Kumara Parvatha : A Challenging Trek (25 - 26th Feb '17)

Trek to the Mighty Kumara Parvatha was scheduled by BTC for 25-26^th of Feb 2017. As soon as the event was opened, my friend Radha asked me to register and I waited eagerly to get shortlisted. Yayyy! I was shortlisted and as usual I watched few videos and read blogs about Kumara Parvatha Trek and most of the blogs did mention that it was one of the toughest treks in Karanataka. And It’s definitely not a Joke to trek 5617 feet without a challenge but thanks to our organizers for planning it really well.

Finally the day arrived I reached the venue i.e Shanthala Silks with Radha around 10 pm and was excited to see the new faces. Then we all got into the TT and started our Journey from Bangalore to Kukke. Though I dint know any of them I could instantly sense that I am with the Best Team ever !!. Pavan, Ishaan and Amol were the organizers for this trek. Pavan started off with the intro and made us all really comfortable. Journey was filled with fun and laughter, we got to play some games and most of us got to know each other by that time.

The Start..!

 We, the team of 21 reached Kukke early in the morning, got freshen up and had breakfast in a restaurant in Kukke. We assembled for a briefing and after a small session of briefing by Pavan we started heading towards the base i.e the entrance gate which indicates the way to Kumara Parvatha. 

 I was very excited and as I entered the gate I could see the lush of green trees surrounding. Trek started into the dense forest around 7.30 am, we had to reach Bhattaramane by the lunch time that was the plan.

I walked for may be half a kilometer in the uphill’s of the dense forest, I was exhausted. I had no energy to go further. I looked for my friend Radha but she was way up in the front with Darshan, Puneeth, Suma, Hemanth and Veena. That panicked me even more as we all started together. I could see that everyone is filled with energy and I was the only one who was completely exhausted. Ishaan, Amol, Mallikarjun, Sathesh and Premal trekking angels I would like to call :P were there with me. I was mentally exhausted. I was in the verge of giving up. I could hear my heart beating very very fast and stream of blood being pumped towards my head. Sathesh and Rasik unloaded my burden and carried my load. Thanks guys !!!. But still I am not ok. Then came in like a silver lining when Ishaan asked me to join Veena who was at the front.

I don’t know what happened to me, her words of encouragement were so magical that it just revived me and as I followed her steps and advice diligently. I was moving forward slowly and steadily. As I held the momentum I did not want to stop and my lost confidence and hope of reaching BhattaraMane was revived. It was one of the proudest moments in this journey. Yes I dint know how to thank her enough for boosting my mental strength.

Bhattara Mane

If I was ever happy to see any mane (house in Kannada) that would definitely be Bhattaramane. We reached there around 10.30 am which was way before our Targeted time. As we washed our faces, lunch was ready. Hot hot rice, sambar, pickle and to soothe us up was Majjige (Butter Milk). It’s a standard menu there. What else do u need? It was an amazing lunch. 

Post lunch we took a nap and we were woken up to visit the View point which was around 300 mtrs away from Bhattaramane. Exotic view and landscapes were caught in our cameras. Pavan was sweet enough to serve everyone with bread and jam. Amol was with his GoPro Camera clicking pics and his camera would only recognize and respond to his voice saying “GoPro Take a Photo” we had to hear to this mantra whenever Amol clicked pics, It was real fun.

On our request Bhattaru promised for a tea around 6.30 pm, so most of us rushed back for a cup of tea to Bhattaramane and we all were disappointed as the tea was not ready and Bhattaru was no were around. Everyone were craving for tea because many had headaches and we all thought that a cup of tea would boost us. Finally around 7.30 pm Bhattaru arrived with the Tea that we had been waiting for (happy moment again). We headed back to the camp where the tents were setup.(In the Bhattaru’s property). We played antakshari. Our top singers Taher, Amol and Ishaan were rocking in the game.

It’s 8.30 pm, the crowd was huge for dinner, as the dinner was served, we somehow managed to get the plates and the food tasted yum at that time. After the dinner we all went to sleep as we had to start early for the next day.

Journey towards Kumara Parvatha

Our trek started early in the morning around 3.30 am. It was pitch dark but was not cold at all. We first went to the forest department to take permission and with the permission we continued our trek.

Cool breeze of the Pushpagiri moutains were hitting us. It was difficult initially for few minutes until I got the momentum of climbing the Steep mountans. I had one supporting stick for myself which was a great help though. Along with it was Mallikarajuns voice from behind “Aramagi Baani” meaning “come in ease”. He was a Trekking angel throughout my trekking experience. As the sun started to rise we got to witness an amazing and beautiful landscape. Wow it was ecstatic “It was the Seshaparvata”. 

Everyone clicked pics here and there, then we entered the forest, it was not tiring by then. We could hear Amol , Ishaan and Pavan telling “Good going guys, We are almost there!”. That “almost there” did not come for a long time. I finally asked Amol not to give false hopes of us getting there almost because it was testing our patience. But in fact we were almost there. We climbed a huge rock and someone showed me the flag on the peak. Pavan, Vivek, Vishnu, Brijesh, Rasik, Amaresh Ambrish and others had already reached there. Climbing that Alp to reach the peak was an Amazing experience, the thought that the peak is only few meters away is the best feeling. Yayyy!! We reached the peak. 

We started posing for pics and everyone started to share their breakfasts and snacks. After clicking few group pictures. We decided to return back to Bhattaramane. The Weather was in our favor that day as it was cloudy day. We found a small stream of water near Mantapa which was pure and cool. Abhilash showed us the clouds covering the mountains as we were heading down and we missed that experience of touching clouds. 

Reaching Bhattaramane after a tough descending from the Great Kumara Parvata bought me to tears. Probably Taher was scared to see me in tears. But honestly those were the Tears of Joy and Accomplishment. J God! I found that Inclining was quite better than declining. 

Adieu to the Mighty KP

We had our lunch and rested for an hour and a half at Bhattaramane. I had a very bad sprain on my left leg. This phase of the trek was the most difficult one for me. My legs had no strength at all. The sun was hitting really hard. Somehow we entered the forest and started to decend slowly because I had no more strength in my legs I pushed myself hard. I was eagerly waiting to see the end point as though it was a Gate of Heaven. We walked and walked and finally saw the Gate and there was Suma who had reached an hour before was welcoming us. I could not believe my eyes. I wanted to scream my joy out, but only air was coming out of my throat. I joined Hemanth, Suma and Darshan with the luggage in an auto to the Bus stop. We had our refreshing snacks and tea (Tea was amazing) and headed to Sakaleshpura for dinner and after dinner had a quick feed back session and in few hours we were in Bangalore.

It was an amazing experience and I took home many memories and lessons. Met amazing people through BTC and my sincere thanks to each and every member of the team and Our Organizers for taking care of everything and planning a wonderful itinerary which helped all of us to accept the challenge of climbing the  Mighty Kumara Parvata!

Written By       : Leena Ajithkumar
Organized By   : Amol Saindane, Ishan Deep & Pavan Teja Mandava
Date of event  : 25-26 Feb 2017
Place              : Kumara Parvatha
Pictures          : BTC FB Page