Kudremukha Trek

One hears the name Kudremukh, and the first thought that crosses the mind is that it’s an iron ore company. True! But there is a lot more than just the ore. It is situated in the greenest patch of our state, the all famous Western Ghats. I had been here almost 15 months ago for a drive, it hardly took some time for me to fall in love with the Kudremukh range. The greenery which is seen round about you is something which would make your eyes seek for more. It requires an effort to take your eyes off them.

Being a trekker, I made up my mind to step foot on the hills of kudremukh where no wheel takes you. The time came in 2011 when it happened. We had to plan out almost a month in advance given that there is just one bus which goes to this place. Mind you, there is no direct bus to go to the foot trail of kudremukh. Hence you need to board a bus which heads to Horanadu, and get off it when you reach kalasa. There are local buses which would further transport you to Balagal. Anirudh had spoken to Rajappa who resides near the start of the foot trail to Kudremukh path. Rajappa had arranged for a jeep to transport us from Balagal to his house which is approx. 7 kms. It was an off road drive on a Mahindra 4X4 jeep with 11 people including the driver and our hefty rucksacks cramped in it. It was one hell of a drive which could prove a good testing ground for a jeep. It took a while for the team to reach Rajappa’s house. By the time we settled down at his residence it was close to 8AM.

Freshening up and hogging on the idlis prepared by his family, we got ready for the long walk. People aren’t allowed to camp anywhere near the Kudremukh peak or anywhere on the way other than Rajappa’s house. Hence, it would become a one day affair of going to the peak and returning on the same day. Rajappa was skeptical if we would return by night fall. Nevertheless we told him we would proceed and try to return at the earliest though its gonna be dark while we are returning. A guide was sent along with us to show us the way. We didn’t have much option of going on our own coz this area is not meant for wandering on one’s own. So, we had to oblige in taking the guide along with us.

Food stuff was the only thing which we carried as we left behind most of our belongings at Rajappa’s house since we would return in the night. Geared up for the trek, we started around 10AM. It was quite sunny when we started but we had little choice about the time. Marching forward we crossed the first landmark called onti mara (lone tree) which is found en-route about a kilometer from Rajappa’s house. Heading further we moved on crossing many valleys. Almost all the valley’s had a stream running in between. There was plenty of water in almost all the streams as promised by the guide. Clean chill fresh water flowed down those streams. The mineral rich water cooled the sour and thirsty throats and relaxed our cramped stomachs. The valleys were the only places where we could find some shade and comfort. The rest of the open land was glowing as the sun shot its rays everywhere. The heat was slowing the team down a little but we moved on ignoring.

The view of the landscape as we climb higher gets only better. Many ridges, valleys and open grasslands can be seen all along. It’s a mixture of all possible sorts. The clouds hovering above at times protected us by shielding from the sun. Else, we would have burnt a lot more calories than we did. The view ahead after crossing one particular valley after an hours’ trek or so, presented us a red carpet which extended all the way till the base of the peak. The scene was simply splendid! It was like the peak giving us a warm welcome. The grass had dried up by then in this particular patch but the colour of it remained red rather than the usual brown. This indeed stood out from the usual scenic beauties, which we find. The grass was an inviting bed, one would seldom ignore to rest but we only chose to sit and relax. Crossing many patches of this red grass we moved over to Lobo’s house. It no longer looks like a house but a ruined house would be the right description. It didn’t cross our mind to check out the place but we proceeded further getting into another valley. Every time we came out of a valley, we had such amazing landscapes ahead of us; we simply could only gaze at them. We had to ascend one of the hills ahead in a zigzag fashion to reach the top. The illusion created by the hills would deceive one’s eyes to assume that once we climb this hill, we would be left with little to reach the top. But the deception was for sure. Towards the right of the trail there was a huge forest which housed all kinds of trees, small to tall, young to old, thin to thick. Amidst all these there stood a ruined building which long ago stood as a church. A slight deviation from the trail takes one to the Church. One should appreciate the will of the people to build such a structure at this height. The labour, the strength, the faith, the belief could be a few reasons for the people who built this structure. But its unfortunate that such a structure lies in ruins this day. There flows a waterfall very close to the Church, probably at a distance of a few hundred feet. Once we were satisfied looking at the surroundings, we headed back to the original trail to continue to head towards the top of the peak.

We had to descend a little and then climb a lot more. It was a steep one though. Once we were done with this last leg, we reached the top of the Kudremukh peak. We settled on the top for a while sitting and gazing at the landscape which extended as far as it could. Relaxing on the top was easy though there were no trees to provide shelter on top but the clouds took their place. It would be an ideal place to camp, only if we were allowed. Alas, we had to come down and we started our return journey. Three of our team mates chose to go on the adjacent hill as we descended. We came down near the Church to rest until the other party joined us. Once the split up party joined us, it was almost 5PM. Increase of the speed than the usual was required so that we could cover as much distance as possible in the day light. Close to running was what was done for most part of the way. Only at steep slopes, the speed was cut down coz running on the slopes wasn’t easy. One wrong step and you would find the world spinning around you crazily.

As the horizon grew dim, we were almost done with the grasslands and were on the last ridge which was to be crossed. In the open areas the moon light lit up the land enough for the eyes to look for the path but when the Valleys were entered, it became increasingly difficult to judge the track though it was wide enough. It was time for the artificial gears to be lit. Out came the torches from the bags and that illuminated the path ahead by which the walk became easier. The mercury gradually dipped as the night engulfed the horizon but it took a while for the body to show the effect coz they were heated up enough as we walked non-stop. Every valley slowed down the team and every valley was deceiving coz we thought that was the last one to be crossed. Many such deceptions later, we finally came to the Onti mara which was spotted in the morning while on the way up. A walk of the last mile brought the team to the base, Rajappa’s house. The night walk was an experience after a long time and was enjoyed every bit. Post dinner we retired for the day in the house. Rajappa had made adequate arrangements for us to have a peaceful sleep.

The next day, we headed to Hanumagundi falls which is around 30-40 kms from here. Though it was my second visit to this place, it was pretty much the same as it was, with only the people around being different. A few of the team mates took a dip while the rest of us were hanging around. By evening, we were in Horanadu where we had the Darshan of the Goddess Annapoorneshwari and savoured the dinner served by the temple. It was time to board the bus and mark the end of the journey.