[Romins]

Kudremukha is not there in the tourism map yet, but it is definitely a trekkers' paradise. A treasure in Western Ghats-one of the wettest places in Malnad region. Kudremukha is getting more importance now, KSRTC has started Airavat class service to Kalasa - a small town 20km before Kudremukha National Park. KIOCL (Kudremukha Iron Ore Company Limited) was once the biggest employer of this region. Later this mining company was closed due to environmental issues. When you drive through the national park you will see the remains of the erstwhile factories and staff quarters on both sides of the road.

Kalasa is the town where one should stay to get public transport or hired taxi, auto easily. Thotadur Yatri Nivas is a well run budget hotel with rooms Rs 300-700 (Tel:08263- 274699, Mob: 094480 07014) with basic clean rooms with squat toilets and bucket shower. Hot water shower is available between 6am-8am. For a serene family home stay with authentic Malnadu vegetarian food Upasana (Tel: +91 8263 249288, Rs 2000 per day per person including meals) is the best choice for a very tranquil stay Ask for Sukumar Shetty's house after turning left at Samse junction 8km from Kalasa town. Upasana has been renovated extensively with an artistic touch to each room. Check upasana retreat for more details. Ask the host for a spot of Yoga, if you are keen.

For trekkers, there is an ideal choice at Mullodi- Rajappa's Mullodi House (Tel: 08623-249333, 9481179008, 9483983324) located at the base of Kudremukha Peak trekking trail. You can reach his house by hiring a 4WD jeep from Kalasa for Rs 500. It would be two hours walk from the main road where there is a big signboard "Trekking path to Kudremukha Peak". If you are sharing a seat with others, pay Rs 100 per seat for one trip. Rajappa will arrange forest permits for Rs 275 per head.

We started on Jan 26th at 4:30am from JP Nagar, Bangalore. NICE road from Kanakapura to Peenya and taking NH4 to Nelmangala. Turn left at Nelmangala to NH48 towards Haasan via Kunigal. Turn to Belur road at Haasan and follow NH234 via Mudigere. State Highway via Khotigehara to reach Kalasa. We reached Kalasa by 11am. After lunch and a short nap, we visited Sukumar Shetty and Leena at Upasana and they were so happy to meet 'Joseph from Kerala' after 3years. We were chatting about different topics under the sun and Sukumar is a charm to listen to his stories from life. Leena made sure we were fed coffee and snacks and later a sumptuous dinner.

Next day, at 6:30am we started from Yatri Nivas to Rajappa's house. After breakfast, we started trekking at 8:30am. Hire a guide, as you may get lost on this trail. Every mountain, stream, valley look alike. The trekking trail is not so wide and smooth. Rocky path may hurt your toes badly. Scorching sun can hit you -carry a sun block and hydrate yourself with water and electrolytes. Whenever we crossed a stream, we filled our water bottles with water. After crossing a multitude of valleys we reached the peak by 12noon. After having the upma packed by Rajappa's family we took rest for a while inside the forest listening to the Cicadas' music. At 6214 ft, Kudremukha (horse-face) peak overlooks Chikmagalur, Uduppi districts.

This part of Western Ghats is blessed with evergreen rainforests and wildlife is not so common. Aravind, Aditya, Nicholas trio was part of our group with the guide Keshava. He was happy that we were relatively fast enough though we took occasional breaks to relish some dry fruits and nuts. We started back at 2pm and descending was equally demanding. We spent some time gazing at the ruins of a church built by British. On the way, we met Rajappa's first wife's father with a herd of cows. He was our guide for a while as the other trio decided to stay back at the bank of a small stream on the way. We reached the base at 5:30pm and hot coffee was waiting for us. After a fitting dinner and two hours of rest, we started back to Kalasa on a 4WD jeep at 8pm.

Sleeping early at 9pm did not require any extra effort after a 7hours (16km) trek -one of the most difficult trek in Karnataka. A good 8 hour sleep recuperated us from the body ache. Saturday, we spent the morning driving through Kudremukha National Park visiting Lakya dam, Gangamoola and Hanumangundi waterfalls. At 12noon, we started back to Bangalore.

[Nutty Nair]

@Romins - Kudremukh trekking has been in my itinerary for some time now. Planned to go there when I was in Bangalore but some how didn't materialise. Thanks for rekindling the interest once again.
PS: Only this much photos?

[Romins]

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

@Romins - Kudremukh trekking has been in my itinerary for some time now. Planned to go there when I was in Bangalore but some how didn't materialise. Thanks for rekindling the interest once again.
PS: Only this much photos?

This peak is ideally trekked in post monsoon (Oct-Jan) for good views and pictures. But leeches would be annoying. Yet, I am planning to do a monsoon trek in July.

[aviorp]

Wow, you seem to be on a roll. Malnad is probably the best place to explore in W.Ghats. Beautiful pictures. Waiting for more (on all 3)

OT : Any specific reason you're uploading only 4 pics per post? (or is that a restriction?)

[Romins]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Wow, you seem to be on a roll. Malnad is probably the best place to explore in W.Ghats. Beautiful pictures. Waiting for more (on all 3)

OT : Any specific reason you're uploading only 4 pics per post? (or is that a restriction?)

