Kumaraparvatha Peak

Kumaraparvatha Peak (pic courtesy : Chandrika Mulakala)

Region : Pushagiri Wildlife Santuary, Somwarpet Taluk, Kodagu

Height : 1712 meters / 5,617 ft
Trek Dt : 14^th and15^th Feb’15

Kumaraparvatha…This mountain (parvatha) beckons you, if you are an hardcore trekker. I have done most of the treks in the Karnataka region minus this one until now. Been wanting to go there and was on a lookout for a good group. Well, none of the Mumbai / Pune trekking groups venture out so far. And so I started scouting for an apt group from Bangalore. Bangalore Mountaineering Club…a leading club organizing trekking, climbing and adventure activities in and around Karnataka, usually hosts the KP Trek (short for Kumara parvatha) once a month for all its hardcore trekkers. Hence, I decided to join them on this trek scheduled 14^th and 15^th February’15.

About KP - Pushpagiri or Kumara Parvatha, at 1,712 metres (5,617 ft), is the highest peak in the Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Western Ghats section of Karnataka. It is located in Somwarpet Taluk, 20kms from Somwarpet in the northern part of Kodagu district on the border between Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts. It is the 6th highest peak of Karnataka. The Pushpagiri or Subramanya Hills (also reffered as Kumara Parvatha) is the second highest peak of Kodagu. The peak can be approached from two sides. Kukke Subramanya  located in Dakshina Kannada district via Girigadde and the second route from Beedehalli via Heggademane temple near Somwarpet.

Kukke Subramanya is located at 140ft above MSL. Hence, the climb from Kukke to the KP Peak is a long and strenuous one…

I took a flight to Bangalore on 13th Feb evening reaching there at around 6pm. Took a BMTC Airport Bus to Domlur, which was one of the designated pick-up points for the trek. Passing through some dense traffic zones of the city, reached Domlur at 8.30pm. I joined the trek group waiting there and then we joined the rest at around 945pm. Started off for Kukke Subramanya enroute picking up some more trekkers. We travelled around 400kms approx (took the long route since Sakleshpur Ghat roads are under repair) passing through Channapatana, Kushalnagar, Madikeri, Somwarpet reaching Kukke around 5.30am the next day. After quickly refreshing ourselves at a nearby lodge and a short breakfast stint we started our actual trek.

Kukke Subramanya Temple

Just about 30 meters before the Kukke Temple on the main road, we take a right turn into a small lane (amidst the shops). A short 10min walk took us upto the Pushpagiri park entrance. We were 31 trekkers in all, including the BMC leaders. Most of them were IT professionals from Bangalore, me direct from Mumbai, one girl from Trichy and another one from Delhi. 

Park Entrance

After a brief introduction, we started our trek around 8am. Our first halt was at Battara Mane and the trek leaders had set a target for all of us to reach there latest by 11am.

The trek path is well laid as its most frequented by trekkers. One can compare its popularity to Harishchandragad trek in Maharashtra.The total distance from the trek start point to the peak is about 14kms and Battara Mane is approx 6.5kms. The highlight of this trek is that one constantly climbs or gains elevation right from the trek start point. As we started our trek at 140mtrs our first stop point Battara Mane was at approx 840mtrs MSL. Though we climbed through thick forest, in enough shade, many of us including me felt the ascent strenuous. However, we scrambled up hurriedly to reach Battara Mane well in time by 10.30am. After an hour of much needed rest and a light lunch (Rice and Dal), we were on our way towards the peak. 

Battara Mane

As instructed by our leaders, we dumped our sacks at Battara Mane and just carried water, chocolates and light refreshments. This was the most difficult part of the trek. The trek to peak from Battara Mane / Girigadde Forest Office is about 7.5kms which we had to complete in 3.5hrs. Elevation gain – approx 840mtrs MSL to 1712mtrs MSL…WOW!! And the more awesome part was that our leaders instructed us to reach the peak not later than 3pm and return back to Battara Mane by 6pm. Phew! Now that was quite a bit of ascent and descent to be done in the shortest span of time. Nevertheless, without any apprehensions or hesitation, most of us left Battara Mane at 11.30am for the trek. A few not-so enthusiats who did not want to venture further decided to stay back at Battara Mane. 

After paying the requisite trek and park fees at Girigadde Camp office we embarked on our long and ardous journey (sounding cliché here). Well, atleast that was my case. I have done about 50 odd treks of all kinds. ‘Been there and done all that’. 

