Amedikallu Trek, an Unsuccessful Attempt

Sometime abortive voyages also remembered long time; the effort we put to get achieve whereas it turned opposite, which makes you more exasperate; later the failure make you to think of more and more the attempted moments; inspire you again to agree challenges to venture again. Yes this fruitless – unsuccessful journey to Amedikallu trek which is near Dharmastala in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, between 27 – 29th January 2017.

Dharmastala temple Complex!!

Amedikallu is considered to be one of the toughest in Karnataka which is the height around 1200 to 1300mt above the sea level & it is one of the biggest & significant peaks in Charmadi range and is a two day trek if one wants to make it to the top comfortably. For trekkers, who love adventure and challenges, this is their ultimate paradise because there is no short cut and easy route to reach this peak. 

The Majestic Amedikallu.

Difficulty Level: Moderate to very difficult depending on:
1. whether it’s sunny or not which makes it quite exasperating since there is no source of water until reach the peak (Dry Season).
2. Whether there is long grass or not which makes the path difficult to find and hidden rocks will hurt if stepped wrongly.
3. Whether it’s raining or not which makes the entire trail slippery and risky and infested with leeches.

Getting ready for the trail👈😇

The initiative begun by Vasu, we ticked off one more place to escape busy town and enjoy the vigilant beauty of Western Ghats. We total were eight people (Shiva,Shivu,Vasu,Bhargava S,Bhargava P,Srinivasa Murthy N S,Madhu and I) in the group and embarked our journey in two cars (Bhargava P and Bhargava S’s) from Kumaraswamy Layout late night in two four wheelers. The curly roads, the gentle elevation and the sweet serenity of the hills makes it an amazing road to drive in south India and will fetch a permanent place in your heart for an eternity.

Bhargava and Srini sir!

Hello Brothers💕

Though the trail have yet not renowned like other treks and remains deserted on most of the days but it makes for an ideal trail from Bangalore to escape from the daily grind.We reached Dharmastala morning by 6AM took holy bath in Nethravathi River and followed traditional ritual of visiting the temple. Started towards Kokkada, a small town 16km before Dharmastala on Bangalore – Dharmastala road. We had to travel further 20 km to reach Shishila. The base point to Amedikallu trek is from a village near Shishila called ‘Kombaru’. There is another peak one could attempt from Shishila is ‘Ethina Bhuja’. The name derives from its appearance which looks like an OX shoulder.

Ethina Bhuja Lurking..

Reached Shishila by 10’o clock and stopped near lone house, a local person guided us to the Amedikallu and camping during night at top of the peak. Our plan was to camp at the night. A stranger passing by said that without permission you couldn’t go to the peak and asked us to talk to one of the forest officials (His name was Ananda that’s what he told) to take approval. He said trek is allowed only during the day time along with guide. However we are not convinced and planned to move on to stay back over night at the summit, later realized that we have to obey the laws and decided to trek by 11:30am, Not an ideal time to start the trek in these hot and humid conditions. 

A stop and quick nourishment before getting the grassland...

We were not aware of camping at peak not allowed during the months February, March and April the reason being possibility of fire catching the reserved forests from the camp fire and other activities of the camp. With this confusion and update we had loss of time and this is where we slip-up our momentum.

Posing to Amedikallu😎👊

We started ascending in slow phase, It was almost 1'o clock and very hot by then. The path was very dry, with the floor covered with dry leaves and trees / vegetation on both sides. In spite of the shade cover, all started sweating plentifully and a break was required quickly - by a less than an hour's time. Soon after this break, we came out of the thick forest and were now at the slopes of one of the midway hills, going around it. 

Skyline of Charmadi Range hills.❤

The valley was visible to our right side along with layers of hills, one could see the majestic Ettina Bhuja. By about 2pm, we came out of the forest around the hill, into an open grassland. There we had our first nearby view of Amedikallu. Amedikallu name derived from 'Ame' (meaning tortoise in Kannada) and 'Dikallu' (a trivet stove in Tulu). The left portion of the peak is three rocks making a 'Dikallu' and the middle of the peak is a massive uniform rock approximating the top of a tortoise. 

