Kumara Parvatha Trek — The Serpent Trail
Standing on the peak of Shesha Parvatha, we looked upwards to what seemed to be our destination, the Kumara Paravatha peak. We had been trekking for more than 4 hours now, our faces moist with sweat. There was a gentle breeze with the sun right on top. The peak itself presented us with a beautiful view, which made one part of me want to remain here for the rest of the day. But we had to move on.
We had started the Kumara Parvatha trek at seven in the morning after a sumptuous breakfast at a cafe next to the Kuke Subramanya temple. Kumara Parvatha can be seen in the backdrop of the temple, watching the sunrise behind the temple early in the morning with pilgrims in traditional clothes, hurrying to pay their obeisance to the lord of serpents is an experience in itself.
Kumara Parvatha Trek is known to be one of the toughest treks in South India. We had our dry fruits and gatorade in our backpacks. We filled up our water bottles and started our walk towards the forest trail, which is one and a half kilometres from the temple. To reach the forest trail, we need to walk on the road, and we pretty quickly reached the start of the trail.
We were a 12 member strong group, just before entering the trail we did a customary round of introductions and set forth into the dense forest trail. It was October end and the forest was lush with multiple shades of green.
The Kumara Parvatha trek can be done from Somwarpet town which is in Coorg or from Kukke Subramanya temple. We were doing it from the Kukke side as it is more scenic but also more strenuous.
The trek from the Kukke side can be broken down into two legs. The first leg of the trek is from Kukke to Bhattra mane (Bhatts family house), which is about 5.5 km and could take anywhere between two to three hours. The second leg of the trek is from Bhattra mane to the Kumara Parvatha peak which is 7.5 km and takes anywhere between three to four hours. There is a forest department building after Bhattre mane, the forest department restricts camping on the second leg, so the options for the trek are
- Trek to Bhattre mane, camp or stay at Bhattre mane for the night. Start the trek to Kumara Parvatha early next morning and return back to Bhattre mane and then back to Kukke the same day.
- Trek to Bhattre mane, have an early lunch and start trek to Kumara Parvatha the same day before noon. Return back to Bhattra mane to camp for the night. Return to Kukke early next morning.
We decided to go with option 2, to summit Kumara Parvatha the same day.
From Kukke, the trail up the forest is lined with dense trees on both directions. This forest path is really beautiful, with rocks, dry leaves and twigs. You could see an occasional tree which has fallen on the path. Or a branch which has broken and fallen off. Nature is at its natural best, reflecting a beauty which seems untouched by man.
The shade makes the trail nice and cool. But this is far from being an easy climb. The climb is steep. Stepping over rocks of all shapes and sizes. And roots of trees which cross the path. The sound of the footsteps on the dry leaves and broken twigs makes it an interesting climb. The forest itself is filled with the incessant buzz of insects and occasional sweet mating calls of birds hidden behind the branches.
The sunlight makes it way through the leaves and branches and spreads its golden light on the trail. The play of light along with the shadows on the trees big and small is amazing. Add to that, the vines hanging from trees, some small and some big, entangled with each other and you have a complete forest experience pretty soon.
There is much wildlife on the trail, from snakes, leeches, millipedes to many unrecognisable insects. I spotted a snake and few vibrantly coloured millipedes. A few leeches tried to get onto my shoes when I took a break for maybe a bit longer than needed.
Bhattra mane means Bhatts family home. It is surprising how the family has setup a home in such a remote and difficult to access location. If not for their home, Kumara Parvatha wouldn’t have become such a popular trek. Bhattra mane provides trekkers with food and accommodation. The Food is usually just rice, sambhar and pickles. Don’t expect anything extra. The accommodation is in a room, which can accommodate 15–20 people, everyone sleeps on the floor. Yet, this is luxury when you consider this place is nestled cosily high up a mountain above dense forests filled with snakes and leeches.
The number of trekkers to Kumara Parvatha has increased over the years and you can see an occasional plastic water bottle or a wrapper on the trail. On my part I carried a big garbage bag and brought back a bag full of plastic bottles.
The trek from Kukke to Bhattre mane is steep and gets tiring. An early start will help you get refreshed at Bhattre mane to continue to Kumara Parvatha the same day.
From Bhattre mane toward Kumaran Parvatha, there are two view points which have chairs on the trail. This is a good place to watch the sunset, these view points are not very far from Bhattre mane.
The forest office charges an entry fees of 200/- per person. They can also provide a place to sleep and food on request. The trail from the forest office till Kumara Parvatha is clear and doesn’t really need a guide. From Bhattre mane to Kumara Parvatha, be ready for a steeper trails be ready for some real good inclines!
The grasslands is green interspersed with white and purple flowers and shola forests which can be viewed at a distance.
The trail is generously sprinkled with big black rocks, which look like chocolate chips from a distance!
After a not very long walk, you can see the mantapa, there is a water stream just before the mantapa, where you can refill your water bottles.
After about 3 hours of walk, we reached Shesha Parvatha, which some of us confused to be Kumara Parvatha. The panoramic view from this place is amazing and mixed with the breeze makes it a very relaxing experience. For some reason the mind comes to a halt at the amazing sights.
The route from Shesha Parvatha to Kumara Parvatha passes through a shola forest. There is a decend into the forest followed by a nice walk in the soothing environs of the Shola forest. After which there is a steep climb to exit the Shola forest, followed by climbing a steep rock, which also has water and moss over it. There is a trail by the sides of the rock to climb up safely.
After ascending up the rocks, we can see a stone stupa. We have reached the top of Kumara Parvatha. A little further down there is an old shiva temple, which is in ruins. We can spend some time here, relaxing our legs. To get the view of the valley we would have to go through a few bushes and we could see the edge of the mountain and the valley beneath.
Another good place to relax, stretch your legs and enjoy the views. If you feel you can indulge in some selfies or group selfies, which many in the team did. After a nice long break, very reluctantly started on our return journey as we wanted to reach back before dark.
The walk back was initially quick, getting down the rocks was not all that tough, down into the shola forest and up into the grasslands. Very quickly we reached Shesha Parvatha. After Shesha Parvatha the downhill seemed endless. The steep downhill can get dangerous as the trail is filled with rocks, small and big and some of them loose. At some point above the mantapa I mistakenly missed the trail, and started walking on a dried stream which resembled a trail, this path soon was covered by Grass, which hid the rocks beneath it. We needed to keep the steps more carefully, so as to avoid stepping on a loose rock and twist an ankle or fall. Missing the trail from here is not too much of a problem, as the trail beneath can be viewed from quiet a distance and chances of loosing the way is bleak.
Refilling the water bottles at the stream after the Mantapa, we resume downhill. The sun had begin to set and sky was turning orange with the setting sun. The team had now spread itself across the trail and I was mostly alone walking downhill.
It had been a long day with a lot of walking, talking and fun, the day was coming to an end and the setting sun was an indicator that nothing is permanent. I was looking forward to the dinner at Bhattre mane, but my mind was reluctant to let go of the beautiful day which was slipping away.
