A day trek in the western ghats — Minchukallu
We sat a little above the cliff. We could see the mountains in the horizon it was partly covered in a hazy mist. Above us the blue sky felt decorated with white clouds. We sat on the green grass and watched the butterflies fly from one purple flower to another. We soaked in the beauty around us on this bright sunny afternoon along with the buzz of an occasional honeybee. I was happy. It was a wonderful trek.
Earlier in the day, the excitement which had built up for my upcoming trek was dampened, when I got to know that the forest department did not permit camping on Minchukallu. Minchukallu is one of the lesser known western ghats trekking places. But, little did I know that despite all this, Minchukallu would turn out to be one of my best treks.
The trek started from the ancient Kalabhairava temple in Devaramane village. A six hour drive from Bangalore (Bengaluru). The ancient temple did lift my spirits a little bit. The temple was more than 300 years old with a rich history. Yet it wasn’t enough to overcome the disappointment of not being able to camp on a full moon night under the open sky.
What did wipe out the disappointment was the amazing 360 degree panoramic view of undulating grasslands and misty peaks which I would see very soon.
In this trek one does not have to struggle up dense forests or navigate leech infested territory to be welcomed to this amazing treat. It is like nature beckoning and saying “son you have been good, I will make it easy for you”.
The monsoons here bring high rainfall, so much so that the mountains in the western ghats are sometimes called the monsoon mountains. The rains rejuvenate the rich bio-diversity in the region. During Monsoons the rocks get very slippery and cannot be trekked, even the locals stay away.
But it is October now, the monsoons are over. The light green grasslands interspersed with dark green shola forests bears testament to a good monsoon this year. The warmth of the sun on my arms and face is energizing, it is still early in the day.
The trek route takes one through a small patch of shola forest, a steep downhill and you reach a small stream. I did see some leeches here, but they didn’t seem to be the aggressive kind, they seemed to be taking it easy. Seeing their lax approach, I took it easy too and spent a few minutes catching my breath and enjoying the shade near the stream.There is this common saying amongst trekkers that leeches suck the bad blood out, I thought to myself I have none of that in me so I am safe.
In a few of minutes a couple of leeches had changed their mind and started climbing my trekking boots. I quickly flicked them away with my nails and briskly moved on and within minutes found myself on the grasslands again amidst the amazing views.
The walk from here on was both uphill and downhill and the uphills were not very steep, they could be easily negotiated. The trek route didn’t seem tiring, maybe because of the refreshing views or maybe because the Sun didn’t feel too hot.
Our guide Shiva Kumar was a tall and lanky man. He was in his flip flops (hawai chappals) wearing a brown cowboy hat. His knowledge of the surrounding peaks and his enthusiasm were both impressive. As he only knew the local tongue (Kannada), my trek mates had to do the translations for me.
Soon we passed by a flat patch of grass, to which our guide told us that this spot was used for camping earlier, he then took us to very small patch of trees and bushes next to which there was a small pool of clean glistening water, ready to drink. Some of us filled our bottles and we moved on.
Shiva Kumar narrated quiet a few folk tales about the region. One of the stories was about this rock named Banta Kallu, named after the servant of Ballalaraya, one of the kings of the Hoysala empire, who ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka in the 12th century.
As we walked on, the views remained spectacular. I had a fair bit of company on this trek there were twelve of us.
We walked in a straight line, all twelve of us, with our guide leading the way. He set the pace for us, he would stop at the points where there were magnificent views. He would wait patiently for us to get our fill, while himself sitting on a rock.
At one point, a couple of trekkers got left behind as they were too engrossed in taking pictures. Our guide then mentioned that this area is known to have leopards. He said the leopards wouldn’t attack if we are in a group of 3 or more and so we waited till the rest of the folks rejoined the group. After which we stayed together all through the trek.