Golden capped peak tops under the deep blue sky....Just mesmerizing!

We progressed on the savannah for some more time before making in to another small stretch of shola jungle. There we had break in proceedings and decided to open the lunch packs. We quickly finished our lunch and it was homemade chapathi and delicious chutney packed from the Vasu’s home. Almost every one feeling charged up after delicious lunch and decent rest for some time. Later all started ascending towards the peak, since the distance between the clearing and the peak was not much as per the measuring scale of a trekker and looked clear enough from far. The rocks embedded beneath the clusters of grass and some being wobbly made it difficult for us to get a proper foothold as the ascent became steeper.

 

The place where we halted.

Srinivasa Murthy sir said that he was feeling a little dehydrated and  after walking in the open under the hot sun and the halt became a little longer than what we wanted. Till here we reached almost 60- 70 % of the trail. We were facing a different challenge and that was the dry heat. When the weather is brutally (I guess it was around 35c to 36c with lot of Humidity) hot and your body sweats profusely, water by itself is not enough. The rate at which we were losing water via sweat seemed to be more than the intake rate. Later some time others also started feeling uncomfortable and step back moving towards the top. However Vasu, Bhargava S and myself decided not to give up and started ascending from the break point. I really don’t know what happened to me I came back after climbing some distance, However Bhargava completed 75% of the trail and Vasu tried his best to reach summit. 

Posing in front of the mountain.

He almost ascended most point of the Dikallu in our absence, he might have felt unaccompanied and came back as soon as he reached the summit. Meanwhile I with others spent time here (At 60 % of ascending at the trail) admiring the views around us and clicking pictures. We noticed that there was a nice rock shelter, this rock shelter would be idle for camping in the night or for lunch breaks (good shelter during midday’s) and apparently a lot of people had camped there as we could see signs of campsite fires there.

Vasu and Bhargava S desceding down from the top.

Taking rest at rock shelter.

There were in fact too many breaks and it was getting difficult for us to get warmed up every time after a break. The lack of water in the entire trail made the trek a bit more difficult. We started the descent from middle of the peak. The descent was mostly steep with dry leaves on the forest floor making the descent a bit more challenging.  

From the Green to the Golden beauty.

We lost altitude quickly and hit a road track at 6 pm, took us less than 3 hours to reach the starting point of the trek. From there we reached Shishila and quickly all of us took a dip in the Kapila River. And it was really refreshing. We had a great time there. Most of us was into the water for long time like as long as we can.

Lonely guy Bhargava P✌👆

Somehow we managed to arrange a campsite near the temple at Shishila in the dark night with our torch and sleeping bags. Then I started preparing upma for our dinner with others help, the hot upma seemed like heaven!! Almost a whole day of climb and descent, after conquering nearly 18 KM of a tough stretch across the Western Ghats, this dinner along with other folks was so yummy and so pleasing.No matter how you are carry lots of water, very light luggage, preferably individual tents and not heavy ones, someone experienced with you, a small first aid kit, fully charged mobile phones (some areas you get signal) and a refreshed & well hydrated body! 

Kapila River.

Folks posing on Hanging bridge at Shishila.

Super maasss !!

We got up early in the morning and went back near starting point of trek where there is a small rivulet flowing. Vasu and Shiva prepared tasty Maggi Noodles for breakfast at banks of small stream. After having breakfast we visited Shishila temple which is famous for the Matsya Theertha (Kapila River that flows near the temple). The Mahashir fish is found in huge numbers in the Kapila River.

Laughing times at cooking😆😆

@Shishila

The fishes in this river are believed to be sacred and Prasadam is offered to these fishes after puja every day. It is also believed that worshipping at Shishileshwara temple, fishes and feeding the fishes in Kapila River, one can get rid of all types of skin disease. On our way back to Bangalore we had been to Southadka Ganesha temple and Kukke Subramanya temple.

