[vijayols]

How often does the itch to trek hit you? For anyone who has been bitten by the trekking bug as often as your schedule allows you I guess. For any normal person a start on saturday night in a cramped TT for an over night journey followed by a 14 km trek in rain,sunshine and cold and a return journey the same night by the TT would never sound inviting.But for a trekker the allure of the trek notwithstanding the obstacles is worth the effort as the sheer ecstasy you experience after reaching the summit and enjoying the journey along the way is a not to be missed experience.

Being part of several trekking whataspp groups one of which was a team of trekking enthusiasts who have trekked with India Hikes before I jumped at a post sent by a fellow trekker Arjun who had proposed a trek to Kodachadri.

We were a total of 9 who enrolled for the trek including a friend Vishal who had not trekked with IH before.The forum incidentally has no such restrictions.The plan was to board a TT from given pick up points with the schedule as mentioned earlier.

Kodachadri has religious significance as proudly explained to us by our homestay host Dr Bhatts wife from Parvatha Home stay.

Legend has it that Goddess Mookambika (a form of Parvati) fought the demon Mookasura and vanquished him at Kodachadri. Adi Shankaracharya who was a devotee of the Goddess did penance at the top of Kodachadri hills with the intention of persuading the goddess to follow him to kerela where there was no existing temple in honour of the goddess.Pleased with his devotion the Goddess agreed to follow him to where he wanted to head but with a condition that she would follow him and at no point of time should he turn back to check on her.The spot where he turned back would be the place where she would reside.

Adi Shankaracharya agreed to the condition and was reassured of her presence by the sound of her anklets.At one point near Kollur while crossing the Souparnika river he failed to hear the sound of the anklet and instinctively turned to check on her leading to the goddess seeking refuge at kollur where the historical Kollur Mookambika temple is situated.She acceded
to Adi Shankaracharya's wish to reside in kerela during the morning and return back to kollur by midday. Hence the popularity amongst the Malayalees to complete the circuit by reaching kollur and then proceeding by walk or jeep to Moola Mookambika temple on the top of the kodachadri hills.

The locals obviously are proud of their history and traditions.

Back to the story of the 9 trekkers who embarked on this journey.Kudos to Arjun who single handedly (with help from IH folks) arranged the logistics part of the trek from arranging a reliable TT to booking a comfortable homestay with all meals served or packed and even coordinated suitable pick up points.









The adventure part for me starts and culminates with the TT drive.It's an engineering marvel how a vehicle could be designed for maximum discomfort and with zero basic features like a seat belt.Invariably TT drivers also tend to be huge video games fans and tend to manoeuvre the vehicle at 80kmph speed typically in video game fashion.

Vijay our driver was hooked on to his earphones and I unfortunately was stuck in the front seat staring at the road and Vijay to ensure he was wide awake.Once he braked hard and my leg crunched against the metal part of his seat and that was enough for me to compromise comfort for safety and I placed by duffel back in front as a airbag.Thankfully by around 2.30am we got off the highway at Chitradurga and the traffic and Vijay's speed reduced considerably. Never preferring to drive at night I was wonderstruck with the traffic who prefer night travel to day travel.

We reached our home stay by 7 am without any incidents and were welcomed by our host Dr.Bhatt and his lovely wife who were fussing over us like caring parents.

After a hot shower we made our way to the breakfast table where we had hot dosas,idli with chutney and sabzi and a flask of hot coffee.Mrs Bhatt ensured we were well fed and was kind enough to make a fresh cup of tea for me alone as I am a morning tea person.

A word about Parvatha home stay.This home serves a clinic for Dr Bhatt who like old fashioned doctors has his doors open for patients even at 2 am in the morning,as well as a homestay for travellers looking to explore Kodachadri and nearby places like Kollur Mookambika temple,Hidlumane falls(which we would see in the trek),Nagara Fort,Mookambika wildlife sanctuary(which we would be trekking through),Jog falls and Agumbe.

It has clean beds and bathrooms(to accommodate 30 at any point),hot water availability and yummy local food with the intangible bonus of caring hosts.Costed us 1k without overnight stay including 3 meals,afternoon snacks and tea/coffee as well as medical consultancy for Vishal my co trekker!

So coming back to the main story without much ado the group of 9 well fed was all set to start on the trek to Kodachadri and we were blessed to have sunshine as well as rains ensuring a great trek other than the small incident I had at the end of the trek.But more on that when we get there.

[vijayols]

A group photo with the gang before we started.


Always would encounter wet grounds in the monsoons.


Man crossing the lush green forests is always a pleasure.But look out for Leeches!


The first meadows before the forest check post.

We were met by our Guide Gopal who was arranged by the homestay folks.The trek was 14 kms long and the first stop would be at the forest check post where our online registration would be checked and we pay the Rs 400 fees.Later we would halt at Hidlumane falls.

It was nice and cool weather for trekking.Each of us walked at our own pace but all of us ensured we were always waiting for the rest to catch up as we should in any team sport or activity.

Leeches were a threat (if could call it that) during any monsoon trek and this was no different.We were fairly prepared with socks soaked and dried in dettol and a packet of salt handy.Experience has taught me that prevention goes a long way in ensuring they do not bite by not only doing what I had mentioned above but also not staying put at a single spot.If we do manage to spot a leech sucking blood then either use a lighter to wean it away or spray salt on it but avoid pulling it off and this would lead to itching for a coupe of weeks.

The terrain was lush green with a well laid out mud path and puddles of water everywhere.The sun was up but the thick canopy of trees ensured it did not hit us directly.Rains were playing hide and seek and I took a call to keep off the poncho till it became significantly stronger.

Me,Isha,Arjun,Vishal and Priya were the lagging group initially partly due to the fact that my trek pant ankle zipper had come off and both Priya and Isha were kind enough to stop and help me fix the same.

