Brahmagiri Peak

Region : Thirunelly, Wayanad Dist., Kerala
Height : 1607mtrs / 5272ft
Trek Date : 20th Feb'09

A trek to Brahmagiri was decided out of the blue…viz I had no intention or plan to go there in the near future…I had decided to go for CTC’s Vellarimala-Vavulmala trek on 21st – 23rd Feb trek for which I had to reach Kozhikode (Calicut) on early 21st Feb. As I could not get a train tkt to Calicut, the only option left was to fly to Bangalore and onward by road to Calicut (8-10hrs). Since I was taking this route, I thought why not add 1 more trek to the itenary. Hence the plan to Brahmagiri came up…

So I left on 19th Feb evening by 5.30pm flight reaching Bangalore at 715pm. Took a airport Volvo bus to MSBTC (Mysore Satellite Bus Terminus Corp) stand (approx 2hrs) reaching there around 9pm. Luckily got a Bangalore – Cannanore KSRTC (kerala state) bus departing at 9.30pm. My destination was Mananthavady in Wayanad. The bus traveled thru Mysore– Gundulpet-Gonnikoppa–Sultan Bathery–Mananthavady (7hrs) reaching there at 3.30am on 20th Feb. As there were no connecting bus to Thirunelly (base village for Brahmagiri) till 7am, I had to wait at the town square shivering in bitter cold. Not many trekkers trek to Brahmagiri from Thirunelly side…Most of the treks are done from Karnataka side (Kutta-Srimangala-Irrupu-Narimale Peak-Brahmagiri Peak : approx 14kms).

I took the 715am Thirunelly bus from Mananthavady (32kms) & reached there at 8.30am. I had already informed the Forest office about the trek and had arranged for a guide too. (guide is compulsory for all treks inside Kerala forests as per local govt. rules). Mani, the guide was there to receive me at the Forest Bungalow. After deciding the route to take, we started off on the trek…First, we walked up to Thirunelly Temple & from a nearby restaurant we bought our packed lunch (parothas, peas curry & bananas).

About Thirunelly Temple : Thirunelly temple, also called ‘Kashi of the South’ is 32 km northeast of Mananthavady. This ancient temple is 5000 years old and the presiding deity is Thirunelly Perumal/Lord Vishnu. Legend says that Lord Brahma the creator performed a yagna and installed the idol here. The idol is in the form of Chathurbhuja. This Kerala architecture style temple with the background of three hills, Kambamala, Karimala and Varadiga in Brahmagiri hills reserve forests is both beautiful and divine. The temple courtyard consists of 30 granite columns and granite slabs has been used for the floor too. One can see t he mighty Brahmagiri Peak towering behind Thirunelly temple.

I had visited the temple during the Pakshipathalam trek in 2007 so I avoided going there this time. As I had to take a return 4pm bus to Calicut, we speedily moved towards our destination. A path from next to the temple leads us to Papanasini rivulet. We pass by Panchatheertam (5 holy Theerthas joining together). We crossover the semi dry riverbed. As per Hindu customs last rites of dead are performed here. Whilst crossing the section we saw a family conducting the last rites austerities. We climbed further into the forest and reached a broad path (coming from the IB). This path goes upto the watch tower (approx 4kms). As the path would go criss-cross, we took alternate short cuts and climbed straight up reaching the forest tower in 20mins. It was quite a steep & exhaustive climb. We took a 10 min break at the forest tower. There are 3 routes to Brahmagiri from here. (1) A path emerging from the forest Tower on the left steepily takes one to the Peak -1.5hrs. (2) Taking the Pakshipathalam route deviate to the right after 2 small hills, walk on fireline towards Brahmagiri. (3) A steep 70% uphill climb thru tall grass just after the 1st forest patch after the forest tower. As there’s no water available on the peak and enroute, it was decided to refill our bottles at the small waterfall inside the forest patch after forest tower. After doing so, we took route (3) – right deviation and started the exhaustive steep climb uphill thru tall slippery grass. We steadily do so for 30mins reaching the hilltop. After a short break, we descend to a forest patch. The entire region is made up of shola grasslands with small forest patches here-n-there.

