Trek to Kumar Parvatha - An Account of the Journey - First Travel Blog

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My friend Arun Bagli shared with me an idea of trekking to Kumar Parvatha - 4th highest peak in south India and one of the toughest treks available in the region. He had planned it with his other group of friends and when he said I could hop in, I decided, "Let's do it". The date was perfect 26 January - long weekend, all the necessary travel arrangements were made. We approached X-Dog for renting out trekking related equipment and we were all set to travel to Kukke Subrahmanya on 26th Morning. 


The whole journey can be divided into three stages and narration will follow in the same fashion.

First Leg: From Bengaluru To Bhattar Mane

We left Bengaluru in the early morning hours on Friday the 26th. By 5:30 AM in the morning every group member was inside the tempo traveler (going forward it will be referred to as TT). We stopped at Kicchana Halli Mane Restaurant on Bengaluru - Mangalore Highway (NH75). Which is a South Indian restaurant - the Idli's here were super soft and Vada's were unbelievably crispy. After having heart-fulfilling breakfast, we continued onto our journey to Kukke Shree Subrhamanya Temple. Before we reached our first destination, we stopped on the way at a coffee estate of our co-trekker's friend. After enjoying a rightly proportioned coffee, we headed on to a viewpoint that was just few kilometers away. 
Since it was cloudy, the view was hazy, so the thrill of viewing the sheer drop of the underlying valley could not be fully enjoyed. This spot is known as Bisle Beauty Spot.


We reached the temple premises by around 1:30 in the afternoon and had a light lunch in a nearby restaurant. By around 2:00 PM in the afternoon when the sun was shining bright we unloaded our camping equipment from TT, put on our caps, heaved the backpacks and started our long arduous journey.
We reached the forest entrance in about 5 minutes; the tree cover gave us the much-needed shade from the mighty sun. The first 10 minutes was quiet enjoyable but soon the fatigue started creeping in. Most of us save for few were not experienced to regular trekking, so our breathing increased, heart rate increased and it started feeling a bit challenging. We took frequent breaks in the first one hour of the journey, gulping mouth full of water, having glucose tablets if required. After an hour or so, the body began to acclimatize to the environment and the mind was able to train the body to ignore the pain and move on. The steep never got gentle; it kept increasing at regular intervals.

At about 2 hours into the journey, we came to a spot where there was a small divergence, following which we could find a narrow stream of water. We went there, freshened up a bit and resumed our journey to Bhattar Mane where we had planned to camp.

 

After about another one and half hours we finally reached the camping location. It was 5:30 PM when first among us reached, and by 5:40 PM, the whole group had reached our first pit stop. This first leg of our trek was about 5.5 kilometers and took an average time of 3 hours and 35 minutes. 

Bhattar Mane was in the valley, downhill. We explored for a plane piece of land and pitched our tents. Since we were a group of eight, we had carried two tents that could accommodate four members each. After camping tents, we rested for a while. Then the sunset, darkness slowly engulfed the valley and the torches and lamps started to twinkle creating a vision of night sky on the ragged geography of earth. 

At about 8:00 PM, we marched downhill in hopes to have dinner at Bhattar Mane, but soon our hopes seemed to vaporize seeing the crowd there. Our rough estimate puts the number of visitors who were in queue (it was not a queue) for food (rice, sambhar and buttermilk) somewhere around 350 to 400. Getting plates looked like an impossible task, and there was not sufficient light around which made the whole idea of having the dinner confusing and complicated. However, we persisted, few folks went down and had a chat with the owner of this facility, convinced him to provide us with paper plates with which we finally managed to have dinner. The food was hot and we felt grateful to enjoy cooked food in the middle of the forest. We walked back and soon slept off as were exhausted. The terrain was rough and the climb was steep, it had made us toil, it had made us sweat, so it was time to give our body a much-needed rest.

Second Leg: Bhattar Mane to Kumar Parvatha and Back to Bhattar Mane

Next morning (27-Jan), we got up at around 5:00 AM in the morning. The sun had not risen yet. It was pitch dark and the sky was lit with hundreds of twinkling stars - a rare site in our city lives. Our morning chores were incomplete, apart from brushing and washing the face from the cold water from our bottles filled at Bhattar Mane nothing much could be accomplished.

By around 6:00 AM we were all set, reached forest office, filled up the forms, paid the fees, stored our extra luggage and with few essentials like water and protein bars we set off. For the initial 15 to 20 minutes it was mildly dark, a new day was dawning and it was beautiful sight. The peak of Kumar Parvatha (Pushpagiri) is around 7 kilometers from Bhattar Mane and in between, we encounter noteworthy landmarks like Kallina Mantapa and Shesha Parvatha. The steep and the toughness had doubled compared to our first leg of the journey but since we had less weight to carry and were fresh in the morning, we were doing a good job by covering great lengths in shorter span. By 7:45 AM, we had crossed Kallina Mantapa, we did not stop there and we carried on until the base of Shesha Parvatha which we reached by around 8:45 AM. We took a 15-minute break here; ate apples and protein bars, rejuvenated ourselves and started climbing Shesha Parvatha. This was no ordinary feat as the mountain kept growing and every new stride involved additional mental and physical effort.

From Shesha Parvatha we had to take a small stretch of path (750 meters) that was downhill and under the blanket of the forest. Once this stretch was over, the final climb began to Kumar Parvatha. We had to climb a rock that was almost vertical (about 75-80 degrees). This is the steepest stretch in the whole journey and the climb has to be made carefully. Once you climb this you can see the flags waving at the peak and another 500-meter walk with a gentle uphill slope would take you there. A feeling of accomplishment reverberated across all of us. The first amongst us reached by 10:00 AM and the whole group had finished this climb by 10:30 AM. The seven kilometers took us an average of 3 hours and 45 minutes. We rested a while, had another set of apples, finished most of the water from our water bottles (a careless mistake) and indulged in taking some selfies and photographs. 



