Kurinjal and Gangadikal Trek

During a meet at his place, my friend Shiva and I planned a trek in the western ghats. We decided to drive there and do two or three treks. Through a contact of Shiva, we booked Kengankonda homestay. The guide he had been with last time agreed to accompany us. I made the booking on the Kudremukh forest department website. Recently, the online booking has been mandated to limit the number of people trekking in this eco sensitive region.

On the 4^th July, at around 3PM, I met Shiva near his house and we began our journey towards the village of Kengankonda (6.5 km from Samse / 15 km from Kalasa). We took the Sakleshpura - Mudigere route as it was faster. All along the way, Shiva and I had a lot to discuss. 

On our way, we stopped to get copies of our Aadhar card in a small village at the outskirts of Mudigere. We stopped at Kotigehara to have some Neer dosa. After that, we drove to Kalasa. We made another quick stop at Kalasa to buy a towel for Shiva and two bottles of Dettol soap solution. After having had a terrible experience with the leeches last year at Valikunja trek, I did not want to go unprepared this time. 

We reached Kengankonda homestay at around 10PM. Our host Ramprakash is a kind and passionate young man. He showed us our room and spoke to us in length about some of the concerns they face in the region. Tired that we were, we went to sleep soon after a short conversation with the owner. 

Next morning (5^th July), we woke up to an idyllic setting outside. The homestay is located at a perfect location, on a small hill and it overlooks the valley and the surrounding hills. 

We had our morning tea at the balcony. It was drizzling and the thick dark clouds hinted at a day full of showers. Honestly, I could just relax at this place and do nothing. 

Idly and Shavige Baath (Rice noodles) were served for breakfast. In the morning, a trekking group arrived on a tempo traveller. They were put up in the tents beside the house. 

After breakfast, we drove to the forest department where we showed our bookings for Kurinjal peak (5751ft, 7.5Km one way, 2.5H) to the officers and paid the fee  - An entry fee of Rs 475 per person and a total of Rs1000 as guide fee. We met our guide Mahadeva here. 

As mentioned earlier, for treks in Kudremukh national park, you need to make online booking at the department website. Upon reporting, the forest department will assign a guide for a group of ten trekker. 

Our guide Mahadeva is a middle-aged man. He is informative, knowledgeable and talkative. Along the way, he gave us some talk about the forest, the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company and some philosophy too. However, I felt that despite having a lot good information, he failed to connect the dots and arrive at a logical conclusion. That is where the importance of fomral education plays a role. He was sarcastic most of the times in calling the environmentalists as “Boodhi Jeevi” (The intellects). He drew wrong conclusions of the information he gained and when he went out of board, I had to school him. After that, he remained mostly watchful of what he spoke. As a teacher, I have become a lot more mindful of what people say or do. But overall, he was an engaging and an enjoyable company to be with. 

Kurinjal peak trek is not a difficult one. There were a lot of leeches but I had applied a enough Dettol on my legs to keep them away. I was also watchful enough to get rid of the ones trying to climb up. 

Unfortunately, we did not get any views of the surroundings as the entire place was covered in mist. But it was an interesting experience to watch the clouds rapidly brush past us. Heavy wind was pushing away the clouds and Mahadev requested that we wait. We did get some short glimpses but the valley mostly remained covered in dense clouds. After waiting for about an hour at the top, we finally decided to return back. 

Back at the homestay, I took a shower with Hande water. Hande is huge vessel made of bronze in which water is heated using wood as fuel. This reminded me of my childhood. Afer freshening up, we were served tea and snacks. Shiva and I sat in the balcony having a good conversation. 

Next morning (6th July), we woke up early. A group of trekkers were coming and we had to vacate our room. Our booking was only for two nights. We got ready and moved our bags to the main hall. Ramprakash’s father had returned from a family function in Kundapura. 

I had an insightful conversation with 71-year-old Mr. Suresh Bhat. He had led the protest against Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd who wanted to mine in the hills surrounding the house. He explained how the hills are a source to four tributaries joining the Badra River. Cutting off a crucial water source without a proper plan to manage the surrounding villages was unacceptable. Eventually, the farmers joined the protest, which escalated the matter and the local politicians extended support.  

He also spoke about an activist called Mr. Vivekananda from Hoskote. He had done a Padayatra (A walk) to speak to people around Karnataka and promote harmony among various religion. I have always had immense faith in Indian people. We will never let hate politics overrule us. The information I got about this initiative strengthened my belief.  

After an engaging talk with Mr. Bhat, Shiva and I had breakfast and left. A group of 30 trekkers had just arrived. The house was filled with bustle due to the newly arrived clients.   

At the forest department, we met Mahadev, paid the fee and set out to the start point of Gangdikalu Betta trek (4806 ft, 4km One way, 2H). We parked our car by the gate and began the journey. 

Along the way, Shiva and I discussed politics. Due to the mist, the visibility was low. But occasionally the clouds cleared and bestowed some spectacular views. 

The last stretch to the summit is steep and therefore a bit tough, otherwise this is a relatively easy trek. 

Mahadev remained mostly silent on this day. At the summit he made an emotional confession about his life. He said – "I wish I was educated too and made something out of my life like you all. Here I am, in my 50’s single and struggling to make ends meet." I am not sure what made him say that. He asked me of my opinion about mining in the mountains and I obviously favoured the environment. 

We stayed at the summit for some time before heading back. Like the previous day, I gave my packed lunch  to Mahadev and shared a few bites from Shiva's pack. I wasn't feeling hungry at all. 

We thanked Mahadev, paid him a tip and headed back to the homestay. We took a shower, had some tasty home-cooked food for lunch (Mango Sasivey and rice). We thanked Ramprakash and his family and left the place at around 2PM. Initially, we had planned to do Ettina Bhuja the next day but due to the continuous rain, we decided to head back to Bangalore. A short but eventful weekend thus came to an end. The freshness of the monsoon brought the much needed revival of senses in me.