[vijayols]

A moderate level trek through the Brahmagiri wildlife Sanctuary running through grasslands,sections of tree covered forest canopy,a couple of streams to cross over on wooden logs,a chance to spot elephants in the wild,a falls at the start of the trek and a culmination of the trek with a steep climb with a rewarding view of the undulating green peaks and all this within a day sounded enchanting enough for me to sign up when the team announced the plan for this weekend.


The vast Grasslands.




The beautiful Brahmagiri Peak













Couldn't dig out the history as to why this hill got the name Brahmagiri which translates to the hill of Brahma who arguably is the least celebrated of the big three Indian Gods, as most stories narrated by locals talk of references to the Ramayan albeit being contradictory in nature.One of the story mentioned by Poonacha a fellow trekker/friend that in his place Coorg it is believed that the river they worship Kaveri was the daughter of King Kavera and he was blessed with the birth of Kaveri after prayers and penance to please Brahma.This happened in the hills today called as Brahmagiri hills.The other story suggests that Lord Brahma was supposed to have built the Vishnu temple at Thirunellai.That of course is the beauty and fascination of listening to tales which makes interesting conversations, this time with the car driver who mentioned that on the advice of their Guru Lord Rama and Lakshmana were to set up a temple while Hanuman was searching for the whereabouts of Sita and when they made the temple without waiting for his return he was angry and scratched the hill which made a mark!The more popular version being that Rama and Lakshmana when in search of Sita stopped here and being thirsty Lakshmana shot an arrow to pierce the earth and unearth water which turned out to be the Lakshmana Teertha river which merges with the Kaveri downstream.

Hmm don't know when I would get over this habit of wandering away with my train of thought instead of focussing on the story.And what better way to start one than from the beginning?

So there was an announcement in our India Hikes Trekking Club-Bangalore Chapter mentioning a weekend trek to Brahmagiri with the objective to document the trek to help future trekkers and I jumped in late at the chance.

The plan was simple that we would be divided into teams each of which would be assigned duties like one team handling the route documentation including tracking on Gaia maps,one handling the photography,one handling marking important points and one smaller points like public bus timings,hotel timings etc and the process to book the trek and so on.

Trek Destination-Brahmagiri trek.

Location- Placed between the states of kerela on one side being Wayanad District and the other being in kodugu district in karnataka.The nearest town was Virajpet 250 kms away and an overnight journey from Bangalore.The Brahmagiri hill was situated in the Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary which was an extension of the Nagarhole and Bandipur forests connected by the kutta corridor.Approximately 181 sq kms in area and home to many birds and animals like elephants,tigers,leopards,wild dogs,sloth bear,sambar and barking deer,malabar giant squirrel,Great Hornbills,Nilgiri Langur,lion tailed macaque among others.

Terrain- Primarily grass lands with lush green forest patches and a couple of streams like Lakshmana teertha and Negilu Hole with a rest house called Narimalai Forest rest house a view point ,the Narimalai Hill and of course the
final destination at 5276 feet the Brahmagiri Peak.

Trek Routes- Being shared by two states the karnataka side trek which we were undertaking is the more difficult trail starting at Iruppu Falls/Rameshwara temple and covering a distance of about 11 kms one side and from the kerela end its starts at Thirunellai temple (Vishnu Temple) up to Brahmagiri peak covering a distance of 6 kms one side.

Trek Booking- We had to log in to the Karnataka Govt Website www.aranyavihaara.karnataka.gov.in and book the slot for the trek.In this case Kodugu District Brahmagiri trek and pay the fee and upload a govt document number to get the confirmation.There are 300 slots available per day and this trek is relatively less popular and easily available.
The start time mentioned is 8 am and return by 5 pm.

Bus Booking- We booked an AC sleeper bus to Gonikoppa from Vinayaka travels costing appx Rs 600 each way.

