Sitting in the office located at the most popular area in Bangalore, MG road, I was reading the itineraries of various popular as well as new destinations. I felt like I wasn't trying enough and wasn't learning enough as a tourism student and I had this restlessness to travel the beautiful destinations at least around Bangalore while I was here. The 9-5 way of working didn't quite excite me. My foremost decision to take up MBA Tourism was to travel and explore how much ever I could and discover new destinations as well as let the people know about them. So as my internship was coming to an end, I thought of interning for another month in an adventure company.
I applied in quite a few ones in the city but no reply. One fine Wednesday (of course a boring Wednesday) I was searching for things to do on the weekend. After a few searches, I happened to come across a website called Plan the Unplanned. Time was running fast and my options were reducing day by day. I mailed and called them for the internship. At first, the founder of the company, Jatin, was apprehensive about the time constrains as I was in Bangalore only for a month more. But then he gave me an option to come to one of the weekend treks to Kurinjal. I agreed.
Now comes Friday, the night of the travel. We all 14 people got to know each other by a quirky introduction or as they say, an ice breaking session. Some were first timers, some had already trekked many times and some had already trekked before with Plan the Unplanned.
Few Points to keep in mind
Kurinjal Peak is located in the Kudremukha (literal meaning: Horse Mouth) mountain range in the Chikkamagaluru district. It is approx 300km from Bangalore. The total distance of the trek (to and fro) was approx 14km. and it took us around 3 hours to reach the peak. It is compulsory to get a guide from the forest department with us to tell directions. Trekking here requires permission from the forest department. Best season to trek here is the monsoons but the disadvantage is that you cannot afford to have stops. Leeches make you run continuously.
As we reached our home stay, the host made us feel at home by providing us delicious and piping hot breakfast in the verandah surrounded by lush greenery and fresh air. After that we got ready for our trek. The mini bus took us to the starting point of the trek. Before the trek were warned about the leeches there and also we had already discussed during our travel about general precautions to keep. This was my first experience with the leeches and in the Western ghats. I think I was ready for it!
We started off with a plain way then going on to the thick forest, meeting our beloved leeches! They are so jelly-like that they were able to get into our shoes so damn effortlessly!
Fun Fact: You can get rid of the leeches easily if you use tobacco stems to remove them from the surface.
FOUND A MONKEY IN THE FOREST! (J.K., THIS IS AHMED WHO IS A REALLY FUN COMPANY AND ALSO ONE OF THE TREK LEADERS ) P.S: THE POLY BAG TIED TO HIM IS A MAKE-DO DUSTBIN FOR THE TREK AS WE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND MOTHER NATURE WHILE ENJOYING THE BEAUTY OF IT. ????
As we moved forward, the trek got steeper and steeper.
Each one of us at this point enjoyed the views in silence and that moment felt so peaceful!
This was the clearest view I could get as the clouds continuously played hide and seek with us!
After coming back to the home stay, we played several games, starting from Bluff, Shout, Love Letters, Mafia and ending our night with Dumb Charades giving each other the silliest movie names possible.
Had a refreshing bath at the Yelaneeru falls (literal meaning: Tender Coconut)
Although this is another fall, I gave my camera a little break and got too busy enjoying at the actual falls. ????
The water was actually as sweet and as white as the tender coconut.
After the bath, we grabbed our bags and left for Bangalore. As we came nearer to the city, we were greeted with air full of pollution. We were already missing the pure air and the lush greens.
Alas, the weekend had ended and everyone had to bear the Monday blues the next day.
But the memories of the cool breeze and the drop-dead views are etched in our minds.
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