On our way to Kukke !!

Kumara Dhara River,Kumara Parvatha at right behind.

It would take several weekends to cover some of the prominent places in the Charmadi area and there will be some more trips to this beautiful place.Certainly the Amedikallu trek was unsuccessful, nevertheless the inspiring trek, habitation, fun, and we absolutely once again organize the Amedikallu trek and venture without fail.

I captured this on my way to Kukke and this guy was struggling to cross the road When the weather is brutally hot.

Information about Amedikallu

• Gopu Gokhale (local contact in Shisila who will arrange for guide, food) – 08251269246,9483211246
• Purushottam Rao (Hotel Owner near Shishila temple will arrange for guide, food for both Ethina Bhuja and Amedikallu) – 8762921154, 8762920606
• Distance Covered – 24 kms Approx
• Water Source - After November one need to carry lots of water as there are no major water sources all along the trail (I suggest at least 5 lts per head).
• Essential Time needed – 2 Days(If u are a regular trekker could complete the trail by end of the day starting the trek very early in the morning)
• Camping Options - Either at Rock Shelter or the peak if you have tents. 

Kedarkantha Trek (Dec - Jan 2016-17) - National Himalayan Trekking Expedition organized by YHAI

Travelling and exploring places was something I wanted to always do in my leisure time. But now it’s not just traveling or a mere hobby after visiting Himalayas, it’s a journey and an experience to write and share.

The Himalayas were beckoning me as it was first ever snow trek for me and 12 of us involving myself are travelling together (Pramod, Sunil, Vasu, Sudhee, Bhargava, Shivu, Rashmi, Krupa, Mahesh,Veena and Supreeth). The grandeur of Himalayas was always fascinating for me which I had only read or seen on television. Our team chose the batch which was starting in December reason being we wanted to experience the extreme cold weather at boundless Himalayas as we are so equipped to stay in normal climatic conditions.

Local boy spending his time under pine trees !!

This is how we started our fun filled preparations in the 1st week of September 2016.With help of my team members we booked online at YHAI website, for the Kedarkantha Trek and managed to get booking for reporting date of 18th December, 2016.To add more fun to this trip two more friends Akhil from Belgaum and Karthik from Hubli also joined us in Mussorie base camp. Western Garhwal Himalayas (Located in Uttarakashi district of Uttarakhand) are famous for being hot-blooded in nature and so we were prepared for it, but no one had expected there will be no snowfall during our trek (The pics will tell you more).We managed with hard frozen snow throughout our journey starting from Sankri base camp untill we reached summit. At some point of time I thought our summit could potentially fail but Mother Nature had something else for this. We heard it from our next batch that it snowed beautifully in base camp. It made us go in our deep thoughts that we could only imagine the snow falls.

About Uttarakhand (now that touched my heart with its beauty and diversity)

Trekking in Uttarakhand is always a pleasure due to its ravishing beauty and panoramic natural views that cannot be matched with any other destinations within the country. Its peaks and valleys were well known in ancient times as the abode of gods and goddesses and source of the Ganges River. Today, it is often called "the Land of the Gods" (Dev Bhoomi) and “World of piligrimage” because of the presence of a multitude of Hindu (Gangotri,Yamunotri,Kedarnath,Badrinath,Haridwar and Rishikesh) and Sikh (Hemkund Sahib) pilgrimage spots. Uttarakhand is known as Dev Bhoomi from ancient times. Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of the Ganges and Yamuna, dedicated to Ganga and Yamuna respectively, fall in the upper reaches of the state and together with Badrinath (dedicated to Vishnu) and Kedarnath (dedicated to Shiva) form the Chota Char Dham, one of Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious pilgrimage circuits. Haridwar, meaning "Gateway to the God", is a prime Hindu destination. Haridwar hosts the Kumbha Mela every twelve years, in which millions of pilgrims take part from all parts of India and the world. Rishikesh near Haridwar is known as the preeminent yoga center of India.

