If you are a person who gets excited with the word Trekking, Kumara Paruvatha is a weekend get away from Bangalore (280 Kms) and you can be as close to the nature as possible. The best part of this trek is that it includes all kinds of terrain while trekking, the stony hard ones, the lush green grass, the steepy and the non-steepy ones. It is a difficult level trek that covers about 13Km oneside.
Things to carry:
1. Enough water at least 1L per person
2. Electrolytes and glucose packets
3. First aid kit includes (dettol, band aids, cotton and antiseptic cream, salt for the leeches)
4. Energy Boosters (chikki, chocolates, biscuits, fruits, Bread packets and Jam)
5. Torch, cap and sunscreens
6. Sleeping bags/tent. Tents can be rented in Bangalore or at kukke
6. Whistles to signal each other
Travel Itinerary:
Friday night board a bus from Bangalore to Kukke and reach the destination kukke by early morning saturday. Accommodation are easily available for two hours to get freshened up at a minimal price of Rs. 250 per room.
Day 1: Kukke Temple - Bhttar manae (around 6Km)
Started the day by visiting the kukke temple, had enough breakfast to give ample energy to climb up. The trekking start place from kukke temple is about 1.5 km, this can be covered by walk or you can save your energy for the main show and can avail the local transport like auto. Around 8.30 am we started the trek of steep terrain and trees alongside. The first part of the trek is along the same trail where both the sides are covered by trees so we are not drained much because of the sun but because of the climbing the steep rooted steps. In the midway you will have a way to a waterfall not very big though but its a good refreshment to wear away the tiredness. We can refill the water bottles here for the remaining. After the waterfall, the remaining 2 - 3 hrs trekking is still more difficult with sun directly above us sucking our energy. Post this the only motivation to climb up is the Bhattar manae lunch. Once reaching the destination for day1 bhattar manae house at 2 pm, we are relieved. We had our lunch for Rs.120 which includes rice, sambhar, pickle and buttermilk, the ordinary lunch tasted as an extraordinary feast that day. For the dinner and next day breakfast also you can inform him but we had enough fruits and breads to serve our purpose. At some distance from Bhattar manae we have a place to put our tents. We coached ourselves to put a tent with the help of the pamphlets like a kid referring the pamphlet and build a lego blocks. Once done we relaxed for the rest of our day with the scenic view and also we got to watch the sunset. For restrooms we can utilize the facility provided in the forest office.
Day 2: Bhattar Manae - Kumara Paruvatha Peak (around 6Km)
The day starts very scenic outside the tent close to the nature. We can refresh ourselves and fill the water bottles in the forest office and started our day. We got the permission from the forest office to trek to the peak and the trekking fee was about Rs.350 per head and the entry is allowed only till 11 am. Our plan was to climb down in the somwarpet but our plan was changed as the forest officers said that it is not allowed anymore. So, you have the privilege to carry limited luggage for the rest of the trek and leave the tents and stuffs in forest office and you can take it at the time of return. We started our second day trek around 7.30 am in the morning by having little energy boosters like chocolates, biscuits and sweets. Our mission started, kallumantapa to seshaparuvatha and then heading towards kumara paruvatha. Kallu mantapa is considered half way to the seshparuvatha peak and kumara paruvatha peak is again a 1 hr trek from seshparuvatha. On the way to kallu mantapa we get to see a lot of scenic places to capture photos. We had our breakfast in one of the scenic places around 9.30 am. Just before the kallumantapa you have a water catchment area where you can refill your bottles and that water has to be saved until you return to this place. The second day trek is tiresome as we are not saved by the shades of trees. This is mostly grasslands with great heights and we need to be watchful about the trail. Finally we reached the Seshparvatha scenic view by around 1.30 pm. We spent some time there. We wanted to go to kumara paruvatha peak but considering the time to climb down, we decided to return from sesh paruvatha but if planned and with minimal breaks, the peak kumara paruvatha can be reached.
Descending the Peak: Climbing down till Bhattar manae was quite easy but slippery though at few places. So we have to be watchful about it. We reached Bhattar manae around 4 pm. Tried to finish the snacks we had and managed the lunch with the bread packets and fruits. Started our return trip down to the Kukke temple after refilling the water bottles from Forest Office. We divided ourselves into smaller groups to climb down. Post 6 pm the trekking had become a thrilling experience as we had minimal torch and the daylight is gone. we get to hear the noises around in the tree covers along your side. As a 3 membered group to climb down with single torch, I had control of the torch, walked few steps and directed the other two. So, it is always advisable to carry enough torch and reach the kukke temple as early as possible. The cut down trees were our motivation to climb down. As we were nearing we started hearing songs from the temple which pushed us the final few steps down and finally we reached the base with the mix of experience and emotions. We had the least energy to walk to the kukke temple and we did not have enough water to recoup ourselves. Finally we quenched our thirst enough and rejuvenated from the water in a nearby house and started our way to Kukke Temple. We had our dinner and boarded the bus to Bangalore with the feeling of "WE DID IT".