Monday, February 13, 2012

Brahmagiri Trek

Brahmagiri Trek

Brahmagiri peak(1602m) is located in the southern part of Kodagu(Coorg) district. It is part of the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread over 181 sqkms.

Brahmagiri_Trek_Brahmagiri_Wildlife_Sanctuary

Prior permission from Karnataka Forest Department is needed for this trek and for the night halt at Narimale Forest Rest House.

Brahmagiri Trek comprises of a total hike of around 22kms (11kms up and same 11kms for descent). The only mode of accommodation or night halt is the Forest Rest House at Narimale, which is around 5kms from the base of the trek and 6kms from the top of Brahmagiri betta. Base of the trek happens to the magnificent Irupu waterfall.

Trek is split in two parts, first one is the hike of 5kms from the base to the Narimale Forest Rest House and next is the hike of 6kms to the Brahmagiri peak.

Map gives a fair idea of the route.
Brahmagiri_Trek_RouteMap

Night halt at Brahmagiri peak is prohibited by the forest department(allowed only at the Narimale Forest Rest House). So the best way to plan this trek is to reach the Narimale Forest Rest House by afternoon of day 1 and then trek to Brahmagiri betta on the morning of day 2.

Best route to reach Irupu from Bangalore(284kms) is to reach Gonikoppal via mysore - hunsur and then turn left towards Srimangala. Gonikoppal is a good place for a filling breakfast.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Gonikoppal_Breakfast

We a group of 14 started the trek on Saturday morning from the Irupu waterfall. Well, we skipped the visit to waterfall and started the trek right-away. More on waterfall later.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Start

Small hanging bridge over the Laxmantirtha river. It originates from Brahmagiri and on its way down becomes Irupu waterfall.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Hanging_Bridge

Steps leading to the Irupu waterfall.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Steps

Into the forests.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Path1

Initial trail is a little steep and covered with fallen leaves, making it pretty slippery.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Path_Leaves

Later on the trail becomes much easier to walk.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Path2

After a while covered under the forest, the trail opens up to some magnificent views.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Views1

This is one among the several water streams which makeup the Laxmantirtha river.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Stream1

A good place to cool off.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Stream2

After the water stream, the trail again opens up. The Narimale Forest Rest House is behind the rock.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Views3

Now onwards, welcome to the land of amazing scenery.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Views4

Trekkers taking a grasp of this breathtaking natural beauty.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Views5

The trail further passes through a not-maintained and abandoned watch tower. From here the rest house of only couple of minutes away.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Watch_Tower

Water crossing before the rest house.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Water_Crossing1

Narimale Forest Rest House is an old bungalow converted into a rest house. It has two rooms and a hall, with an outdoor cooking area. The number of people allowed for the night halt is controlled by the forest department and is just enough to accommodate the people in the rooms and the hall. Wild animals make frequent visits to this place. All the windows are sealed for safety.

Massive Baisan head at the rest house.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Baisan

Well, cooking area is the best part of the rest house. It has plenty of space for cooking as well as for people to sit around and gupshup.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Cooking_Area

Cooking in progress.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Cooking


Rest house has a piece of flat land which is another good place to chit-chat about anything and everything in the world.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Gupshup

Campfire is another attraction. Getting the dry wood is very easy as lot of fallen and dead trees are lying in the thick vegetation surrounding the rest house. Around this campfire we had one of the most invigorating and in-conclusive discussions on ant behavior :D(I am sure it will make sense to ppl who were part of it)
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Campfire


Rooms are pretty basic.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Rooms1

The rest house is equipped with working solar panels and power is not a problem in the night. (Electric poles have not yet spoiled this area)
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Solar

It is advisable to carry sleeping mats.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Rooms2

There is a small water stream nearby, which should be used for all kinds of water needs as there is no direct water supply from stream to the rest house.

Day 2

Morning in the forest are always spectacular, no doubts about this one as well. Trekkers warming up with morning campfire and tea.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Morning

Heading out.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Forest_Rest_House_Heading_Out_To_Brahmagiri_peak

Mini water crossing.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Water_Crossing2

Our morning hike was mostly fogged out.
Brahmagiri_Trek_To_Peak1

Fog can be a little disorienting. Karnataka-Kerala border passes through this region. One wrong turn can take you to a completely different peak :D
Brahmagiri_Trek_To_Peak2

On the way to Brahmagiri peak, we encounter these two wide passages which pretty much look like alien creations from the top. But, actually these mark the Karnataka-Kerala border.
Brahmagiri_Trek_To_Peak3

Last stretch of the hike is a very steep hike of around a km. The hike is quite steep and slippery.
Brahmagiri_Trek_To_Peak_Steep_Incline

We reached the peak, but nobody could believe, that we were on the peak, well everything was fogged out.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Peak

Steep incline made things only more difficult while the descent.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Peak_Descent1

The top of this hill is the Brahmagiri peak. The hill suddenly rises out of the ground from no-where and I guess making it the steepest hike in the coorg region.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Peak_Descent2

Trekkers enjoying the view and marveling at the work done by forest department to create this Karnataka kerala border as seen left to the thick vegetation in the photograph.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Peak_Kerala_Karnataka_Border

Trekkers on their way down.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Peak_Descent3

By the time we were midway in our descent, fog had completely lifted and we were again greeted with the awesome beauty of nature.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Views6

For a change we spotted this baby green snake on our way back. It was quite inquisitive looking at some other kind of animals(us).
Brahmagiri_Trek_Green_Snake

Finally we finished of the trek with this magical view of the Irupu waterfall.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Irupu_Falls1

Brahmagiri_Trek_Irupu_Falls3

To be honest, it was crowded, crowded with lots and lots of people. There was actually a queue of people who wanted to get under the waterfall.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Irupu_Falls2

We decided to go downstream and found this wonderful place to cool ourselves off.
Brahmagiri_Trek_Irupu_Falls4

A clean and cool end to an awesome and beautiful trek.

Brahmagiri trek experience by Badri in Tamil http://www.badriseshadri.in/2012/02/blog-post_13.html

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Rock Climbing at Ramanagram on 18th Feb 2012 (Saturday)

Rock Climbing at Ramanagram on 18th Feb 2012(Saturday)

Departure from Bangalore at 6:30 AM and return to Bangalore by afternoon.

Charges: Rs 1,250/- per person inclusive of transport, breakfast and climbing equipment(except shoes).

Contact Kamesh @ +91 9886664666 to register.