoke us up @ the destination. It was only 4:30a.m.Everyone were reluctant but finally, forced our energy to get off our seats and down the bus. We got hold of our belongings and bid good bye to the Airavatha....

The climate was much colder than the AC inside the bus at KushalNagar. We were prepared with our jackets and overcoats. We went to the nearby bus station and found a place to continue our sleep. Prashanth, Jyothi and Rama went around securing a lodge for a couple of hours. Once they were back, we all started walking towards the "Parampara" lodge and prepared to refresh ourselves. We were all set by 7:00a.m to start our trail. But by now the climate had a drastic makeover with the ever smiling sun rising up the sky..

Inside the Parampara Lodge at KushalNagar - Reddy Bros.

All set for the trek - outside the Parampara Lodge at KushalNagar

[Left to Right] First Row: Vivek, Mahesh second Row: Prashanth, Myself, Pradeep Third Row: Rama, Jyothi, Adireddy

The misty weather at KushalNagar – around 7-30 am

We got on to the bus to Somwarpet with our entire luggage. It was a private transport service bus which was quite OK. We reached Somwarpet at 8:15 am. We could find a decent restaurant "Hotel Durga" with plans to have sumptuous breakfast. We were left to have Idlis with just sambar, for the chutney was yet to be prepared. [We were in the hotel for almost half an hour & there were no signs of the chutney to be ready..] Some guys went on to buy some fresh tempting apples for each one of us. Prashanth & Adireddy went in search of kerosene for the planned campfire but were back in vain. Prashanth and Vivek went to the nearby Jeep stand to hire one to go to Bidadalli, which was the square one for the trek. Cheers for they were successful to get one quickly!

We got in the jeep and the driver seemed to have lot of information about KP, which is called Pushpagiri Betta in this region. The ride was a pleasant experience through the winding roads of Somwarpet. The pleasant drive slowly became very tiring one as soon as we entered the bumpy kachcha roads. It was only becoz of the Jeep were we able to move through the steep descents & ascents in the rocky, dusty terrain like roads. Along the journey the driver showed us our target mountain and suggested us to start the trek by visiting the Mallalli falls, where the river Kumaradhara cascades into the valley. We all agreed to his suggestion. The driver dropped us near the entrance to Mallalli falls.

Mallali waterfalls – first view..

Water deep dive..

There were some developmental works going on to construct a view point to this water fall & hence we got to met few laborers there. Being the onset of summer, the water level in the river had shrunk & the river seemed like a small stream. It was a pleasant experience to see the gorge and the water descent into it. The view of the water falls from the top was just not satisfactory to us & we wanted to descend down to shake hands with the river. Reaching the bottom of the falls was hindered due to the construction work which was going on. The laborers told us to follow another path to reach the top of the cascade, which was much better. The gurgling sound of water guided us to the top of the water falls. Each one of us got ready in our shorts to spend some time in water. The water was very cool & fresh. Watching the cascade from the top-view was another exciting experience!!

Water rushing from the Top to dive..

After an hour or so, we were back on our way to reach Bidadalli, the start point for the trek. There is a decent tarred road from this water falls to Bidadalli. We started walking through this road admiring the greenery we could see & reached Bidadalli by around 11:30a.m. We had empty water bottles & wanted to carry some lifeline along with us. A lady at that place guided us to the nearby water tap [just behind the Govt School there]. We quenched our thirst and filled up our water bottles & got set to continue the trail. The tarred road continued all along till we reach a temple. But as we approach the temple, the ascents become very steep almost 75 degrees, which was very tiring due to the hot noon sun just over our heads.

Continuing the Trek…..

Tarred roads along our way..

There was some water we could get near the entrance to the temple. We performed our ablutions to enter the temple. It was the temple of "Shantha Mallikarjuna" [means Shiva in silent meditation] . The temple was very spacious, with small sanctums to all the members of Shiva's family [ Goddess Parvathi,Ganesha & Subrahmanya].

“Shantha Mallikarjuna” - Temple

Deity inside the sanctum sanctorum

The temple's priest was a warm person. Once we all assembled he performed pooja to God. He was very kind to offer prasadam & food to us in the noon. There was a big Bili Sampige [white champak] tree which was around 700 years old as told to us by the lady in the temple. We were lucky to have lunch under this huge tree providing a cool shade. Finally we had some photo sessions with the priest near the temple.

Temple – Priest amidst the trekkers below the Dodda Sampige Mara.

