Treknic to Kodachadri & Kundapura
The clutches of
nature, are intoxicating in nature
Once caught on you’ll
be, withheld forever…
You’ll forget the
black from the white
There’ll be thin lines
between the seeker and the divine…
Like a river to the
sea, flowers to their trees
You’ll seek redemption
and finally find abode…
Kodachadri is the 10th highest peak in Karnataka.
Declared as the natural heritage by Government of Karnataka the place is a much
celebrated place among trekkers. At a height of 1,343 meters above sea level the place comes under the Shivamogga district.
We started our journey from Bangalore on Friday 1st
of September and reached our home-stay at 6 am in the morning. After a breakfast
of idli-sambhar we started our trek.
We reached Hidlumane Falls where
everybody went bonkers over fresh water. The high speed water served as a
natural message agent and soothed are aching nerves. The slippery stones only
tricking us into falling again and again! The guide looked at us helplessly
trying to convince us to continue our trek.
After a while in the jungle we reached the grasslands of the hill which gave us a better picture of the surrounding hills. The greenery of the place truly enchants you .Monsoon only makes it more enjoyable .Clouds seemed to play hide and seek with the sun and the weather changed in seconds. We took a quick stoppage for lunch and proceeded further.
We finally reached the peak Shankara Peetam the place where Adi Shankaracharya meditated to get blessings from the
goddess. The entire place was surrounded by fog giving a mystic feel to the
temple. We could hardly see the nearby hills we had just seen on our way up.
The weather here was a complete contrast to the trek we took to reach the
place. We sat in the soothing company of cold air and took rest. We started our
descend and reached half way down quickly after a quick break of lime juice and
push-ups.
We had no clue of how exciting the day would turn eventually
into. We stuffed our tired selves into the jeep looking for some solace,
however it only got worse. A bumpy ride for a good 10 kms. We were close to
puking our hearts out .Falling on each other we finally reached our home stay.
The jeep stole all the thunder from the trek as a memory! After refreshing up
we played mafia .Accusing, catching and laughing at the bad debates the evening
got over and a delicious dinner followed. As it seemed after a day of trek with
empty stomachs by the end!
Day two- We headed for Murudeshwar housing the world’s
second highest statue. We watched the twenty stored monumental tower called a
Gopuram in amazement. It is a common structure at the entrance of a temple in
Southern states of India. We took a lift inside to get a paranomic view of the
Shiv statue beside the Arabian sea. A flight of stairs guarded by two elephant
statues take you inside the temple complex. The main linga is believed to be a
piece of the Atma Linga. Housing many deities the place is worshiped by many
devotees .We savored ladoos famous here for prasadam.
The sun was at its peak nonetheless it didn’t affect our
excitement to bathe in the waves. We spent a good hour bathing in the ocean
waves. The salty water being a strict contrast to the natural fresh water
tasted a day before. After that we played volleyball and tug of war. After refreshing up and lunch we headed towards our next stop. On the way we crossed a
bridge which had a river on one side and Arabian sea on the other.
The jain temple had a history dating back to 1000 years. We
crossed the padded field to reach the lake.100’s of fishes welcomed us with a boat.
The temple was in between this water body completely secluded in its own world.
The pujari himself takes you to his abode. We witnessed the evening arti .The
loud sound of the bells have a unique way of clearing your mind of all thoughts
.The place had a deepening positive vibe to it you’ll need in the evening after
a long day. The light green colored lake had a depth of around 15 meters.The
nearby hills added to the pristine feel of the place. It seemed like time
stopped in this place. Away from the maddening city this place has the much
needed peace and calm to offer.
With the help of our two organizers Dinesh square (Gupta and
Yadav) we completed the trek successfully. The two days offered us a spectacle
of the forests, river, beach, lake and temples. Too much beauty to contain and
a reminder of so many yet to be covered!
Written By : Shruti Gupta
Organized By : DG & DY
Date of event : 2nd & 3rd Sep, 2017
Place : Kodachadri
Pictures : FB Album
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