Kudremukha Trek

Travel is an addiction and I have to have my dose of it every now and then. It was April 2013 and I desperately needed a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. And as happens all the time I started planning a trip. I wanted to exert myself and the 15 km trek to the Kudremukha peak and 15 km downhill really titillated my travel buds. I instantly did some research on the place as I usually do and everything fell into place all by itself.

I fixed the journey date and booked the bus tickets and my travel partners followed commands.

There was no direct bus from Bangalore to Kudremukha. The nearest bus station was Kalasa which was about 311 kms from Bangalore and about 22.5 kms from Kudremukha.

So on 26th April we reached Majestic at around 8.30 pm. Abhisek could not join us due to some last minute official commitment. So it was the three of us this time around; myself, Joga and Debanjan.

We had dinner at our all-time favorite eatery in Majestic, “National Restaurant”. Our patriotism (not the food as you might have been guessing) takes us there every time.

After some real hard time trying to register directions thrown at us in Kannada we reached the exact spot from where buses to Kalasa leave. And after another gruesome ten minutes we were finally able to firmly settle our asses in the bus that was supposed to take us to Kalasa.

The road condition was good. The ride wasn’t all that bumpy.

We reached Kalasa the next morning at around 7 am. We had tea and biscuits from a nearby tea shop and enquired the teashop owner regarding how to reach Kudremukha. We do that all the time. He said that local buses ply every one hour and the bus stand was right opposite his shop. Aha! Bliss.

At around 7.40 am we got the bus to Kudremukha. It was an enchanting ride along the winding trail and ample eye soothing green outside the window.

After about half an hour we reached Kudremukha.

We had to take the trekking permission from Kudremukha tourism office which was like 2 minutes’ walk from the bus stop. And another ecstatic moment. It was almost around 9.30 am when we got the permission (which costed us 250 rupees each, guide separate) in our hands. And then we had to go all the way to Mullodhi which was the base of the trek. Joga wasn’t really for it. We gave into Joga’s ardent pleas and postponed the trek to next day. Instead we decided to go to Hanumangundi falls which was like 40 minutes ride from Kudremukha.

And like the last travel update I will not describe the place but let the picture do it all.

And after coming back to Kudremukha we were like hungry wolves ready to devour anything that our hands would lay on. We had tea, biscuits and cakes from a local tea shop and enquired about  non-veg eateries nearby. He told us to go to Kalasa if we were in real need of chicken and fish. We were in real need. Nothing could be more real than our love for good food.

We went to Kalasa and the first thing that our eyes met was a non-veg restaurant (Raj restaurant) with pictures of succulent fish and tender chicken just near the bus-stand. We gorged on fish fries and chicken kebabs. The price was quite reasonable. After our tummies had no more complains we started with our hotel hunting. It wasn't difficult to find one. Just nearby was "Chandan Lodge" which looked pretty decent. The charges were 600 rupees/ night for a double bed room. Good enough.

Next day we started early. We reached Balagal by bus which took us around 15 minutes. From there we went to Mullodhi by auto which charged us 200 rupees. There are jeeps available but they charge around 600 rupees but since we were three in number auto seemed a better option. The auto dropped us at Mullodhi from where our guide, Rajesh took over. The auto driver had called Rajesh earlier to be our guide and he had agreed.

So we started our trek. Some 2 kms away we saw home stays. We asked Rajesh about the charges. He said they costed around 600/person/day. To that he added that his home is a home stay too and the charges were 500/person/day.

After a 15 km walk through forests and steep inclines we reached the Kudremukha peak. It was tiring to say the least. Joga cursed us heavily every time he was able to take some breath. It was his first trek and for a first timer I would not suggest this trek. The route is not difficult but the distance to the peak does the trick. You need to be a regular trekker to cover 15 kms to reach the top.

