My First Trek - Kunti Betta

I had developed an urge for trekking since I had watched Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, but my location made it inconvenient for me to join any trek. I was in Bangalore and was looking for a day trek. I was returning to my PG in a crowded bus at 8.40pm and my phone buzzed. I was returning from an interview so was expecting the results. With mixed feelings i opened my mail account only to find a mail from BTC. I opened it and it had a notification for a day trek to Kunti Betta. This was what i was waiting for. I got down from the bus and read the mail properly. I still wasn’t convinced if i would be able to do it. I bugged Abhishek with a string of questions and he replied positively saying I could do it. The next thing was the best thing in my life. I registered for the trek.

I woke up at 5.15 am got ready, packed my bag and took an auto-rickshaw to Majestic Railway Station. I reached at 6.20 am and met a group standing at the entrance. A brief intro and handshakes, waited for the rest of the group to come.

We had to board a train towards Mysore and get down at Pandavapura. Now a little bit about the place. Kunti betta has a historical as well as mythological significance. It is said that the Pandavas had a short stay at this place after returning from their exile. It is said that this hillock was a favourite of Kunti and hence goes the name.

The base of the hill is at approximate distance of 4KMs from the Pandavapura railway station. This town has plenty of sugarcane plantation and jaggery making units. We reached Pandavapura and had breakfast in a small eatery in front of the railway station. We all had TATTE IDLI and packed lemon rice and puliyogare for lunch. After breakfast we had two auto-rickshaws to take us to the Ganesha temple at the base of the hill. On the way we picked up sugarcane from the roadside stack.

On reaching the temple we had a formal intro and started the trek. Since this was an exploratory trek there was no fixed trail and nobody had done this trek before. Every now and then we would climb up to a point and then come to know it is not possible to move ahead. After a couple of blind hits we reached a point where you would find a big boulder. We waited here for some time and started climbing again. We had to use our hands and legs equally to climb.

At some points I had to also crawl. Some guys used sugarcane staff sticks to climb. I gained confidence when I noticed Abhishek finding trail in the front and Sushma making sure that nobody was left behind. We had to take help of bushes and small trees to climb. The experienced trekkers were taking care of the less experienced and novice like me. You can’t climb with a straight and serious face. There needs to be a fun and comedy element in it. Ashish Kumar a.k.a Kapil Sharma took care of that with a spontaneous comedy on history and mythology.

From one point we could see the stone pillar on top of the peak. From here starts the final ascend. We reached the top, took some group pics and relaxed. After sometime, we found a shady place and had lunch and took rest for some time. The view from the top was amazing with the Thonnur Lake being a companion throughout the climb. This was not a straight climb. We had to reach the base of another hill and come along the ridge of the adjoining hill connecting it with Kuntibetta.

The descent was pretty much easy and we reached the base in approximately 20 mins time. We freshened up and started walking towards the railway station. On the way we found a mini bus to take us to the railway station. We reached the station and Abhishek and Sushma took a feedback while we waited for the train. Finally the train arrived and we boarded quickly. The return was pretty much enjoyable, thanks to the ANTAKSHARI. I had gained confidence that I could climb too and I’m eagerly waiting for the next one day trek.

One thing inspired me and showed me the true spirit of trekkers was when members helped each other in scaling difficult turfs. I really liked those moments a lot. Thank you BTCians for making my first trek memorable. Waiting eagerly for the next one day trek.

Keep trekking!!!

Written By      : Prashant Patil 
Organized By  : Sushma & Abhishek
Date of event  : 15th Aug 2014
Place              : Pandavapura
Pictures          : FB Page