Trek to Kumaraparvatha

Date: Nov 17-18, 2007

Mission: Trek to Mallalli falls-Kumaraparvatha (1712 mts height)-Kukke Subramanya in 2 days

Prologue: Anybodies trekking profile is incomplete without setting feet on Kumaraparvatha. This trek is considered to be the most beautiful and equally tough one in the western ghats region. We decided to fix mid Nov to conquer KP so that we could halt in the open on the peak overnight without getting hit by rain and lightening, get to see lush green panoramic view and enjoy the chilly weather as well ! The initial group of 10 reduced to 7 (me, Suny, Karthik, Vamsi, Sandeep, Raghu L and his friend Mukesh) 3 days before the trek. Suny was excited all along since the desitnation had the name Parvatha tagged to it. We boarded the Rajahamsa bus to Somvarpet at 11 pm from KSRTC bus stand on Friday, Nov 16. Half of the bus was filled with people going to KP as there was an other group of 7 and a group of 3 apart from us. I had arranged for sleeping bags and mats rented from http://www.bmcindia.org/ for all of us. Raghu L was our unpaid guide as he had done KP trek from Somvarpet side couple of years back !

Day 1

The bus reached Somvarpet at ~5.30 am. Our breakfast finished we boarded the bus to Bidalli at 7.20 am. 1 hr of journey in the jam-packed bus brought us to Bidalli which is the starting point. After distributing sleeping bags and mats we started to Mallalli falls at 9 am. To go to KP/Mallalli falls one needs to take a deviation towards Mallikarjuna temple. There is almost a tar road road to the temple which is ~3.5 km from Bidalli. To go to Malalli falls we had to take a deviation to the right along this road just before the first house we get ~500 mts from the main road. We dropped our rucksacks at this house and set out towards falls which was ~ 3 km from here. En route we saw some people carrying pigs whose legs were tied to a pole and taken to slaughter. I thought it was a wild pig but later learnt it was not. Near the falls there was a temple where a small festival was going on and pigs were meant to be taken for slaughter there. We reached falls at ~10.15 am. The other group of 7 were already there. We had reached top of the waterfall and the scenery around was excellent. I didn't get into water bcoz of some personal reasons [:)] while the rest did.

We left the falls at 11 am and reached the house to collect our rucksack and started towards Mallikarjuna temple which was ~ 3.5 kms from here. The road was steep, we gained some altitude and reached the temple which was the end of the road at 1 pm. Not wanting to waste any time we didn't go inside temple and set towards KP immediately along a well marked trail to the right of the temple. We arrived at the forest check-post to get permission to trek and enter Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuary which costs 115 Rs/head. Our lunch break in the form of dry chapatis/teplis with chutney pudi from Nilgiris was beside the stream soon after forest check-post which was also the last source of water till next day morning. We left the stream at 2 pm and the trail now entered thick canopy of forest and became steeper. Even though it had rained 10 days back the trail was dry without any leeches. The trail was almost well marked and we reached the view point at 3.30 pm and needless to say the view was spectacular. We started again after a short break. Some fellows in our group who were known to sprint ahead while trekking were falling behind due the weight of rucksack ! At 4 pm we were at the base of a rock slope inclined at 60 deg and ~25 mts in height to be overcome. There were two more such slopes after this although they were shorter and easier. We took almost 1 hr to overcome these 3 slopes. It requires excellent rock climbing skills to climb these if it rains. Another 30 mins, we were on KP peak at the right time to catch magnificient sunset and our mission for day 1 was accomplished. We had trekked continously for ~8.5 hrs except for a 45 min break at the falls and view from the peak compensated any tiredness. We collected dry wood to cook maggie and set campfire. With the aid of petrol we got the fire going in no-time and maggie was ready by 7.30 pm. We settled for the night inside the sleeping bags and I guess the temperature at night must have been ~8-9 deg. I slept wearing 2 jackets and 2 pants and still felt cold. A 3 member group had trekked here for the 5th time and all in different season. Other groups including one who had hiked from Kukke had tents but I believe sleeping bags with mats are sufficient unless it rains. Had it rained we would have been in complete mess. I woke up sometime in the middle of night to see zillions of stars and some shooting stars.

