'Kudremukha' meaning Horse's Face is the third highest peak in the Indian State of Karnataka. Our office organised a trek to this peak. Forty of us undertook the trek.
We started from Mysore at about 2200 hrs on a Friday night. All of us crammed into a budget bus, needless to say, sleep seldom came. After a seemingly long night, we reached Horanadu at day break. Our bus halted in the temple of goddess Annapoorneshwari Devi. Annapoorna means the 'giver of food'.
We freshened up in the Public washroom here. It was a first for me. There were public toilets in the temple premises and there too I relieved myself. Again a first for me.
The temple was magnificent and unlike magnificent temples in India, it wasn't very crowded.
So I paid my respects to the main deity there. One thing that I particularly remember is that Men have to enter the temple without a shirt, bare chested or with an 'anga-vastram'. I didn't have an 'anga-vastram', You don't really pack 'anga-vastrams' for nature treks, so bare chested I was.
The last time I had to visit a temple bare chested was in Dharmasthala.
After our temple 'darshan' we proceeded to our colleague, Mr Guru's ancestral house. He offered to host us for the day. Very nice of him to do so.
After driving for about an hour or so, we reached the banks of a river, most probably the Bhadra river. In his childhood days Mr Guru would come here and play. His school was somewhere nearby.
It was nice to be on the riverside, with serenity and tranquility.
There were many among us, who at the sight of a river would strip down to bare essentials and then take a dunk.
After a nice time on the river banks we proceed to Mr Guru's home. On the way we stopped by a viewing spot.To get to the viewing spot from the main road, was itself a mini trek. We reached a dilapidated watch tower like structure, from where we could see the vast green expanse of the Western Ghats.
After about an hour we reached Mr Guru's house. His elder brothers and family were living there and were taking care of the estate. The road further was too narrow for a bus. So on foot we went. The path leading to his house had thick and dense shrubs on both the sides.
We were warmly greeted by his mother, brothers and their families.
The house was ancient with tiled roofs. Surrounding the house were tea gardens, acres of them.
We had a sumptuous lunch at his house. We had to sit cross legged and food was served on a large banana leaf. I had a little problem sitting cross legged, but somehow managed. After food, everyone took a siesta. Most of us slept in the verandah. I couldn't sleep though. I was too excited.
In the evening we went for a stroll through the tea gardens. Then we reached the banks of a river. I guess it was the same river. The water looked sparkling and clean. For a change I too took a dunk in the water. The water was frigid. We had to be careful though, as the current was strong and one of us was almost washed away. Luckily a boulder stopped him. He got a few bruises.
Even with that small incident, we had great fun,
We then went back to Mr Guru's house, and we had dinner. One particular food item that I remember was jackfruit 'appalam'. I bought some from the local store.
After the delicious dinner, we proceeded to a lone house near the Kudremukha peak. We had to make our way to the bus through the dirt path in pitch darkness. Our torches came handy.
The guest house was very close to our starting point.There were forty of us and a bed room with an attached bathroom. Obviously all of us didn't fit. There were some mattresses on the floor of that room and there were few mattresses outside. First come first serve, and I came in the last. So I spent my night on the verandah with a few other guys.
There was one thing I was sure off, if a wild animal came for a light snack, I would't be the first it would taste.
After the bonfire, the usual songs etc, we called it a day.
The next morning we were to leave at 0800 hrs. We didn't have to trek right from the guest house. There were about 6 jeeps that ferried us to the foothills of the peak.
From there our arduous journey would begin on feet. We left our luggage at the Guest House and carried a small bag with packed lunch with us. About water, I learnt that on trek we ought to drink water from the flowing streams. No Filter No UV and No RO. And guess what it tastes much better.
In the Picture above our destination was the peak with a steep cliff.
I remembered the movie 'Lakshya' where the protagonist exclaimed 'Woh hai mere Lakshya', which translates to 'That is my Goal'.
It was a 10 km trek one way. So we had to reach the summit, have Lunch there and be back by evening, before it gets dark. We were in the Shola forest, and no one wants to be in a forest after dark.
For about 4km or so, the trek wasn't very tiring. There weren't many ups and downs, though there was a gradual incline.
Then the steep ascent started. I can tell you one thing, when I say steep, I really meant it. Initially the gradient didn't feel much, but after a while it started to tire us out.
We were then walking on the mountain slopes. The joy of walking on mountain slopes is just ineffable.
After a while we encountered a very steep incline. I had to take breaks in between. It was enervating and at the same time exciting. A few of our group members stopped before the steep inclines as they didn't want to strain their bodies any more. We would meet them on our way back.
After about 4 hours of trekking, I reached the summit. The view from there was awesome. I could see the clouds in front of me.The view from there was just exhilarating.
We had our lunch, took a group photograph. Since I was one of the first few to reach, I even took a nap.
Our way down was a lot easier. Gravity was on our side now. On our way down the steep incline, I was literally running. The jeep ferried us back to the guest house. Mr Guru's family arranged for us to have dinner on the way back, very nice of them.