Ur's truly at the banks of Tons river 😊

Uttarakhand has a great diversity of flora and fauna. Uttarakhand is home to rare species of plants and animals, many of which are protected by sanctuaries and reserves. National parks in Uttarakhand include the Jim Corbett National Park (the oldest national park of India), Valley of Flowers National Park and Nanda Devi National Park in Chamoli District, which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A number of plant species in the valley are internationally threatened, including several that have not been recorded from elsewhere in Uttarakhand. Rajaji National Park in Haridwar District and Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Sanctuary and Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi District are some other protected areas in the state.

About Program (Kedarkantha)

Kedarkantha Trek lies in the Govind Wild life Sanctuary and National Park in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The most amazing and exciting part to the journey of Kedarkantha is the fascinating locations and thrilling trekking sites available is the snow treks of Kedarkantha which inspires every trekker to go and experience it again and again. The very first reason is the availability of snow till the end of April making it one of the best winter trek destination of all. Another beauty of this trekking trail is that it starts from dense pine forest where one can begin the trekking trail walking over the bed brown dried leaves creating a exceptional experience and a splendid view that is absolutely supreme. To brief it the trekking tour promises is refreshing and the heart filled pleasure makes the destination so attractive to the visitors who want to experience something different be it in any part of the year.

Sunrise View from the Kedarakantha Peak.

Add to that one can view the majestic peaks of Swargarohini, Bandarpoonch and Kala Nag from a close range for ages, the land has been known for temples and shrines with sacred mythological attachments. Swargarohini derives it names from the Legends associated with that it peaks forms the path to heaven that was followed by Pandavas, But only One Pandava (Yudhishthira) and A Dog had reached to Heaven. According to Legends it is believed that is the only way one can go to heaven with the human body itself.

The Mighty snow capped Swargarohini,Swargarohini derives it names from the Legends associated with that it peaks forms the path to heaven that was followed by Pandavas.

# Mussorie to Sankri Base camp Drive (altitude of 6500 feet). 

We travelled through the Yamuna and Tons valleys across the Kempty water falls, Yamuna bridge, Nainbagh, Nowgaon, Purola, Jarmola (Jarmola is one of the biggest and most beautiful pine forests in Asia), Mori and Naitwar and reached Sankri after a picturesque uphill drive through the mountains. The road follows Tons river till Netwar where Rupin and Supin River merge to form this river. The Tons River is the largest tributary of the River Yamuna.

Bhargava clicking a pic at Yamuna river Valley.

Sankri a tiny market village located in the northeastern part of Uttarakhand starting from close to the Himachal border, heading east and then south. Sankri is the gateway to the almost untouched Har-ki-dun (3566m) with the Swargarohini Peak (6096m) towering above it in the backdrop. Overnight was Sankri base camp tents.

# Sankri Base Camp to Juda Talab (altitude of 9100 feet)

It’s a 4km hiking passage and the approximate time for getting the same is around 4 to 5 hours. After packing the backpack we started off the trail and left the extra baggage at Sankri. The beginning of the trek is marked by the virgin dense pine forest. That was full of tall standing pines and maples. The trail offers an amazing view of some Himalayan peaks, the peak Swargarohini can be seen lit up by the sun west of the Gangotri group of peaks. One can feel the breathlessness as we were ascending to the top. During the trail we could hear the sounds of running streams all through but may not be in view. On the way up one can also sight Himalayan langurs, though they are a bit shy animal it’s hard to get a picture from our advanced lens as they move very quickly in just a glimpse.

At Juda kaa Talaab with my fellow Trekker 😎

“Juda ka Talab” is almost too perfect for setting up a camp site. The landscape comprises the semi frozen lake and dense pine forest that light hardly gets through. The area is entirely in shadow and one of the thickest pine forest you have ever seen. The story behind the ‘Juda ka Talaab’ is juda hua talaab, i.e there are two lakes, one is beautiful semi frozen lake that we see and other one 100 ft below to that. They apparently joined at some point of time. We have seen first pieces frozen snow near the camp and expected to see lot more up ahead. Overnight sleep is arranged in tents close Juda ka talaab.

