Trip To Kemmangundi, Baba Budan Giri & Mullayanagiri

Sahyadrisindia - Trip To Kemmangundi, Baba Budan Giri & Mullayanagiri.

A social organization (Sahyadrisindia) of enthusiastic adventurers, who believes in the spirit of adventure, trekking, camping and so on has started to fulfill its long pending wishes of conquering peaky mountains of the western ghats.

Kemmannugundi is a hill station in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district. It is located at a height of 1434m above sea level. Blessed with silver cascades, mountain streams, and lush vegetation, Kemmangundi’s beautifully laid-out ornamental gardens and enchanting mountains and valleys views are a treat to the eye. The spectacular sunset view from the Raj Bhavan is a photographer’s delight. For the adventurous at heart, Kemmangundi offers many peaks to scale and intricate jungle paths to explore.

After relaxing for a couple of months it’s Sahyadri team again looking for some trekking space. This time it was four of us – Prakash, Sharath, Wholesale-anna ( Prabhakar) and Kathavaraya (Tony). When the clock striked 11 pm we departed from Bengaluru towards Kemmannugundi via Tumkur – Arasikere – Tarikere – Lingadahalli. We reached Lingadahalli @ 05 am in the morning, had a small nap and packed some chicken for the night. After reaching Kemmannugundi we went a head for about 2 kms enroute to Hebbe Falls. The total trekking distance to Hebbe Falls is 10 kms, since the atmosphere was cloudy we hired a jeep for 750/-. The jeep driver maneuvered the tough downhill road pretty well and finally reached an estate from where one has to cross a few small streams to reach the majestic Hebbe Falls. We reached Hebbe falls @ 11 AM. Hebbe was awesome.

I believe the water is falling at the height of 60 - 70 feet. We took some snaps with leech bites and decided to come back to the base camp. We had a nice drink and Chicken curry for lunch at the camp.

Later on we reached the Z point by a steep uphill trek of about 45 mins from Raj Bhavan which is another favourite place of people who want to view a spectacular sunrise. We wandered around Raj Bhavan guest house for a while and decided to halt for the night in the car. I, Wholesale-anna and Sharath had a good drink and a roaring sleep leaving the over-drunk, frightened Kathavaraya sitting awake cursing us for the life shown. We got up @ 5:30 am in the morning and left to Kalhasti falls orKalhatti Falls. The water here cascades down an height of 120 mts. All around are fascinating scenic delights. This picturesque spot is 10 kms from Kemmannugundi way back to Lingadahalli.

The journey continued towards Baba Budangiri and Mullayanagiri. After covering about 50 kms from kemmannugundi towards chickmagalur just 5 kms before chickmagalur town one has to take a right turn to reach Baba Budan and Mullayanagiri hills. We took a right turn and headed uphill, after covering 4 kms the road deviates in two ways – a straight road heading towards Baba Budan hills and road on the left reaching Mullayanagiri. Firstly, we went straight to reach Baba Budan Hill / Datta peeta which is about 20 kms from the deviation. The entire journey towards Datta peeta Hill rejuvenated our energy through scenic views of mountains engulfed in fog. Finally we reached the peak, the peak takes its name from the Muslim saint, Baba Budan, who took up residence here for more than 150 years ago and brought the coffee seeds for the first time from Yemen. The hill consists of a cave which is sanctified by Guru Dattatreya Bababudanswamy Darga which is an ancient and important religious institution held in high esteem by Hindus and Mohammadans alike. Then we reached Manikya Dhara Waterfall to find a lot of people bathing in it throwing their clothes off.

We headed back to the deviation again and took a right turn to climb upwards to reach Mullayanagiri Hill which is about 10kms from here. Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka which is located in the Baba Budan Giri range of theWestern Ghats with a height of 1,930 meters (6,330 ft). It is the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Nilgiris. On the top of the hill there is small temple (Matta) of Mullaiahanaswamy or Shiva. The small hillock in the temple compound is the highest point in Karnataka.

The entire range of mountains consists of enchanting mist covered small roads a delight to drive. After catching all the actions we left Mullayanagiri Hill, on the way we had a chilled-out bath in a chilled-out stream later heading back to Home town via Chickmagalur recalling the past two days.

