Monsoon Pursuit : Charmadi Ghat trekking 1 - Baale Kallu Gudda and Kode Kallu Gudda

After getting into IT field,its hard to find out time for enjoyment..isn't it ??   Yeah pretty much true. Same thing happened to me. Some how convinced my manager and got rid of hectic schedule . Now its again difficult task for me to group the ppl and initiate the proceedings.After many round of discussions we decided to explore charmadi ghats which is very near to sacred place Dharmasthala in karnataka.

On Friday morning we started our journey towards Dharmasthala from Bangalore. Its almost 8 hr journey in bus via Sakleshpur(shiradi ghat). We had darshan of lord shri Manjunatheshwara (Shiva) and had dinner at temple premises. We stayed overnight der and planned to leave for charmadi village next day early morning as soon as possible and it is half an hr journey from dharmasthala.We spoke with local guide and he agreed to make all necessary arrangements. 

Dharmasthala temple

Sat: Woke up early morning by 5am and we were ready by 6am. Had idly and buns(local dish made up of banana and maida flour). We started our journey towards Ujire which is 7 km from Dharmasthala and you will get buses very frequently.After 45 mins of journey we reached our base, charmadi . We were all pumped up,energized and suddenly there was an adrenaline rush after seeing mighty western ghats . We had coffee at the local shop and started inquiring about possible trek routes. 

Tasty Buns 

We met our guide Nemanna through Keshava Mulya who is a resident of charmadi village and a well known personality in the charmadi vicinity.He started preparing anti leech medicine (a mixture of tobacco powder and coconut oil ) .We had a discussion with our guide and decided to visit Baale Kallu Gudda and Kode Kallu Gudda. Trek to these peaks starts from a place which is again some 12 km from charmadi village and we need to trek a distance of 15 km to witness the majestic beauty of the nature.Keshav's relative dropped us till the starting point of the trek  .The ride was really awesome. On the way one can witness the beautiful Charmadi falls. Every commuter stops here, spends quality time with mother nature and how can they forget to capture their memories    . No need to elaborate on this I guess...   Below pics will describe my feelings     .

Charmadi ghat ride

Charmadi Falls 

This is what we call 'Chasing Monsoon'  

Finally we reached our starting point at around 11 am and started walking towards Kode Kallu Peak. Initial trek was very easy as we have to just walk on jeep track. Once you gain the altitude the real challenge starts. We got to know from our guide that it rained very hard previous 2 days. So we proceeded carefully as the terrain was slippery and it was very hard to get rid of leeches      . As soon as we entered the grassland, battle between 2 living creatures started.Of course, its between humans and little blood sucker . 

 

It was green green everywhere . Happiness is walking on the grassland experiencing light drizzle.The next moment it started raining heavily and the number of leaches attacking our legs increased exponentially. Hardly you can see any house in the vicinity. We spotted one ...We decided to have our lunch once we reach kodaikallu peak. Our guide told that there will be a spacious place beneath the big boulder where you can take shelter even at the night time.

Also he started telling his experience stories and some suggestions. Many times he spotted a herd of bison and elephants. According to his words Elephants are common during post monsoon seasons in the vicinity. We felt lil disappointed knowing that its very rare to spot the animals during monsoon season. En-route we found a small pond and waited there hoping we could spot any animals.But it was getting late and we were yet to climb two peaks and return back to road. So proceeded further dumping our hopes there itself .

Time for real challenge ..

There is nothing much to do. Just sit back and enjoy 

It was almost three hour journey, after which we reached our first destination BaleKallu Peak. It was covered by thick fog. Hence we could not able to get the complete glimpse of the peak. We captured some picturesque landscapes and marched towards Kode Kallu. It was nearly half an hr journey from Balekallu peak.

En-route Kode kallu peak. Green green green  

Finally we reached the Kode Kallu peak around 1 pm. It was a great experience to trek in the thick fog. On top of Kode Kallu peak there is a big monolithic boulder which can give shelter to nearly more than 100 people.Hence the name Kodaikallu. Kodai means umbrella and kallu means stone in local language.As I told earlier, peak was completely covered by thick fog and we could hear the sound of vehicles travelling in charmadi ghat. We got to know from our guide that road is very near from the peak but you have to descend very steep in order reach the road. 

We were not able to have our lunch beneath the boulder as we did not get any water source nearby.We regretted for not having lunch in such a place where we would've felt the pure essence of mother nature.The weather was really awesome.The cool breeze, little shower, thick fog, and of course greenery - collectively, I can say that we spent a quality time of our life in the lap of mother nature. Our passion and determination made us to explore the nature and I believe that the time we spent is priceless.  

After spending 1 hr beneath the boulder we started our journey towards the road from where we started our journey.Approximately it took 1 hr to descend from the peak. Actually there was no clear path. We made our own path and proceeded further. Its very tough to descend in monsoon season as the terrain will be very slippery and you need to be very careful. At last we spotted a road and there was absolutely no place to proceed further. We did slide from almost 20 feet height to reach the bottom of the peak. It was really a thrilling moment. Thankfully no one got injured and all were safe after the little adventure . 

Kode Kallu Peak 

The descend

Back to road .  The starting point of the trek.

After the strenuous trek we were on the road to reach our base camp, Charmadi village. Its almost 20 odd kms from the place we encountered the road. There is a bus stop near the small temple in Charmadi Ghat(ANNAPPA TEMPLE). Most of the vehicles stops there, perform puja and proceeds further.Our guide suggested that its better to head to the temple,have lunch and get the bus from there if any bus stops   .

Anyway that was the only option left for us. According to guide,its one or one n half km journey . But it turned out to be 3 km  .On the way to temple, again we witnessed the mighty Charmadi falls. Took some snaps and filled all our water bottles.It was almost 4pm when we reached the temple. Performed puja before having our lunch. We unpacked our lunch which we got parceled from the charmadi village. We had 4 Idlis + vada + buns   ,but still we were hungry     .After waiting for half an hour, we boarded the bus and it dropped us till Charmadi Village. 

On the way to bus stop

 

Annappa Temple 

Keshav Mulya made all the arrangements for night stay in one of the village temple. We got some provisions from his shop and headed to temple . Temple priest was very friendly and he provided all the utensils and sticks to cook. First we made tomato soup and that gave an immense power to cook further . Finally around 9pm we had Pulav and bid adieu for the long arduous day ..   


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