# Juda ka Talab to (Lahasu) Kedarkantha base camp (altitude of 10250 feet approx.)

After clicking lots of photographs we started walking further up towards Kedarkantha base camp. The base camp offered a spectacular panoramic view of the Gangotri ranges. We made friends with some mountain dogs and they followed until we reach the summit. It was our 3rd day, this stretch of trail is less in distance to be concealed approximately 3 km hike which we completed in about 3 hours with couple of long halts to re-energize the body and get the fascinating view of surroundings. On one side we could see Kedarkantha peak, on the other side it opened to huge valley.

Semi Frozen stream near base camp 👌

The evening sky is equally beautiful with glowing stars and shining planets ornamenting the moon. As the night grows the sight becomes more charming with the Milky Way stretching from one end to the other, the dense network of stars and glistening peak. One of my fellow trekker Thirth Sangoi educated us about stars multiplied with such a huge count i.e. Galaxy, Milky Ways, Nebula, Mercury, Venus and pole star.

# Kedarkantha base camp (Lahusu) to Summit Kedarkantha (altitude of 12500 feet approx.); Descend to Argaon Camp.

The fourth day of trek was predestined to reach Kedarkantha summit and descend to Argaon camp. In our conversations with Hari Prasad, our camp leader on the previous day, it was decided that we would start 3 am from campsite next morning. The tea would be served at 2 am and by 3am would be the breakfast time.

A mesmerizing view just before sunrise at Kedarakantha Top.

The first hour of the hike takes you through dense Oak forest but as you climb further the forest recedes. A majestic 360 degree view of the Himalayas waits at the summit. In the southerly direction you can see the wide valleys sloping down. A number of high peaks in Gangotri and Yamuntri ranges can be seen towards the north. Today will be an amazing day, so after early on breakfast hike up to the summit and enjoy the enthralling Himalayan peaks.

We left for our target at 3am, it was dawn with semi snow-covered mountains around us, shining elegantly in the light of dazzling stars. We had taken out our torches and wind was so cold that it seemed to tear my cheeks. Everything around me was so wonderful. We were told by our camp leader that we would be fortunate if we reach to the destination before sunrise because the view of sunrise from Kedarkantha peak is delightful. We had many stops and breaks time to time since one of our fellow trekker was not feeling well due to mountain illness that usually takes place due to continuous hiking. With all the fun and people around it wasn’t as troublesome as it seemed to be since achievement of such trek lies in teamwork and each one has to look after other members. Just before getting to Kedarkantha peak the fascinating views of arc shaped range of snow clapped mountains comprising of Bandarpoonch, Swargarohini and Kala Nag standing out proudly showcasing their splendor. And finally, after a wonderful trek of about 3 odd hours, we reached at the peak just at sunrise.

Sun rays entering in between the Himalayan peaks😅

“Does anyone know meaning of “biting cold”? ohh my god !! I didn’t know it, until I felt it at the top of the peak. It was very challenging to remove my gloves, even for clicking a pic. I had imagined at this point of time drinking water in water bottles could turn into ice. The 360 degree view from the Kedarkantha peak was simply unbelievable, phenomenal, astonishing and I wish to add more and more adjectives to describe the magnificence of snow-mountains. We had spent about 2 hours at the peak snapping pics, making videos, adoring the beauty of Himalayas.