From Gonikoppa to Kurchi village(start point of the trek) our fellow trekker Upayan had arranged for a taxi which cost us Rs 450 per person both ways.Way cheaper than the auto which were present at 4.15 am when the bus reaches Gonikoppa who were quoting Rs 1200 each side per auto.Public bus is also available at 6 am.

Homestay Booking- A fellow trekker Puneet had booked a fresh up stay at Sherlock Homestay along with hot breakfast and packed lunch and cost us appx 700 Rs per person.This was barely a km away from the start point of the trek.

Breakfast options otherwise is a challenge as the local hotels catering to the visitors seeing Iruppu falls would tend to open closer to the 8 am start time.A bakery (Shabari Bake house) was open at 4.15 am at Gonikoppa for chai or basic bakery snacks.

What to Pack for the trek- Would suggest as a checklist an extra pair of clothes,a torch light,cap,2 litres of water,some snacks,a sweater(as it gets cold in the morning both at Bangalore and Gonikoppa,Trekking shoes to wear for the trek,a poncho,battery pack for mobile charging,a towel,cutlery for food,tiffin boxes for packed lunch and a eco bag to collect waste on the trail.We also were asked to download Gaia or all trails app which on hind sight was a necessity. This app needs a KML file of the route to be downloaded and opened in this app to give the GPS trail of the trek.This is essential as there is no mobile network and can be a life save if lost.

Trek dates-We were to catch a late night bus on friday reaching on saturday morning when we would trek and take the saurday night bus back to bangalore to reach on Sunday early morning.


The Trek map.Courtesy India Hikes Documentation team.

So the final lot of 21 trekkers assembled at Majestic bus stop and boarded the sleeper bus.Since we were in such huge numbers we practically were the major passengers in the comfortable bus.Would recommend this bus for its comfort though I as usual couldn't catch a wink of sleep.(Confirmed this on my Garmin watch which recorded no sleep data both ways.Don't what is with me and sleep while in travel or in tents.Do not seem to catch any sleep).

The bus stopped once for natures call and chai and dropped us on the dot at 4.15 am at Gonikoppa (A few kms before Virajpet)about 20 kms away from Kurchi village where our stay and the trek start was located.

Upayan called our transport who arrived shortly in 3 cars while we noted the options to get to Kurchi for our trek documentation.Autos seem to be always available.The other options like I mentioned was asking the home stay to arrange for a car or wait for the public bus at 6 am.

The early morning drive through the plantations was thrilling especially as we nearly hit a pair of hares which crossed the road in a flash.We thought we had killed them but an inspection confirmed that though injured the hares seemed to have made it.A dramatic start to what turned out to be an action packed day ahead!

We were given 3 rooms to freshen up at the Sherlock home stay which was neat and the bed looked comfy.There was hot water available and fresh towels.That surely was a luxury not to be missed for a trek.

Breakfast was hot dosas and chutney with some masala omelettes thrown in along with tea/coffee.Service was with a smile which was refreshing.



Packed lunch was pulao with raitha/Boiled eggs and they gave me recyclable plastic covers which I had forgotten to bring for ensuring food did not leak.

Would any day recommend this place if only for the service with a smile attitude not to mention the delicious hot food served.

Believing rightly that an early start helps we were ready with our packed lunch and bags bang on target by 7 am.The start of the trek was barely 500 mts away at the forest office gate located next to Rameshwara temple.

On reaching there learnt that the timings (though was pertaining to the more popular Iruppu falls)was mentioned as 8am to 5pm.Moreover checking with the forest guard there we learnt that the guides usually reach by 8.30 am or so and that too if they have been informed that there is a trekking group.



So the protocol looks like after we book the trek online we need to call the Forest officer (Naveen) 8050521417 or the local coordinator Sudeep on 9663172355 and inform them to tell the guides that a trekker has booked for the Brahmagiri trek so that they could be present there on time.The guides 5 of them in total of which one stays in the Narimalai Forest rest house (to take care that the electric fence is switched on and be present for night duty) and the others take care of duties like guides for trekkers and fire tracking jobs and basic patrolling duties.

