Kudremukh is one the best treks in Karnataka. I think this is one of the mountains which has a straight meaning. "Kudre" means horse and "Mukh" means face. It is also the second highest peak in Karnataka after Mullayanagiri. But unlike Mullayanagiri this peak doesn't have a road, we have to trek.
My journey started from Tumkur on a Friday night. I reached my home stay around morning and had some time to rest and fresh up. Those who are planning for Kudremukh please find a convenient home stay or resort which is near to the start of the trek. I started the trek around 7AM in the morning and my brother was also with me. We had a very light breakfast. As we were in a home stay we got actual desi food which was healthy and light as well. When you enter to the starting point of the trek you will see a forest office where they check your bags and other things and no plastics are allowed.
Once the checking is done your trek starts. I started walking and after sometime I could feel that I was passing the mountains as I walked. If I remember correctly I passed around 5-6 mountains. The time I went it was Monsoon so there were lot of leeches and other insects. Some of them were colourful and some were not that good looking. In this trek you encounter a lot small streams. The water in those streams are much more sweeter than what we drink in our homes for sure. The first 5 kms is just walk and pass many streams. The first 5 kms is the easiest part according to me. When you complete your 5 kms you'll start to see the boards having kms to the peak. The magic starts now, you see a board saying 5 kms and them after walking, trekking, running for more than 30mins you won't find any sign board. At first you'll think maybe that there is no sign board but after walking walking some more you'll find a board saying 4kms to the peak. Because there was lot of cloud I couldn't see the peak so I had no idea how the peak looks from down. When I was around 3kms away there was heavy rain. The wind and rain was pushing everyone and it was terrifying. When I reached the peak the rain had stopped and clouds were cleared so we could see everything in front of us clearly. I felt like I was seeing something in a movie. I saw a thick cloud hitting the a mountain that was present in-front of the peak which looked like a axe end cutting the clouds in half. This is one those memories that I might remember the rest of my life.
After spending some time on the peak and enjoying the view I started my trek back. This was more like a sliding same. I was wearing a trekking shoe because of which I had some grip but there were some people whose shoes were not that good and some who came wearing slippers. I am quite sure many people's dress colour changed to brown. After coming around 2kms I turned back and the mountain was clear I got a good view and after that I turned to the another side and saw another mountain which next to the peak. That mountain looked like no one has ever been to that place. That mountain was completely green to be specific dark green and also to add to that the clouds were thick black and that mountain with dark green and black boulders with dark clouds in the background I realised how beautiful nature was and yet so terrifying. That scene I cannot take it out of my mind. It was beautiful and scary. I got a glimpse of how powerful mother nature is.
After coming down it's better to take rest whole evening. Next morning I went to a falls which was very near to where I was staying(Don't know the name) and took the bus back to Tumkur.
This trek will have a special place in my heart not only because of nature but also because of people. I saw variety of people. Some were wearing shoes, some slippers, some were wearing trekking outfit and gears and some were in track pants and some were in jeans. I even saw any ladies in sarees(Though they were struggling, I was happy because they were all so passionate to go to the peak and many were above 45 I guess).
Tips I would like to give to everyone: If you are planning for a monsoon trek please don't get disgusted or scared of leeches. They are like mosquitoes. They won't hurt you or cause any pain so just use your hands and remove them if they have bitten you. I suggest to carry "volini" or anything like that. It will help you if they have bitten you.
