Situated in Sullia taluk of the Western Ghats, these mountains have the reputation of being the toughest hike in Southern India. It had a hiker totally lost for ages in the jungles to finally find himself almost dead. It is also rumored to have sheltered some of the tough naxalites. Some still fear that they would never conquer this second highest peak in the state of Karnataka. But fears are after all fears! Tribe de adventure - "adivaas" planned to beat the odds, kick the fears to explore "the" mountains of Kumara Parvata.
On the 27th day of February 2009, a tribe of 11 adivaasis ventured out from Bangalore on KSRTC Airawat at 23:15 IST. The scheduled arrival at Kushalnagar was 04:15 IST the next day, but the bus dropped us off early by 03:15 IST. Our next ride, Tempo Trax was planned to arrive at 04:15 IST. So the next hour passed in the bus station chatting as a few sleepy heads dozed off. It then took us about 80 minutes to reach Beedhalli Forest Camp.
After having freshened up, we paid the forest entry charges and we were on our feet towards Pushpagiri with Nagaraju, our guide for the expedition. It was around 09:00 IST when we started and the day was already bright. The initial hike was through thick cover of trees and hence was pleasant for first 5kms. There were numerous birds that we could hear, but not many to spot. The entire tribe was quite enthusiastic all along and covered the distance fast. We only took short breaks to catch up with each other's stupid jokes.
We got exposed to open air after 5kms, but the clouds started to cover us for the rest of the hike and kept us cool. The last 2kms had about 3 steep rocks and the climb little tough. This slowed the tribe, but not the enthusiasm. Just before noon, we conquered Pushpagiri peak to witness clouds passing by the heavenly mountains. There was also a view point from where one could get the echoes. People spent time shouting out their names, taking pictures and witnessing the beautiful valleys. People then energized themselves with the packed lunch, mostly bread and jam.
We continued our trek towards Kumara Parvata and the hike was not that long. We reached the peak in an hour. The peak had numerous points which attracted people flocking to get themselves captured in a picture. There was also an unforgettable moment when the a huge disturbed bee colony stormed towards us. Everyone went flat on the ground, but no one was bitten at the end thankfully.
We continued our trek towards Kallu Mantapa and the terrain changed to grasslands with scattered rocks everywhere. A few centuries back, there must have been a huge volcanic eruption which threw up lava generously to form those course looking rocks (well this was at least our imagination). We reached Kallu mantapa before sunset, which is usually the hikers' overnight camping site. We searched a lot for an appropriate camping site with flat surface and without rocks. We then zeroed on a site immediately next to the water pond and everyone got busy learning to put up the tents. Before the tired souls could hide themselves in the tents, the rest of the evening was spent on Antakshari and ready-to-eat dinner.
Om, Nagaraju (our guide) and I were up early the next morning. Om decided to hike up a small hill to get a better glimpse at the sunrise. The rest of the tribe took their own time to get out of their sleeping bags as we cleared the camping site by 08:30IST. Our next stop was the food fueling station at the famous Battermane (which in Kannada means Cook's house). After a worthy breakfast, we then started our trek to Kukke Subramanya. But we surely took it easy and slow this time, as we had good amount of time in our hands. We were also lucky to spot Wood Peckers on the way.
As we reached Kukke Subramanya, we loaded most of our bags in the temple owned free luggage room facility. We were then at Kumara Dhare for the much needed river bathing. We spent a lot of time at the river and not to forget the marvellous mimicry by our very own Hari that we witnessed there. As we got back from Kumara Dhare, people made quick tours to the holy temple. After the dinner, we were in the bus station to catch KSRTC Rajahamsa scheduled for 22:30 IST. The next morning the tribe bid farewells to each other promising to meet soon in another adivaas expedition.
