Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra

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Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 1/6 by anshul akhoury

When someone talks about Goa, the first thing that comes in the mind is the lovely beaches, endless bike rides and adventure sports. Little do people know that Goa has some extremely beautiful and mesmerising trekking destinations.

Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 2/6 by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 3/6 by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 4/6 by anshul akhoury

The Western Ghats may not be as high and mighty like The Himalayas but when it comes to the pristine beauty, green dense forests and a diverse flora and fauna, these mountain ranges know how to surprise the visitors. I recommend Western Ghats to travellers and solo backpackers because despite writing so much about it, the trek routes are not for faint hearted and resort dwellers and that’s why these hidden gems won’t get overcrowded with tourists for a long time.

On the first day of acclimatization, I was told that Goa is home of more than 50 kind of snakes out of which the mighty King Cobra is one of the famed resident. Thankfully, I haven’t come across one of these during my multiple treks through Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary. Although, I once mistook a long black pipe for one of the Cobras and created a frenzy among the fellow trekkers.

Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 5/6 by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra 6/6 by anshul akhoury
Day 1

The famous 4 day trek into the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary starts from Kullem station. This is also the base point of the famous railway line trek leading to Dudhsagar falls. Sadly this trek has been banned by Goa tourism because of the miscreants. You can still do a monsoon trek from the jungles and reach Dudhsagar in 5 hours. Be ready to cross raging rivers using just thin ropes. The force of the riverstream is so high that you almost feel like getting pulled by the force. Ofcourse, accidents happen and the guide told me that there is a death rate of one percent because of the tourists who decide to be too brave and pull of stunts in the middle of the river.

Day 2

The real trek however doesn’t start until you reach Dudhsagar Falls. The waterfall that is usually a thick plunging stream during the tourist season becomes a raging monster and comes true to its name. The waterfall crosses all the boundaries and floods the entire region. It is as scary as hell to complete the final 15 minutes of the trek. They asked me to grab a thin but sturdy steel rope and cross over towards the fall. I was scared to death and almost refused. Imagine if I had refused and wouldn’t have come across this beautiful view.

Photo of Dudhsagar Falls, Sonaulim, Goa, India by anshul akhoury
Photo of Dudhsagar Falls, Sonaulim, Goa, India by anshul akhoury
Photo of Dudhsagar Falls, Sonaulim, Goa, India by anshul akhoury

The further trek from Dudhsagar to Goa Karnataka border is not allowed during the monsoon season. So you have to compromise on either of the mighty falls during the monsoon or the pristine jungles during the winters. After your first day of trek ends at Dudhsagar, you have to take a tiny uphill climb to reach the railway tracks and walk further towards the upper Dudhsagar Falls. Post monsoon, Dudhsagar is not as raging so it is easy to stand at the railway station and enjoy the views.

Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury

Konkan Railway is the route filled with a number of tunnels. You cross around 20 tunnels between Kullem and Dudhsagar. Our next destination was Kuveshi village, located on the top of Western Ghats. After climbing a steep path we came across a 360 degree viewpoint. This was also a reminder that we are now in King Cobra’s territory. Tigers are rumoured to be sighted in this location. A trekking group before ours told that they saw tiger paws in their way.

Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury

Trekking in this region is a lot of fun. The water is as fresh and sweet as it can get. We spent our time drinking the same water and it almost acted like some sort of energizer. The interiors of Western Ghats is filed with rare fauna, birds and the magical golden grass (Tigers use this grass as camouflage by the way). If you are a person who enjoys nature, is fond of greenery then this trek is ideal for you.

Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Photo of Trekking in Goa – Exploring the Home of Mighty King Cobra by anshul akhoury
Day 3

During our stay in Kuveshi, my friends and I were hosted by a kind family. We didn’t understand their language and they didn’t understand ours. They prepared locally flavoured chicken curry for us that was filled with their local spices. It was a memorable experience to meet these simple souls. The locals of Kuveshi know a lot about the local flora and fauna. They know the residence of snakes, will tell you about the local flowers and birds and exact time and duration when they’ll appear. They tend not to interfere with the nature and let it prevail side by side.

Day 4
Photo of Anmod, Karnataka, India by anshul akhoury
Photo of Anmod, Karnataka, India by anshul akhoury
Day 5

The trek goes through the interiors of Goa and finally ends at Tambdi Surla, Karnataka. You’ll notice that as you move further away from Goa and come closer to Karnataka, the lifestyle changes. The language and dialect changes, the food habit changes and so does the appearance of the locals.

Photo of Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple, Surla, Goa, India by anshul akhoury

Trekking in Goa is an unusual experience because it presents you with so many unexpected surprises. The next time you are in Goa, ditch the beaches and plan a trek with your friends. I doubt, there can be a memorable experience that this.

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