Kodachadri trek is unarguably one of the scariest & most adventurous trek I ever did till date. Hope it remains the only scariest trek. Ever since Kumaraparvatha happened, we always wanted to relive the experience of carrying the backpacks through the foggy mountain trails with lush greenery on either side. Thus Kodachadri happened.
Route - Bangalore -> Shimoga -> Jog Falls - > Kollur -> Kodachadri -> Hidlumane -> Nittur -> Bangalore
Jog Falls & Mookambika Temple -
The experience at the Jog falls wasn't very great. It was a not-so-much-monsoon season and there was hardly any water in the falls. Bad time to visit Jog falls. Special prayers & poojas were happening in Mookambika temple, Kollur. The temple was over crowded & took a long time in the queue to get darshan. Interesting trivia about this place is that only males without any clothes on top are permitted to enter.
The mistaken identity -
It was approximately 12th or 13th break, we decided to have lunch before the chapati masala cross its expiry time. Running low on water, and still 5Kms more to reach the peak, we were cautious not to waste water. The lunch was filling & when the water bottle was taking its turns amongst us, Mohan was lost in the conversation and involuntarily reached out to the bottle on the other side of the bag which had the Diesel for the camp fire. Dharani was quick in pointing out, but not that quicker in preventing Diesel reaching his stomach. Mohan took over the rest of the water bottle, goggling & burping all along the way. Muthu meanwhile worried about the reduction in quantity of the Diesel for camp fire.
Scary Adventure -
Unaware ( rather I should say careless) of the fact that camping is prohibited, we carried heavy tents all the way up. Being warned by the locals that the rangers on rounds will take away the tents, the only option we had was to opt for stay in Battermane. But that would make all the efforts of carrying the backpacks all the way up go void. We found a flat surface 3 kms trekking down & laid the tents by 6 PM. Unfortunately Battermane had no parcel services & we were asked to be there at 8.15 PM for dinner. It was completely dark by 7 PM, we started climbing through the forest. 12 people trekking in the forest at night with small LED torch lights surrounded by complete darkness, it was scary. The most scariest of all came after completing dinner, when we walked to the terrace. It was complete pitch black. We trekked down very carefully on the narrow trails, each one ensuring the other doesn't get lost. Could have been a cakewalk for Bear Grylls, but still one of the scariest episodes. It was a great sense of relief after reaching the camping site. Scary adventure indeed.
Hidlumane Falls -
The timing at which we reached Hidlumane falls was perfect. It was long walk, scorching sun chasing on top, hardly any shades to hide and finally at the end of a tiresome trek you find this hidden treasure awaiting. The bath at Hidlumane falls was very much refreshing taking away all the tiredness in the trek. Personally I would suggest to trek from Kollur, so that you can experience the sheer joy Hidlumane Falls offers. We spent around 2 hrs at this place.
Trek Information -
Total days - 3. Dec - 29 to Dec 31.
Day 1 - Jog Falls in the morning. Sight seeing at Moogambika Temple and stay in Kollur.
Day 2 - Trek from Kollur to Kodachadri.
Day 3 - Trek from Kodachadri to Nittur. Return to Bangalore.
Trek Routes - 1) Via Kollur 2) Via Nittur 3) Jeep Route.
Distance - approx 20kms.
Contact Numbers - Rajendra ( 9449145540 )
Network Signal - zero.
Food & Accommodation ( Day 1 ) - Hotels in Jog falls & nearby places. Kerala style restaurants in Kollur. Plenty of lodges in Kollur.
Food & Accommodation ( Day 2 ) - Packed lunch ( we got chapathis ) at Kollur. Yummy dinner & breakfast at Battermane on the hill top. Accommodations available at Battermane & PWD house on pre-booking. Dinner at Battermane gets served at 8 and you need to tell in advance. Couple of Buttermilk vendors along the trial route. Not much of water streams due to lack of rains. 'Hotel Santhosh' at 5kms if you trek from Kollur. Accommodation available at Hidlumane( 5kms ) if you trek from Nittur.
Cheers,
Prem.