The Kumara Parvata expediton was indeed one of the toughest treks. But the perfect decision to start from Beedhalli made it easier as compared to the start from Kukke Subramanya. The entire expedition team (Vini, Jaga, Dipti, Ganesh, Anu, Hari, Om, Prashanth, Parag & Prasad including me of course) was wonderful fun and everyone was surely a great sport. Hats off to the heavenly western ghats of course!
On the 27th day of February 2009, a tribe of 11 adivaasis ventured out from Bangalore on KSRTC Airawat at 23:15 IST. The scheduled arrival at Kushalnagar was 04:15 IST the next day, but the bus dropped us off early by 03:15 IST. Our next ride, Tempo Trax was planned to arrive at 04:15 IST. So the next hour passed in the bus station chatting as a few sleepy heads dozed off. It then took us about 80 minutes to reach Beedhalli Forest Camp.After having freshened up, we paid the forest entry charges and we were on our feet towards Pushpagiri with Nagaraju, our guide for the expedition. It was around 09:00 IST when we started and the day was already bright. The initial hike was through thick cover of trees and hence was pleasant for first 5kms. There were numerous birds that we could hear, but not many to spot. The entire tribe was quite enthusiastic all along and covered the distance fast. We only took short breaks to catch up with each other's stupid jokes.We got exposed to open air after 5kms, but the clouds started to cover us for the rest of the hike and kept us cool. The last 2kms had about 3 steep rocks and the climb little tough. This slowed the tribe, but not the enthusiasm. Just before noon, we conquered Pushpagiri peak to witness clouds passing by the heavenly mountains. There was also a view point from where one could get the echoes. People spent time shouting out their names, taking pictures and witnessing the beautiful valleys. People then energized themselves with the packed lunch, mostly bread and jam.
We continued our trek towards Kumara Parvata and the hike was not that long. We reached the peak in an hour. The peak had numerous points which attracted people flocking to get themselves captured in a picture. There was also an unforgettable moment when the a huge disturbed bee colony stormed towards us. Everyone went flat on the ground, but no one was bitten at the end thankfully.We continued our trek towards Kallu Mantapa and the terrain changed to grasslands with scattered rocks everywhere. A few centuries back, there must have been a huge volcanic eruption which threw up lava generously to form those course looking rocks (well this was at least our imagination). We reached Kallu mantapa before sunset, which is usually the hikers' overnight camping site. We searched a lot for an appropriate camping site with flat surface and without rocks. We then zeroed on a site immediately next to the water pond and everyone got busy learning to put up the tents. Before the tired souls could hide themselves in the tents, the rest of the evening was spent on Antakshari and ready-to-eat dinner.
Om, Nagaraju (our guide) and I were up early the next morning. Om decided to hike up a small hill to get a better glimpse at the sunrise. The rest of the tribe took their own time to get out of their sleeping bags as we cleared the camping site by 08:30IST. Our next stop was the food fueling station at the famous Battermane (which in Kannada means Cook's house). After a worthy breakfast, we then started our trek to Kukke Subramanya. But we surely took it easy and slow this time, as we had good amount of time in our hands. We were also lucky to spot Wood Peckers on the way.As we reached Kukke Subramanya, we loaded most of our bags in the temple owned free luggage room facility. We were then at Kumara Dhare for the much needed river bathing. We spent a lot of time at the river and not to forget the marvellous mimicry by our very own Hari that we witnessed there. As we got back from Kumara Dhare, people made quick tours to the holy temple. After the dinner, we were in the bus station to catch KSRTC Rajahamsa scheduled for 22:30 IST. The next morning the tribe bid farewells to each other promising to meet soon in another adivaas expedition.The Kumara Parvata expediton was indeed one of the toughest treks. But the perfect decision to start from Beedhalli made it easier as compared to the start from Kukke Subramanya. The entire expedition team (Vini, Jaga, Dipti, Ganesh, Anu, Hari, Om, Prashanth, Parag & Prasad including me of course) was wonderful fun and everyone was surely a great sport. Hats off to the heavenly western ghats of course!
