I have been told many that a trek to Kumaraparvatha @ 1714m is the most difficult in Karnataka and immediately I had the itch started to go there and conquer that beautiful mountain.
I kept motivating my regular gang to come for this, however most of them got engaged in their personal commitments and we were not able to come up with any schedules. Finally on a Friday evening, we finalized a very small team including Tony, Rajveer, Rahul and myself for this event.
We took a sumo and started towards Subramanya. This famous place is situated at the foothills of western ghats in Dakshin Kannada district, famous for the Kukke Subramanya temple and I must say everyone must pay a visit to this temple sometime in their life. I had a map with details about the trek trail and was confident that we could easily progress based on that. However none of us know kannada , so I took help from Rajesh to prepare a survival kannada checklist and he helped me to learn pronunciation and how to use it where and when.
Crowd & our sumo & temple
We reached Subramanya about 7'O clock in the morning and had tea from a hotel near to the bus-stop. Although roads were filled with devotees, it was quite calm and pleasent. While discussing about the trek routes, tea-stall boy adviced me not to goto Kumaraparvatha as the place is experiencing heavy rain. He was telling the rain is predictable and running water could make serious trouble. However I just ignored his advices as I was too confident…We packed breakfast from the shop and started on the popular trail to the top of Kumaraparvatha, about 1800m tall. The track is going right from the front of Kukke Subramanya temple. The track took us along couple of shops and residential areas till we saw the first board indicating Kumaraparvatha to the left.
Rajveer , myself, tony and rahul
Immediately after the sign board we found a way to the right leading upwards through a small rocky path. The climb had just begun and we got tired immediately as this was first time we needed to climb steep at the beginning of a Trek. After 15 mins of climb Rajveer got very sick and started feeling omitting. He was under the impression that trekking is very easy and could be done by anybody, but he learned soon that stamina and experience is a must factor for any trekking. At some point of time he decided that he will quit and will go down to vehicle. However we kept pushing him to try hard. After sometime we reached a rocky place and decided to take rest to have breakfast.
Rajveer finding trek is no fun.... & middle of forest
We saw many people climbing upwards and most of them were too tired and struggling. Seeing those Rajveer got more scared and made his mind that he will go down. But we asked him it wise to take rest at Bhattara Mane so that we can make sure he will get food and shelter. He agreed and tried put all effort to climb up. In forest it was very humid but the cool breeze and occasional fall down of water from tree tops kept us going. For most of the distance, especially when you doubt that you might have lost the way, there are white arrow marks showing us the direction to go. Each of these markings says how much distance we covered so far.
Charged after breakfast & Rahul posing :-)
Couple of hours climb, along this small forest path, at times steep and covered with trees and shade on both sides, finally we started seeing the sunlight. It was great view with mountains covered with green grass . Scattered marble stones with green and white colors, had a stunning look. The view and the clean cool air made us very fresh and prompted us to continue. Next stretch was a bit more strenuous. The shade was less along this path and we were exposed to sun, but we were determined to make it to 'Bhattara Mane' before 12, and were trying hard to accelerate.
Stunning View
At a distance of 12 Km from the temple one comes across a place called 'Girimutt'. Remnants of the houses and farms, which date back to more than five hundred years, can still be found there. It is said that a 'Jangama Mutt' (Lingayat) existed in this place in the past. We stopped here to take few snaps.
Lets pray............. Jangama Mutt
Thanks to the weather which was very cool on the way, we kept moving. Finally, about 12.00 pm or so, we reached an open area which is better known as Girigadde. Here is the famous 'Bhattara Mane' (Bhatt's house) where people stop over generally. Our man Hari back in Bangalore already made a call to Bhatt to arrange food for us. We found only 3 people there Mr. Bhatt , an old lady and a helper . It was very surprising to learn that they are living there for last 30-40 years, surrounded by forest and empty mountains. I was wondering how people can stay in such solitude, but they looked very happy and healthy. May be the nature godess keeps them going. The house was in ruins and the surrounding was covered with thick vegetation. There is a stream flowing in front of house supplying cool and clean water to the house. We drank a lot from the pipe near by and must agree that it was the cleanest and tastiest water we consumed so far. They have lot of cows with them and looks like those are the main source of income. Although everything looks good, I was bit sad about the kind of garbage accumulated there including plastics, beer bottles, empty clothes etc and most of them were thrown to the stream. I am sure those must come from the travelers. How come some people are so heartless to spoil the nature, they do not know what they are killing. I guess the new generation will be more aware and responsible towards these plastic mess.