Once we were done, we offered our prayers to the Lord again and took leave of the priest. He showed us the way to continue our trek and told us that most part of the trek now would be in the deep forest and that we do not get water till we reach the peak [as the streams would have dried up due to summer]. Our trail now was through the un-tarred paths. We quickly reached the forest check post, where we had to take permissions to continue our trek. The forest guard was a cool guy who briefed us about the dos & don'ts in the forest.

In front of the forest office – ready with the visaJ.

With the permit now, we were ready for the mysterious trail through the lush forests of the Western Ghats [called Sahyadris in Karnataka]. The entrance was embarked by a hanging bridge of bamboo fastened with iron rods. Walking through this shaky bridge was another memorable experience. This led us to the path through the deep forest.

The hanging bridge at the entrance of the forest

We quickly started ascending and descending smaller mountains along the path. The forest was very thick with some trees labeled with their botanical names by the forest department. We were amidst huge mammoth trees in the forest with sunshine peeping through their leaves.

Jyothi fascinated amidst the diverse flora

Trek through the thick forest way..

Posing for a snap - Jyothi, Rama and the huge trees..

As we trekked further, we were broken into two groups. Prashanth, Adireddy, Rama, Jyothi & Myself walking together followed by Pradeep, Mahesh & Vivek coming along. The trail was around 6Kms from the forest check post to the peak. There were sign boards to the peak after every 0.5Km distance. The trek was quite moderate for almost 4Kms. After which our strength was tested by almost vertical rocky cliffs. We encounter 3 such cliffs along the trek of which the first and second are the toughest, the third was quite easy. It was the small crevices along the rocks which helped us to climb them with confidence. Having our shoes on was another advantage. On top of these cliffs the view of peaks around us was just solid!! From the last cliff it was another 1Km to reach the zenith of our conquest. We waited for the other group of our friends to join us.

Tough cliffs along the trek.

Adireddy in full swing - atop the cliffs...

Jyothi, Rama - posing for a snap after the tough climb

Myself - A deep breathe of fresh air..

Prashanth - The Hot Mangalore Model

Mahesh, yes you can do it..

Pradeep and Vivek - A YES & NO??

But even after 15-20 minutes of wait, there were no signs of them. Hence we thought that it may take a while for them and we continued our trek. It was around 5:00p.m when we reached the top. All the fatigue in us was wiped out as we stepped on to the peak of KP. It was just a great joyous moment for each one of us. We were enthralled by the breath taking view of the surroundings, the valleys, nearby peaks and the clouds justing floating below us!! It was a moment to capture as many possible views through my eyes, sit silent, appreciate & thank the Creator for his magnum opus. One can perceive the divinity in nature at this place with ease! There were several other people who had arrived/were arriving at the peak [from the other route via Kukke Subramanya] and had started camping for the night.

Beauty of the bountiful nature!!

Prashanth in Wonderland :)

Watch the back drop in this snap..

We strolled around the peak in quest for a secure place to camp for the night. Our passion to see the sun-set was troubled by the dense clouds. With no other go we had to drop this off our minds.We quickly found a niche covered up by bushes on one-side. We quickly occupied this place, unloaded our belongings and started to nibble some snacks we had carried. We just rested for a while eagerly waiting for the rest of our mates to arrive asap. Prashant, Adireddy, Rama, Jyothi went around to gather some wood for the camp fire at night and I stayed there guarding the luggage. I started quiver due to the biting cold outside as the lights dimmed. By then our second group of friends had arrived. It was just another happy moment for all of us to cheer after the marathon journey. We were chatting and having some great time pass as the dusk started to set in. Now it was time for us to start the camp fire. It was quite a tough task to get the fire on when the winds were quietly turning it off. Finally Adireddy & Jyothi were successful to win the battle against the wind. The camp fire provided us the much needed warmth and illumed our encampment. It was now time to add firewood when required and keep the fire alive. It was 9:00p.m and we started to feed on the chapatis & hot pickles we had packed for dinner. Now it was time for some photo sessions in the night mode.

Warm up session, post dinner ...

It was now time for us to lay back and do some star gazing. We were novice in astro physics and hence went on identifying some basic stellar constellations, planets and stars in the clear sky. It was merry experience to observe that few of the stars hid behind a layer of thin clouds as soon as they floated above us for a while. It was 10:00p.m and was the hour to declare for the day!! We secured some 6ft by 3ft plots & went inside our sleeping bags there. It provided our bodies the much needed relaxation. Good nite!!

Don't let the fire die!

