Mullayangiri /Mullayangiri(Mullaihnagiri) is the highest peak in Karnataka, its height is 1930 mtrs ( 6317 ft ). It is situated in Chickmagalur district. To reach Mullayayngiri one has to take Chickmagalur bus, and from there a private bus to Sarpadhari( from where the Mullayanagiri peak starts ).
Or one can take hire local jeep, which will cost you around Rs.225/- for one way drop. We took the 0630 bus from Majestic bus stand & reached Chickmagalur around 1230 Had lunch at a nearby hotel and hired a local jeep to Sarphadhari, as the local bus was supposed to start only at 1530, so as not to waste time we hired a jeep for Rs.225. We reached sarphadhari at 1430, and began our ascent to Mullayanagiri
The weather was absolutely fabulous, it was not raining, that was a blessing in disguise. We also never faced the problem of leeches. We had bought sweet lime, which was very useful in energizing our body ( we should thank Santy, for he forced us to buy sweet lime ). After nearly 2 hrs we found our first landmark the nandi statue. Boy we were so thrilled to see. I knew that the peak was close to half an hour from here .
We never thought what would lie ahead of us. We were very enthusiastic in our initial part of our trek. after trekking for 10 mins, we realized how stressful and demanding was the trek. We were panting & gasping for breath, maybe bcoz of lack of fitness and also we are trekking after 2 yrs or maybe age is catching up with us ( maybe this is a true fact, after all ). Also we were carrying heavy backpacks which included a small gas stove, and other food items. The trail became steeper at many points.
Due to previous night rain the trail was very slippery. We thought we had missed the trail, but yet we continued hoping that we might find our first landmark ( nandi statue ). We were taking breaks every 10 mins, in fact i was the one who was calling for the break. Sebastian was very enthusiastic. He was urging us to move faster. Boy he never knew how stressed we were.Santy was joking at me saying that it's high time that i stop trekking ( as i was getting older ) and concentrate on marriage and enjoy life. For once i thought what he said was right ( after all i was just 28 yrs old !!!!! ). Well i was clinging on to my dear life, as we had some heart in the mouth experiences we had to encounter midway thru our trail. We had to face some steep slippery rocks, and we never had ropes, so carrying heavy backpacks was making our life miserable. We were literally crawling on. I was thinking to myself i should have enjoyed my weekends in Bangalore, rather than enduring all this trouble and pain? But slowly and steadily we were gaining pace and climbing. 
The view from the statue was breathtaking and amazing. Giant serene mountains clothed in thick carpet of greenery is a wonderful sight. We were covered by the clouds, oh boy it was cold and windy out there. We were left speechless by the beauty of the nature and wondrous works of God. From there it took us 1/2 hour to reach the caves ( 2nd landmark). Here we met one of the temple helper. We couldn't venture deep into the cave, as we were ill equipped with light and ropes.
We managed to go in 20 mtrs and decided no to take any risk. Finally we reached the top after 21/2 hrs of back breaking, bone crunching and tiresome trek. We reached the peak at 1700 hrs. We found out there were 14 trekkers from Chennai already occupied the temple room. We were not worried, as we had sleeping bags .
We refreshed ourselves and were just admiring the beautiful valley from the temple top. Just then i realized that there is a road that leads to the top of the peak. We found many people came there by cars, and one of them was Anil Kumble, the Indian cricket captain. Who had come for the darshan of the temple. Then we met one of the nicest cop i have ever met, his name was Manju. He was in charge of the tower control out there. He became our companion till we stayed there. The temple was been renovated & the place was crowded with labourers & other trekkers, so we just took a small walk at the backside of the temple.
Within few seconds we were inside the clouds, an the feeling was awesome. We had unbelievable time out there, just staring at the beauty. Sky became darker, then we came back and took some rest. It rained for some while. We prepared MTR's ready to eat tomato rice, with pickle and haldiram's bhujia. We had dinner in the open grounds on the premises of the temple courtyard. The night was pleasant and cold. We saw the beautifully lit chickmagalur town, which was sparkling like diamonds.
Then we decided to start bonfire, but due to heavy winds, we had to abort the plan. decided to hit bed at 2230. We stuffed ourselves in the sleeping bags. Well clement could not sleep due to the fact his knee which was met with minor accident was troubling him all night. I somehow managed to grasp some sleep, even thou Santy was at his best in snoring loudly, followed by Jerry. Got up early just in time to view the sunrise. Later we had a wonderful breakfast consisting of toasted bread with butter and jam sandwiched with bananas ( thanks for Clemy & santy for preparing such a delicious breakfast ).
Then we decided to hit the trail that leads to Bababudangiri. We had to follow the trail that starts right behind the temple gate. We started around 0830 and slowly we were trekking among the clouds along the beautiful valleys. We took many snaps here, in fact we were in no hurry.
This point of the trek Jalsa sebastian become the main attention of the trek. We christened him every 2 mins with new names like Jalsa sebastian, smoke sebastian, monaco sebastian & so on & on....... We decided to skip the plan of trekking Bababudangiri. Finally after 2 hours of descent we hit the road were the trail meets the road. Here we find Swami Vivekanada picture just before hitting the road.
Also you will find a water tank on which poet Kuvempu picture is painted. From there we took a small walk till we reached some private estate which had a small stream running inside their estate, which also had small waterfalls. There we had our bathing sessions. It was such a relief having a dip in the freezing waters. Just when we were having the plan of preparing lunch, the estate owner found us, then we had to apologize to him for venturing into his estate without his permission.
