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

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

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

Friday May 18th 2007, eleven of us started from Bangalore towards Kuduremukha. Picking up everyone from nook & corner of the city took two hours and unfortunately I was the first one to get into the vehicle. Around 11 PM, we stopped near Nelamangala for dinner and took off. We reached Horanadu by 7, next morning. After a quick bath, paid a visit to Horanadu Sri Annapoorneshwari temple. From there we went to Samse via Kalasa, where we were planning to hire a jeep to trek starting point.

Seven of us got down in Samse village with luggage, while rest went to Kuduremukha town to get permission from the forest department. Our plan was to hire a jeep at Samse till Mullodi, (last village, afterwards its Kuduremukha National Park range). From there trek till Lobo’s house and camp. On day two, start early, reach summit & back, pack-up, trek back to Mullodi, take the jeep back to Samse by evening and back in Bangalore by Monday morning. But, whole plan changed as no one is allowed to stay/camp overnight inside national park premises & entry was restricted for just 12 hours time - 6AM to 6PM next day.

We changed plan accordingly. Instead of hiring a jeep, we started our trek first leg of from Basarikallu gate to Mullodi village. It was noon by the time we started. And we moved along the dusty jeep track towards Mullodi slowly on a hot mid-summer noon. The group moved slowly stopping for breaks, sipping energy drinks & water. We took 3 hours to reach Mullodi, an approximate distance of 8 KMs.

Reached Mullodi village tired, thursty, drenched in sweat. As soon as we heard there is enough water in the nearby falls - 'Somavathi falls', we almost ran towards it.

Continued...

Related links:

• Some random photos taken during the trek - here & here