It 5:00 a.m when every body had woken up and I was the last. The bon fire was still burning. Thanks to Reddy brothers!! Now it was time to just sit around the fire and warm up ourselves.

Too cold in the morning ... eshshsh!!

We were now invited by Nature to the ceremony of sun rise. We all went to one corner of the peak awaiting to welcome the Sun. Truly this was one of the best sun - rises I have ever seen. One can catch glimpses of the layers of the sky getting painted in red [which is calledAruna - charioteer of Sun] as the sun rises sluggishly behind the peaks in the western ghat ranges. It starts uncovering all the evergreen peaks in its surroundings one by one! The flock of birds rising up in the sky from these forests in another wonderful sight.

Arunodaya - Guess the various shades in the sky

Unveiling of various hidden peaks

The ultimate source of energy - Aruna - Suryodaya

Jyothi brings light

It was 7:00 am and we were now all set to descend the peak. We started packing all our baggage. We did not forget to completely extinguish the fire. With everybody set, we started to march down via the Kukke Subrahmanya route. There was an almost vertical rocky cliff at the beginning of this path. This would need some watchful climb down along the rocks. After this we could find some small stream as the only source of water. We finished our morning chores of brushing and freshening up by collecting water from the stream. Filled up our water cans and started to have our breakfast [The menu: Chapatis, bread & cake]. Our bodies got charged up for the descent.

All set for the descent

SiddaraBetta - An excellent view

Marigundi - The Mystery

We continued our trail along the down ward path, to reach the Marigundi view point which was a scary deep valley of mountains. Also we could see the nearby Siddara betta, a majestic rocky mountain. After this we continued through the descend and ascends through the grassland regions all along. The path was curious for everywhere along the descent there were two diversions, leading to the same point. One of the diversion was a smoothened route while the other was rocky one. At some places there were steep descents of the grasslands along both sides of the path. We could reach the Mantapa along the route.

Mantapa - a important view point

The scorching heat of the sun made us a bit tiring. It was grassland everywhere and no shelter. By around 10:30a.m I was at the "Bhattara Mane". I quickly got rid of the sweat dripping on the face and secured a rejuvenating cup of Tea prepared by the Bhatt family.

After this I had to wait for the rest of the guys to arrive. There were many groups, who had already arrived and were having breakfast. By around 11:30 am, every one of us were in Bhatt's house. We placed the request for 8 meals, which got ready by 12:30 noon. It was a full meal with rice, curry and curds. Soon after the lunch, we paid for the meals [ it was Rs.50/- for each meal] and got back to have a small nap in the areca nut plantation farmland of Bhatt's family. When it was 1:30p.m, we were all set to continue to descend.

The grassland region

Traversing, may be 1- 1.5Kms, furthermore, we enter the dense forest region. Though the forests gave us shade from the noon-sun, it was quite hot inside. Now we had to traverse another 5kms down to reach Kukke Subrahmanya. All along it was a tiring than the ascend, due to the steep paths with hard rocks and boulders. There are sign boards telling the distance covered. Ah! Finally by around 3:30p.m we were at the foothills of KP. We had completed our quest without any hurdles. Now we started towards the temple, which was around 1-1.5kms from the foot hills. It was a tarred road through the town. We quickly secured a room for Pradeep, Mahesh and our luggage to rest at the lodge.

Rest of us headed towards the Kumaradhara river at 5:30p.m in an auto. There is secluded place near Agrahara, along the river. Here the number of people are less and water was just clear!!. It was a pleasant experience to take bath in the river and get rid of all the fatigue. We spent some one hour in the waters. By around 6:30p.m it was getting dark and we were all done. We quickly visited the Shiva temple there. By then the auto had arrived. Along our way back to the lodge we visited Big Ganesha and Vana Durga temples. We quickly started off to the Subrahmanya temple and had the darshan of the God. There were many people in the temple that day and a procession of the God was going on inside the temple. We collected the prasadam and left the temple. We went to the nearby hotel to have our dinner. Reached the lodge to collect our luggage and started to head towards the railway station. The railway station is some 7kms from the temple. There were jeeps/sumos we could hire to reach the railway station [cost Rs.25 per head]. It was 9:50p.m and were just in time. The train [Bangalore -Mangalore Express] arrived at 10:00p.m. We got into our berths and thanked Prashanth for booking in advance. The train started after 15 minutes or so. A sound sleep was guaranteed as the train passed through the ghat sections of Sakaleshpura.We reached Bangalore at 7:00 a.m.

It was an excellent and memorable trek indeed!!