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| Refractions of Nature |
Route - Bangalore -> Shimoga -> Jog Falls - > Kollur -> Kodachadri -> Hidlumane -> Nittur -> Bangalore
Jog Falls & Mookambika Temple -
The experience at the Jog falls wasn't very great. It was a not-so-much-monsoon season and there was hardly any water in the falls. Bad time to visit Jog falls. Special prayers & poojas were happening in Mookambika temple, Kollur. The temple was over crowded & took a long time in the queue to get darshan. Interesting trivia about this place is that only males without any clothes on top are permitted to enter.
 |
| Raja stream at Jog falls |
The mistaken identity -
It was approximately 12th or 13th break, we decided to have lunch before the chapati masala cross its expiry time. Running low on water, and still 5Kms more to reach the peak, we were cautious not to waste water. The lunch was filling & when the water bottle was taking its turns amongst us, Mohan was lost in the conversation and involuntarily reached out to the bottle on the other side of the bag which had the Diesel for the camp fire. Dharani was quick in pointing out, but not that quicker in preventing Diesel reaching his stomach. Mohan took over the rest of the water bottle, goggling & burping all along the way. Muthu meanwhile worried about the reduction in quantity of the Diesel for camp fire.
 |
| Into the wild |
Unaware ( rather I should say careless) of the fact that camping is prohibited, we carried heavy tents all the way up. Being warned by the locals that the rangers on rounds will take away the tents, the only option we had was to opt for stay in Battermane. But that would make all the efforts of carrying the backpacks all the way up go void. We found a flat surface 3 kms trekking down & laid the tents by 6 PM. Unfortunately Battermane had no parcel services & we were asked to be there at 8.15 PM for dinner. It was completely dark by 7 PM, we started climbing through the forest. 12 people trekking in the forest at night with small LED torch lights surrounded by complete darkness, it was scary. The most scariest of all came after completing dinner, when we walked to the terrace. It was complete pitch black. We trekked down very carefully on the narrow trails, each one ensuring the other doesn't get lost. Could have been a cakewalk for Bear Grylls, but still one of the scariest episodes. It was a great sense of relief after reaching the camping site. Scary adventure indeed.
 |
| Condition of my shoes upon reaching the top |
 |
| Windows Xp'd |
The timing at which we reached Hidlumane falls was perfect. It was long walk, scorching sun chasing on top, hardly any shades to hide and finally at the end of a tiresome trek you find this hidden treasure awaiting. The bath at Hidlumane falls was very much refreshing taking away all the tiredness in the trek. Personally I would suggest to trek from Kollur, so that you can experience the sheer joy Hidlumane Falls offers. We spent around 2 hrs at this place.
 |
| Lost in Nature |
Total days - 3. Dec - 29 to Dec 31.
Day 1 - Jog Falls in the morning. Sight seeing at Moogambika Temple and stay in Kollur.
Day 2 - Trek from Kollur to Kodachadri.
Day 3 - Trek from Kodachadri to Nittur. Return to Bangalore.
Trek Routes - 1) Via Kollur 2) Via Nittur 3) Jeep Route.
Distance - approx 20kms.
Contact Numbers - Rajendra ( 9449145540 )
Network Signal - zero.
Food & Accommodation ( Day 1 ) - Hotels in Jog falls & nearby places. Kerala style restaurants in Kollur. Plenty of lodges in Kollur.
Food & Accommodation ( Day 2 ) - Packed lunch ( we got chapathis ) at Kollur. Yummy dinner & breakfast at Battermane on the hill top. Accommodations available at Battermane & PWD house on pre-booking. Dinner at Battermane gets served at 8 and you need to tell in advance. Couple of Buttermilk vendors along the trial route. Not much of water streams due to lack of rains. 'Hotel Santhosh' at 5kms if you trek from Kollur. Accommodation available at Hidlumane( 5kms ) if you trek from Nittur.
Cheers,
Prem.
Interesting, brief travelogue and the pictures are fantastic! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteWell written, captured the interesting moments nicely, (yes Pats drinking diesel is indeed an interesting moment); you missed an important note: "You pushed everyone into the scariest moments"
ReplyDeleteSo that we all can have a good laugh later :P
Deleteis signal strength seriously zero??even from pwd guest house at the top of hill?
ReplyDeleteYup. Airtel had no coverage. The people there were using BSNL if I remember correctly.
DeleteCan we camp at the peak? Or somewhere in between?
ReplyDelete3 years back, yes it was allowed. But not aware of the current situation.
Delete