Day 2
We were up early at 6 am on day 2 to watch sunrise. KP or Pushpagiri is a cluster of 3 peaks: KP itself, inaccessible Siddhaparvatha and Sheshaparvatha which lies on the way to Kukke. The morning sun rays unmasking Siddhaparvatha looked gorgeous. We had run out of water to cook avalakki/poha for breakfast. Me and Karthik set out to find water and we struggled to get 2 lts of water which was available in small trickle along the 70 deg slope on the way to Kukke which was 10 mins from the peak while the rest got busy to make breakfast. With breakfast finished we left the peak at 9.30 am towards Kukke which was ~14 kms from here. There was only one way to go along the 70 deg rock slope which was ~25 mts in height. Sit and slide. We took 15 mins to arrive at the base of this precarious slope and in another 15 mins we were on Sheshaparvatha where we got the best panoramic view during the whole of the trek. After taking few solo photos of everyone (mainly for matrimonial purposes !) we started again for our next stop at Girigadde Bhat's house for lunch. Forest check post near Bhat's house and Kukke was visible from here onwards and we stopped for a while near Mantapa to refill water. This stretch offered excellent views of Bisle, Pushpagiri and Sampaje range. Just before the forest dept. check post there was a view point with seats where we rested for a while. We showed the receipt at forest dept check post and arrived at Girigadde at 1.30 pm. The groups who had left before us from KP had informed the famous Mahalingeshwar Bhat about us when they arrived here and the lunch was ready.

After taking a much needed rest and having chit-chat with Mr.Bhat we left Girigadde at 3.30 pm. We took 2 hrs to cover 5 kms to Kukke through dense forest and most of us had to drag our legs as ~25 kms of hiking in the last 12 hrs had started screwing our back and legs. During this stretch we hoped a King cobra to appear right in front of us as we had missed sighting any wildlife along this trek while one of the group who had halted on KP a little far from us had sighted bisons in the night. We arrived at Kukke at 5.30 pm and realized that no lodges were willing to give us accommodation probably thinking about the amount of dirt/stink we were about to leave there ! We found one beside KSRTC bus-stand and refreshed ourselves. A visit to Subramanya temple and a simple but excellent dinner finished we boarded 10.20 pm Rajahamsa bus to Blore in which we had reserved tickets. Shiradi ghat being closed the bus travelled via horrible roads along Bisle ghat and arrived at Blore at 7.30 am. Had we travelled during day Bisle ghat would have been a treat to eyes as this stretch has the densest forest ranges in Karnataka along with Agumbe. A brief encounter with auto guys in Majestic made us suddenly realize that we had entered the world of civilization

Cost per person : Rs 950

Mullayanagiri-Bababudangiri revisited

Date: Sep 8, 2007

Mission: Trek to Mullayanagiri-BabaBundangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmangundi in 2 days

Prologue: Having got lost last time enroute to BabaBudangiri that too without a camera, this time we went there well equipped with a camera as well as a good mental picture of the Google Earth map of the trail. We had decided to trek to Sarpadari-Mullayanagiri-BabaBudangiri on day 1, BabaBudangiri-Gaalikere-Kemmanugundi on day 2. We 4 of us (me, Raghuram G, Raghuram L, Gins) were in Chikmagalur at 4.30 am on Sat, Sep 8th after travelling from Bangalore by Rajahamsa. Raghu G was the only other guy apart from me who were part of the group that made an unsuccessfull attempt to reach Bababudangiri last time. Gins suddenly remembered that he has got some serious work at his company and said he had return to Blore by Sunday but we decided 3 of us will continue to Kemmangundi from BBgiri. Raghu G had arranged for rented sleeping bags.

Day 1

As last time we bought monkey caps and bargained hard for an auto at ~6.30 am in front of KSRTC bus stand. Auto fellow dropped us at Sarpadari and warned us of very slippery path as it had rained all along. We started at 7.15 am and after ~15 mins I discovered that it was different than last time. Even though there was thick fog there was no wind. Gins who had braved trekking without any jacket was the happiest. True to auto driver's word the path was very slippery. I was falling behind as I was carrying the heaviest rucksack with food for everyone for 2 days inside it. We arrived at ~60 deg incline where the rest 3 carrying light rucksacks on their back went ahead, climbed and moved ahead leaving me on tenterhooks. I called Gins back to take care of my rucksack and only after I said it had food for everyone he gave a helping hand. We went to the cave just below the peak before entering the small fort with a temple and priests house inside it at the peak at 8.45 am. This time we had carefully planned to avoid breakfast at the peak by having it in Chikamagalur and were satisfied with coffee.

