Trek to beautiful Netravati Peak

It was quite some time since we went with the larger group. My last three treks to Kurinjal, Tapteshwar Betta and Vellaingiri were all in smaller groups, and I was keen to go with the full team. It was Chinese New Year holiday, and thirteen of us trekked Netravati peak in Kuduremukha range on Saturday, 28^th January. For me, this was fourth trek in this range, Kuduremukha, Kurinjal and Mehti kan gudda being the other three (description can be found in my earlier blog posts https://balutreks-balachandra.blogspot.com/).

I had talked to Hari before coming back to India and we had decided the date. Earlier he said we will go to Gangadikal in the same range, but later dropped the ideaa because it was too simple. Netravati was a lesser known trail, getting popular now. Some of the members of the trek group were eager, while some others were reluctant and needed persuasion to find time from their busy schedule. Finally, it was Hari, Yatish, Chetan, Pramod senior and Pramod junior, Sujith, Gururaj, Arun Kashi, Pratap, Chinmay, Shashank, his brother Shreyas and I who joined the trek.

For those unfamiliar, Netravati is one of the peaks at an elevation of 1520 meters in the Kuduremukha range and is the birthplace of river Netravati which flows from the western ghats in Chikamagalur to Dharmasthala and to Mangalore. The range is also the birthplace of two other rivers Tunga and Bhadra, and this known as Ganga moola. The base camp is same for the four Kuduremukha treks mentioned before, a town called Samse near Kalasa.

Once gain it was for Hari to do all the planning: choosing the place, booking the homestay and the vehicle. He circulated a list of things to carry, and the pickup points in the WhatsApp group.

The vehicle started from electronic city around 22:00, and picked people at Nayandanahalli, Laggere and Goragunte palya. I got a drop to Laggere by my son, Bhargav, who had done couple of treks with us before, but couldn’t join this time due to a planned run on the weekend. It was almost 00.20 by the time all got into the Force traveler. The driver, Sachin, was an expert, and we didn’t realize how the distance of 310 kms was covered. After reaching Samse, the tempo went through a very rough road to the Homestay called Riveredge (http://riveredgekudremukh.website2.me/). It was 6:50 by the time we reached. This was certainly one of the best homestays we had been to, with all of us having individual beds, nice bathrooms, scenic surroundings, and very delicious food. The owners Shrinik Kumar and his sister Shylaja were very hospitable.

Ready to travel!

Riveredge homestay

River in front of teh homestay

Breakfast

Ready to go!

At the start of the trek

We started freshening up, had tea/coffee, and gathered for breakfast at 8:00. The breakfast of neerdosa, chutney, poha and masala goli bhajji was yummy. We also gave our tiffin boxes to pack puliogare for lunch. We got ready by 8:30 and left for the base by the Mahindra open truck. The journey was like a roller coaster ride! Hari got the forest permission (Rs 500/- per head, Rs 300/- each for the two cameras and Rs 1000/- for the guide).  The vehicle took us to the base that was quite far. We reached by 9:20 and the guide, Lakshman joined us there. We started walking through a trail of thick canopy. In about 10 minutes we reached a waterfall known as Abhale falls. It was very scenic all around. We spent some time there and proceeded further. The trail was beautiful through thick Shola Forest. Around 10:30, we reached another small waterfall on Netravati where we spent some more time. Once we started from here, the forest trail opened into grasslands and started becoming steeper. It was 11:30 by the time we reached on top, and the 360 degree view was breathtaking. There were many other trekkers on the peak. We met a senior guide called Narayan who explained things around. We could see the birthplace of Netravati in a distance to where entry was prohibited. We could also see among other peaks, Kuduremukha. App on Pratap’s mobile captured the names of shows some of the peaks around. This can be seen in teh photo attached.

At Abhale falls

 

View of Kuduremukha

Narayan explaining

At the top

After a lot of photography at the top, we started descending by 12:10, and reached the Netravati River side by 13:15. Here we settled for lunch and had the packed puliogare with boiled eggs brought by Shashank. After spending good time here, we started coming down at 14:40, reached the base, caught the truck, and came back to the homestay by 16:00. Some of went to the river in front of the homestay for bath. I took a quick dip in the cold water and came out, while others enjoyed some natural jacuzzi.

Natural jacuzzi

Evening snacks

Racket tailed drongo

Bblack backed wagtail

That evening we had refreshing bhaji with coffee, and later gathered for a campfire with a lively Karaoke session. It was interesting to see our driver Sachin also sing. The homestay makes only vegetarian food, but teh owner had ordered non vegetarian dishes for us from outside.

Next morning, the home stay owner played beautiful flute misic on his system and the atmosphere all around was divine! Birds chirping made it more enjoyable. Around 8:30, we had breakfast of paddus and left for Bangalore by 9:30. We stopped on the way for a sumptuous lunch. Later for some time, we played antakshari on the vehicle and then got dropped at our respective spots.

The Netravati trek was a great opportunity to be in the pristine western ghat trails once again and was a refreshing experience. Thanks to Hari for immaculate planning and to the team for a great company. I have earlier given the homestay website's address, though which people can book for stay at Riveredge. Some people come there just to enjoy the serene nature.