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-   -   'Xing'ing around ! - Kukke Subramanya & Kumara Parvatha; a drive and trek... (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/52514-xinging-around-kukke-subramanya-kumara-parvatha-drive-trek.html)

We came back today (26th Jan 09) after an unforgettable trip spread over 3 days, drove 690kms from Bangalore to Kukke Subramanya and back... and trekked for a total distance of 26kms to the top of Kumara Parvatha.

Kumara Parvatha (KP) is the second highest peak in Karnataka after Mullayanagiri and is considered to be the toughest trek in Karnataka. Having trekked to Mullayanagiri some 13 years ago during our college days, KP was a trek that Sangeetha and I had discussed on several occasions.

After our recent 7 day drive around Karnataka, we thought of doing something different during the first long weekend of the year. Winter is generally a good time to trek into the western ghats and the KP plan took shape over a couple of weeks.

My friend and classmate, Mr.Patil is also an avid trekker and he too had KP on his to-do list for quite a while. We discussed the trip and the plan quickly started falling into place.

KP is generally a 2 day trek, where you can cover around 75% of the upward trek on day 1, camp overnight, cover the remaining 25% ascent and come down by late afternoon the next day. An ideal plan would be to reach Kukke Subramanya early in the morning, start trekking and reach half-way up the peak to a place called 'Girigadde - Bhattaramane' by lunch time. Post lunch another 25% of the ascent can be completed to reach another landmark called 'Mantapa'.

With a natural spring providing a perennial supply of water near 'Mantapa', it is a good place to camp for the night. Starting as early as possible the next day is advisable since ascent will be easier before the sun gets hotter. The descent from the peak will be faster and you can be at 'Bhattaramane' by noon and come down to Kukke Subramanya by evening.

The route we took from Bangalore was via Mysore > Madikeri (Mercara) > Sullya > Kukke Subramanya, a distance of 345kms. [The other route is via Hassan > Sakleshpur > Shiradi Ghats. This route is better avoided due to the extemely bad condition of the Shiradi Ghat section]

To be continued with some pics and details...

Great stuff man, pls post as many pics as you can...I did a night trek in June1999, to KP..Is the Bhattru still there?

The preparation:

There are two approach routes to Kumara Parvatha (also known as Pushpagiri), one is from the Somwarpet side and the other is from Kukke Subramanya. The climb up from Somwarpet is supposed to be shorter and 'relatively' easier, especially since most of the climb is through the dense forest. The trek up from the Kukke side is longer and almost 50% of the trek is through the grasslands, with the hot sun sapping up your energy.

There is a lot of info available on the net about trekking to KP and we quickly made a list of the essentials to pack. The only additions to our normal packing list were a tent and extra water.

Pack as lightly as possible, carrying only the absolute essentials. Every extra gram gets magnified if you have to carry it up all the way through 13 kms! At first pass my bag weighed 12 kilos (with the tent weighing 3.5kgs), dropping some extra clothes etc. brought down the weight to around 10kgs.



Our plan was to start as early as possible from Bangalore on Saturday, reach Kukke, start the upward trek, reach 'Mantapa' on day 1, camp overnight, reach the peak the next morning and climb down by Sunday evening. Have an early morning darshan at the Kukke Subramanya temple on Monday and return to Bangalore by late afternoon on Monday.

Wrapping up our office work by late evening and finishing up the last minute packing meant that we could fall asleep only at around midnight on Friday. We had planned to wake up by around 3am on Saturday, which meant only 3 hours of sleep...


The Drive:

After reading up about the horrible condition of the roads at Shiradi Ghats, I had decided to avoid the Hassan - Sakleshpur route completely and instead opted for the Mysore - Madikeri route.

In hindsight, it was a good call since the roads from Bangalore - Mysore - Kushalnagar are absolutely great.

The Bangalore - Mysore stretch...




The Kushalnagar to Madikeri stretch is acceptable and the Madikeri - Sullya - Kukke route is relatively fresh tarmac, with very few potholes. The only problem is that entire stretch from Sullya to Kukke is a single carriageway and you'll have to stop and move onto the shoulder if you encounter a bus or truck. Also, some cabling work is going on in this stretch so the shoulder on one side is dug up for some distance.

The first pit stop at a gas station after Mysore...




The distance from HAL Airport road to Kukke Subramanya is 345 kms on the odo. We started from Bangalore at exactly 4.05am and reached Kukke at 10.35am. After deducting a 10 min fuel stop in Mysore and a 25 min breakfast stop at Madikeri, the drive time from Bangalore to Kukke is 6 hours.

As you gain altitude, it gets progressively greener around you...




Driving through Kushalnagar...




And through Madikeri...




The single carriageway route from Sullya to Kukke...




Found a parking place in a temple lodge, told the guy at the reception that we would come back for the car the next day...