From there we again planned to go back to the same place were the trail & the road meet to have our lunch. But we found other alternative place opposite to the water tank. It has a tower where a forest officer is stationed there. Here Clemy prepared delicious Maggi noodles. We had to hurry bcoz the bus was already on its way to our boarding point. Around 1530 we boarded the bus to Chickmagalur which was crowded, we had no option but to take the bus, so that we can catch the early bus to Bangalore.
We reached Chickmagalur at 1700 hrs. Then we took the 1730 bus to Bangalore. We reached Bangalore at 2330. After taking our bikes from the parking lot we reached home 0030. Thou the trek was stressful, it was worth trekking. Oh boy the experience as just unbelievable & magnificent.
Highlights of the Trek:
The view from the statue was breathtaking and amazing. Giant serene mountains clothed in thick carpet of greenery is a wonderful sight. We were covered by the clouds, oh boy it was cold and windy out there. We were left speechless by the beauty of the nature and wondrous works of God. From there it took us 1/2 hour to reach the caves ( 2nd landmark). Here we met one of the temple helper. We couldn't venture deep into the cave, as we were ill equipped with light and ropes.We managed to go in 20 mtrs and decided no to take any risk. Finally we reached the top after 21/2 hrs of back breaking, bone crunching and tiresome trek. We reached the peak at 1700 hrs. We found out there were 14 trekkers from Chennai already occupied the temple room. We were not worried, as we had sleeping bags .We refreshed ourselves and were just admiring the beautiful valley from the temple top. Just then i realized that there is a road that leads to the top of the peak. We found many people came there by cars, and one of them was Anil Kumble, the Indian cricket captain. Who had come for the darshan of the temple. Then we met one of the nicest cop i have ever met, his name was Manju. He was in charge of the tower control out there. He became our companion till we stayed there. The temple was been renovated & the place was crowded with labourers & other trekkers, so we just took a small walk at the backside of the temple.
Within few seconds we were inside the clouds, an the feeling was awesome. We had unbelievable time out there, just staring at the beauty. Sky became darker, then we came back and took some rest. It rained for some while. We prepared MTR's ready to eat tomato rice, with pickle and haldiram's bhujia. We had dinner in the open grounds on the premises of the temple courtyard. The night was pleasant and cold. We saw the beautifully lit chickmagalur town, which was sparkling like diamonds.
Then we decided to start bonfire, but due to heavy winds, we had to abort the plan. decided to hit bed at 2230. We stuffed ourselves in the sleeping bags. Well clement could not sleep due to the fact his knee which was met with minor accident was troubling him all night. I somehow managed to grasp some sleep, even thou Santy was at his best in snoring loudly, followed by Jerry. Got up early just in time to view the sunrise. Later we had a wonderful breakfast consisting of toasted bread with butter and jam sandwiched with bananas ( thanks for Clemy & santy for preparing such a delicious breakfast ).Then we decided to hit the trail that leads to Bababudangiri. We had to follow the trail that starts right behind the temple gate. We started around 0830 and slowly we were trekking among the clouds along the beautiful valleys. We took many snaps here, in fact we were in no hurry.
This point of the trek Jalsa sebastian become the main attention of the trek. We christened him every 2 mins with new names like Jalsa sebastian, smoke sebastian, monaco sebastian & so on & on....... We decided to skip the plan of trekking Bababudangiri. Finally after 2 hours of descent we hit the road were the trail meets the road. Here we find Swami Vivekanada picture just before hitting the road.
Also you will find a water tank on which poet Kuvempu picture is painted. From there we took a small walk till we reached some private estate which had a small stream running inside their estate, which also had small waterfalls. There we had our bathing sessions. It was such a relief having a dip in the freezing waters. Just when we were having the plan of preparing lunch, the estate owner found us, then we had to apologize to him for venturing into his estate without his permission.From there we again planned to go back to the same place were the trail & the road meet to have our lunch. But we found other alternative place opposite to the water tank. It has a tower where a forest officer is stationed there. Here Clemy prepared delicious Maggi noodles. We had to hurry bcoz the bus was already on its way to our boarding point. Around 1530 we boarded the bus to Chickmagalur which was crowded, we had no option but to take the bus, so that we can catch the early bus to Bangalore.We reached Chickmagalur at 1700 hrs. Then we took the 1730 bus to Bangalore. We reached Bangalore at 2330. After taking our bikes from the parking lot we reached home 0030. Thou the trek was stressful, it was worth trekking. Oh boy the experience as just unbelievable & magnificent.Highlights of the Trek:
* Of course the fascinating Mullayanagiri peak & the breathtaking views of the valley
* The steep climb & heart in the mouth experience we felt while ascending the peak.
* Having dinner at 6300 ft with torch light & viewing the glittering Chickamagulur city from above.
* Sebastian being christened every 2 mins of the trek.
* Not encountering rain ( which was a mystery for us ) that too in rainy season. Also never got bitten by leeches.
* Taking a cool dip in the stream of some private estate.
Note:
There is an alternative route that leads you almost to the top of Mullayanagiri peak. If you are planning to drive, you can hit this route. Here is the phone number of the temple 0826210770. Please call in advance so that the people there can arrange for your food. Also make sure not to litter the place or the trail. Make sure you carry ropes, which might be useful in some steep rocky places. Also nowadays the place is changing, as due to the road that has come up adjacent the trail. I heard that the place may be commercialized very soon by the Govt. So better visit the place before it becomes another commercialized place, filled with visitors.
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