Our guides Jai (who was the lead) and Gagan (trail guard) reached by 9 am when we started our trek.The guide fees are extra at Rs 500 per batch of booking(Max of 10 per booking).Tips of any are at the discretion of the trekkers.A basic instruction was given which included silence on the trek,wearing of neutral color dress with orange/white and other bright colors a no-no,not throwing plastic on the trail and that of we were to spot animals especially elephants on the trek then based on the advice of the guides we may have to cut short the trek and return back.Apparently the animal especially elephant-man conflict had increased over the years and elephants were up to the trick of not getting scared by fire crackers or air gun shots but would attack if threatened by humans.

While waiting for the guards to turn up a few of us explored the places nearby and Anil found that just behind the Rameshwara temple the Lakshmana Teertha stream flowed.



The hotels near the entrance mainly catering to the tourist crowd visiting the Iruppu falls opened just before 8 am so for anyone reaching at this point breakfast or chai is an option here.

Just around 9 am our group of 21 and an additional 4 trekkers of another group were all set and excited to begin our journey.The initial trail was a cement path with a few steps leading straight to the falls while we took a right deviation towards the Brahmagiri hills.The team responsible for the trail mapping (included me in the lead)started recording on our Gaia app.This coincided with the already mapped trail downloaded from the KML file.

[vijayols]

Attachment 2725818

As with most treks the initial bit is a climb though not too steep.Immediately we encountered some hanging wires which we were told by Jai were electric fencing with 9.8V power to keep animals especially elephants away.We walked sometimes on either side of the hanging wires avoiding contact with them.Little did we know how later in the day we would be dying to reach the safety of these and wishing they were just around the corner!


The 9.8V electric hanging wire Fence.Being on the right side of this was safe.

But that is getting ahead of ourselves.For now the excitement was in seeing droppings of animals which we were told were wild dog droppings as well as the familiar giant droppings of elephants.What a thrill it was to walk under the tree canopy with thousands of green and red leaves strewn on the ground mulching the fertile soil.


Plenty of Elephant Dung.


Paw marks of a 2-3 year old female Tiger.3 days old.


Tiger Markings.

Suddenly we heard a rustle amongst the trees only to geta fleeting glance of the Giant Malabar squirell which scurried to the safety of the tree top before we could capture it on our phone camera.

Could not have asked for a more thrilling start to the trek.A trek through forests is always a pleasure with the uncertainty of chance animal sightings,the sound of feet on dry leaves,the green tall trees surrounding us and the sounds of birds in the air.Wow!Pure Bliss!











Crossing a few metal bridges we made our way to the first significant waypoints of the trek and our first source of clean water. The Lakshmana Teertha stream or river. Stopping here to soak in the beauty and taking a few photos we then proceeded with a steep climb to see the tree cover now broken with vast grasslands. As we climbed we could see on our right a hill. The first question unlike the donkey in Shrek was "Are we there already"?
And as is the norm every time the first hill we see in seldom the hill we need to scale. Jai told us that this was the Narimalai Hill. The monolith rock surface led us to the view point.We waited for the team to reach and relaxed for some time.Dry fruits and Chikkis were exchanged and all of us hydrated.
There was a watch tower nearby.Gagan the guard said that there was a threat of elephant encounter and that we may have to take a final call when we reached the next view point on whether we would turn back.We started onwards and crossed a small wooden bridge across a stream before we spotted the Narimalai Forest Rest house.This was fenced totally for protection.Earlier years this used to be a 2 day trek with an overnight stay in the rest house with prior booking which has now been discontinued. The forest guard stays here overnight for monitoring the forest.


The Narimalai Forest Rest House.


The Climb to the View Point.


The watch tower


View Point.











The path ahead was more open grasslands and we went wild filming dramatic walks through the tall grass opening out to vast grasslands and a hillock where we were to stop and access whether we turn back.Gagan was trying his best to make tell us that there was definitely elephants around and we need to head back for our safety.Some one from the group made him call the Forest officer who instructed him that if we were fit enough then we need to proceed till we actually spotted an elephant at which point we would need to turn back.This news made us all happy as we were here to complete the trek.

