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| Kurinjal Peak, Kudremukh |
[Writing in progress]
- stay at Bhagvati Nature Camp, Kudremukh
Kudremukh, or more correctly Malleshwara Mining Town, is where I truly feel influenced me the most in my formative years. My father worked at Canadian Met Chem who were consulting for KIOCL to setup the infrastructure for mining Iron ore. Our family relocated for 2 of those years and I did my 6th and 7th standard at Giri Jyoti Convent there. So, it was always my desire to go back and see the town where I first learnt to converse in English, appreciate nature, aped the kids in Enid Blyton in the forests around us, had diverse set of friends, and just grew up!
So, it was after 45 yrs, that we finally booked to stay for couple of days at Bhagwati Nature Camp, Jungle Lodges, about 8kms from Malleshwara which we were told had become a ghost town. We drove past it to reach the camp which is a typical JLR setup with cottages and tent surrounded by forest with a river flowing close by.
- trek to Kurinjal peak
We had not really planned any activities but few other guests, young couple and four engineering students, started planning a trek to Kurinjal Peak, we joined in enthusiastically. It checked off a long standing box for us on trekking in the western ghats shola forests, something amiss after several treks overseas and in Himalayas. They helpfully took care of getting the treak permit for KFD which required a drive to the check point early on the morning of the trek.
The trek is 7km each way with some elevation gain and takes about 5 hrs to complete. Our assigned guide Kumar was ready to start around 7am which is ideal as it gets hot and humid as day progresses with chances of heavy rain with lightning by late afternoon! Crazy change of weather from cold to hot/humid to monsoon. However, we decided to have our breakfast first which pushed our start to nearly 10am. It also meant that we had no time to go slow or rest in between or on top if we wanted to avoid getting caught in dangerous weather conditions.
The trail starts from the entry point to Bhagwati on the main road. We parked our vehicles and walked a few hundred meters, then turned left into the hills. A river crossing is scenic and the initial trial is winding through shola forests and grasslands which to me looked to taken over by invasive species of plants. Birds were scarce but butterflies plenty. I could not take enjoy or capture their images as pace had to be fast.
Soon, we entered the moist forest trails of Sahyadris and were quickly greeted by leeches which were lying wait for us. Everyone was helping everyone else to flick the creepy crawlies which do the downward dog asana climbs to find a nice succullent spot on the skin while the guide looked on amusedly. After about 6kms and 2 hrs.. we reached a lovely view point.
later we climbed past the abandoned house... part scrambling up a trail and part on road... to reach the peak. naseau for me due to oily breakfast. stayed at top for 10 mins... and then down via a shortcut. back by 2.30pm.
