I did this trek in the rainy season and it was awesome. At first I was a bit hesitated but then the rain became the comfort. I started this trek and it was raining and when I finished the trek, it was still raining. It was an amazing experience walking through the clouds and the rain which won’t let you see ahead.
Trek details
| Trek Location | 300 kms from Bangalore |
| Trek length | 22 km |
| Trek duration | 1 days |
| Trek season | All season |
| Difficulty level | Moderate |
| Fitness level needed | You should be able to complete at least 5km under 40 minutes. Preparation of about 30 days with the same pace is a must. |
My Journey
I would recommend doing this trek in the rainy season. It’s so amazing that it can’t be described in words. Yeah, it appears a bit crazy but you are going to love it. When I started this trek, there was no rain but after 15 minutes the rain started and I had to wear the raincoat but after some time the rain was so much that there was no point in wearing the raincoat so I took it off and kept in the bag and that was the point where I started enjoying the trek. It is a beautiful trek with green grass and a number of waterfalls. The route is amazing, has nice valley views and you’ll find a number of flowering plants on the way.
I did this trek in the month of July and it’s the peak of the rainy season. I along with two friends reached Kudremukh in the morning and took permission from the forest department. They have limited the number to 50 people per day.
The trek started with a gradual ascent and after some time we reached a water stream. Everybody was going through the sides but I was the daredevil among them and decided to go through it. It proved to be a wrong decision as in my third step I was half deep into water and then I realized why everybody is going from the sides. Do not take unnecessary risks on unknown terrain. And if you are taking any risk, analyze the situation first and take a calculative risk.
You’ll see the mountain on one side and some thick and dense trees. you’ll be walking on the grassland with little ascent for about an hour. But after the slope becomes a bit steeper and tiring but with every step you are going to enjoy the beauty of the tre. You’ll see amazing mountains, the valley, covered in green. If it’s the rainy season then at times you’ll feel like you are among the clouds and as soon as clouds clear you’ll see the beauty of this trek.
You’ll see the best view after reaching the peak and you should reach there by 1 PM to be on the safe side, that way you’ll have more time to spend on the peak and spare time to come back as well. You’ll see everything covered in green. I carried a tin box of rasgulla along with some snacks and shared with the whole group whoever was present there and nobody believed it that anybody is going to carry a 1kg rasgulla container to eat on the peak. You’ll be surrounded by fog and mist but the view will get cleared at times and invisible the second.
Getting down in the rainy season could be a bit trickier. When I was getting down I think I crossed all 50 people. I along with my friends were climbing down as if we were getting late for the president’s call. But patience is the key. We came across huge queues on the way because the first person was walking slowly because the path was slippery and since the path is very narrow nobody is crossing anybody. But as I said I was getting late for the president’s call, we were crossing people like anything. We calculated the risk, we were very careful while crossing them, sometimes we asked people to give us the way and if they didn’t then we crossed them by going on the slippery grass off-route.
We reached the base at 6PM and it was getting darker. Later we get to know that there are multiple forest department people guiding people in the dark with their flashlights. The last person they took to base was at about 8 PM. Things come at risk and risk must be calculative and you should give proper respect to time. If you are not reaching the peak by 2PM then it’s best to start descending because that way you’ll keep yourself safe. You can always climb the peak some other time, its not running anywhere but an injury or a damage can last for a very long time and may prevent you from doing any other climb.
But the trek is beautiful no doubt about it. The trek is safe and the forest department is very active in getting everybody out at the proper time. We should respect the time from our sides as well.