Mission: Kumara Parvatha
Objective: Set foot upon the Peak
Agents : Vinod, Imran, Rama and yours truly
Strategy: Climb from Kukke, Reach Peak and get down to Girigadde the same evening.
Attempt: second time for me after an unsuccessful attempt last December.

Okay. Now that the plan is chalked out and we are all set, let’s begin the journey which turned out to be an affair to remember! It was a sudden plan and we were off to Kukke on Friday night. It was an uneventful ride until we were somewhere around Gundiya Check post after which the ride was pretty bumpy and by 6.30 in the morning we were at Kukke. Last time I saw this place, we reached around the same time and I found Kukke to be a sleepy little town. However the town was teeming with activity this morning. After freshening up at the public restrooms and having breakfast, off we go by 7.30. Oh, but before I start I wanted to check my weight and so I did! Wait and watch to know by how much it came down.




We hit the trail by 8 AM. This being monsoon season, we were apprehensive about the leech infested first 5 kms of the trek. Salt, tobacco, pain relief sprays (more for leeches than pain ;) ) were duly packed. Well as expected, there were lots of leeches but constant vigilance and the salt/spray worked like a charm. It was not as tiring as the last time partly due to the pleasant weather and partly maybe due to my trekking experience since then.2 hours of trekking takes you above the forest canopy and it is now that one can get a good view of all the mountain range surrounding and the clouds if lucky! A couple of shots and an hour later we reached Bhattaru Mane. We had lunch at 11 and by 12 we started to reach the peak and return back to Bhatta’s place.

KP was looming above the temple right in front of us and we couldn’t wait to start the journey to the peak. Spirits were soaring high and so the journey begins. We started walking towards KP. A right turn from the temple leads to the trail. After some 15-20 minutes walk on the road through the village, one can spot the official trail with a welcome board informing the details of KP.

Now we were heading into thick jungle and it is steady ascent for most parts. The initial 5km stretch passes through thick canopy of trees and the trail is mostly roots of those trees providing a stable footing among rocks. Initial enthusiasm got us past through not even the first half-an-hour. Realization dawned pretty early! We were totally drenched in sweat and already exhausted. Just half an hour into the trek this was our condition and we were looking at a whole day of steady ascent with obstacles we did not imagine yet. The light breakfast we had was of no help and we were feeling hungry and drained. At that time some angel I suppose offered us an orange. It was pure delight! The citrus fruit had worked its magic effect and we were feeling better than a minute before. It is at times like this that one actually appreciates the value of basic essentials of life. Never had an orange tasted so good in my entire 23 years of existence! And then again, the four of us were getting ahead slowly with frequent breaks to ease our tired bodies. The weight we were carrying got us tired even more than usual. But we were told we will leave our entire luggage at Bhatta’s house. That was some consolation getting us past this rocky ascent.3 hrs of trek in the dense jungle brought us to Bhattaru mane at around 12.30 – 1.00 PM. Rice, Sambar and some pickles were served for lunch. We were good to go by 1.30 again. The plan was to reach the peak by 3 or 4 PM and then start the descent to reach Bhattaru mane by 5-6 PM. So off we go by 1.30.