Mejestic Gangotri and Yamunotri ranges right behind us(Akhil,Vasu,Sunil and myself ) and we enjoying panoramic view of kedarakantha peak 💗

After spending ample time at the summit, we were ready for snow-descending. Yes, SNOW-SLIDE!! Regrettably there was not enough snowfall during our trail, everyone felt little sad about that. It was slight discouraging situation for me descending down without sliding over snow. Our guides and other localities told there was no enough rain during this year monsoon that was the reason behind no snowfall even in last week of December. As I said before we heard it from our next batch that it snowed charmingly in base camp. Nevertheless we had completed our summit, fruitfully to have sweetened daydreams of the marvelous peak.

@Kedarakantha Summit with our guide Mannu A.K.A Niel Nitin Mukesh

It took 2 hours to descend Kedarkantha peak to base camp, had yummy lunch at base camp started further downhill towards Argaon basecamp.

Pramod and me @Summit

# Argaon Camp to Sankri Base Camp.

Descend is more painful and straining since the body is too tired after a hiking. We experienced pain in our thighs and knees. As we headed towards Sankri, the more we were getting away from snow-capped peaks. While coming down Sunil (He loves Birds) explained us about Himalayan and other birds how they live and how intelligent they are and we have sighted few Himalayan babblers. Sunil, Pramod, Akhil, Karthik and myself had a lot of talk on travelling and related stuff. Well after reaching the last base camp we were satisfied and there was an internal happiness to have experience such a beautiful journey. We hired a local bus and reached back to Mussorie.

Team with guides Mannu and Manmohan.

# Mussorie, Dehradun, Rishikesh to Delhi.

Next day we had train in Dehradun in the late evening, Mean time we decided to visit Rishikesh and Haridwar. Reached Rishikesh after about one hour bus journey.Rishikesh, sometimes nicknamed "Yoga Capital of the World", has numerous yoga centers that attract tourists. It is believed that meditation in Rishikesh brings one closer to attainment of moksha similar to a dip in the holy river that flows through it. Due to time constraint we had decided not to go Haridwar also because it was pouring crazily and there were hailstorm (Common in Himalayan Foot hills). But Karthik and Akhil managed to visit Haridwar as they had one extra day to spend in Dehradun.

Laksman kaa Jhulaa @Rishikesh

By 11:30pm we got ‘Nandadevi Express’ to Delhi and left for Dehradun. In Delhi I was craving for some south Indian food to energize the taste buds after 8 long days. After a long walk Vasu, Pramod, Sudhee, Bharath Myself succeeded to find Andhra Bhavan in Ashoka Road, New Delhi and had a mouthwatering meal.

Team Karnataka at the Triveni Ghat is the famous tourist spot is Rishikesh.It is the biggest and most famous ghat in Rishikesh at the banks of Ganges. 

@India Gate,Delhi

At last left Delhi by capturing so many memories and happy moments that would remain with me wherever I am.Last but not the least this trip would be incomplete without the humor of Sunil and Sudhee. Sunil lead us as a leader and Sudhee made us laugh all through the trip. Also the guides who came along with us and guiding us so well so that we reach our destination. 

P.S --> Our group was fourth YHAI Kedarkantha batch which counted in 45 individuals and named squad as KK4 Team. I had a wonderful time. We'll never forget this trek through these spectacular mountains in no small part, and many thanks to KK - 4 team who made this trek memorable. Special Thanks to Bharadwaj sir for sharing your experiences. 

KK - 4 Batch @Summit

Hidden Secrets of mighty hill - Avalbetta (A Road trip)

Avalabetta is a small hill top in Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka. Its similar to famous Nandi hills but with one difference, Avalabetta is not at all crowded. For Bangaloreans, its a half day trip to this place. There is not much to do at Avalabetta, good weather day is a good day but especially if it rains, then it is just amazing !!

Places: Road trip to Avalabetta and Avalabetta Hilltop

Distance: 200 km round trip

Route: Koramangala -> Hebbal -> Chickballapura -> Avalabetta

Bikes: Unicorn , Yamaha FZ and Avenger 150

Crew: Dinesh, Pramod, Nagesh, Sagar, Mohan and Naveen(Myself)

Type: Bike Ride, Sight Seeing

Ideal for: Friends and Family