While coming down we faced a hail storm. And it made the ascend difficult but made our experience all the more enriching and of course burnt a hole in my pocket (my camera went for a permanent holiday). Rajesh took us to his house, offered us towels to dry ourselves up and served us coffee. He lit fire for us. He had a brother and mother at home. All of them were so humble and welcoming. The other went on incessantly ln Kannada. What I could figure out was that she was asking us to visit them again. The atmosphere at Rajesh's house made up for all the sweat we had shed, all the trouble we had taken. Such experiences  are treasures in the chest called 'life'.

The rain made the hilly roads slippery ande no vehicle was ready to come to Mullodhi. So we had to walk all the way down. I could not dare to look at Joga's face. He was pissed off to the extent of planning our funeral. However a localite whom we met midway helped us out. He called his friend who was a auto driver who agreed to take us to Kalasa. He charged us 150 rupees which was like the best that could have happene. When we reached Kalasa it was 5.30 pm and we were drenched to our skin. We desperately needed to change bt we had already checked out in the morning. But Debanjan took the responsibility to talk to the hostel authorities and request them to give us the keys for some 30 mins and he was able to manage them. Some of the few things he successfully accomplished.

Myself

Rolling hills

Forest trails

Fallen Legend - Joga

Cloud nine

Stretches of Savanna grasslands

Rajesh's home

After leaving the hotel room we had dinner and waited for our bus to arrive.
At around 10.30 pm we boarded our bus back to Bangalore and ended another trek and another handful of memories got added to my travel diary.

Magical Malpe.......

My exams got over on the 6^th of December and this called for some kind of grand celebration. What better way to do it than plan a trip to some exotic locale where you can apparently touch nature and take a good rest in its lap. And I did just the same. A beach trip is the best way to unwind according to me. The waves take away all your sluggishness in one go. And so this time I planned for Udupi, Karnataka. Google search enlightened me with the fact that Malpe beach in Udupi sure was one of the cleanest beaches in India. And the images of the beach and St. Mary’s island that cropped up seemed so fetching and irresistible. I did not take any time to make up my mind. I conveyed my plans to the other members of my travelling group viz., Debanjan, Abhisek and Joga (aka Joydeep) and they agreed immediately. So bus tickets were booked through K.S.R.T.C. website (from Bangalore to Kundapura bus stop, Udupi). There were frequent buses plying from Bangalore to Udupi via Mangalore and it wasn't an upheaval task to book the tickets.

After having dinner at Kempegowda bus stand, Bangalore, from where we were supposed to board the bus, we started our journey on Friday night (07.11.2012) at 9.50 pm. It was a smooth ride all along and we reached our destination the day after at 7 am in the morning. From there we took a bus to Malpe beach which took us about 15 mins to reach our halting-place (fare 7 rupees, distance around 4 km).

The first sight of the beach with its pristine white sand was so fetching that I could not wait soaking myself in its beauty. But then we had to search for a hotel to rest our hung-up heads. And the search wasn’t as easy as we thought. Options were scarce. The Paradise resort facing the beach was a costly option and we were in no mood to spend a bucket full of money. The other options close to the sea were Vindhya lodge and Beach Guest House. They were full. And we almost started planning to put up in the beach itself when we got hold of some villas at low cost (Rs. 1000) a little away from the beach but since it was a mixed group (me being a girl) the owner did not allow us. Hard luck. We took a bus back to Malpe. The first hotel we went to had no rooms available. I really started thinking that Sharukh Khan must be having shooting schedules in Malpe or why else would every hotel be full on the 8^th of December? And finally we got a four-bed room in Rajmahal Lodge at Rs. 600/night. A shower of relief descended on us. After having breakfast and tea in a nearby veg hotel (Shanti Sagar, reasonable rate, good South-Indian food, and Chinese variety isn’t worth trying) we started off for the beach (walkable distance). The beach was waiting intently to welcome us with its white sand and sparking blue water. Almost luring you to sin, literally. A sight so treasurable that you would always keep it afresh in your mind. 