Off we go to KP...




The Trek:

The peaks you see behind the Kukke Subramanya temple is the Kumara Parvatha range...




The first part of the trek is 1 km walk from near the temple to the edge of the forest...




There is a road from the right side of the temple which leads you to the trail...




The first part of the trek is through the dense forest, you walk in the shade for around 3.5 hours...




It is a seemingly un-ending upward climb...




A break after every 20 minutes. The lack of sleep the previous night was telling on me...




After around 3 hours of relentless climbing up... Will this ever end???




Food!




Once you cross the forest, you hit the grasslands...




There are a few trees and rocks that give you shade for a break. The next couple of hours can be really tiresome with the sun shining down mercilessly...




An oasis in the middle of the ordeal! This is Girigadde-Bhattaramane. A single family has been living here for over 30 years. They are almost fully self-sufficient; they grow vegetables around their place. A herd of cows ensures a supply of dairy products. A natural stream provides a year round supply of water and their main source of income seems to be from providing basic but tasty food to the people who trek up to KP.

For around Rs.50 per person, they provide an unlimited meal of Rice, Sambar, Pickle and if you are lucky, butter milk! Given the fact that the rice has to be brought up from Kukke after almost a 5 hour trek, the price they charge is quite cheap!




Contd...

Bhattaramane is about half-way up the trek. A good lunch energized us for another hour of walking up...



As the sun went down, it was an easier climb...




There you see that peak? KP is a little after that!!!




With Mantapa another 30 minutes away, it started getting dark quite fast and we had to take a call whether to carry on or just pitch tent and settle down for the evening. We saw that the next stretch seemed quite steep and decided to call it a day. Found a place to set up the tent...




It turned out to be a moonless night, pitch dark outside and the cold breeze picked up at around 9pm. Since the tent was weather-proof, we did not notice that the temperature outside steadily dropped and the breeze turned into gusts of wind.

Sometime around 2.00am there was a sudden gust that was strong enough to cause the outer cover of the tent to flap loudly and we woke up with a start! What was that noise?? Was there something or someone outside?? The next 15 minutes were spent in absolute silence trying to listen to the noises outside. We guessed that it must have been the wind, but were we sure? No.

Finally realizing that we wouldnt be able to sleep till we figured out what was outside, I ventured out of the tent slowly with a torch and it was quite windy and cold. Reassured that there was nothing around the tent area, we went back to sleep for another couple of hours with the alarm set for 6.00 am...



Dismantled the tent, freshened up a little, packed up and started walking up towards 'Mantapa'...




You don’t have to try hard to find a great view. Just look in any direction and it is just amazing!








We walked up for the next 1 hour stopping along the way to admire the view and take some pics...








The climb started getting steeper and steeper...




The first rays of sunlight lighting up a nearby hill...




We reached near 'Mantapa' another landmark along the way. It is an ancient stone platform probably built as a shelter for any pilgrims who ventured onto the peak and also as a marker to indicate the perennial spring that provides a steady stream of fresh, cold and sweet water.




We filled up our bottles and had a breakfast of rotis and MTR mixed veg curry. The KP peak is another 2 to 3 hours climb from Mantapa and the climb up is quite steep. We thought about whether we should carry our bags up or leave it at Mantapa.

"I think we should leave our stuff here and just carry up whatever is essential, that way we can walk up faster"
"Where do we leave our stuff?”
"Just dump the bags behind some rocks or bushes and I don’t think anyone would bother stealing them. Besides if someone does decide to whack the bags, it might be a blessing in disguise... we wont have to carry anything on the way down! ;-)"
"Ok, let us atleast make them a little difficult to find"

We transferred our cash, mobiles, water bottles, car keys etc. into one bag and dumped the other two bags behind some rocks. Spread some grass on the bags to make them less obvious and viola, they disappeared! Can you make out two bags and three sleeping mats among these rocks?




The path gets steeper and rockier...




The rolling hills all around...




A rocky peak from where you can see the almost vertical face of the Seshaparvatha peak...




The Seshaparvatha peak...






Contd...

Kumaraparvatha is the peak you see behind Seshaparvatha...




There is another stretch where we walk through dense Shola-forests...






A steep rock face that has to be navigated before the final stretch...






More rocks and boulders...






Very close to the summit...






We made it to KP at last!




There are a couple of small primitive shrines on the top. Built with a pile of rough stones...




We spent some time on the top, took some pics and it was time to head back. There is a fork in the path on the way down, one leads down to the Somwarpet. We briefly missed the track and headed down the wrong path before realizing that this was not the way we had walked up. Returned to the peak and found the correct track back towards Kukke...

The Seshaparvatha peak on the way down...



The descent was quite fast; we reached Mantapa in about an hour...