The route ahead was again a mix of grass stretches with sporadic cluster of forest trees till we reached our next waypoint and source of water.The Negilu Hole.Crossing this was tricky as there was a bent tree trunk on which we needed to balance and cross.We all did safely.

More walking through grass land when we could spot a couple of hills with one of them having a distinct Fire track to prevent forest fires from spreading and on crossing a pass between the two we could get a clear sight of the lovely Brahmagiri Hills.

And what a sight it was!A steep hill with a cluster of trees in the centre. Probably a 45 degree or more incline with a bald patch at the top.We learnt it was actually a elevation gain of 500 feet and a distance of 500 feet to cover.Just looking at it made us doubt our capability though each of us had done so many treks before. Also as we all know it always is easier than how it looks.





The guides stayed back and so did John who took a call that it was a battle to be conquered some other day.(John was 60 but extremely fit).The rest of us started at our own pace.We could see trekkers already at the summit waiving to us which we were told were trekkers who had trekked from the kerela side from Thirunelly.That was as we could see a far gentler ascend and also a much shorter trek hence the trek is generally described as easy-moderate.

The ascend till the cluster of trees at the centre of the hill was challenging but easily doable as we had plants to hold on to and footholds to balance.Post this for the final push was when it started getting trickier as the terrain in the bald patch was loose gravel/scree and small stones and the incline was also much steeper. The fear of no foothold and the slippery ground underneath the feet was that a small mis-step and we could easily roll back. But climb all did at our own pace and congratulations were in order when we were on top of the world for the moment.We all took selfies or snaps with the beautiful background around us. Apparently we could see most of the major peak of karnataka like Mullayangiri,Baba Budangiri and Kumara Parvat to the distant Kudremukh range.On clear days we could see Kolaribetta,Doddabetta and Mukurti peak (The highest peaks in TN) and the peaks of Kerela Bansura and Chembra.(All this info was courtesy Upayan and the India Hikes team research and the peak finder app, as for me as a layman all I could see were several hills and grass all around.




Chilling and enjoying some photos.


The whole group except John.

We had our lunch and had a quick nap as we waited for all the team members to reach the top and cheered them as they made the summit.Also had a box of Dharwad pedha from Thakur Singh Pedha who have a swanky new showroom in Gandhi Bazaar selling their heavenly pedhas.The calorie rush was well earned.

The descend was certainly the more fun part as most of us chickened out and used our bottoms to slide down the loose gravel part not daring to stand up and take the chance of balancing ourselves to descend.Was Humiliating but effective.Post the tree section it was easier to descend only to see the guides and the faster trekkers waving to us frantically to be silent.As we approached them we could see the reason for their excitement as we could see a lone Tusker grazing away at a distance.We scramble to take long shots and videos as well as wait for the others to reach us as we all had to silently move here in a single fie from here to safety.We did manage that but seriously the thrill of seeing an elephant in the jungle while on foot with the omnipresent danger in the air was something to be experienced.









The walk till the water source where we all were desperate to fill up on our water bottles was the second water source the Negilu Hole.After we had all refreshed ourselves and had some water,not to mention negotiate the walk across the bent tree log was when we had an incident which for me at least
would make this trek something I would remember for a long time.

Shortly from this point we had a couple of fallen trees which we had to climb and jump over which on 99 times out of hundred if we did this we would land safely.But this was to be that 1 % where a fellow trekker Anil had a fall and hurt his knee.His right knee was probably twisted and he had a sharp pain as he tried to get up and walk.I was just behind him and after we made attempts to ease his pain by using a pin relief spray etc it was apparent that there ws no quick fix solution here.It was a good 7- 8kms to reach the Irrupu falls gate from here.A small group helped Anil by giving him support around his both arms and walking slowly with him.The rest of the team pitched in walking slowly and waiting for us to catch up.As we progressed slowly we realized that it would be an uphill task to reach the safety of the electric fence before daylight ended.This became more apparent as we reached the next water hole the Lakshmana teertha source and from here it was mainly a small team of Puneet,Aniket,Suresh,Upayan,Gagan the guard and of course Anil and me who ware lagging behind the group.