One more group arrived which was a mix of some people who had come up via Sarpadari and others who had arrived comfortably in a van. As we prepared to leave, the priest demanded an extra contribution towards the temple along with the money for coffee. We left Mullayanagiri at 10.15 am. We were really missing the wind which had made the steep descend soon after the peak look like a matter of life and death last time with capability of being blown away. But the thick fog was there all through the way till we reached KavikalGundi, the point of road intersection. We halted here for a while to munch some sandwiches added with Raghu G's copyrighted PJs.

We decided to skip the scariest part through the cliff and instead walk on the road till Atthigundi as it would have been very slippery on the thin ridge with cliff ! Midway Raghu L lost patience of walking on the road and decided to cut short and reach the ridge. After some steep climb we hit a patch of forest. There was way around the patch of forest to reach the ridge but Raghu L's enthu to enter any damn forest found us making way inside this dense patch of forest with leeches on the legs and thorns on our jackets and skin. After ~30 mins we came out intact and with some moderate climb we reached the ridge where we found the path from Kavikalgundi via the cliff. We rested for a while and continued northwards till we exactly came to the same point where we got lost and returned back last time ! But again Raghu L's enthu to enter any forest came to the rescue. Last time one among the group of 7 had entered the patch of forest to come back perturbed telling that it lead to suicide point. But this time we entered the forest and came out of it after sometime to find a path leading out. Now luckily the fog got cleared and we could see the microwave tower just on the side but on the higher side of mountain. I felt guilty of having missed it last time but such was the thickness of fog that we couldn't have spotted the tower. We continued the path assuming that it will circumvent the mountain and lead to the tower but came back as it was leading away from the tower. We climbed to the tower station along the mountain slope on all two hands and legs as a slip would mean rolling down to the base of steep Budangiri mountains ~1000 mts below at break-neck speed.

We entered microwave station at ~3 pm to catch the Ind-Eng cricket match and have some bread slices. The guard at the station was very friendly. We left the station at 3.30 pm as Gins had to catch the last bus to Chikmagalur from BBgiri which was at 5 pm. We walked along the jeep track through the thick fog and arrived at the tar road. We visited Manikyadhara falls and reached BBgiri at 4.30 pm. We had some snacks at one of the two tea-shop present in BBgiri. With Gins hell-bent on departing, Raghu L who is also Gins's co-employee lost all enthu for 2nd day's trek to Kemmangundi and started finding vague reasons like getting lost in the fog (which was a possibility though), food ration, non-availability of guide etc. As an answer to his prayers, a guide whom we found at BBgiri asked for Rs. 1500/day and we had to abandon our 2nd day plans.

We caught the 5 pm bus, had dinner and loafed in and around Chikamagalur till 10 pm. We caught Rajahamsa to Blore and reached Majestic at 4.30 am.

Cost per person : Rs 660

A Monsoon trek to Dabbe Falls-Kanoor-Bheemeshwara

Date: Jul 14-15, 2007

Mission: Trek to Dabbe Falls and Kanoor Kote in Sharavathi valley in 2 days

Prologue: On the night of Friday Jul 13th, 5 of us (me, Raghuram L, Raghuram G, Karthik aka goofy and Pavan) were headed to Kargal from Bangalore in Linganmakki bound Rajahamsa bus. Our intention was not to experience any scary horror stuff on the 13th Friday but to experience the splendour of Sharavathi valley in monsoon. Journey was comfortable and I had a decent sleep. But others were not so lucky especially Karthik who instantly obliged to get displaced to the back seat because of two girls who didn't want to sit at the back !

The bus went through Sagar, Jog and reached cloudy Kargal at 7 am. We had decided to trek with Mahesh, a professional guide from Sagar who charges Rs 350 pdph and L Raghu had done a trek with him along Dabbe-Kanoor Kote few years back. Monsoon was at full fury here with 10 cm/day average rains over the last few days and that was the reason we decided to trek with a guide. We had a great breakfast in the form of avalakki/poha at a small lodge in Kargal and were ready at 8 am. Mahesh arrived but said he couldn't come with us due to an accident injury but two from his team, Nayan and Kumar would guide us. In spite of telling before, Karthik and G Raghu had not brought water-proof jackets but were lucky to find a store selling it in Kargal. We left to the trek starting point Hosagadde (~15 kms) in a Sagar-Bhatkal private bus at 9.15 am.