Picked up our stuff and reached Bhattaramane after another 1.5 hours or so. Stopped in a share for a quick break...




Had another tasty and simple lunch at Bhattaramane, rested for a while and started descending towards Kukke at around 4.15pm. We estimated that we should be able to reach Kukke by around 6.30pm, before it got dark...




Reached Kukke at 7.00pm just before it got fully dark...




We found some rooms in a lodge and called it a day! The next morning we were up at around 6.00am, went to the temple by 7.00am...




Thanks to the long weekend, there was quite a crowd and we had to wait for more than an hour before we completed darshan...




Had breakfast at the 'Neo Mysore Cafe' close to the temple and started our drive back towards Bangalore...




Stopped at a couple of places along the way to take some pics...




I saw this Nissan 1 tonner converted into a crane parked on the roadside and slowed down...




Then we realized why the crane was parked there. A bus had lost control and rolled down into the valley below and they were trying to pull it back up...




The last stop was at Kamat Lokruchi on Mysore road for lunch. We made it by 3.00pm and enjoyed a well deserved 'Jowar Roti Meal', with lotsa butter! The Janapadaloka next door was closed as it was a Govt holiday...




Entered Bangalore, not much of traffic on the roads that’s to the holiday and we were back home by around 5.30pm. Overall it was a good drive, great trek and an unforgettable experience!


-------------------------------------------------

Where to next ?

It must have been unforgettable experience to do a night trek! Yes, Bhattru is still there... going as strong as ever.

Missed one detail in the travelogue... Before heading up towards the KP peak after Bhattaramane, we had to get permission from the forest office which is about a 100mts from Bhattaramane.

The 'entrance fee' is Rs.40 per person + 'Trekking fee' of Rs.75 per person + 'Camera fee' of Rs.100.

Apparently people are not given permission to trek up towards Mantapa after 6.00pm. You will have to camp around Bhattaramane and proceed upwards the next day.

Nice trekking adventure hotstuff. Hats off to you guys. That verticle-drop Seshaparvatha picture is mesmerizing ! Brought back the memory of trekking from Kodai to Dolphin's Nose we did long time back.

Very interesting ! Next time I go to Kukke, I will definitely trek upto Bhattaramane and say Hi to him :). Wonder if there is any arrangement to stay overnight at Bhattaramane?

Again, one more excellent stuff from you, hotstuff :thumbs up

Well it was.
To add to that, it was raining on that night!!. Nice to hear that our bhatta is doing good & strong, I didn't see any pics of him nor the house? Would you have any?

We were about 5 of us who made it that night. I remember we had leeches all over our body..and the way we struggled to get to the top..is a story by itself.

We returned the next day morning, the return was pretty difficult as it had rained the previous night & it was completely covered with thick fog/mist and slippery

You know how it is there!!

The view is even more amazing in reality than what I could capture in the pic...

If you carry a sleeping mat + sleeping bag, you can stay in BM itself. We saw quite a few trekkers settling down for the night in the verandah area. Apparently around 30 ppl can be accomodated in BM. But it can get quite crowded during the rainy season when trekkers prefer to stay over at BM instead of camping out in the open.

Thanks BomBatt !

Unfortunately I did not take any pics at the house, but for the couple of pics from the top. And Bhattru was busy taking care of a group who had just arrived and I spoke to him only for a couple of mins.

He remembered that I had spoken to him earlier over phone and enquired about what were our plans. Infact all I could think of when I reached BM was water and food ! He asked us to hurry up and reach the forest office soon if we planned to trek up that evening since permits would not be issued after 6.00pm... so we just ate and ran.

It is amazing how true the 'pain = reward' equation turns out to be in such places. Visit the western ghats during or towards the end of the monsoon and everything is 'super' green all around, there are numerous streams, waterfalls and the view is probably 10 times as beautiful as what you can see during late winter / summer. But as you mentioned, the climb up and down is also 10 times as painful and trickier. I can appreciate how difficult it must have been for you guys !

Having had a tough time with leeches during our previous treks, I went there expecting to encounter atleast a couple... but looks like the leech season ends by around December and we did not see any. My friend did mention that the last time he was here, he found the leech density to be greater that anything he had seen elsewhere...

By the way, while doing the R&D about KP, I had come across a pic of Bhattaramane on Wikipedia. This must be quite an old pic though, since there are some additions that have been made to the house including a verandah area.


Image: Courtesy Wikipedia.