Towards The Peak

We embarked on our trek right when the Sun was up our heads and the route mostly devoid of any shade cover. The terrian is shola grasslands with a few forest patches here-n-there. Hence, the heat was unbearable and most of us exhaustive and tired. To add to my woes was the constant cramps, I kept experiencing in both my legs. Took numerous halts and water breaks enroute, managing to reach the ‘Mantappa’ (A canopy kind of structure with just 4 pillars). There is a good water source just before ‘Mantappa’, to replenish one’s water stock. It was 2pm at Mantappa and still a long way to go for me. ‘Sheesha Parvatha’ was the next destination at about 3kms. A fellow trekker told me to 'call it a day' seeing me in excruciating pain due to the cramps. Most of them were already nearing the KP Peak by this time. I took a while to recover and then pushed myself with all vigour and strength..like all charged up. Had to reach the peak anyhow. 

Mantappa

Slowly but steadily, made it past ‘Sheesha Parvatha’ at 2.45pm. The views from here are simply magnificient. Crossing another 2 kms, the path lead downwards into the forest. passing by 2 camping sites, we reach a coloumn between the peak. I, and another trekker who was fortunately giving me company for so long manage to reach the 50ft rock patch

Rock Patch

at the edge of the coloumn, just below the peak. Moving on to the right side of the patch, I cautiously climbed holding onto the cracks and niches in the rock. Past the rocks, I reached the peak’s plateau. 

At this point, a route on the left goes down to Somwarpet in Coorg. (Trek distance 7kms

Indian Flag fluttering atop KP Peak

and elevation gain – 600mtrs). I took a right here and headed towards the peak. One could see from a distance two flags fluttering atop rock cairns structures. One being the Indian Flag and the other of RSS. These flags are posted on the higher side of the plateau. This is the highest point on KP peak. I managed to reach the peak at around 3.15pm. The leaders alongwith the others who had reached the peak much earlier in the day were returning back. There were two other trekkers too who came after me and so we all requested the leader to let us stay back there for a while. The KP peak does not have any accessible view points as most of the areas on the top are covered with forest patches. Since I had just 15mins time to spend there, I could’nt venture much in the pursuit for a better vantage point. So that remains a quest for next time. 

KP as seen enroute from 
Sheshaparvatha

We started back our trek from the Peak to Battara Mane at around 3.30pm. Since we were descending it was equally important to be careful as the gradients were steep with loose soil. Eventually after about 2hrs of descent we reached the valley view point, close to Battara Mane at 5.30pm. Tired and exhausted after 21 long kilometers of trekking, we wanted to 'just crash'.  We watched the sunset at the view point and returned to Battara Mane. The joy of completing the trek uptill now was quite evident on the faces of all those people who reached the peak. (Statistics–18 trekkers successfully reached the peak out of 31). After a quick, simple and sumptuous dinner, it was bed-time. I alongwith a few friends decided to sleep at the valley view point, so we grabbed our sleeping bags and made it back there. The sky was clear and the starlight show was at its best. Lying under the stars and feeling a light sway of the chill breeze, everyone fell asleep quite instantaneously.

Our wakeup call was 6am the next day (15^th Feb) and we had to leave Battara Mane by 7am. Everything went according to plan. After a quick lite breakfast we descended through the forest reaching the park entrance around 9.30am. We then proceeded to our bus (parked at Kukke bus stand), refreshed and took off on our return journey. Enroute we stopped for Lunch. We reached Domlur, Bangalore around 7pm and I proceeded to my uncle’s house to spend the night there. Took the morning flight back to Mumbai the next day.

Many would say, and its written too on most sites that the KP trek is the toughest in South India. Well, I would agree to that only in terms of steep gradients and continuous altitude gain. Apart from these,  this trek does not have any dangers or perils. Yes, it’s a must do for every hardcore trekker. Camping is allowed in the forest at a few designated spots and on the Peak. The Peak is inside a wildlife sanctuary hence its always advisable to travel in a group and stick together at all times.

In the end, I proudly state that I enjoyed every bit of the trek cause inspite of the severe painful cramps I suffered, I pushed myself to reach the peak and back. A much deserving pat on my back... Always a good morale to keep going....

Kulang Fort

Region : Kulang / Kulanggad, Igatpuri, Maharashtra 
Height MSL : 1470 meters / 4822 ft 
Trek Date : 15th & 16th Jan'10

The AMK Range! Always petrifies most of the Sahyadri trekkers…..The sheer look of AMK gives you the chill in the spine…Yes, friends, I am talking about Alang-Madan-Kulang, popularly called as AMK….The AMK falls in the Igatpuri range and these 3 hill forts can be seen for miles together whilst traveling on the Mumbai – Nashik route.

                                 Alang-Madan-Kulang. As seen from Ambewadi Village

Climbing Alang & Madan requires special climbing skills whereas for Kulang, the easier one of the 3, one needs to be a strong trekker since this is one of the longest treks in the Sahyadris.

