The view from middle of the trek to kudremukh ! I cant say there are many better monsoon treks in the country!
Introduction-The journey begins
Heyy guys i am back with another blog regarding a trek to Kudremukh in chikkmaguluru district of karnataka with my best friend back in 2017.
Before starting my blog i have to say that if u are ever planning a trek to kudremukh, plan it during the monsoon months, because this is a monsoon trek and only then, you can experience the best of the trek and beware of leeches so carry socks and shoes and accessories as required.
During my busy internship days i wanted to have a break and i made some reseach regarding places to visit during monsoon seasons and coincidently i found out that there is a place in chikkamaguluru named kudremukh and the name instinctly caught my eyes and i made some research about the place and decided "lets do this "
We started our jouney from banglore around 9 am in the morning and decided to catch a bus.when we re ached bus station we came to know that there is no direct bus avaialbile right there so we had to change two buses to reach a place called bellur
Google map showed a total distance of 331km and 6hrs 30 minutes to Kudremukh so we assumed that we will reach the destination by around 5 pm. Guys Never blindly trust google map time , for travel always buffer an additional 1-2hours if you are going for such a long trip. For those who are travelling from mangalore side kudremukh is 100km from mangalore .
We travelled in ksrtc bus and the journey through the NH was uneventful !Straight roads with no traffic, greenery in the view! Drizzle and breeze.
I would suggest, for anyone who wish to go for a road trip in a car, this could be the trip you are wishing for. Journey in the bus can be boring at times, since you have to sit there idle for whole time and if you are travelling by a car ,you can stop the vehicle in between and can have a cup of tea or relax a bit with music and stuffs.We had our lunch in between at a bus station where there was a halt for 20minutes.we hurried our lunch and continued the journey. We reached bellur around 4.30pm
we hurried to change the bus because by the time we reached bellur it became dark already as the clouds were gathering up getting ready to come to earth as rain,thankfully within no time we found a connection bus to Kalasa which is the town we had to board to get to Kudremukh.
Now the journey from there takes you through hair pin curves and it was a nice experience and finally we reached kalasa around 8pm.
Note: if u want to make a phone call do make it in kalasa because there is no proper mobile network as you go from kalasa to Kudremukh untill u walk 5km of the trek.
Morning view of a balegal town which is a small junction between kalasa and Kudremukh.There are some hotels and few groceries in kalasa if you need to buy snacks or any items.
Regarding options to stay in Kudremukh 
There are a few hotels in kalasa where you can stay if you plan to start your trek from kalasa.it will cost you around 800-1000rs per day.
I made some research and found out a home stay called raj gowda's home stay which is near to the trek and I had called the guy and made the booking for the stay.
He asked me to call him when i reach kalasa and I called him when I reached there and he was there waiting for me with a jeep and he drove me to the place where I stayed for the night. The road was muddy and drenched in rain and it was a tough ride of 9km nearly and we finally reached the place
Raj gowda's home stay :morning view from the road 
They were very welcoming and they gave us a room with a bed ,a table and an attatched bathroom. And they prepared us dinner

We had our dinner and went to bed and it was raining heavily outside and we could hear the sound of crickets and flowing water somewhere nearby and the ambience was great.Even though there was no electricity in night, it didn't mattered as it was really cold inside as outside and we had a sound sleep that night after such a long journey.

The morning view from front of the house where we stayed!
We woke up early around 6am hearing the chirping of birds and sound of water flowing in a stream somewhere nearby and then I made a causal walk around the house ,and the view was amazing.we could see gigantic hills slanting behind the house where we stayed, and in front of the house I could see the same.
We had our breakfast from there and they even packed lunch for us !That was so kind of them. The starting point of trek was some 500m only from house and you need to get permission from forest office and need a guide to trek. The home stay person only provided as a guide and he took us to the forest office where we have to write down our name and details and deposit 275 rs per person and money for guide.

The forest office where we have to write our details.
The trek begins 

The trek started with some muddy roads and there was nothing special in the initial parts of trek ,as you walk by you will see hills by one side and the trail was plane but muddy and one could easy walk without much difficulty.
The trek in total is 9km one one side and would take 4 hour to climb and 3-4 hours to return.
The guide walked ahead of us and I spend my time capturing the view and the trail, shooting some video for my vlog.since we went in a weekday there were no one other trekkers other than us .There are some 6 landmarks before we reach the peak.

The first land mark on the way to top.
We reached the first land mark which was a tree and a cross road.we sat there for a couple of minutes and continued our journey .The view gets better and better as you walk from there and it was drizzling as well,and while we walk, gentle breeze use to pamper you as u walk.


There are many streams you need to cross during the journey 
One of the most distinguishing feature I found about the trek is that u will find all sorts of terrains during the trek, there are plane areas,hilly areas,streams,muddy areas,Rocky areas and so the trail is unique in that way. U will clearly get a feeling that you are walking deep into a forest ,the ambience and everything about the trek is so special and memorable one if you are a nature lover and are adventurous person.
One the way we could find many leaches clinging to our shoes and we had to check our shoes every now and then during the trek .you need not carry more than a bottle of water because water is so clean and fresh in stream that we quenched our thirst and washed our face in between from the stream only.
It was drizzling all our journey from start and you should always carry a umbrella or a rain coat for the trek.
You have to be careful when u are climbing rocky areas because there is chance that you could slip up especially in rainy season.

For people who have interest in photography this could be your place to start with
The trek initially was like walking 15 minutes in plane area ,then you enter the jungle area with dense trees and muddy terrain,and streams in between ,and then you climb some rocky area to reach plain area again and this cycle continued till we reached another landmark area with a sign board


From there the hardest part of trekking started. We could see huge mountains standing tall in our view and we took a break for a minute or so and continued the trek. Then comes the hills and we had to climb the hills ,and one has to be very careful while climbing and one shouldn't rush to climb because there is every chance that you may fall.

The view as we climbed the trek was mesmerising I don't know what word to describe the view. U need to experience it while trekking
While trekking we used to take a Pause and look behind and this is what we saw

The Beauty of the hills captured in a snapshot 
The view is mind blowing isn't it ?
We continued with the trek and it was around 1pm when we reached the peak of the trek. We were very tired by then. We had our lunch and then stayed there for half an hour enjoying the view and the wind.

View on way to Kudremukh peak 
Then we started our journey back to base.while climbing down the hills one has to be even more careful and don't be in a hurry to reach back base camp, because you are more likely to slip up while climbing down than while trekking uphill.
We came across the same path we took when we ascended and we didn't waste any time taking photos on the way back because it was already getting dark and clouds were ready to shower.
We reached the base around 5pm and we had our snacks and tea from the house, and then we said adieu to them and they dropped us in kalasa from which we had booked a Volvo bus to Bangalore.
So that's it from my blog this time,Till I see you next time. Take care. Stay tuned for new blogs.
Check out my Instagram page : https://www.instagram.com/noelshaju10/
Feel free to mail me in case you want to know more about the journey noelshajuktm@gmail.com