We can view the Ettina Bhuja peak on this trek, which is also trekkable and is considered easier than Minchukallu trek, which we were doing. Ettina Bhuja means Ox’s shoulder, the names comes from the shape of the peak which looks like the hump of an Ox. The peak is also called Shishila gudda.
The mighty Amedikallu peak is also visible on this trek. The Ballala caves can also be visited on this trek, though it is a diversion from the Minchukallu peak. It is said that king Ballala entered this cave never to come back. Visiting the caves as well as the peak and returning back the same day is difficult. If you want to visit the cave and the peak you should make it a two day itinerary so it doesn’t get hurried.
Our guide Shiva Kumar, also does guided treks for Ettina Bhuja. He charges anywhere between Rs 1500 to 2000/- for a days work, which I think is very reasonable and worth every penny.
After a few hours of walking amidst the spectacular views, we now had nearly reached the final summit. By now, we had walked round hills. We had walked up rocks. We had walked besides gorgeous valleys. We had walked on soft grass. We had walked on dried grass. We had walked under shrubs which were taller than us. We had walked besides grass as tall as us.
Wherever we had walked, our hands remained busy with our cameras.
None of us shied from posing for photographs.
Before the final climb to the summit, there were a few flat rocks, the views and the flatness of the rocks compelled us to take a break. Sitting on the rocks, we spotted a Nilgiri Ibex on the slopes below us. He spotted us too and within minutes shied away into the Shola forest nearby.
The climb to the top of Minchukallu was the most tiring. It was a very steep climb of about 300 meters right to the top. It got the air out of me and by the time I reached the top I felt marvellously refreshed. I couldn’t believe that the view could get better than what it already was, but it did. The stunning views from the top took my heart away. We could see charmadi ghats and many other peaks all around. We felt on top of the world, like every trekker does when they reach the top. But there was more, our guide tugged us to follow him. And he took us slightly down on the other side to a view point which overlooked a deep precipice. A deep cliff. It brought my heart to my mouth. Just thinking about it, makes the excitement palpable.
Trekkers need to be careful while going here as the cliff isn’t visible and comes up suddenly. There was also a big beehive under one of the rocks. Strolling close to the beehive could make the bees feel threatened, which could get pretty dangerous.
We spent some time here immersed in the beautiful surroundings.
It was not long that we opened our lunch boxes and shared whatever we had amongst us. As time passed, most of us were now on our backs with our heads facing the sky. The sun was right on top. Some of us covered our faces with our hats on this bright sunny day. I think I would have dozed off for a couple of minutes, when I was woken up by voices about starting back. It had become seemingly hotter and the buzz of the honey bees seemed louder.
The trek back to Devaramane followed the same path. While returning we saw a big monitor lizard, the lizard quickly hid its head under a rock. And I had thought all along that only Ostriches did that.
Our guide showed us imprints of bison hoofs on the rocks. These imprints are a few hundred years old if not more. The imprints are called “Kaati mettida kallu” in the local language.
During October the horizon is misty, our guide Shiva Kumar said that January would clear the mist and the horizon gets very clear and is also a great time to visit the place. We continued to walk, some of us getting a little tired. Some of us sweating a little bit more than the others.
Amazingly the mobile network was available for large parts of the trail!
As we got closer to the village and the end point the conversations got fewer. The final stretch of the trek after we pass through the Shola forest till the village was steep and tiring. We had now reached the end of our day trek. Completely satisfied and feeling deeply peaceful.
We had a wonderful day immersed in the beauty of nature. Our spirits were high and we were hungry. We had our plans in place for the rest of the night. It was an exciting plan which I will write about next time.
Minchukallu trek is surely a hidden gem in the western ghats.
Trek Category:
Moderate
Minchukallu Trekking Guide Details:
Shiva Kumar and Renjith can speak only Kannada. They cannot understand English or Hindi.
Shiva Kumar: +91–9449736904
Renjith (Shiva Kumar’s son): +91–9449736904
