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| Kurinjal Peak, Kudremukh |
Date: Oct 2nd, 2024
To get there: From Bangalore via Hassan or Sakleshpur on the Mangalore Highway. Buses are also connected. Resort does not have phone connectivity so you have to plan the last mile connectivity before hand.
Distance: Apprx 350km, 7hrs by car.
Kurinjal Peak Trail type: Initially flat, then moist rain forests, opens into shola grasslands for a bit. Final ascent is on a rocky trail which needs some scrambling. 7km from trailhead to peak.
Facilities: None. Carry all the food and water you need. Permission to trek is mandatory from the Karnataka Forest department. Pass has to be picked up from the checkpost morning of your trek. Guide is compulsory and provided by KFD.
Kudremukh (Malleshwara Mining Town for me), influenced my formative years the most making me who I am today. My father worked at Canadian Met-Chem, consulting for KIOCL to set up 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. It was always my desire to go back and see the town where I first learned to converse in English, appreciate nature, aped the kids in Enid Blyton in the forests around us, had a diverse set of friends ranging from smart city kids to tribal kids, and just grew up into the awkward teens!
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| River at Bhagwati |
So it was, 45 years after those carefree days, my wife and I booked to stay at Bhagwati Nature Camp, Jungle Lodges. It is about 8 km from Malleshwara which we were told had become a ghost town. We drove past it to reach the camp, a typical Jungle Lodges setup with cottages and tents surrounded by Kudremukh National Park and a river flowing by it.
We had not really planned any activities other than exploring the abandoned town. But when the other guests, a young couple and four engineering students, started planning a trek to Kurinjal Peak, we joined enthusiastically. It checked off a long-standing box for us to trek in the Western Ghats shola forests, after several treks overseas and in the Himalayas. They helpfully took care of getting the trek permit from Karnataka Forest Department that required a drive to the checkpoint early on the morning of the trek.
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| Shola Grasslands |
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| Kurinjal Peak Trailhead |
The trek is 7km each way with some elevation gain and usually takes about 5 hrs. to complete. Our assigned guide Kumar was ready to start around 7am which is ideal as it was predicted to get hot and humid later 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 breakfast before the trek which pushed our start to nearly 10am. It meant we would be under a time constraint and could not go slow or rest in between or on the peak to avoid getting caught in dangerous weather conditions. Of course, the abundance of leeches in the rainforests ensured we were not tardy anywhere!
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| Bridge at start |
We parked our vehicles at the Bhagwati Nature Camp turnoff on the main road and walked a few hundred meters to the Kurunjal Peak trailhead. After crossing a bridge across a scenic river, the trail winds through rainforests and shola grasslands. Birds were scarce but butterflies were plenty. I enjoyed and captured their images for later identification as best as I could, despite the fast pace we were maintaining.
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| Rain forests |
As soon as we entered the moist forest trails of Sahyadris, we were greeted by leeches lying in wait for us on the ground, plants that we brushed, and one even dropped down from a tree, a la Mission Impossible style! Everyone was helping everyone else to flick the creepy crawlies which do a very quick downward dog asana climbing technique, to find a nice succulent spot to latch on and suck blood. They anesthetize the spot so that we won't even feel the bite until they drop off, belly full of our precious blood and the wound starts bleeding heavily because they also inject something to prevent clotting! Like they were vampire insects. By the end, we had all contributed to their meal for the day in spite of the precautions we took.
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| View point 1km before peak |
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| Good place to relax |
After about 6kms which took 2 hours, we reached a lovely viewpoint. Here we could see the majestic Sahyadri range with its rolling shola forests covered in low clouds. Finally, had a breather, and took some nice photos, before we started the final ascent to the peak towering about 200-300 meters above us. Here we had the option of scrambling up a narrow trail or walking on a road that led to an abandoned house midway.
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| Go pro leading the way up |
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| Final ascent |
A quick rest at the house and the final ascent to reach the peak with its magnificent 360-degree views. I found myself more tired than usual for a moderate climb. Maybe it was age catching up or the fast pace without breaks or just one of those days. I also felt quite nauseous and nearly threw up. This was because of eating the excellent but oily Mangalore Buns for breakfast. Lesson learned. Avoid oily food before any serious treks.
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| Kurinjal Peak conquerors |
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| Tailed Jay |
Some rest. Obligatory photos. Phone calls as this was the only spot where we got a signal. Group shot. And down we started to avoid getting caught in the lightning, rain, or mist. Guide chose a shorter route but steeper descent which supposedly was 2 km less but felt same for us. After an eventless trek down, with beautiful butterfly sightings, we were back in our camp for a well-deserved lunch and a relaxing afternoon nap.
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| Kudremukh View point |
Overall, Kurinjal Peak is a wonderful beginner trek, easy to moderate level of difficulty, that lets you enjoy the lovely Sahyadri mountains. We were quite disappointed with the lack of any avian activity but the views, butterflies, and wildflowers made up for it. Another activity offered at Bhagwati is a landscape Safari to the Kudremukh view point. It is worth doing as jeep ride and views are very fun and enjoyable.
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| Abandoned Apartments |
Of course, I didn't miss out on visiting my childhood home in Kudremukh town, about 8kms from the camp. On our way back to Bangalore, we drove around it for a couple of hours visiting the Helipad, the apartments where we stayed, and my school Giri Jyoti Convent. All were still standing but dilapidated. They did jog my memory and I enjoyed the wave of nostalgia leading me to share some inane events from that time of my life with others who listened patiently and hopefully enjoyed too and did not get bored. The town did give us a sighting of the Malabar Barbet and Malabar Giant Squirrel, which was a bonus.
Click here for some more images from the trek and trip.