As the day heat is intense we take quite a few breaks and reach the fireline. The fireline is a huge broad path that runs thru the entire grassland. It acts as a preventive measure for fire to spread which is quite common in the Brahmagiri hills. The fireline here also demarcates the borders between Kerala and Karnataka. Hence part of the Brahmagiri lies and Kerala and rest in Karnataka….Anyways, from the fireline we can get clear views of the peak…Also a part of the fireline goes right upto the peak. Hence it is quite an easy route to find. We reach the base of Brahmagiri by 11.15am. The route from base upto the peak is very steep and inclined at 70% on most parts. The route is also strewn with loose rocks where one has to be careful to avoid casualties. Also walking on the burnt forest patch near route will obiviously spoil your pants, socks-n-shoes. Taking a mix-n-match careful route we reach the Peak at 11.45pm. What a beautiful view from up there. From the peak (facing Kerala side) one can see the Thirunelly Temple and surrounding areas below, and the forested peaks for Wayanad. Towards the right one can see the never ending shola grasslands of Brahmagiri, small humps like hills, Pakshipathalam Rock & Garudapara upto Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary. Towards the left one can see a long ridge (about 2kms long) starting just below the peak and extending up to Appappara (one can descend Brahmagiri at this side too). Well on the other side, one can see far stretches Kodagu region of Karnataka including Iruppu & Srimangala.

We decide to explore the entire peak hence descend the peak on the other side and moving towards the fireline reach the end of the peak in 1hrs time. This is the Appapara side of the peak. One can descend below to Appapara from here. However as I had left my sleeping bag at the Thirunelly forest bungalow we decided to opt of descending to Appapara. Anyways it was lunch time and the Parothas and Peas Curry were absolute relishing. A quick lunch, followed by some resourceful conversation about the surrounding forest and region, and a peaceful half-hr siesta atop the peak rejuvenated our strengths for the retun trip.

We started our return trip at 2pm from the ridge endpoint and by 2.45pm reached the peak again. From the peak instead of our ascend route, we decided to descend thru route (1). A route on the peak descends on the left straight to the watch tower. It’s a steep descend nevertheless a speedy one and will take one upto the watchtower in 20mins. We reach the watchtower at 3.10pm. From the tower we take the jeep track right up to the Forest Bungalow (approx 4kms) bypassing Thirunelly Temple. After a quick-n-refreshing bath at the Forest bungalow dormitory, Mani drops me at the nearest bus stop…I thank Mani for his guidance and take off in the 3.45pm Mananthavady bus. Further-on take a connecting KSRTC bus to Kozhikode (Calicut) via Kalpetta, Vythiri, Tamarassery & reaching there around 8pm. Am dead tired as I had been traveling from Bombay the previous day and the trek. I took a room at a boarding lodge near the KSRTC bus stand so that I could take enough rest for the CTC’s Vellarimala-Vavulmala trek the next day.

It was a great feeling finishing off the surprise Brahmagiri trek, which was not planned et’all. Also it was a great preparatory trek for the forthcoming tough Vellarimala-Vavulmala trek. Looking forward to four days of strenuous trekking out of which day 1 is over….

Way to go…Dinesh!!!

You can also check out this Brahmagiri trek report at www.hikesandtreks.com/brahmagiri

For trek pics visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/75454952@N00/sets/72157614671223729/

Lone Dravidian…
Keeps Trekking

Chembra

Chembra Peak Tri-Trek Solo Expedition - Kerala
Region : Kalpetta Region, Wayanad Dist. Kerala

Height : 2100 mtrs / 6870 ftTrek Date : 12th & 13th Dec'07
After completing a tiring yet sucessful Pakshipathalam trek yesterday ie. 11th Dec, it was time for another ardous trek..this time to Chembra Peak situated near Kalpetta.

About Chembra : Chembra Peak is the highest peak in Wayanad, at 2100m above sea level. Chembra is located near the town of Meppady and is 14kms west of Kalpetta. It is part of the Wayanad hill ranges in Western Ghats, adjoining the Nilgiri Hills in Tamilnadu and Vellarimala in Kozhikode district in Kerala. Chembra peak is accessible by foot from Meppady. A heart shaped lake en route to the top of the peak is a major attraction. The lake is believed to have never dried up.

I had been trekking continuously for the past 2 days (Dhoni Hills & Pakshipathalam) + travelling about 200 kms between Palghat & Kalpetta towns...exhaustive & tired feeling....but now this was the trek that I was waiting to do since 2006....Trek & Night camping at Chembra. I had carried my 3-man tent for this trek.
12th Dec...my pickup time was at 10am, Pavithram my guide got the jeep and picked me up at 9am, brought all provisions (incl. chicken) enroute...and we reached the local forest office at Meppady. The route from Kalpetta to Meppady is quite picturesque, tea estates lined up on both sides of the road, far on the left we were circling Manikunnu hill and on the far right one could see the twin peaks of Chembra basking in the morning light.

