Kumaraparavathu hike, jan 26 republic day in India

Kumaraparavathu jan 26 2014, republic day

the little green gate, the trail starts here

Probably the most famous trekking route in Karnataka, two peaks to conquer 12 kms of endurance testing trails. located at the town of Kukke Subramanya in South Canara a little temple town mostly visited by pilgrims and devotees.

Thats where we were headed

Dr Ullas and me initially planned to go to a waterfall called Bandaje, however the plan changed the previous night, and Dr Ullas wanted to do the trek that he had once done 10 years ago. Most would complete this trek in two stages with a night halt about 7 km from the peak, but as macho guys we had to complete it that day itself because work beckoned the next day, not many people understand the need to hike,  its a passion and you just do it for the heck of it, no one explored the unexplored with the primary reason of some cause, you do it for the heck of it! the cause is secondary, the adventure is what lives on in memories.January in the sweltering heat is not a good time to hike here it is quite painful and not at all enjoyable the only thing pushing you is your determination not to lose to the heat( not a wise way to stay focussed). The best time to hike here is just after the south west monsoon.What you need to complete the trek is plenty of water, sugary drinks and salty meals,sunscreen and a hat,a good pair of sneakers (mine ripped at the front a result of overuse!) for the weather that we encountered and of course a dumb focus.


We started from mangalore as usual at 0500 hrs took the KSRTC bus to kukke subramanya which is about 90km east. We started the hike at 0830hrs after  little breakfast from the town.there are two trekking routes to the peak 1 from the Somwarpet side 2 from Subramanya Since Subramanya was closer and fit into our estimated time took this route, for your knowledge this is the tougher route, majority would climb the Somwarpet route and head down via the Subramanya rote, there are different permutations ,combinations to the route not very complicated,figure it out.

 The trail route stars at a little green gate about 1km from the town you can easily walk the distance or take an auto-rickshaw to that point. The trail for the initial 3 km is lined by trees(mostly strychnine nux vomica) which are part of the

forest, the Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuary. The trail is a gradual ascent and continues this way for the entire hike, there’s hardly any flats so you’ll have to take measured breaks to avoid cramping, rehydrate often as the trail gets steeper and steeper further up, the trees  disappear and you are at the mercy of the sun which burns down unforgivingly. 

forest check post

At the halfway mark you come to the forest check post  where you can leave any extra weight and refresh yourself,  you have to enter your name in a book with your contact details, this is mainly for those who halt for the night, on the way back you have to check with them again.There is a homestay at the same spot as the forest check post for overnight stay.Along the trail from this point on you will find a pond,the water was pretty nasty looking so we didn’t cool off here, then for those who do the overnight hike there are numerous camping areas, you’ll spot these because of the

the homestay

remaining ash  from fires and plastics thrown around( DO NOT LITTER, IT IS A VILE AND REVOLTING HABIT)  you get to hike around the Shola forests if you are lucky you may see some wildlife, we did not see anything significant except for a little viper slithering across the trail. You will reach a Mantap along the route, this is approximately 3.5 km from the peak, you will hike to the smaller peak called Sheshaparavathu and then from here 1.5km to Kumaraparavathu, not much of a view at the top, only the

original temple which distinguishes itself as a pile of rocks stacked on each other to make 4 walls, no roof, we found the national tricolor at the peak since it was republic day!The hike to the peak may take between 3.5 to 4 hours if you keep at a decent pace. But I would advice to take your time and enjoy. The way down we pretty much ran, we met trekkers who had been 1 hr ahead of us we reached the town in 2.5 hours, we were back to catch the 1630 hrs bus from KSRTC Subramanya to mangalore! enjoy the photographs!!

kukke subramanya town with kumaraparavathu peak in the background