Kuduremukha (or Kudremukha) trek log links consolidated -

• Basarikal gate to Mullodi on day one
  
• Somavathi falls @ Mullodi
• To Kuduremukha peak on day two
• General info on Kuduremukha trek
• Some random photos & more photos

Previous: To Kudremukha peak

Some general information on Kuduremukha -

• Kuduremukha in Kannada means horse (kudure) face (Mukha). And is approximately 350KM from Bangalore.
• Kuduremkha peak is at 1892 meters above sea level.
• Route (that we took): Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Kalasa - Kuduremukha.
• Refer Karnataka wilderness tourism website for detailed information on different trekking routes within Kuduremukha National Park range. And also for contact details to get permissions for the treks
• In case you want to stay at Mullodi at Sathish’s place, call him up & inform before reaching the place - 08263-249595.
• Nearby places of interest: Horanadu, Kalasa, Sringeri

And here is the same trek story in Shashank’s (fellow trekker) words

<< Prev | Beginning of the trek

Kuduremukha peakThe day started early. It was cold. After finishing our daily chores, we started our hike to Kuduremukha peak around 6.30AM. Initial stretch is an easy one, almost flat & no gradients. We walked one behind the other on the path chatting continously, stopping for photos here and there. Landscape around us was amazing & breathtaking. We reached Lobo house (Lobo mane) by 8. The peak was clearly visible from that place. A quick break & refreshments, we continued.

View from Onti maraThough it’s referred as Lobo house, there 4 houses close by which were constructed by one Mr. Lobo during pre-independence era. When we reached third house someone noticed a guava tree next to the house. End result, we spent almost half an hour there. And when we continued from there, not even a single fruit was there on the tree :). From there on the route gets tougher and the group of 10 got split into smaller ones depending on the speed. We passed through sholas & the grass covered slopes slowly and reached ‘Onti mara’ (the lonely tree) by 9.45. And that’s where I got a chance to see a Male Sambar. ‘Onti mara’ is a lonely jamun fruit tree en route KM peak. There are no any trees nearby at that altitude. We three were the first to arrive, rest of the gang was way behind, tree was full of jamun fruits. And by the time everyone arrived we had plenty of fruits. Once everyone arrived at the scene & after breakfast, we continued our mission & ate some more of Jamun fruit.

After a long break we started from ‘Onti mara’. Path from there onwards is much steeper & again the group got split into smaller ones. Next stop was near a small stream in a shola. Though it was summer, water was trickling down and the water was refreshing & cold. Another long break there & we moved ahead, along the zig-zag path, inching towards the peak. When it was more than 2KMs to the summit, we were greeted by blood sucking insects bigger than house flies in size. They attacked us in huge numbers, we had tough time with them. As we moved towards the summit, cool breeze & clouds welcomed us.

Reached the peak by 1PM & it was completely misty. It was an amazing sight sitting at that height and watching clouds play hide & seek. We spent a good one & half hours there - lunch, lazed around, listened to some philosophical speeches, dozed. By 2.30, we repacked & started home. Trekking down was faster and by 4PM, few of us were near ‘Onti mara’ while resting of the gang was coming slowly behind. We feasted again on the jamun fruits & continued. With the help of gravitational force, we moved down quickly and to our surprise we found a mango tree near Lobo house. We had somehow missed this while trekking up. It was time for us to show our skills at throwing stones at the fruits - end result 3 mangoes, one each for us :)

While rest of the gang were still behind, we reached Mullodi village by 5.30Pm and headed straight to Somavathi falls to have a dip. Another round of slipping & sliding, a refreshing bath and we came to Sathish’s house. We did a phone-booking for a jeep to transport us back to Basarikallu gate where our vehicle was waiting. 13 (including jeep driver) of us with 2 tents, 5 sleeping bags, 6 sleeping mats & 11 backpacks - stuffed into a single jeep. It was fun drive back on a bumpy road & took us half an hour. Our vehicle was waiting, we dumped our luggages & headed straight to the nearby hotel. Wonderful dinner - Dosas, rice, sambar, curd, tea, bananas. And we started back to Bangalore. The end of an amazing trek.

Related links:

• Trekking near Ooty
• A day’s trek to Shivagange
• Trekking in Sharavathi valley

<< Prev | Beginning of the trek | Next >>

Somavathi falls is a very small but dangerous waterfall near Mullodi village. The falls is not more than 8 or 10ft height but very slippery. Each one of us who got under the water slipped at least once. Though it was fun, one fell down and gave back a piece of his teeth to the nature. We sat down under the water slipping & sliding, waiting for turns while others were slipping & sliding.

A late lunch of chappathis & teplas after a refreshing bath. And then we spent a quality time listening to gurgling water, bird songs (especially the long whistle of Malabar Whistling-thrush. We came back refreshed & recharged to Sathish’s house (home-stay) where we stayed for the night. We played disk throwing & cricket till dark. And then it was round of leg-pulling & general chit-chat. After a nice dinner, we slipped into our sleeping bags & a sound sleep.

In case you are not interested in trekking & just want to have a dip in Somavathi falls, you can hire a jeep from Samse village to Mullodi. Have fun and come back same day. Or else, you can stay at Sathish’s place which is a non-commercial homestay. Sathish’s family are very hospitable & friendly. If you plan to stay there, you can call Sathisha & make arrangements in advance - 08263 249595.

Continued - trek to peak

Related links:

• Waterfalls of Karnataka visited in 2007
• Trekking in Western Ghats - Sharavathi valley
• Mallalli falls near Somawarapet