After taking permissions, we headed towards Chembra Tea Estate which is situated at the base of Chembra...This is the only route to Chembra and our jeep climbed the narrow route precariously winding up thru the tea estate. We reached a point where there was no vehicle entry further and this was our trek start point. From this point one could see the forest watchtower (a white structure) on the edge of the tea estate. It was about 11am...After informing our driver to comeback at 8am next day to collect us, we started our trek....
Just after the no entry point, we took a left into the bushes and started climbing upwards...Pavithram was leading as he was aware of the area and the route...Apparently he climbs Chembra twice a week as he is a trekking guide...He says mostly its foriegners, and just a few Indians (mostly from Bangalore) who come to Chembra....He was quite surprised that me being from Mumbai had much info about the places around....Not surprising for me atleast as I belonged to Kerala but nevertheless you don't find much people from other parts of India coming to Wayanad just to trek.

Anyways, we climbed slowly, steadily reaching the lake in an hour's time... The lake is in the shape of a heart and is also called as 'Love Lake'. The water in the lake never seems to dry up....This is the place where we will be setting up camp after our descent back...Not wasting too much time around the lake we hit the path to the peak....
There are five levels or rather humps one needs to cross before reaching the peak.....We maintained good speed & reached the third hump where we decided to keep our sacks safely in the thick vegetation on the slopes of the mountain. We were awry of the fact that as there was raw chicken in my sack and there seems a possiblity of a wolf or a leopard getting a whiff of the meat & tearing my brandnew Northface sack apart for the same...However, taking all chances, we came back to our path and continued the climb, reaching the peak at 1:45pm.

The view from top is awesome and breathtaking. Lofty Peaks of Ambamala, Kurchilmala, Vavulmala, Manikunnu can be seen. The twin peak of Chembra though lower in height looks impreganable due to several vertical patches near the peak and also the thick forest patches surrounding the mountain. Most of the other peaks were also covered with thick forests....We could also see the core area of the forest which covers 3/4th portion of Chembra base.....The towns of Vythiri and Kapetta could also be seen at a distance though not clearly due to the noon mist.... It was very chilly on top of the peak inspite of the afternoon heat. After a quick photo session followed by lunch (dosas and vegetable curry) we started our descent at 2.30pm. Enroute we returned back to the slope where we had kept our sacks much to our delight no harm done...We reached the lake around 4pm.
After clearing the camp area, we decided to get water for all our chores....Though the lake holds enough water we thought that it might not be potable. Pavithram knew of a place where we could source good water, hence we proceed to fetch the same....About 200mtrs from the camp area we went past thru thick vegetation and reached a slope where there is a tiny stream. We filled our bottles, washed the chicken and brought back enough water required for cooking. We collected firewood and set up the tent (Sierra Designs 'Orion AST' 3 Seasons 3 Man Tent). This was the first time I set the tent with the rainfly. Rice, chicken & papad was on the dinner menu...Pavithram turned out to be an excellent cook and we had a sumptuous dinner at around 9pm. The weather turned out to be very cold and by 10pm we were fast asleep tucked away in our sleeping bags....

Woke up at 5.30am, Pavithram cleaned up the vessels while I dismantled the tent. The early morning view of the peak and surrounding areas was absolutely mesmerising. Strays of sunlight breaking thru the clouds and hitting the peak thus creating a collage of colours on the landscape. We cleaned the camp area and by 7am left the place....Enroute during descent we took several pics of the surrounding areas that were covered with mist. We descended and in about 1/2 hr reached the no-entry point. Our jeep was already there and we travelled back to my hotel in Kalpetta reaching in about 45mins.

I bid adieu to Pavithram, thanking him for the high team spirit and the wonderful trek support he had organised. As I had a flight to catch from Calicut, I packed my stuff in a jiffy and hurried towards Kalpetta bus stand, to take a express bus to Calicut, reaching there in 2hrs. The route from Kalpetta to Calicut is again, awesome. This time as I was travelling in the day, I could see several tricky hairpin bends enroute. But the bus driver drove with much ease and we did not feel the slightest discomfort. Alas, my flight was overbooked and I could not get a confirmed seat, so had to stay back there for an entire day....However, it was not so boring as I roamed the entire day around in the city watching the latest Malayalam movies and savoring the local fish curry & rice though expensive compared to mumbai standards.

In my amateur quest to trek in an around Kerala, I take this sucessful as a personal milestone. Many more treks are in the offing and I am sure will go back next year to do more.....
For Chembra trek photos please visit Photos Section at http://www.hikesandtreks.com/

Dinesh Nair'Lone Dravidian' Keeps Trekking...
http://www.hikesandtreks.com/