Day 1

We got down at Hosagadde from the jam-packed bus at 10 am and started our trek at 10.30 am after distributing groceries, sleeping mats among ourselves. We headed towards Gowdara Mane near Dabbe falls which was ~3 km from here. The trail went through jeep track, paddy fields, hillocks with lush greenery everywhere. For sometime the path went adjacent to a raging stream. We passed a mini waterfall and reached Gowdara Mane at 11.45 am. Tobacco snuff powder mixed with coconut oil applied to legs had kept leech bites to minimum till Gowdara Mane. Leaving our bags at Gowdara Mane, we headed towards Dabbe falls which is ~45 mins downhill hike to the base of the falls. During peak of monsoon it is not possible to go to the base of the virgin falls but one could get down to a point where the awesome wall of water falling down from a height of ~100 mts can be seen and felt. The path was slippery and steep and we reached this point in 20 mins where only 3-4 people could stand and watch Dabbe falls. Oh...what a spectacle it was ! The heavy mist rising out of the fallen water coupled with rain had made us completely wet and we couldn't even take our camera out for a fantastic shot. We stayed here for 15-20 mins and reluctantly climbed back to Gowdara Mane in 15 mins. My right thumb had scratched a thorn or a sharp piece of stone while climbing down which later became sceptic towards the end of the day.

Lunch in the form of bread-jam and tea finished, we started towards Doctor's Mane near Kanoor Kote (~16 kms) at 2.15 pm. We were really running late as it takes 5-6 hrs to reach Doctor's Mane from here. The trail from Gowdara Mane-Kanoor village (~10 kms) is not a clear one and a guide/help of locals is necessary. Also overflowing streams seems to have submerged some paths. So after some moderate climb we entered forest. No need to explain that entering dense forest during heavy rains is asking for leech bites. We had crossed some streams after Gowdara Mane and the effect of anti-leech stuff on our legs were gone. I was wearing chappal to test whether chappal is more effective against leeches than shoes ! Found out the answer quickly. They are not. After sometime we hit an open patch and started to remove leeches. I had alteast 5-10 bites on each leg. We also applied some more snuff powder-oil combination and started, again to enter the forest. I realized that this was not the regular route to Kanoor which passes through landmarks like Shaale mane. Meanwhile L Raghu's rucksack gave up and we distributed some stuffs from his bag among ourselves. After sometime we had a feeling that we had lost the trail even with the guide and were just moving making our own paths through thorns, fallen trees and undergrowth towards N-W direction. Most of the time the space was not even wide enough for one person to pass through. I slipped and fell down few times so were others I hope ! It is not a nice feeling with leeches at your feet and you not able to move fast ! We had some more leech bites and came out to an open patch of land again. Leech bites had reached crazy proportions with one of us even getting a bite on the neck ! But the lush green meadows with dense forest valleys and hillocks beyond were an amazing treat to eyes. Most of the time we couldn't take out cam out due to incessant rain. We moved into forest again but after sometime we heard a stream. We reached the stream which led us to paddy fields and a hut. Inmate of the huts were delighted to find strangers and set us along the correct path.

We reached one more hut after sometime and this time the inmates directed us to a bridge to cross the river in order to reach tar-road towards Kanoor. We crossed the bridge (few wooden poles attached across the river with a rope to hold for balance) and reached tar-road. Walking along this road we reached one Ram Naik's house in Kanoor at 6.15 pm. We had walked in almost continuous downpour for ~6 hrs starting from Hosagadde and I had 15+ leech bites (the highest in our group !) plus few thorn scratches on each leg.

Now a debate started on whether to walk 2 more hours in darkness along a jeep track to Doctor's house or halt here overnight. Halting here would mean ditching Kanoor Kote-Gerusoppa trail as we didn't have enough time to reach Jog falls next day and we had reserved ticket in 7.45 pm bus from Jog. Finally the majority won and we decided to halt here. Our guide came up with an idea to trek to Bheemeshwara next day and we could head back to Jog falls at convinient time. We had to start early in the morning at 6.30. Nayan and Kumar cooked an excellent dinner with rice and sambar. No place inside my rucksack was safe from water and the return bus ticket, mobile I was carrying was completely wet ! I think even I lost my extra pair of rechargable batteries for digicam around this house.