We started the climb downhill by 11:00 AM and reached the stretch where it was covered under the blanket of forest. This gave us shade and here we had chapatis (Indian bread) with Mapro Jam and Ching's Sauce. Chapatis were a courtesy of Joshi Mess - Vijaynagar, though they did not actually sponsor it but I felt it was worth mentioning it here. We spent around 15 minutes here before beginning our tiring descent to Bhattar Mane. This descent completely exhausted us, as the climb down was not easy. It was slippery due to loose gravel and our water bottles were empty. Just before Shesha Parvatha is where Arun and I got a separated from rest of the troop. When we both reached Kallina Mantapa it was close to 1:15 PM in the afternoon, the sun was at our heads and we were dehydrated. As we, both climbed down from Kallina Mantapa we found a small stream of water with which we quenched our thirst and resumed our slow walk back to the Bhattar Mane. We took a couple of more breaks stopping for a minute or two and finally made our way back to forest office where rest of our group was waiting for us. It was 2:15 PM when we reached back. We took about 3 hour and 15 minutes to reach back. The faster amongst us took 30 minutes less.

Third Leg: From Bhattar Mane to Bengaluru

We reached Bhattar Mane after taking our backpacks kept at forest office. There was less rush and we latched onto the shining steel plates that were readily available this time. Rice, Sambhar and Buttermilk was served. Knowing there was still a descent to be made we kept our intake of food in check as we did not wanted to overload ourselves. We rested a while in the shade of trees surrounding Bhattar Mane. Fifteen minutes of relaxation was not going to ease our pain. I programmed by brain to rest only once we reach the base and by 3:45 PM we set out. Sun was still blazing but it was not going to be a problem as after 15 minutes of short hike we were once again under the blanket of forest cover. From here on, the rest of the journey - back to the starting point was going to be under the shade.

Descent began with us carrying our heavy backpacks and tent equipment. The path was less slippery compared to the first downhill we did; but was not easy. We kept on going taking few random breaks here and there. By this time, our legs (ankles, knee and thigh) were enduring pain that we had not experienced in a while. A twist in the ankle or another sort of injury would spoil the trek, so exercising extra caution we went on. Some of us went ahead and a few staggered behind. By 5:45 PM, the fastest amongst us had reached the bottom where the TT along with driver was waiting for us. The whole group had completed the descent by 6:15 PM. As soon as we saw tender coconuts, we grabbed them with our welcoming hands and re-hydrated ourselves along with essential natural minerals. We rested a bit at the entrance and then proceeded to our vehicle. The polyurethane foam cushions of our TT helped us relax while we parked ourselves onto them.


We stopped at Kukke Subrahmanya temple, cleaned ourselves using the water running from taps that were kept for the pilgrims outside the temple premises. It was nearing 7:00 PM when we hurriedly entered the temple. The queue was not lengthy; we got darshan and prasadam in quick time and were back to our vehicle by 7:30 PM. We started our return journey discussing the high and low points of the trek. Telling each other our own tale and experiences as during the long trek we had disintegrated into smaller groups few times. We took a different route to Bengaluru this one went via Madikeri. At Sullia (a small town en route), we stopped for dinner before proceeding onto the next stretch of 300+ kilometers. By 6:00 AM next morning, we were back in our respective houses and I guess most of us instantly went to bed and Hypnos the god of sleep welcomed us into his abode.

Tips, Recommendations and Lessons Learnt

  1.  Kumar Parvatha is no more a secret/secluded place known only to serious trekker's as it used to be 5 to 10 years back. During long weekends it is usually crowded, so reach early to secure a good place for pitching your tents
  2. Do not carry lot of stuff keep it minimal. The weight will burden you during the ascent as well as descent
  3. Carry walking sticks, it helps - gives an added advantage and helps you to balance
  4. Descent may be faster, but really strains the knees and ankles so be cautious while climbing down
  5. Carry torch, plenty of water, glucose, bananas and energy bars
  6. X-Dog Trekking offers a whole range of trekking equipment at reasonable price. You can check out more about in the link: http://xdogtrekking.com/
  7. There are few blogs on the Internet by different trekking parties. Do read them and equip yourself with all the necessary information


Timing Information

  1. Bengaluru to Kukke Subrahmanya (Vehicle) - 5:30 AM to 1:30 PM (8 hours)
  2. Kukke Subrahmanya to Bhattar Mane (Trek) - 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM (3.5 hours)
  3. Bhattar Mane to Kumar Parvatha Peak (Trek) - 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM (3.75 hours)
  4. Kumar Parvatha Peak to Bhattar Mane (Trek) - 11:00 AM to 2:15 AM (3.25 hours)
  5. Bhattar Mane to Kukke Subrahmanya (Trek) - 3:45 PM to 6:15 PM (2.5 hours)
  6. Kukke Subrahmanya to Bengaluru (Vehicle) - 7:30 PM to 6:00 AM (10.5 hours - this includes 1 hour stop over for dinner)


Route #1 - Bengaluru to Kukke Subrahmanya




Route #2 - Kukke Subrahmanya to Bengaluru



Trekking Party: Ajay, Arun, Deepak, Param, Satish Burli, Satish Inamdar, Satish Sreenivasan and Vijay
This is a narration by Satish Inamdar


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