Trekdi from Pune, was organizing this trek on 15th -16th Jan'11. The start point was Fergusson College main gate at 10pm. Hence, I booked myself on the Deccan Queen train on 14 th Jan evening from Mumbai to Pune and met up with the Trekdi trekkers at the start point. We were about 15 members in all including a small girl. We boarded our private bus at around 11pm and left Pune for Ambevadi, the base village of Kulang .

There are two routes to reach Kulang :

Route 1 : Igatpuri – Ghoti – Ambewadi – Kulang

Route 2 : From Igatpuri one has to reach ‘Bahuli' village from where, it takes 3 to 4 hrs to reach Kurangwadi. From kurangwadi to Kulang base takes another hour. Roughly a total of 5 hrs of walk.

We decided to take Route 1 since we were driving from Pune to Ambewadi. We arrived into Ambewadi at around 4am on 15th Jan. There was an eerie atmosphere in the village and none of the villagers were bothered on the strangers arrival. We parked near the temple and accomadated ourselves inside the temple & managed to catch up with a few hours of sleep. We woke up at around 6am & finished our morning chores including a power breakfast of tea and biscuits. Once the sun came up, we could get clear and distant views of the AMK massif, basking the morning sun. Alang on the left, Madangad in the centre and Kulang / Kulanggad on the right.

At around 7am we boarded the bus back and moved onto a rough cattle trail, exiting the village towards Kulang. After a 5-7mins of bumpy joyride we reached the start point of the trek. A brief re-grouping and introduction amongst fellow trekkers, we started our march towards Kulang. Walking on a prominent trail, keeping Kulang on the left, we moved towards a thicket, into it and reached dry waterfall. Crossing the fall, we climbed onto the upper reaches of the waterfall. We took a right here and traverse a trail through a patch of shrubs, reaching near a huge tree. From here we took a left and climbed through the Karvi undergrowth. We reached a rock portion of about 12ft where we climbed carefully. Moving on we reached a portion of the ridge that would connect us to the broken steps….A small flight of steps were visible on the rock portion of the upper ridge. We carefully ascended them. Soon the steps disappeared. We again took onto a zig-zag trail ascending to the mid-portion of the Kulang fort. The path from here on is very narrow. We moved cautiously to the left and traversed the entire rock-face towards Madan. Again the steps were visible to reach a small but steep gully. After reaching the gully, we took rest for a few minutes there. We had been climbing for about 3.5 hrs now.

Moving ahead from here on was the trickiest part. A flight of broken steps which is narrow & steep at the beginning and completely exposed on one side ascends onto the entrance of the fort. We crossed this portion taking utmost care and reached the final flight of steps which would take us onto the fort. We reached the fort top at around 12.30pm and managed to settle in one of the huge caves, which falls on the right side of the entrance. Soon we moved about on our quest to visit around the fort. There are several water tanks on the fort, however only two are potable especially the one on the right side of the caves (on a higher ground). From one end of the fort, one can get clear views of Madan and alang top. From the fort we can locate Kalasubai, Aundh Fort, Patta, Bitangad towards the east. To the north Harihar, Trymbakgad, Anjaneri are seen. To the south one can locate Harishchandragad, Aajobagad, Khutta (pinnacle), Ratangad, & Katrabai. The fort also has several broken remanants or houses. They might have been used to store supplies and ammunition for the soldiers staying there.

Post watching a breathtaking sunset, we returned to the cave and settled for the night. After a brief dinner session (kichadi, dal, pappad and pickle) we called it a day! It was quite cold, however not as freezing as we expected it to be. We woke up at around 6am, finished our morning chores and again went of visiting the other side of the fort (right side of the cave). As we moved towards the end of the fort, the path narrowed and descended a bit to reach the end tip of the fort. The view from here is quite breathtaking. We can see Ambewadi village and the area around. Though visibility was poor due to haze, one can see Igatpuri town on a clear visible day.

After a round of photos we got back to the cave, packed our bags and bid goodbye to Kulang. We started our descend at around 9.30am. The initial part of descent had to be done very cautiously, hence our speed was slow. However, we managed to reach the base trail by around 1.30pm. From the trail we walked for about 20mins to reach our bus waiting point. The bus got us back into Ambewadi Village .

Since, I had to get back to Mumbai, and the rest of the team was proceeding to Pune, I decided to skip the bus trip. I bade goodbye to all fellow trekkers and hitched a tempo ride from Ambewadi Village to Ghoti (about 1.5 hrs). From Ghoti, I managed to get a shared Rickshaw upto Kasara Railway Station. Took a CST train, changing lines at Dadar, finally reaching home at around 11.30pm.

With Kulang under my cap, I now need to accomplish climbing the rest of the two – Alang & Madan….the most difficult ones in Maharashtra….God Knows When!!!

For Trek pics visit the photos section at www.hikesandtreks.com

Dinesh Nair

Keep Trekking....