Day 2

Day 2 started at 6 am and we caught the only bus from Kanoor towards Billigere (~9 kms) at 6.45 am. Enroute this KSRTC bus hit a parapet and some portion of the bus body got ripped off. The bus reached Billigere which was on Kargal-Bhatkal route at 7.30 am. Soon after we got down it started raining heavily and it looked like whenever we started walking during this trek the fury of the rain only increased. We walked on this road towards Bhatkal. After ~2 kms we left the road and walked through vast paddy fields to arrive at a house at 8.30 am. Our guide decided to cook breakfast here. There were lush green paddy fields in the front and dense forest to the back of this house. Soon the whole area was engulfed with clouds. Karthik was at the receiving end of the volley of PJs fired by Raghu G. After a delicious breakfast with Upma, Kesari bath we started towards Bheemeshwara which was ~1 hr walk from here at 10.15 am.

Again this not so well-trodden trail went through dense forest which started behind the house. Enroute we crossed a stream which had formed a small but beautiful waterfall. I lost count of number of streams we had crossed during this trek. Anti-leech stuff applied to our legs seemed to work this time as though leeches were abundant we didn't get too many bites. But there was more irritation in the form of abundant thorns along the path. It left itchy cuts on the skin and created few holes in my jacket. A continous downpour accompanied us till the end and we reached Bheemeshwara at 11.15 am. A sole priest lives in this place which consists of a small house, a temple little further with a waterfall right in front of the temple located amidst dense forest valleys with monsoon clouds kissing the hills. Just before the priest's house I slipped and fell with a thud for the last time in this trek ! Priest was not in the house that day and we went to the temple in 15 mins. The path upto temple had stone-steps but these had become extremely slippery. When we reached the temple we were amazed at the beauty of that place ! I for even one moment did not regret of having missed Kanoor Kote. It was a small temple of Bhima and Eeshwara and the waterfall at its peak-form right in front of the temple made the picture pefect. Water was getting sprayed even inside the temple. We sat under the icy-cold water for sometime. Again I couldn't get my cam out in front of the temple but captured it from a distance. We stayed here for an hour and went back to puje-bhattara mane. Nayan and Kumar had started cooking Poliyogure. After a hearty meal we left this heavenly place at 2.15 pm. The return path was a jeep track, was shorter and had fewer leeches. We crossed one more wooden-pole bridge and reached the Bhatkal-Kargal road right in time to catch the Bhatkal-Sagar bus at 3 pm.

The bus reached Kargal at 4.30 pm. For a moment Pavan became centre of attraction in Kargal town with a leech on his leg that had grown to a huge size ! We departed with our guides who had cooked great food and guided us to what was my best trek till now. We took another bus from Kargal and reached Jog falls at 5.15 pm. It was monsoon and Sunday. No need to tell that there was a maddening crowd at Jog falls. We didn't have enough time to go down and there was severe competition to grab any open space on the viewing platform in front of the falls . Somehow we found open space on the left most side and a sudden downpour sent the crowd back. Even though Jog falls didn't have a decent restaurant for our dinner there was a change room where I could change my totally drenched clothes to dry ones. We got into Rajahamsa at 7.45 pm and reached Majestic at 5.15 am. A BMTC bus ride to my home completed a wonderful trek with a determination to return to Sharavathi valley and trek to Kanoor Kote.

Cost per person : Rs 1377

Random snaps in Mumbai-Konkan Railway

Outside Hostel 12, IIT Bombay: Powai lake and Hiranandani gardens on one side & Sanjay Gandhi national park on the other


Marine Drive and Worli Sea face, Mumbai







Mumbai to Kundapura on Konkan Railway in Nethravathi express.

Trek to Silent Valley

Date: Apr 6-7-8, 2007

Mission: Trek 23 kms to Sairandhri in Silent Valley national park from Mukkali in Palghat Dt. and trek to Poochapara peak inside the valley.