It was surely now a race against time with Time being the clear odds on favorite to win the battle.Gagan was not making things easier by constantly reminding us that either the Tusker we had spotted or other herds would be likely to confront us when the safety of daylight would no longer be available.Tigers and wild dogs were also other threats present.

Someone in the team then suggested to give Anil a Combiflan as a pain relief tablet to enable him to walk faster.That helped but our speed was still slow and it was apparent we could not push Anil to go faster.It was sheer grit from his side to keep pushing despite his pain.Upayan then moved on to help arrange for a taxi when we reached the gate and it was just the 6 of us who were racing against time but still confident of making it before 6.30.

I found it commendable that the youngsters with me refused to abandon the small team and soldered on as slowly but surely thanks to the constant chatter from Gagan about how we were all risking our lives fear gripped all of us I am sure as daylight abandoned us and we were still several kms away from the gate.

The terrain was also sloping downwards and with the dry leaves which looked so serene will ascending now for an injured person was slippery.The torchlight for us now were our mobile phones with Puneet and Anitej alongside Anil and Suresh just ahead of them using his phone light to guide them.A sort distance away I was convincing Gagan to slow down as we could surely not leave one of us behind despite it being dangerous for all of us.Acting a bridge between the two groups holding my phone torch so that the group behind could see us we slowly made progress.The safety of the hanging electric fence was our immediate target which seemed to be a case of so near but yet so far.The effects of the pain killer had worn out and Anils knees were in pain again.Luckily I had a strip of Ibufren pain Killer in my bag and gave him a tablet.Hopefully it helped relieve some pain.It was past 7.30 now and it was pitch dark.Later Puneet said he spotted some fire fly like lights which could well be eyes of some animal but he was too scared to even glance back in that direction.The forest sound of cicadas amidst the silence was eerie and I was checking our surroundings for any presence of animals with my phone torch hoping that we didn't find any.

At around 7.45 pm we finally saw the hanging wires and boy wasn't it the best sight of the trek.For me it beat the summit views by a mile.

From here it was a short 15 mins walk to the gate where Upayan,Gagan and others were waiting for us with their fingers crossed I am sure and trying to call us on our non existent network to know where we were.

Immediately 4 of them including anil took a taxi to Gonikoppa and some hospital hopefully to treat him.We thanked Gagan and tipped him for also putting his life at risk and hanging on with us.

The other 2 cars were waiting to drop the 4 of us to Sherlock resort where we could freshen up and leave.However as Anitej was feeling hungry me and Puneet stayed back with him with one of the cars to check out if one of the hotels who had thankfully kept it open knowing that we were yet to return would have some kind of food or even just chai.Luckily he had some tomato rice and maggi to offer along with pineapple juice for Anitej and tea for me and Puneet.The hot food in huge quantity was more than enough for our dinner(However I underestimated the appetite of the younger guys Puneet and Anitej as they went on to have dinner at Gonikoppa too!)

A nice refreshing bath albeit without hot water as it had got over by the time we had reached there at the resort.

The others departed for dinner at Gonikoppa just before we had to board the bus at 11 pm.Luckily hotels there are open serving dinner till 10.30.

Was dead tired by the time the bus picked us up (But still couldn't a wink till Bangalore) and we got down at Majestic bus stand at 4.15 am.Got an ac bus to whitefield and was in the comfort of my bed by 6.30 am.

One of the points we discussed post the trek was to have a contingency plan to mitigate these incidents the next time we trekked.But that is for another day.

The team has been working furiously to document the trek details and should be live on the India Hikes site soon for any trekker to use as reference to trek to Brahmagiri.

