Kukke Subramanya & Kumara Parvatha; a drive and trek
Kumaraparvatha is the peak you see behind Seshaparvatha…
There is another stretch where we walk through dense Shola-forests…
A steep rock face that has to be navigated before the final stretch…
More rocks and boulders…
Very close to the summit…
We made it to KP at last!
There are a couple of small primitive shrines on the top. Built with a pile of rough stones…
We spent some time on the top, took some pics and it was time to head back. There is a fork in the path on the way down, one leads down to the Somwarpet. We briefly missed the track and headed down the wrong path before realizing that this was not the way we had walked up. Returned to the peak and found the correct track back towards Kukke…
The Seshaparvatha peak on the way down…
The descent was quite fast; we reached Mantapa in about an hour…
Picked up our stuff and reached Bhattaramane after another 1.5 hours or so. Stopped in a share for a quick break…
Had another tasty and simple lunch at Bhattaramane, rested for a while and started descending towards Kukke at around 4.15pm. We estimated that we should be able to reach Kukke by around 6.30pm, before it got dark…
Reached Kukke at 7.00pm just before it got fully dark…
We found some rooms in a lodge and called it a day! The next morning we were up at around 6.00am, went to the temple by 7.00am…
Thanks to the long weekend, there was quite a crowd and we had to wait for more than an hour before we completed darshan…
Had breakfast at the ‘Neo Mysore Cafe’ close to the temple and started our drive back towards Bangalore…
Stopped at a couple of places along the way to take some pics…
I saw this Nissan 1 tonner converted into a crane parked on the roadside and slowed down…
Then we realized why the crane was parked there. A bus had lost control and rolled down into the valley below and they were trying to pull it back up…
The last stop was at Kamat Lokruchi on Mysore road for lunch. We made it by 3.00pm and enjoyed a well deserved ‘Jowar Roti Meal’, with lotsa butter! The Janapadaloka next door was closed as it was a Govt holiday…
Entered Bangalore, not much of traffic on the roads that’s to the holiday and we were back home by around 5.30pm. Overall it was a good drive, great trek and an unforgettable experience!
A checklist…
Check List for people trekking up to KP. [Can also be modified for any trek / trip]
Food:
- Chapatis or Rotis (Preferably without oil)@ 4 per person x 2 meal breaks.
- MTR ready to eat curries.
- Chutneypudi [Gunpowder
] - Glucose/Electral – 2 packets per head.
- Dry snacks/Biscuits to munch on the way.
- Juicy fruits (Oranges, Green-apples etc.)
- Some toffees & chocolates.
- A 2 liters bottle of water per person. [You can refill at Bhattaramane & also at Mantapa]
Attire:
- Good walking / trekking shoes.
- An extra pair of socks.
- Floaters / Hawaii slippers.
- One extra T-shirt. (Preferably light colored)
- One extra pair of shorts / jeans.
- Waterproof jacket if you are climbing up during the rains. A good sweater will do in winter.
- A good hat / cap.
Toiletries:
- A Soap or facewash tube.
- Toothbrush, Toothpaste.
- Toilet paper / Tissues.
- Comb / hair-brush.
- A good sun-screen lotion with SPF-15 & above.
- Odomos tube.
Medical kit:
- Painkillers (Paracetamol / Brufen)
- Antihistamine / Anti-allergy tablets.
- Band aids strips.
- Antiseptic lotion (Dettol/Savlon)
- Any other medicines you need to take regularly.
- A roll of ‘Micropore’ bandage dressing tape.
- Some clean cotton.
- Any good wound dressing cream.
Others:
- A small box with a couple of sewing needles and thread.(Needles are also useful for taking out splinters)
- One towel and a small napkin.
- A lighter / box of wax matches.
- A foldable knife / Swiss-knife.
- A good LED torch per person with Duracell batteries (Should have a usable range (focus) of atleast 7 – 8 ft and last for 5 to 6 hours)
- A sleeping mat + Sleeping bag.
- Digicam, preferably with an extra battery.
- Fully charged cell-phone, you will get signal intermittently on the mountains.
- Driving Licence & money.
- A plastic bag to carry trash to be disposed off at the trash-bin at Bhattaramane or carry down to Kukke.
Phone numbers:
Mahalingeshwar Bhat at Girigadde (For food & accomodation): 94486 47947 or 99456 18495
It is preferable to inform Mr.Bhat in advance to ensure that there is food on arrival and also enquire about the weather conditions etc.
“Kukke Subramanya & Kumara Parvatha; a drive and trek”