Kodachadri forms the picturesque background of Mookambika temple in Kollur, Karnataka Situated in Hosanagara taluk of Shimaga district in Karnataka, Kodachadri is one of the tallest peaks in Western ghats range. It is most famous for its Leeches ("umbaLa" in kannada) and curvaceous road to its peak.
I had been to Kodachadri on June 16th 2007 along with my friends. We actually tried scaling the mountain twice, once on 16th when we failed because one of my friends was too tired even to keep 2 steps ahead. And then on 17th, when we easily scaled the peak as went on a jeep!!.
The road to Kodachadri is through Kollur and Nittur. Get down at kollur if you are starting from places like Mangalore or Bangalore. Then take a local bus to a place called “Sampe gatte”. We had a amazing time in getting to pronounce the local places’ names in the local’s language. We actually pronounced “Sampe gate” as “sampige gate”, ‘sampige katte” and one of my great friends even pronounced it as “Somwarpet” which is totoally a different place altogether in Karnataka in Kodagu District, far away from “Sampe gatte”
So as I said we thought of making our base as kollur but because of too much interest in trekking we went to a place called Ramachandrapura a place slightly off from the main road leading from Hassan to Kollur. Ramachandrapura houses a Mutt, which has a temple as well as a “Go-shala” which happens to be a ‘must-visit’ location for all animal lovers and especially for Cattle lovers. We had our usual shower etc there had a nice breakfast there in teh mutt and started for our main destination, ”Kodachadri” not knowing what the peak holds for us within a few hours into the day.
We took a local bus from main road junction and got down in sampe gatte and as usual enquired with the locals about the distance from there to kodachadri base, a tea stall cum resting place called “ka-ka angadi”.
And coming to know that its some 6 kms we started our actual motive behind the trip, “TREK”, which means nothing but strenuous walk through forests and hills. And as I had told before too by the time we reached the base one of my friends was too tired and wasn’t even able to carry his own luggage. So we thought that may be “kodachadri” isn’t our peak and started back a slow dull walk to nittur. Once in a while looking at a peak amidst the clouds which beckoned us, the Kodachadri peak. From nittur we took a bus to kollur and rested there for the night.
Next day morning when we went to the mookambika temple and were about to start for the next unknown lap of out trek trip to murdeshwar, one very nice policeman told that “if you haven’t seen kodachadri, then there is no use coming to kollur”. That really got the nerves back in us, we decided that we have to scale mountain even if it means that we are going away from our main motive of trek and taking a jeep to the peak. We did that as we didn’t want to miss out the peak that waited for us.
The route to kodachadri peak is too treacherous, even for walk, and a 2*4 jeep was supposed to travel in it!! I think the driver of the jeep must have driven a 4*4 in Dubai desert safari for the amount of knowledge he knows to handle the roads!!
After a 30 mins journey we reached the peak, not actually the peak, but a final destination for all jeeps, the adi-shankarachraya temple atop the hill. It was this place that Shankarachraya sat and meditated. I am sure why Shankaracharya choose this place, because you almost touch the sky here. The clouds are your neighbors here!! And may be shankaracharya thought that he can easily speak to the almighty easily from here, I am pretty sure that he was right.
From there we started our walk trek about 3 kms leech infested walk towards the highest peak of the mountain. We had just covered abt 3/4th of the km when we had the actual taste of what a “leech attack” can be, we were literally surrounded by leeches from all directions trying to drink our blood. 2 of my friends ran back to the jeep station, while 3 of us including me thought that we have to cover some more distance before retiring back to the jeep station. We covered another ½ a km when we thought that if we go further we will come back thinner because ‘leeches’ everywhere!! Even falling on us from tree leaves!! Just think when people just don’t even want to see a leech, we were having a taste of leeches falling on us!!. That’s when we decided that it was enough, took a few photos by somehow managing to stay away from leeches even though if it was simply impossible. Then started our way back to jeep station running on the slippery, slant mountain walk path. If we had missed one step, that would have been our last steps of our lives!! But as you must have guessed by now, we didn’t miss step anywhere and came back hale and hearty to write this Blog Post!!!
By the time we reached the jeep station near the temple , it had started to rain heavily and we took shelter in the jeep while all others who had accompanied us went to the temple priest’s home, and had a sumptuous lunch, while we munched on plain bread in jeep.
Then as usual we took some more pictures which I am attaching here and left back to kollur with our leech infested shoes, looking back at the peak which didn’t want to meet us the previous day, but gave us a nice experience of a life time today, thinking that one day, really dont know when, but the day when we will actually trek meaning walk the whole the path leading to the peak, including the leech infested mountain slant walk path. We are still waiting for that day.