The Gandhi statue at the you can entrance of Malpe beach

When the sea and sky were one

Silhouettes

After Joga and Abhisek had their go at speed boat ride (which they felt wasn’t worth the money (@Rs. 150 per person) and they surely seemed highly dejected about the whole thing) we started on our way to St. Mary’s island on a ferry (again @Rs. 150 per person). We were given an hour time to get around the island and we were warned not to try getting into the water at the back of the island which they said seemed shallower than it really was. The island was as exotic as an island could be… It had monolithic rocks sprouting from nowhere. There were crabs and fishes roaming about and the best part was that you could really see them since the water there was as clear as one could imagine. I completely fell in love with the island. The landscape sure was a photographer’s delight. When our one hour was over I was really gushing for more. 

St. Mary's Island from the ferry

The beginning of the exotica

Debanjan all taken by the place

The sight which can really take away all your blues

Joga in all his might

Monolithic rocks

From the edge

Pristine beauty

All that glitters is not gold... sometimes it is water...

A bed of coral

Bye bye St. Mary's island

We returned to our hotel after having a satisfying non-veg lunch at a beach-side restaurant called Thongsepar (and I really don’t know what that is supposed to mean… What I can possibly tell you is that the price card was quite reasonable and the fish they served was fresh and juicy). 

The white sand of Malpe beach

The sight so treasurable

After a good afternoon nap (we really needed it bad) we were ready to go. We walked all the way to the beach and captured the sunset in its true glory in our minds and in frame too. After the sun was nowhere to be seen in the horizon we jumped into the sea for some fun. After almost a two hour appointment with water, we came to the shore all drenched and heavy with sand. We freshened ourselves in the beach wash room (pretty clean and you need to part off with a meager ten rupees for it), had a sumptuous evening snack (it was almost dinner you could say…. We were really hungry so to say) at the same Thongsepar and walked all the way back to our hotel. We packed our dinner from the same hotel where we had breakfast in the morning and took it to our hotel room. 

Silhouette

The setting sun

After having a nice bath we decided to relax with a southie blockbuster on TV. While we were having dinner Joga spoke to one of his friends Sanjib and fixed a meeting with him in Mangalore. We were all very happy to join him given the travel enthusiasts that we were. A new place always excites us without fail. So the plan was made.

Next morning at 8.30 am we were off to Mangalore. We reached Mangalore by 10.00 am. We reached Sanjib’s place by 11 am. We had breakfast at his place and chit-chatted till lunch was served at around 1 pm. After having lunch we set off to Panambur beach. There we had a nice time in water. After the war with water was over we had some snacks on a beach-side café while watching the sun imparting a reddish glow all over the sky. We were back to Sanjib’s place by 7.30 pm.

Live star fishes at Panambur beach

Me there

The row of boats

Abhisek lost in translation

From left Abhisek, Debanjan, Joga, Sanjib and me in front

We had dinner at a restaurant (Halal Tikka something something it went) which was pretty close to the Mangalore bus stand from where we were supposed to board the bus to Bangalore at 10.30 pm (Yeah the Mangalore plan came up all of a sudden and we had booking from Udupi. So we had to make this hoard of phone calls to ensure that the change had been registered by K.S.R.T.C., but nonetheless the people over phone were helpful and we eventually managed to set things right). After our dinner, we waited at the bus-stop for our respective bus. And we finally bid adieu to Mangalore at 10.45 pm. And ended another treasurable trip.

The top seems to be my favourite destination....

One day trip to Savandurga......

There was some random e-mail in my inbox from some website featuring flash deals regarding a conducted tour to a place called Savandurga, Asia's largest monolithic hill..... Largest, tallest, fattest and fastest.... These superlatives always have a deep impact on my mind.... And immediately I decided to visit the place.... I told Debanjan regarding the plan and my ever ready travelling partner gave me the responsibility to plan the entire trip.... I informed Joydeep, my friend form my undergraduate days, who currently lives in Bangalore, and he too answered in affirmative.... And I jumped on the task in hand..... Initially we planned to go by car but our budget was so tight that the car seemed to be a distant dream.... And immediately I looked for the bus routes... And to my surprise there were numerous buses plying from Majestic to the destination..... I noted down the bus numbers... And we were all geared up for an eventful climb to the top... Myself, Debanjan, Joydeep, and Jayanta, a friend from Bangalore......