I also wish to thank the team for using data from the document as well as photos to pen this blog.

[Aditya]

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

[Kartik Kumar]

Lovely narration vijayols! Nice pictures too. This trek is an amazing one and you have documented it well. Reminds me of the time I trekked this with my wife, more than 20 years ago. Didn't make it to the top since we stopped about 100 meters before the summit, that last patch was very loose (just like you described) and we were exhausted by the heat (having started late at 9.30 and it was April). Also coming down was an adventure much like yours since it was a race against time as we had to cross a stream before a small herd of elephants reached there (we spotted them in the distance and the guide said they were making their way towards that stream) and it was getting dark around 6.30 pm.

The trek from the Kerala side is via a place called Pakshipatalam which is supposed to be nice as well, starts from Thirunelli temple and is shorter as you said.

We spotted elephants and a lone sambhar as well.

We got a guide after making a request for one from the forest office at Srimangala and he arrived and trekked up and down in chappals! Effortlessly too.

An amazing place and amazing memories from 20+ years ago.

But with Indiahikes documenting this, more folks will do the trek and the earlier experience of no one around will finally be lost.

[Devdivin]

This is by far my favourite trek in Kodagu. I make this pilgrimage atleast once a year provided the conditions are right. Multiple times we have been denied permissions stating possible naxal movements/ increased elephant or tiger presence on the routes & the most common one is extreme weather especially during the monsoons. All of which seems like legit reasons to stay back if you ask me. I have spotted tigers here atleast twice but again for us in kodagu this is not a very uncommon thing. We have one that ventures into my coffee estate atleast once a year& then the forest dept. has to bring in elephants to chase it away back to the forest.

[Kkumar]

Vow that was a wonderful article with excellent photographs. You have well documented the entire trek so that this article can be used as a ready reckoner by anyone planning a trek to Brahmagiri. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar

Lovely narration vijayols! Nice pictures too. This trek is an amazing one and you have documented it well. Reminds me of the time I trekked this with my wife, more than 20 years ago. Didn't make it to the top since we stopped about 100 meters before the summit, that last patch was very loose (just like you described) and we were exhausted by the heat (having started late at 9.30 and it was April). Also coming down was an adventure much like yours since it was a race against time as we had to cross a stream before a small herd of elephants reached there (we spotted them in the distance and the guide said they were making their way towards that stream) and it was getting dark around 6.30 pm.

The trek from the Kerala side is via a place called Pakshipatalam which is supposed to be nice as well, starts from Thirunelli temple and is shorter as you said.

We spotted elephants and a lone sambhar as well.

We got a guide after making a request for one from the forest office at Srimangala and he arrived and trekked up and down in chappals! Effortlessly too.

An amazing place and amazing memories from 20+ years ago.

But with Indiahikes documenting this, more folks will do the trek and the earlier experience of no one around will finally be lost.

Thank you karthik for liking the post.

Looks like things haven't changed from 20 years in the trekking scene.The trek still started at 9 am or so though we were hopping for an early morning start.

The final summit was tough because of the gravel and had a friend replying that it was even more challenging in the monsoons as they fell several times.
I guess the ideal time to visit is between september to early february for the best weather conditions.

Also wanted to add that the India Hikes documentation link for the Brahmagiri trek is www.indiahikes.com/documented trek/brahmagiri-peak-trek-coorg in case this helps trekkers with more details.

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Devdivin

This is by far my favourite trek in Kodagu. I make this pilgrimage atleast once a year provided the conditions are right. Multiple times we have been denied permissions stating possible naxal movements/ increased elephant or tiger presence on the routes & the most common one is extreme weather especially during the monsoons. All of which seems like legit reasons to stay back if you ask me. I have spotted tigers here atleast twice but again for us in kodagu this is not a very uncommon thing. We have one that ventures into my coffee estate atleast once a year& then the forest dept. has to bring in elephants to chase it away back to the forest.

Wow.We did have a relatively easy trek in comparison it seems.