It was a up and down path for some till it opened up to a nice meadow with a house and above all for most network availability The first time since we had since morning and a chance to inform worried folks at home all is well.


As we approached Hidlumane falls.








Lush green Fields as soon as we set off from the check post.Pouring rains.

We all had a breather at the check post making our entries and meanwhile the drizzle had graduated to be a downpour and all our raincoats and ponchos were out.

Immediately we crossed green fields and then hit the forest once again.It was now slippery especially when we had to cross the brown rocks which were moss covered and Vishal slipped twice.Holding his hand to help him I too fell as he pulled me down too and it was comical with me nearly falling on him.The good part is there were ropes tied to help support the climb especially in steep rocky ascends.











After all the slipping and climbing we reached Hidlumane falls which was gorgeous and in full glory.We all took turns in posing in front of the waterfall.


Naga giving his pose.

The fun part was crossing the waterfall to the other side and I went in first.The foam and wind made it doubly tougher and I was swaying and trying not to slip in the slippery boulders as I managed to cross.The others seeing my struggle wisely chose to cross in small batches holding hands for support.

From here the trail became steeper and we had to use the rope as support to navigate our way up.















As the tree line disappeared we could spot the rolling hills with lakes in the distant horizon.Looked so typically like Kudremukh.We were now on top of a hill with shola grass around us and we stopped for a quick snack and sip of water as we waited for the rest of the team to join us and took a group photo together.There was mobile signal again available here and we could see beyond the mist a hill where there were lots of jeeps parked.That was our lunch spot where devotees who chose to reach kodachadri by jeep stopped for a quick stop over.

A quick descend and a steep ascend later we too reached the the table top where we stopped to have lunch.The early bunch of the team including Poonacha,Arjun,Priya and me finished our lunch as we waited for the rest of the team to join in.Meanwhile the rains started pounding and I was starting to shiver.Had been carrying some fever(looks like could be a mild variant of dengue as my daughter too was down as I realized later and tested positive as I write this piece a good 5 days later after my return) and decided to start walking down towards the temple to keep my body warm.

Committed a stupid error of missing a fork and instead of heading up continued downhill alone till I realized my mistake 3 kms off the track.Managed to flag down a jeep heading down towards the home stay and informed the rest of the team that would meet them at the guest house.


The team at the table top 1.


Crossing the Hidlumane falls.


the team without me at the summit where the temple was.

So the silver lining for me was that I got to rest an extra bit in the guest house as I was literally burning with fever.Felt much better after a hot bath and a strong tea.

The rest of the team joined by 6.30 pm a good 4 hours after I was in the guest house as they were delayed by the late arrival of the jeep which got them back from the temple.

We all had a nice snack of chaat and coffee followed by dinner before we boarded the TT and reached bangalore by 4 am on monday morning.

Great way to have spent a weekend with the promise of many more treks together.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Aquitej]

We had been there 12 years back and it's a good vibe. Hope you guys had a good blood purification through leeches!

[vijayols]

He he he I personally escaped any blood bath but generally the leech incident was minimal for a monsoon trek.

[Kkumar]

Nice travelogue with beautiful photos. One small question, is this the same trekking route that the pilgrims take? Thank you for sharing.

[kkdeep]

Lovely photos. Is the trek 14 km one way or both ways?

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Kkumar

Nice travelogue with beautiful photos. One small question, is this the same trekking route that the pilgrims take? Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the appreciation@kkumar.As we all know photos seldom capture the beauty of nature and it was truly spectacular in the monsoons.

No the path we took is not the same for a majority of the journey.The pilgrims generally take a jeep ride to the temple with a stop over at the spot where we stopped for lunch.So the trek the pilgrims take is beyond the last jeep stop.The road to the temple is either through the Mookambika forest(which trekkers take) or through the mud road used by jeeps.

Most devotees take the jeep from Kollur Mookambika to the Moola Mookambika temple.

Originally Posted by kkdeep

Lovely photos. Is the trek 14 km one way or both ways?

So generally if it is a one day trek then its one way 14kms and the return to base camp is by jeep.It is a moderate-easy trek and though has its share of ups and down there are probably only a couple of steep stretches in the trek.
Just enough to push you but easy enough to make it doable.

[mpksuhas]

Nice detailed trek report vijayols. Will be pinging you again as and when I am able to make this trek, this is one of the treks in my to do list.

You mentioned about the fees payment of Rs 400, so that means the system is not online as in some other treks? The Eco trails booking of KA forest department is not applicable for this?

[vijayols]

No Suhas.This trek does not show in either bangalore or belgavi treks on the eco tourism site for online booking and payment.

You however need to book a slot on kudremukhanationalpark.in with a government ID number which would be verified at the forest check post.Payment of Rs 400 plus a refundable deposit for a tag would be collected on the spot.Cash is advisable as network is poor there.

You can reach out to me for this or any other trek around Karnataka.

[vijayols]

Just a quick update on trekking routes in Karnataka.The trek routes in Kodugu and Chamrajnagar have been opened again after a gap of 8 months.However currently only 5 of the 23 routes have been opened and the rest are expected to be opened by the end of Oct 24.

Stricter rules on plastic pollution and only 300 trekkers per route per day so expect the treks to be choc o block on weekends with the many trekking companies booking slots.

The site to access and take permission is www.aranyavihaara.karnataka.gov.in

Happy trekking.

[Autofahrer]

Awesome trek. The view near the summit and the waterfalls looks fantastic. Great write up.

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Autofahrer

Awesome trek. The view near the summit and the waterfalls looks fantastic. Great write up.

Thank you @ Autofahrer.The western ghats are simply divine in the monsoons with greenery all around and the waterfalls in full glory.

Treks in Kudremukh are also amazing in this season.