Check List for people trekking up to KP. [Can also be modified for any trek / trip]

Food:

• Chapatis or Rotis (Preferably without oil)@ 4 per person x 2 meal breaks.
• MTR ready to eat curries.
• Chutneypudi [Gunpowder :-)]
• Glucose/Electral - 2 packets per head.
• Dry snacks/Biscuits to munch on the way.
• Juicy fruits (Oranges, Green-apples etc.)
• Some toffees & chocolates.
• A 2 liters bottle of water per person. [You can refill at Bhattaramane & also at Mantapa]

Attire:

• Good walking / trekking shoes.
• An extra pair of socks.
• Floaters / Hawaii slippers.
• One extra T-shirt. (Preferably light colored)
• One extra pair of shorts / jeans.
• Waterproof jacket if you are climbing up during the rains. A good sweater will do in winter.
• A good hat / cap.

Toiletries:

• A Soap or facewash tube.
• Toothbrush, Toothpaste.
• Toilet paper / Tissues.
• Comb / hair-brush.
• A good sun-screen lotion with SPF-15 & above.
• Odomos tube.

Medical kit:

• Painkillers (Paracetamol / Brufen)
• Antihistamine / Anti-allergy tablets.
• Band aids strips.
• Antiseptic lotion (Dettol/Savlon)
• Any other medicines you need to take regularly.
• A roll of 'Micropore' bandage dressing tape.
• Some clean cotton.
• Any good wound dressing cream.

Others:

• A small box with a couple of sewing needles and thread.(Needles are also useful for taking out splinters)
• One towel and a small napkin.
• A lighter / box of wax matches.
• A foldable knife / Swiss-knife.
• A good LED torch per person with Duracell batteries (Should have a usable range (focus) of atleast 7 - 8 ft and last for 5 to 6 hours)
• A sleeping mat + Sleeping bag.
• Digicam, preferably with an extra battery.
• Fully charged cell-phone, you will get signal intermittently on the mountains.
• Driving Licence & money.
• A plastic bag to carry trash to be disposed off at the trash-bin at Bhattaramane or carry down to Kukke.

Phone numbers:
Mahalingeshwar Bhat at Girigadde (For food & accomodation): 94486 47947 or 99456 18495
It is preferable to inform Mr.Bhat in advance to ensure that there is food on arrival.

Excellant travelogue with loads of information, Its amazing time to trekk in best place.

Ravi.

[quote=hotstuff;1149401]Check List for people trekking up to KP. [Can also be modified for any trek / trip]

Food:

• Chapatis or Rotis (Preferably without oil)@ 4 per person x 2 meal breaks.
• MTR ready to eat curries.
• Chutneypudi [Gunpowder :-)]
• Glucose/Electral - 2 packets per head.
• Dry snacks/Biscuits to munch on the way.
• Juicy fruits (Oranges, Green-apples etc.)
• Some toffees & chocolates.
• A 2 liters bottle of water per person. [You can refill at Bhattaramane & also at Mantapa]

Attire:

• Good walking / trekking shoes.
• An extra pair of socks. (UNWANTED)
• Floaters / Hawaii slippers. (UNWANTED)
• One extra T-shirt. (Preferably light colored)
• One extra pair of shorts / jeans. (UNWANTED)
• Waterproof jacket if you are climbing up during the rains. A good sweater will do in winter. (UNWANTED)
• A good hat / cap.

Toiletries:

• A Soap or facewash tube.
• Toothbrush, Toothpaste.
• Toilet paper / Tissues.
• Comb / hair-brush. (UNWANTED)
• A good sun-screen lotion with SPF-15 & above.
• Odomos tube. (UNWANTED)

Medical kit:

• Painkillers (Paracetamol / Brufen)
• Antihistamine / Anti-allergy tablets.
• Band aids strips.
• Antiseptic lotion (Dettol/Savlon)
• Any other medicines you need to take regularly.
• A roll of 'Micropore' bandage dressing tape.
• Some clean cotton.
• Any good wound dressing cream.

Others:

• A small box with a couple of sewing needles and thread.(Needles are also useful for taking out splinters)
• One towel and a small napkin. (TOWEL IS UNWANTED)
• A lighter / box of wax matches.
• A foldable knife / Swiss-knife.
• A good LED torch per person with Duracell batteries (Should have a usable range (focus) of atleast 7 - 8 ft and last for 5 to 6 hours)
• A sleeping mat + Sleeping bag.
• Digicam, preferably with an extra battery.
• Fully charged cell-phone, you will get signal intermittently on the mountains.
• Driving Licence & money.
• A plastic bag to carry trash to be disposed off at the trash-bin at Bhattaramane or carry down to Kukke. (UNWANTED, THERE IS WASTE BIN TO DISPOSE IN)

Its nice to list all sorts of items to carry to a trek... but practically speaking.. you need to carry only essential items. How can you carry a warm sweater, towel, extra shorts and all that for a 2 day trek?
And for KP, lunch on 2 days is taken care at Bhattara Mane. You need to plan the food only for the night and breakfast.

Nice travelogue covered with good explanations. The ideal place for trekking with nightout option. BTW did you encounter any wild animals or reptiles (snakes) in forests during your trekking?