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 B
idalli 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 a
fter 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 mi
ns 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 o
ur 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 cob
ra 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
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 B
idalli 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 a
fter 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 mi
ns 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 o
ur 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 cob
ra 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