Trek to kumara parvatha!

my very first trek to kumara parvatha :)

hello there!! :)...well today i am going to share one of the most thrilling experience i ever had in my life.well yes,my very first trek to one of the highest peak of south india,kumara parvatha!.before i start narrating my experience,let me brief you out about the place.

so where is this peak?

kumara parvatha also called as pushpagiri is a peak in the somwarpet taluk,northern part of kodagu district.

so is this trek OK for beginners?

well as i am being the amateur myself...i too had some difficulties at the beginning of this trek,still i managed to climb the peak and return back successfully.so if you really want to experience the thrill of climbing the peak,enjoy the sheer beauty of nature exposed in front of you!! its totally for you!

trek routes :

there are actually two trek routes for this peak.

1. starting from somwarpet.
2.  starting from kukke subrahmanya.

in this post i will only talk about the trek route we followed.
i.e we started climbing from kukke subrahmanya and we climbed down via same route.

budget :

less than 1000 rs per person.(including the forest entry fees).

distance :

as i said earlier there are two routes.
the route we followed i.e,

to climb up (approx 14 km)

to climb down(approx 14km)

totally 28 km approximately.

and if you are ready to trek from somwarpet it would be approximately 7 km to climb up.and the same  distance to climb down.

as we it was a sudden plan by me and my friends we thought of trekking for two days.hence chose the trek via kukke.

best time to trek :

october - febraury

transportation :

many ksrtc bus are there to reach kukke.
we boarded a semi deluxe bus at 10:30 pm from mysore

and we reached kukke at around 4:30 am.

travel log :

well :) me and my 12 other fantasy seekers who are all beginners like me in trekking dreaming about trekking a highest peak in karnataka....experiencing the beauty of nature! :) it was just awesome !!
we boarded a ksrtc semi deluxe bus from mysore at 10:30 pm..we were all excited about the trek we were to have the next day.we reached kukke at around 4:45 am.and got ourselves freshen up by taking a room in kukke.it was a jaw dropping deal..one room for an hour. and for just 200 rs! :)
and after we finished all our things.we split ourselves into group of 6 each.

our plan:

-split ourselves into group..first group had 6 members.second group 7 members.
-first group( i was one of them) leave 30 minutes early for trekking and we were all fast movers soo we left early.
-reach the top of the peak early and set up tents so they can reach us when we finish the arrangements.( it was a flop plan though! argh! :(  )

what actually happened..

as according to the plan we left 30 mins early.and reached batta's house which is 6 kms from the starting trek.for breakfast..
you need to inform batta earlier for breakfast and the number of members.(mobile)
-batta's house can also be used as a secondary camping spot.
-beware! there are lots of leaches! soo please carry a bag of salt or tobacco!
we started around like 6:30 am and reached there 10:30 am.

                                                       a view of batta's house

you can rest there for a while.
   bhat's number   :  9448647947  and  08257281501
before going there give him a call for the food preparation.and you can use bhat's house as a secondary camping point.
there are few sunset points near bhat's house.so do not  miss to visit there.

NOTE : you will find a forest check post after departing battas house where you need to take permission from them to enter the forest area.
entry fees : 200 rs/person

we rested at battara mane like till 11:46 am(by that time the other group members joins the party!) and we met a another trekker from chennai who came alone to trek this peak(!!!!)
and he was a great help to us as he is the one who guided us from batta's home to the top of the peak.(we lost hope at one point!!).we trekked 6 km from batta's house and found a mantap which was also a good camping spot.we replenished our water supply nearby stream. our experienced trekker karthik(guy from chennai!) told us we could reach the peak with ease if we follow the same pace.following his directions we continued our trek.all of a sudden it started RAINING! our trail was not traceable! it rained for about 30 min.we tried to cover at a slow pace till then.....

                                                                          trail path



we reached shesha pavatha,had a short break.then again started our trek to kumara parvatha.there comes a small distance of a dense forest...it can also be used as a secondary camping spot...there were too many leeches there,hence we continued our journey.there came our biggest challenge!there stood a slippery waterfalls! since it rained heavily we could not trace the trail..and hence our only option to climb the waterfalls itself! i cannot believe myself now,how we were able to climb that waterfalls!

       
                             CHALLENGING TASK : climbing this waterfalls!

we finally managed to climb the waterfalls and we were through! we finally reached the peak! we were joined by another group who were all from chennai at the peak..they helped us to build tents..and were very happy seeing us..(they climbed the peak via somwarpet ).

                                               milestone! : temple at the top of the peak.

                                                     our camping spot at the top

                

then came the fury of mother nature,it started raining suddenly..we went inside our tents...and just hoped rain could stop earlier..could not camp fire,because of the heavy rain.had our food inside our tent....at about 2:30 am me and my set of other friends came outside of our tents...ah! it was freezing to death!!!we chit-chatted for a while chatting about our current adventure..those glittering stars(they were uncountable!) and the moon playing hide and seek  with the clouds. it was unforgettable!
then at around 7 am everybody started packing their stuff...now while we were climbing down we were accompanied by the chennai trekkers.our guru karthik went on venturing to find the lost trails..by gods grace he did find them.finally we started climbing down..



                                              

                                                our team at the top of the peak

we climbed down at ease..except some precautions to be taken as the terrain  is very slippery.finally we reached battara mane.had a delicious lunch....:P and then we climbed down to the starting point finally at around 2 pm.

                                               a pic which was taken while climbing down

                                                we met one of the landlords there :)
                                                    pic credits : dheeraj joshi

                                                                  mother nature
                                                         pic taken from a view point


and finally we departed happily :) after a successful 2 day trek that ended with a victory..we boarded a 2:30 pm bus from kukke to mysore.we reached mysore at around 9 pm...