I had been to Kodachadri on June 16th 2007 along with my friends. We actually tried scaling the mountain twice, once on 16th when we failed because one of my friends was too tired even to keep 2 steps ahead. And then on 17th, when we easily scaled the peak as went on a jeep!!.
The road to Kodachadri is through Kollur and Nittur. Get down at kollur if you are starting from places like Mangalore or Bangalore. Then take a local bus to a place called “Sampe gatte”. We had a amazing time in getting to pronounce the local places’ names in the local’s language. We actually pronounced “Sampe gate” as “sampige gate”, ‘sampige katte” and one of my great friends even pronounced it as “Somwarpet” which is totoally a different place altogether in Karnataka in Kodagu District, far away from “Sampe gatte”
So as I said we thought of making our base as kollur but because of too much interest in trekking we went to a place called Ramachandrapura a place slightly off from the main road leading from Hassan to Kollur. Ramachandrapura houses a Mutt, which has a temple as well as a “Go-shala” which happens to be a ‘must-visit’ location for all animal lovers and especially for Cattle lovers. We had our usual shower etc there had a nice breakfast there in teh mutt and started for our main destination, ”Kodachadri” not knowing what the peak holds for us within a few hours into the day.
We took a local bus from main road junction and got down in sampe gatte and as usual enquired with the locals about the distance from there to kodachadri base, a tea stall cum resting place called “ka-ka angadi”.
And coming to know that its some 6 kms we started our actual motive behind the trip, “TREK”, which means nothing but strenuous walk through forests and hills. And as I had told before too by the time we reached the base one of my friends was too tired and wasn’t even able to carry his own luggage. So we thought that may be “kodachadri” isn’t our peak and started back a slow dull walk to nittur. Once in a while looking at a peak amidst the clouds which beckoned us, the Kodachadri peak. From nittur we took a bus to kollur and rested there for the night.
Next day morning when we went to the mookambika temple and were about to start for the next unknown lap of out trek trip to murdeshwar, one very nice policeman told that “if you haven’t seen kodachadri, then there is no use coming to kollur”. That really got the nerves back in us, we decided that we have to scale mountain even if it means that we are going away from our main motive of trek and taking a jeep to the peak. We did that as we didn’t want to miss out the peak that waited for us.
The route to kodachadri peak is too treacherous, even for walk, and a 2*4 jeep was supposed to travel in it!! I think the driver of the jeep must have driven a 4*4 in Dubai desert safari for the amount of knowledge he knows to handle the roads!!
After a 30 mins journey we reached the peak, not actually the peak, but a final destination for all jeeps, the adi-shankarachraya temple atop the hill. It was this place that Shankarachraya sat and meditated. I am sure why Shankaracharya choose this place, because you almost touch the sky here. The clouds are your neighbors here!! And may be shankaracharya thought that he can easily speak to the almighty easily from here, I am pretty sure that he was right.
From there we started our walk trek about 3 kms leech infested walk towards the highest peak of the mountain. We had just covered abt 3/4th of the km when we had the actual taste of what a “leech attack” can be, we were literally surrounded by leeches from all directions trying to drink our blood. 2 of my friends ran back to the jeep station, while 3 of us including me thought that we have to cover some more distance before retiring back to the jeep station. We covered another ½ a km when we thought that if we go further we will come back thinner because ‘leeches’ everywhere!! Even falling on us from tree leaves!! Just think when people just don’t even want to see a leech, we were having a taste of leeches falling on us!!. That’s when we decided that it was enough, took a few photos by somehow managing to stay away from leeches even though if it was simply impossible. Then started our way back to jeep station running on the slippery, slant mountain walk path. If we had missed one step, that would have been our last steps of our lives!! But as you must have guessed by now, we didn’t miss step anywhere and came back hale and hearty to write this Blog Post!!!
By the time we reached the jeep station near the temple , it had started to rain heavily and we took shelter in the jeep while all others who had accompanied us went to the temple priest’s home, and had a sumptuous lunch, while we munched on plain bread in jeep.
Then as usual we took some more pictures which I am attaching here and left back to kollur with our leech infested shoes, looking back at the peak which didn’t want to meet us the previous day, but gave us a nice experience of a life time today, thinking that one day, really dont know when, but the day when we will actually trek meaning walk the whole the path leading to the peak, including the leech infested mountain slant walk path. We are still waiting for that day.