This trek was done in Jan 2012. Malenadu is at its best in Oct -Jan though rest of the year is pleasant.
There is no limitation in uploading pictures. In this trek, I did not carry my camera to the peak, wanted to trek as lightweight as possible. I use a small point and shoot camera just to get a glimpse of the place. I would be busy writing on a scribble pad about my experiences than taking pictures.

[addyhemmige]

Romins, the Kudremukh trek is one of the most beautiful treks I have ever done. I am sure you had an awesome time during the trek. I too have done this trek, in July 2010 and have penned down my experience in the following travelogue

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ekkalog-6.html

It seems there are 2 persons who guide people on this trek. I went with a guy called Satisha who is the rival of Rajappa in Mullodi. We also met Rajappa when we came back from our trek. He suggested we try his services next time.

[raghunandanj]

Those who have been on top of the peak would have noticed the ruins of an old church about a mile before the peak. The church sits on the ridge and is covered on three sides by the forest and on the other side by the shola. Apparently, this church was built during the days of the British Raj. I wonder the effort they had put in to construct it out there !

[Romins]

We are planning for a monsoon trek this month...prepared for slush and leeches! Intend to go to the peak or at least halfway depending on the streams to be crossed.

[Romins]

Last friday, 4 of us headed to a nearby mountain peak at 1200m altitude and very close to Kudremukha peak. It was drizzling occasionally. Two of us were barefoot to experience the barefoot trekking (following the footsteps of Cody Lundin in Dual Survivor of Discovery channel). We took 5hours to complete the trek both ways. It was a thrilling experience to go through the foggy mountain ridges wading through streams and crossing waterfalls. We applied diesel on our feet every half an hour to avoid the leech bites. Maxo from Jyothi Laboratories and Dettol were also found useful weapons. Maxo kills leeches instantly as it is a strong poison. Diesel prevents but you need to apply occasionally and it is messy to handle it.

[ReluctantRebel]

I am planning for a trek during end of august. Would like to know about certain things before undertaking the trek:

1) Is the time right for trekking? Will monsoon make the trail too dangerous?
2) What is the present condition of the trail? Is it frequented regularly by many?
3) What are the nearby stay options? I would be driving from bangalore and the plan is to spend a day for trek and another to explore. So, will require rooms for 2D2N.
4) What about the safety factor for women?
5) A pet dog(labrador) might accompany us for the trek. Is it fine to take a pet along? Is the trail suitable for that?

Appreciate input(s) from fellow members.

[Romins]

1) Is the time right for trekking? Will monsoon make the trail too dangerous?
Not recommended. Oct -Mar is a better time
2) What is the present condition of the trail? Is it frequented regularly by many?
Used regularly, make sure you get the permits.

3) What are the nearby stay options? I would be driving from bangalore and the plan is to spend a day for trek and another to explore. So, will require rooms for 2D2N.
Low budget- Yatri Nivas at Kalasa town.
http://sholaheights.com/ is a better option nearer to the Peak

4) What about the safety factor for women?
Very safe for women.

5) A pet dog(labrador) might accompany us for the trek. Is it fine to take a pet along? Is the trail suitable for that?
Perfectly suitable.

[ReluctantRebel]

Originally Posted by Romins

1)
Used regularly, make sure you get the permits.

Hey thanks for the response. . I wasnt aware of the need to obtain permits for a trek here. Can you provide details on the procedure to obtain permits. Sharing your personal experience(s) in getting them will give an idea.

[Romins]

Contact Rajappa at Mullodi (Tel: 08623-249333, 9481179008, 9483983324). He will take care of the permits. There is nothing official about this. I would take a guide from him and go to the peak. There is no proper channel to pay and get a permit like in Kerala protected forests. But going without a local guide will land you in trouble for sure.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Romins

1) Is the time right for trekking? Will monsoon make the trail too dangerous?
Not recommended. Oct -Mar is a better time
2) What is the present condition of the trail? Is it frequented regularly by many?
Used regularly, make sure you get the permits.

3) What are the nearby stay options? I would be driving from bangalore and the plan is to spend a day for trek and another to explore. So, will require rooms for 2D2N.
Low budget- Yatri Nivas at Kalasa town.
http://sholaheights.com/ is a better option nearer to the Peak

4) What about the safety factor for women?
Very safe for women.

5) A pet dog(labrador) might accompany us for the trek. Is it fine to take a pet along? Is the trail suitable for that?
Perfectly suitable.

Originally Posted by ReluctantRebel

Hey thanks for the response. . I wasnt aware of the need to obtain permits for a trek here. Can you provide details on the procedure to obtain permits. Sharing your personal experience(s) in getting them will give an idea.

1. Monsoon is a beautiful time to do the trek, however you have to factor in the leeches and the pounding rain. It is not very difficult though.

5. Although the trail is suitable, I'm not sure if a pet dog will be allowed inside the National Park (legally).

You can contact Rajappa (number mentioned by Romins) for further details

[Romins]

If you are braving the monsoon and go for treks, use lemon juice as leech repellent. Squeeze lemon and apply all over your shoes, it prevents leeches. Re-apply often if it rains or if you walk through grassy/slushy trails. Lemon is better than salt/diesel/dettol/odomos/tobacco.