Prologue: Silent Valley national park is in Kerala with ~90 sq.km located in Nilgiri ranges and probably the one of the few places in India to find the densest rain forest which was by default present everywhere in the western ghats but perhaps 100 yrs ago. Getting permission to stay inside Silent Valley or even visit it is easier said than done. But L Raghuram had (high-level !) contacts through his uncle with CCF, Trivandrum and we got permission to trek inside Silent valley. Unlike my other treks, preparation for this was well-planned with train tickets booked 1.5 months back to avoid holiday rush. But still 6 of us (Me, Raghu, Gaurav, Karthik, Vamsi and Venugopal) had to share 4 berths due to long waiting lists. We caught the Kanyakumari express from Cantonment station at 10 pm on Apr 5th.

Day 1
The train reached Palghat at 7 am next day. After attending to our morning duties and breakfast in the station we caught a bus to Mannarkad which was ~35 kms from Palghat at 8.30 am. From Mannarkad we hired a jeep to our next destination, Mukkali (~20 kms) where we had to hire a guide and pay necessary fees at the forest dept office. Most of us including me experienced motion sickness during later half of this journey when the jeep ascended the ghat and Karthik even vommitted.

We arrived at the forest dept. office at Mukkali at 10 am only to be told that we can stay at Sairandhri (~23 kms from here) only for that night and had to return to Mukkali by next night. This was because DFO (Disctrict Forest Officer) was coming to stay there next day with his family ! We had planned to stay at Sairandhri that night, trek to Poochapara next day, halt again at Sairandhri and be back at Mukkali on Sunday ! Also no private vehicles would be allowed further and we had to walk 23 kms to Sairandhri but we were prepared for that even before we left Blore. They said the jeep track was under construction (We came to know later that the road was fine exclusively for DFO and they just wanted to discourage us !). Our guide Shiny who happened to be a forest guard at Neelikkal in Silent valley would be available only at 1 pm. After paying all the fees for entrance, camera, guide...at the forest office, we went to river Bhavani which flows just behind for TP till 1 pm.

Raghu was our mediator with his own version of Malayalam ! After buying provisions for that day's dinner, next days breakfast and lunch and having a hearty meal at the only hotel that serves veg food at Mukkali opposite forest dept. office we left to Sairandhri at 1.15 pm. In ~15 mins we left the jeep track, crossed a small dam and the climb began. The guide wanted to take us through short cuts. The hearty lunch had an immediate effect ! The hot sun and the absence of shades didn't make things easier. We passed the last human settlement and there would be nothing for the rest ~20 kms which consisted of Silent Valley buffer zone and was called Attapady forest reserve. The climb lasted ~1 hr and we reached the road again. But there was no sign of Venu who was way behind and Karthik who was with him. It was ~3 pm and we had 16-17 kms to cover before 6 pm. Finally our patience ran out. Raghu and Gaurav ran back and brought totally exhausted Venu who had all but given up this trek. After a few doses of glucose and getting assurance that there would no such climbs further he started again.

We took one more short cut that went through tea estates. After ~5 kms the sorroundings started to change. The forest cover was becoming denser and denser. With the help of the guide we spotted a giant malabar squirrel. We took a short cut again and this one went through really dense rain forest for a long time. We spotted a herd of endangered nilgiri langur. We rested near couple of streams and resurfaced again on the jeep track. We took some more short cuts managing through some really dense forest and were at Sairandhri dormitory at 6.30 pm. We just missed spotting a couple of deers as we approached Sairandhri. We heard them inside the thick jungle just 20 feet away. The jeep track ends at Sairandhri which is actually the entry point to Silent Valley and there are only walkable trails inside the valley.

We were the only privileged visitors inside the valley during that weekend. The dormitory was clean and the dinner cooked by the provisions we brought was good. We had to pack our bags by next day afternoon to accomodate DFO here. But Raghu had unfinished business and was keen on trekking to Poochapara peak which was another 2.5 hrs trek from here in the morning. It seems he had visited Silent Valley few years back but couldnt reach the Poochapara peak due to leeches. That night I had the best sleep as I didn't even hear loud noises just outside the dormitory which my friends heard and linked it to elephants !