We left for Mysore at about 1900 hrs and we reached at 0400 hrs.
For me it was one the best treks till date.
We started from Mysore at about 2200 hrs on a Friday night. All of us crammed into a budget bus, needless to say, sleep seldom came. After a seemingly long night, we reached Horanadu at day break. Our bus halted in the temple of goddess Annapoorneshwari Devi. Annapoorna means the 'giver of food'.
We freshened up in the Public washroom here. It was a first for me. There were public toilets in the temple premises and there too I relieved myself. Again a first for me.
The temple was magnificent and unlike magnificent temples in India, it wasn't very crowded.
So I paid my respects to the main deity there. One thing that I particularly remember is that Men have to enter the temple without a shirt, bare chested or with an 'anga-vastram'. I didn't have an 'anga-vastram', You don't really pack 'anga-vastrams' for nature treks, so bare chested I was.
The last time I had to visit a temple bare chested was in Dharmasthala.
After our temple 'darshan' we proceeded to our colleague, Mr Guru's ancestral house. He offered to host us for the day. Very nice of him to do so.
After driving for about an hour or so, we reached the banks of a river, most probably the Bhadra river. In his childhood days Mr Guru would come here and play. His school was somewhere nearby.
It was nice to be on the riverside, with serenity and tranquility.
There were many among us, who at the sight of a river would strip down to bare essentials and then take a dunk.
After about an hour we reached Mr Guru's house. His elder brothers and family were living there and were taking care of the estate. The road further was too narrow for a bus. So on foot we went. The path leading to his house had thick and dense shrubs on both the sides.
We were warmly greeted by his mother, brothers and their families.
The house was ancient with tiled roofs. Surrounding the house were tea gardens, acres of them.
We had a sumptuous lunch at his house. We had to sit cross legged and food was served on a large banana leaf. I had a little problem sitting cross legged, but somehow managed. After food, everyone took a siesta. Most of us slept in the verandah. I couldn't sleep though. I was too excited.
In the evening we went for a stroll through the tea gardens. Then we reached the banks of a river. I guess it was the same river. The water looked sparkling and clean. For a change I too took a dunk in the water. The water was frigid. We had to be careful though, as the current was strong and one of us was almost washed away. Luckily a boulder stopped him. He got a few bruises.
Even with that small incident, we had great fun,
We then went back to Mr Guru's house, and we had dinner. One particular food item that I remember was jackfruit 'appalam'. I bought some from the local store.
After the delicious dinner, we proceeded to a lone house near the Kudremukha peak. We had to make our way to the bus through the dirt path in pitch darkness. Our torches came handy.
The guest house was very close to our starting point.There were forty of us and a bed room with an attached bathroom. Obviously all of us didn't fit. There were some mattresses on the floor of that room and there were few mattresses outside. First come first serve, and I came in the last. So I spent my night on the verandah with a few other guys.
There was one thing I was sure off, if a wild animal came for a light snack, I would't be the first it would taste.
After the bonfire, the usual songs etc, we called it a day.
The next morning we were to leave at 0800 hrs. We didn't have to trek right from the guest house. There were about 6 jeeps that ferried us to the foothills of the peak.
From there our arduous journey would begin on feet. We left our luggage at the Guest House and carried a small bag with packed lunch with us. About water, I learnt that on trek we ought to drink water from the flowing streams. No Filter No UV and No RO. And guess what it tastes much better.
In the Picture above our destination was the peak with a steep cliff.
I remembered the movie 'Lakshya' where the protagonist exclaimed 'Woh hai mere Lakshya', which translates to 'That is my Goal'.
It was a 10 km trek one way. So we had to reach the summit, have Lunch there and be back by evening, before it gets dark. We were in the Shola forest, and no one wants to be in a forest after dark.
For about 4km or so, the trek wasn't very tiring. There weren't many ups and downs, though there was a gradual incline.
Then the steep ascent started. I can tell you one thing, when I say steep, I really meant it. Initially the gradient didn't feel much, but after a while it started to tire us out.
We were then walking on the mountain slopes. The joy of walking on mountain slopes is just ineffable.
After a while we encountered a very steep incline. I had to take breaks in between. It was enervating and at the same time exciting. A few of our group members stopped before the steep inclines as they didn't want to strain their bodies any more. We would meet them on our way back.
After about 4 hours of trekking, I reached the summit. The view from there was awesome. I could see the clouds in front of me.The view from there was just exhilarating.
We had our lunch, took a group photograph. Since I was one of the first few to reach, I even took a nap.
Our way down was a lot easier. Gravity was on our side now. On our way down the steep incline, I was literally running. The jeep ferried us back to the guest house. Mr Guru's family arranged for us to have dinner on the way back, very nice of them.
We left for Mysore at about 1900 hrs and we reached at 0400 hrs.
For me it was one the best treks till date.
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