Written by - Prakash S.J
Photography by - Sharath Kumar
www.sahyadrisindia.org
info@sahydarisindia.org
For More Pictures Click Here

Trek To Tadiandamol

Sahyadrisindia - Recent trek to Tadiandamol

A team which believes in the spirit of adventure, trekking, camping and so on has started to fulfill its long pending wishes of conquering peaky mountains of the western ghats. A social organization (Sahyadrisindia) of enthusiastic adventurers recently conducted a nature camp at the highest peak of Kodagu District.

Tadiandamol 1748m (5,724 ft) is the highest mountain of kodagu district situated near Nalknad Palace which is 40 kms from Madikeri. It is located on the Western Ghats range, a place of interest for trekkers and naturalists. The mountain has patches of Shola forests in the valleys. The peak is not altogether inaccessible; One-third of it can be negotiated on a jeep / bike. The topmost position is rather difficult to ascent. But if one persists and climbs to the top, their exertions are amply rewarded and there from the giddy top of the peak they can look all around towards west and east and feast their eyes on the majestic grandeurs of the slopes.

On a saturday afternoon (16/10/2010) we were on our way to Tadiandamol mountain situated in Virajpet Taluk of Kodagu District. So the five of us – Prakash, Sharath, Unloadanna (Prabhakar), CKT (Suresh) and Iskon (Raghu) left bangalore in a Santro Car at 2 pm. We travelled to Virajpet via Srirangapatna – Ilavala – Hunsur – Gonikoppa – Virajpet – Kakabbe. At 6:30 pm we got down at Virajpet to pack some food for dinner. The thrive to have Coorgi Pork was fulfilled by hotel Madhupana Restaurant. We left virajpet and reached Kakkabe at about 7:45 pm and found a person around to guide us for directions — we should have got down at another junction just 1 km before kakabbe where Nalknad palace will be the base camp. We thought Home Stays are very expensive for our standards and decided to spend a night in the car. A good drink with un-tasty pork and late night chill denied the sleep.

TREK BEGINS:

At 6.30 am, we started off in the car till the end of the tar road. After parking the vehicle the trek started exactly at 6:45 am, numerous sessions of photography en route were on. There are foot trails leading to the mountains but you don’t generally follow these, as sometimes the path abruptly turns in one direction and you start ascending a different peak altogether. This series of hills interspersed with Shola forests is the highlight of the trek. After passing a series of small green peaks and shola forests, the climb was getting steeper, unloadanna had enough of trek, waiting for the occasion ‘Pillar legged Iskon’ took his hands off and they both decided to stay back. The trek continued by three of us, the endless sight of mountain ranges mixed with the green forest cover and the cool breeze slamming our faces made the trek worthwhile and our fatigue vanish. After a series passing mountains gradually the tallest peak was visible and it rejuvenated our energy.

After nearly two hours of strenuous uphill trek finally we were at the top of the Tadiandamol peak at 8:40 am (the highest elevation in Kodagu district) and one of the highest peaks in Karnataka. A sense of relief, exhilaration, joy, some pride - the feeling of being on top of the world can’t be described in words, it has to be felt and enjoyed. We waited for the cool mist to clear off to give a sight of the surrounding mountians, the clicking of photos and removing leeches was on..

We also realised why camping here is extremely difficult - it was an open narrow hilltop with shola forest on one side depth and gorge on other sides, strong winds can be unbearable in the night. Besides, there was no firewood in sight and the ground was moist. Carrying all the camping stuff to the peak itself would be an arduous task and water is scarce too.

After a few minutes break soaking in the beautiful sight around us, we swiftly descended down; fog had completely eclipsed the surroundings. The weather was still chilly and the sun was playing hide and seek. The Tadiandamol peak was completely engulfed in fog. We left for the long walk back and found unloadanna and pillar legged iskon resting on a huge black rock en route finally reaching the car at about 10-45 am.

Written by – Prakash S.J
Photography by - Sharath Kumar
www.sahyadrisindia.org
info@sahydarisindia.org
For More Pictures Click Here