Day 2
I went to the watch tower at 6.30 am and watched the beautiful sunrise. The highest peak of the valley, Sispara (~2300 mts) was also visible. Finally only Raghu and Gaurav decided to trek to Poochapara along with the guide. I thought that trekking to Poochapara, trek back to Sairandhri and then trek to Mukkali with a total distance of 35+ km on a single day was beyond my physical limits. I along with 3 others decided to enjoy a bath in Kunthipuza river which was ~10 mins downhill walk. This is the only river in South India without any human settlements on the bank for ~20 kms. We had fun in the river for ~2 hrs and while we were about the leave folks who had gone to Poochapara peak were back at the river. They had reached the peak in 2.15 mins and had come back in 1.30 mins and after I heard this I thought even I could have managed it ! I'm including Raghu's narrative here about his trek to Poochapara.

Well gg and I decided that we would go to poochapara peak (pp). The trek started with a nice descent and then crossing the kunti through a suspension bridge. This was followed by a steep ascent, which did take quite a bit of us. But once we finished this climb, we were greeted by the forests. The temperatures dropped. This path is the only path used by the forest guards throughout the year to trek to the poochapara base camp. So they have to carry all the supplies through this path. As we trekked we noticed lot of elephant dung, and both gg and I managed to step on fresh dung, which we mistook for a rock. By 9 we hit the spot where we decided to take the u turn 3 years back, and in 15 minutes we were at the base camp. We were offered black tea and guavas, along with water and lots of hospitality. The base camp is covered with elephant trench. We left the camp and headed for the pp. This climb was even more tiring than the climb near mukakli the previous day. We failed to keep pace with our guide.by 10:15 we hit the peak. The view from the peak was awesome. We could see vast stretches of rain forests, the anginda peak. The sighting of the watch tower was akin to seeking a needle in a haystack.

After spending some time being comfortably numb, we decided to return. This time we had to hack our way through the forest until we hit the trail. That was fun. There were sections where our guide was 10 feet from us and we could not see him. On the way back we saw lion tailed macaque. But by the time the camera came out, they had vanished. We could easily spot the black face covered with the white mane. The return was even faster and we hit the river by 12:15. A 30 minute dip in the river preceded the reunion with the rest of the gang.

After another hearty meal and photo sessions on the watch tower we left Sairandhri at 2.30 pm. We had an offer to go back to Mukkali in forest dept's jeep but we turned it down ! The return path for some distance was different than the one we came and included some ascent. There were more short cuts and we even visited a small waterfall. After ~30 mins we were on the jeep track. Now tired legs had to be dragged across the stone ridden jeep track for ~15-17 kms. Other than spotting a giant malabar squirrel and a deer for a fraction of second on the way it was boring. We reached Mukkali at 6.45 pm. Raghu and Gaurav were limping towards the end. We stayed at the forest dept dormitory at Mukkali that night, had dinner at the same hotel there and played cards.

Day 3

Next day we had time till afternoon to recover from ~45 km trek (~60 km for Raghu & Gaurav). We lazily got up, had Appam for breakfast at the same hotel, played cards and went to river Bhavani . Some kids were jumping from a rock to the river and our folks decided to emulate them. We had planned to visit Mallapuzha dam near Palghat on our way back but it went awry as everyone dozed after lunch. Before leaving Raghu had a lengthy conversation with a forest official.

We left from Mukkali at 4.30 pm, caught a bus to Mannarkad and another one to Palghat and were there by 6.30 pm. We had dinner at the best available veg hotel (according to Raghu !) in Palghat. We caught Cannanore-Yesvantpur express at 9.30 pm and we had reserved berths for the return journey. I should say that we did the trek in the worst possible season: peak of summer. Had we done it soon after monsoon it would have been a great trek.

Cost per person : Rs 1350

Trek in Wayanad

Date: Mar 17-18, 2007

Mission: Trek to Chembra Peak (~2100 mts), the highest peak in Wayanad.

Prologue: This trek was not decided till the evening of Mar 16, Friday for the simple reason that there were no seats in any bus going towards Wayanad. Somehow I became the organizer of this trek ! Finally 5 of us (Me, Suny, Karthik, Raghuram L and his friend Prakash) took the Tuticorin-Mysore express on Mar 17, Saturday at 7 am and were in Mysore by 10 am. After a good breakfast at Mysore we boarded a (Kerala)RTC bus going to Kozhikode from Mysore to Kalpetta at 11 am. This bus was coming from Bangalore ! Consequence of ill-planned trek: no seats were available till Sultan Bathery (~110 kms from Mysore). Going via Bandipur and Muthanga wildlife sancutary, we reached Kalpetta (140 kms from Mysore) at ~3 pm. Our centre of activity was Meppady ~10 kms from Kalpetta and we were there by 3.30 pm. Raghu had done some half-hearted attempt to trek to VellariMalla peak in Wayanad before but not to Chembra and knew the places.