Bhattara Mane
I had a quick chat with Mr. bhat and learned he is a devotee of Vaikom mahadevar ( bhagvan Shiv) , and was very happy see me as I belong to Vaikom. Apart from we four there was one more group who were waiting for food. Soon we all invited to have lunch. We all had to sit on the veranda and eat as there is no chairs or tables around :-)
The food comprised of rice, sambar, butter milk and pickle. It would be just ok in normal circumstances, but extremely good since we were all very hungry and tired. We took an hour rest. At this time Mr. Bhat adviced there could be heavy rain on top and it is not wise to go there without any rain proof shelter. We had not taken any tents and few among us started thinking not to make any further. However it was me who pushing everyone so hard and with half heart Rajveer and Tony agreed to continue. I think they must have felt bad to say No to me :-)
Forest office (old photo)
We started from Bhattara Mane around 1.30 pm and reached past Girigadde, where we need to get entry permission from the forest office. We saw two officers there and looked like they are in hunt for some good money from us. They were demanding Rs. 150 for each person to entry and we all know it must be maximum Rs.50. to make more money they were advising us to stay in the bungalow adjacent to the forest office and continue the trek next day morning. All their intention was us to stay back and pay them. However I was against any staying back and was determined to climb up. Quick debate and they agreed to allow us to go up and pay later. By this time clouds were getting darker and we saw a heavy rain on its way.
There were lots of goa trees near to the forest entry office with lots of fruits hanging. We tried few and felt it’s kind of jungle breed and was not so tasty. Soon, we were walking on a green mountain top, with some occasional steep climbs. After a nice meal and cool wind and less sun, this was a much better climb and we all moved ahead, slowly but steadily. There few mountains we needed to climb and all time kumara parvatha was not visible and it looked like we had to go miles to reach. We saw couple of mountain tops having chairs for visitors to enjoy the valley peep. We wish we had some time to sit there and relax, however it was getting darker and foggy, so we kept on climbing. Tony got tired by this time and he was struggling. He is a very good climber and a good athlete but the climb here was too hard for him and he got trouble with his ankles and was literally forcing himself to walk
There it is ...
Around 3'O clock in the evening, we reached our next destination, the 'Mantap'. It was a small shelter made of rocks in the middle of nowhere. It was a beautiful sight and in dark it looked like a bhoot mantap.Mantapa is of stone sixteen feet in length and eight feet in breadth. This is supported in four corners by four pillars with engravings and is roofed with slabs of stone. This gives us the impression that even this mountainous region must have been thickly populated in the past and that gifted sculptors must have thrived here in those bygone days. From this place onwards the trekking path becomes very steep and rises almost like a vertical wall
What next & Lets have some fun
Myself and Rahul wanted to climb up kumaraparvatha , however others were too tired , so we decided to stay back there and start the trek in morning. All of a sudden wind started blowing and a heavy rain started. Soon water came from everywhere and we all got drenched inside the Mantap. Although it got a stony cover on top, water did finds its way down. Now majority wanted to cancel the climbing and wanted to go back to Bhattare Mane. I wanted to climb up in the rain, however seeing majority opinion and to respect our team spirits, decided to cancel further adventure. So after a quick debate, we decided to go back to Subramanya base.
Me on top & Tony not in mood for further climb
Return was swift and we made it to Bhattare Mane in less than an hour, and from Bhattar Mane to Subramanya temple it took only 2hrs, we were almost running as rain was pouring heavily. Luckily we did not met with any leeches or snakes.
Some interesting Points
Place Name : Kumaraparvatha
Dist. from Bangalore : 350+ Km
There are two routes exist:-
1)From (Bus Timings)
Bangalore (After 10:30PM) -> KushalNagar (Morning 6:00AM) -> Somwar Pet ( @7:20AM ) -> BidHalli.
2)From(Bus Timings )
Bangalore (After 10:30PM) -> Kukke Subramanya (via sakeleshpur)
Idle time for visit : OCT - MAY
What to look for : Beautiful mountains, lush greenery, breathtaking valleys,sparkling marbles
Difficulty level : Tough
Forest permission : Need to take permission from Girigadde ( Rs.100-150)
Transport : Bus from Bangalore to Kukke Subramanya temple
It was an exciting trip, but personally it was very disappointing to me. I was very excited with the plan to climb Kumara Parvatha, but ended upon just reaching Kumara Mandapa. Looking back at the mountains, I felt so sad and vowed that I will return soon to climb up and I will climb on a rainy season.
Rain beat my first trip, but I will beat rain on my second trip to claim the top.
