Somehow I missed blogging this trek. This trek was my first with Gallivanters in 2013 apart from a rock climbing session at Turhalli. Well, yeah but I had written a small blog in Kannada about the beautiful sunrise of Narasimha Parvatha.
http://www.offroadtrooper.com/2013/12/blog-post.html
This trip was filled with random people as friends of friends had joined in a tempo traveller. We had contacted a guide and he had taken care of forest department permission and all as this area is infested with Naxalites. A prior police confirmation is required for the trek.
Narasimha Parvatha comes under Kudremukha National Park in Agumbe region of Karnataka. This is the highest peak in Agumbe with a peak at 1150 meters above sea level. The peak can be approached in two ways. First one is rather longer router which starts from Malandur(Agumbe side). The second route is from Kigga(Sringeri side). We had chosen to climb from Agumbe side and get down at the Kigga.
We left on Friday night from Bangalore, to be reached to Agumbe by early morning on Saturday. Our guide Krishnappa met us at the Agumbe bus stand. We hired a room to freshen up and quickly assembled for breakfast. The trek from Agumbe side is 14kms and little difficult as there is no established trail. Without a guide it is difficult to approach via this route. After breakfast we left to Malandur, the base village for the trek.
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| Misty morning in Agumbe |
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| Start of the trek |
Soon after starting the trek we realised that it would have been nearly impossible to get to the peak without Krishnappa. There was absolutely no trail and Krishnappa sometimes cut branches to clear the path. He also told us about him featuring in BBC documentary about King Cobras. As you might know, Agumbe is notoriously infamous for King Cobras. He even invited us to the forest department to watch the documentary.
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| Trek path |
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| Sunrays |
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| Our trek group |
Our lunch stop was Barkana falls which is about 8 kms from Malandur. You will be trekking above the waterfall, hence you don't get to see the front view of the waterfall. The only view you get is the top view which is also after little bit of circus on the top of the rocks. The difficulty level till the Barkana waterfall is moderate-difficult as the trail is not clear in the forest.
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| Barkana waterfall |
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| Wood spider |
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| Top side of Barkana waterfall. This water forms the waterfall |
We had our lunches here and spent some time relaxing. Everyone was tired. The sun was hot and water bottles were refilled with fresh water.
From here the trail goes through thick forest which is also a steep climb. You will gain as well as loose altitude which becomes a frustration as you crave to come out of the forest. This trek path is the most difficult of the lot. Sadly I have no pictures of this trail, guess I was frustrated here.
Once you come out of the forest which is about 3 kms, you have to walk in sholas which is rather a pleasant experience as you know you are nearing the summit. The walk in the sholas is about 2kms before you have Old house on the peak in your sight.
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| Last mile |
There is old house on the top of the summit which must have been a forest guest house long time ago.
We pitched our tents right outside of it and started with usual procedure of collecting firewoods. Cooked meal for the night and played antakshari I think.
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| Meals |
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| Sunrise at NP |
After the sunrise we packed up and started trekking down towards Kigga which is about 5 kms.
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| Abhilash Trekking down |
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| Kigga trek starting point, from right side of the temple |
From Kigga we left to Sringeri for the temple lunch before heading out to Bangalore.
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| Sringeri math |
Important details:
Trek start point -
1. Malandur, Agumbe - 14km
2. Kigga, Sringeri - 5km
Transport from Bangalore -
Nightly buses to Agumbe or Sringeri. From there auto to starting points.
Trekking time -
Malandur - NP -- 8 hours
Kigga - NP -- 3 hours
Camping site -
At the peak (old house)
Water availability -
Drinking water available at the Barkana waterfall midway and at the summit there is small stream(not clean but manageable)
Permission -
Required from Forest department.
Beware of -
Leaches
Naxalites
King Cobras
Important guidelines -
Due to Naxalites activities, trekking from Agumbe side is now stopped. Please contact local guide Krishnappa for further information(08181292021)
Happy Trekking. :)