Day 1
This was summer and our Chembra trek was scheduled next day early morning which was the only way we could hit the peak. After obtaining the forest dept. permission to trek to Chembra we found the one and only lodge in Meppady. The room was clean and had a TV set so that we could watch the ill fated India-Bangladesh WC match. With nothing worthwhile to do till night, we hired a taxi and went to Soochipura waterfalls expecting a small trickle of water. To my surprise there was quite an amount of water.

Day 2
Next day we got up early and after hearing the Men in Blue's surrender to Bangladesh and Pakistan's exit from WC we left the lodge at 6.30 am. We took auto(s) for ~7 kms to the Chembra estate which was the starting point. The sunrise looked great with mist and clouds on top of hills with tea estates. Me and Raghu came out of the auto and started clicking fotos in all directions. We started the uphill climb at 7.15 am from the watch tower. A local group of people soon overtook us. We reached the famous heart shaped lake at 8.15 am. Water was dirty and not potable. The Chembra peak looked inviting with clouds around the peak. Even at the lake we were above the clouds.

After a brief halt we started again. There were 3 mountains to be conquered before hitting Chembra. The scenery till the 2nd mountain was dry with grass destroyed by forest fires. Once we passed the 2nd mountain it became greener. We were also to witness a spectacle. The sun had almost come up and the clouds were moving up or evaporating right in front of us. One side of Chembra was completely covered by white clouds while on the other there was green dense forest. We met a group of Foreigners going down who said they had ascended Chembra from south but it was very steep. The climb near the peak was steep with loose stones and we had to crawl a bit. Prakash was getting tired and need some dose of motivation to reach the peak. We hit the peak at ~10 am. Here there was lot of greenery on all sides. The local people who had overtook us in the beginning had climbed down Chembra ahead and had started ascending another peak in front of us which was higher than Chembra ! They were shouting and I couldn't understand the intent of it. There was another peak beyond that one which we later came to know as VellariMalla (~2300 mts) but it didn't belong to Wayanad dt. Even the peak to the left of us was almost at the same height as Chembra. A solo trekker reached the peak after some time and he said he climbed the peak in 1 hr 30 mins (of course...he didn't have any backpack) ! We had bread slices and some oranges for breakfast and decided to climb down from south. We had to follow the forest fire line and it would lead to the heart shaped lake. A guide who reached the peak with his customers told us not to venture into forest where we could find bisons, leopards and not to mention cobras.

We started our descent at 11 am. We reached the forest fire line in just 5 mins. From here the trail turned left and it became steeper with slope of ~70 deg. But the tall grass assisted us from slipping and gave us a grip. Of course there was no possibility of sighting any wild animals with so many people (including us and the local group who were sitting in the forest) making hell lot of noises. The trail turned left again and now we were moving between the valley of Chembra and other peak almost same as the height of Chembra. The solo trekker soon overtook us. The path till the lake was good where we moved between tall grasses and had adequate shades. After a brief halt at the lake we started again and we reached near the watch tower at ~2 pm. The path from lake to the watch tower was dry and boring with hot sun beating us down. We met lot of people who were climbing and I was sure nobody would have hit the peak in this weather.

We managed to convince a jeep fellow (hired by someone else) to drop us to Meppady. We caught a bus to Kalpetta and were having a good Malayali vegetarian lunch there at 3 pm. All of us wanted to be in Blore by night (especially Raghu who said there was ChandraGrahan at 5 am next morning and he had to be at home by that time !) . We waited for more than 1 hr at Kalpetta for a bus to Mysore. Folks in our group were becoming restless thinking that I was supposed to manufacture a bus right there and take them to Blore. Finally (Kerala)RTC arrived at 4.45 pm and we were in Mysore to have dinner at 8.30 pm. A KSRTC bus brought us to Majestic by 12.45 am. This is very good trek especially if done soon after monsoon.

Cost per person : Rs 675