Arjun Haarith: Face to Face with the Horse's face : Baamikonda and Kalchukki (Part 2)

While the memories and leech bites of our previous day's trek to Kudremukh was still afresh, we set out on another small hike in the Baamikonda range to a peak called Kalchukki.

Day 2 : Sep 3rd, 2017

The whole team was energised after a wonderful sleep, and were eager to trek the Kalchukki peak. This is a very small trek of around 3 kms and takes almost 1-2 hours to reach the mountain top from "Shola Heights" homestay

We started the trek by 7.30 AM after sipping a cup of hot coffee.

Since there was dew , the first 200 metres from "Shola Heights" homestay was very slippery and we had to cross it very carefully. The presence of algae made it even more challenging.
Once this was crossed, a well defined route led us to the top of a small hillock.

Kalchukki is another small hillock nestled in the magnificent ranges of the Kudremukh mountains. These are small gems that are etched in the emerald necklace of the Western ghats in India. Western ghat mountain ranges constitutes one of the the top vegetation of rain forests and is home to many endangered species of flora and fauna. Western ghats is classified under the UNESCO world heritage sites and is a top biodiversity hotspot.

The step farming of paddy crops was done beautifully on the opposite hillock and the view was very scenic.

The trek is along the ridge of a small hillock in the Baamikonda mountains, and we have to move through local plantations.

Once we reach to the top of the hillock, one becomes a mute spectator of the jaw dropping mountain ranges of Kudremukh.

We then proceeded towards the peak. If you are starting the trek from "Shola Heights", then the time taken to trek is reduced greatly. You directly start hiking from the grassland and then venture to the Shola forests, and then again ascend in the grasslands to reach the peak.

Kudremukh peak

The color of the grasslands had many hues of green and slight tinges of red. This balanced the contrast of the varied saturations.

The terrain was almost neutral with very few ascents and descents.

We reached the peak within 1.5 hours, and spent sometime at the top. The cool breeze and mist accompanied us. The clear view of Kudremukh range was invisible within no time.

At the top of the peak

Team on the peak

The most funniest part of the trek was the amount of leeches this small route had. Not even one leech bit me the previous day. But the amount of leeches in Baamikonda-Kalchukki was huge.

What fun is it, if there is not even a single leech bite on your trek in the western ghats ?

I feel having a leech bite denotes the successful completion of one's trek :)

Right from Baamikonda, a dog accompanied us. In no time, this lovely animal became a pet to everyone and was ultimately loved by all.

We came back to the homestay by 11.00 AM, and departed the place after having a wonderful breakfast at "Shola Heights".
The jeep dropped us to Balgal where the tempo was waiting for us.

We then proceeded towards "Sri Annapoorneshwari temple" at Hornadu which is approximately 20kms from Balgal. The wonderful darshan of the goddess and the mouth watering lunch at the temple soothed our mind , soul and stomach as well.

By 2.15 PM, we resumed our journey towards Bangalore and enroute we visited the famous temple of 'Channakeshava' at Belur.

The Chennakeshava Temple, also referred to as Keshava, Kesava or Vijayanarayana Temple of Belur, is a 12th-century Hindu temple in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India. It was commissioned by King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 CE, on the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur also called Velapura, an early Hoysala Empire capital. The temple was built over three generations and took 103 years to finish.

The temple complex at Belur is one of he finest examples of Hoysala Architecture, and even today the intricate carvings and the statues of 'Darpana Sundari' - Shila balike are world famous.