Tadiandamol trek

I logged into my orkut profile as usual, in the updates I happened to see some pictures with green pastures all around with mist engulfed. The curiosity made me get into Raghavendra's profile and check them. He had been to Tadiandamol a few days back. I was shocked and took some time to actually believe that these pictures were taken just days before. Its summer and seeing such green pastures is a rare sight. I immediately thought of making it to that place and gathered more info. I spoke to Vivek, Munielgappa sir and then to Raghavendra regarding the same. I checked with my usual trekking pals and some of whom who had shown interest in treks earlier. None of them could make it for various reasons. I am grateful to the gurukula team for coming along. Vivek was the only one who couldn't make it sadly.

The plan was to leave early morning by 0600 hrs but as always we got delayed for reasons best known to us and kicked off our journey an hour later in my truck. Mysore road was more than willing to welcome us with light traffic. Driving through the road was a pleasure indeed. The first pit stop was Maddur Coffee day as its my tradition to visit that place. Quick breakfast was had and then the journey was resumed. After Srirangapatna, there is a deviation which leads to Rangantittu bird sanctuary. This is a short route to Hunsur road which could be taken to avoid going all the way to Mysore and then deviating. 20 kms later we hit the 4 lane Hunsur road and a few minutes later we reached the town. A left turn after the bus stand leads to Irupu Falls and Nagarahole which we happened to take. This was a circuitous route to Gonikoppulu.

In Nagarahole range many deer were spotted on the roadside. Since it was noon time we couldn't see any other animal. The extra distance travelled was realized only when we reached Gonikoppulu. From there we headed to Virajpet and kakkabe. Nalaknad Palace is at the base of Tadiandamol peak. The peak is the highest at 1745 meters MSL. It was 1500 hrs and we kick started our trek from the palace itself. There is a tar road which leads upto Jungle Boot camp which is about 2 kms. We chose to walk that distance though the road was very steep. After the boot camp, a jeep track goes upwards for a distance of about 1.5kms up to the second stream. Mid-way we stopped to have lunch with the view of the never ending green hillocks. While we were about to resume our walk, I saw a black snake cross the jeep track. It was easily 6 to 7 feet long. When I described about it to my co-trekkers, they said it was a rat snake. An attempt to look for it turned futile as it got into the nearby bushes. Once the second stream was crossed, the track narrowed down to a foot trail which looked like a path taken very often. It was an easy walk to the open grasslands. A pointed hill stood ahead of us which we assumed to be the peak. Another group was camping at the base of that hill. Since it was pointed, we too chose to camp at the base. Sam and Shankar went up to have a look if there is a possibility to camp on top. Shoba too joined them. While they returned, they came along with some of the other trekkers who had camped nearby. Among them there was Uma Shankar, an avid trekker and a naturist who resides in Hebbal, BLR. A conversation with him was indeed interesting and educative.

It was cloudy and misty, so there could be a possibility of rain. 6 people in a 4 man tent was not a good idea. Thanks to Sam for getting it. Shankar, Sam and I decided to sleep out while Abhishek, Prarthana and Shoba were to sleep inside. It was cold though it was summer. All jackets were out. We hit the bed pretty early. Middle of the night I woke up cause it was very warm inside the sleeping bag. I just happened to touch the sleeping bag outside, it had dew deposited on it and was all wet but surprisingly it was warm inside.

Day 2 started a little late. By 8 we began to ascend. All bags were packed and the tent was removed by then. We had company that early in the morning. It's a frequented hill cause it can be climbed in a day. Prarthana hurt her knee unfortunately while climbing up. Some how she managed to come along with us. Every time I looked back while climbing my eyes were overwhelmed with joy looking at the remarkable hill ranges. The hillocks continued to fade till it reached the horizon. In an hour or so we were on top of the peak. Our hearts were exhilarated standing tall on the highest peak in the midst of the Coorg range. Having breakfast at this height was a nostalgic experience. It's a feel good factor when you know that you are on top of the highest peak (though only 1745 mtrs above MSL) in coorg. A good one hour was spent admiring the encompassing hill ranges. A trail of humans could be seen in the path which we took which extended as far as a kilometer. It wasn't a good sign and hence we began to descend.

Abhishek and Shankar literally were running down hill. Greeting other trekkers who were on their way up became a routine. All had one question to ask. "How long would it take to reach on top?". We did reply to them politely but then some faces were happy while the rest were somber hearing to the approximate time which they would require to reach on top. Where you find humans frequenting, there you would find their traces which is evident. How? Litter everywhere. Many plastic bottles, wrappers and covers were picked up. By 1200 hrs we were down at the palace.

The Nalaknad summer palace though small had its own beauty. The rooms were inter-linked like a maze, one after the other. The walls were all artistically painted with human figures, but sadly many of it was whitewashed. The roof was nothing less; it was decorated in length and breadth with beautiful carvings. A two storey palace had a Darbar in the second floor where the king used to have his meetings with the courtisans.

Time to leave. We headed straight to virajpet and then got into some other route to Mysore. We decided to turn back though we had covered close to 10 kms as the roads were very narrow. Gonikoppulu was the next stop where we had a relishing lunch. The return journey couldn't have been better if not for the rains which cooled down the weather completely and made it pleasant. Driving through heavy rain is something which I always crave for. Maddur Coffee day refreshed our tired souls as usual. Reaching BLR by night completed the weekend programme.

Getting there: Bangalore – Srirangapatna – Hunsur – Gonikoppulu – Virajpet – Kakkabe – Nalaknad Palace. Bus frequency from BLR to Virajpet is good enough, however from Virajpet to Nalaknad Palace the frequency is very low.