From the foot hill to the top.

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”, says St. Augustine. So we were finally ready to embark on our long-aspired and planned for, but never materialized trip to Kodachadri hills- a peak in the Western Ghats standing tall at a height of 1343 meters above the sea level near the famous Mookambika temple at Kollur. Jaison, Augustine, Murukesh, B V Reddy, George Kurian all my friends boarded a bus to Kundapur around 7.00 am on 24th February 2008. We had a quick breakfast and boarded another bus to Kollur and reached there by 10 am.

We continued our journey on a hired jeep from Kollur after picking up some snacks from the near by shop and reached a town called Nittur, from where we finally took the right turn to Kodachadri.This turn took us into what seemed like inconceivable roads where only experienced and daring drivers could enter. From the turn up to next 14 km it was unforgettable ride because there are huge crevices and the are dotted with huge boulders over which the jeep jumps along. This must give you an idea about the ride comfort. After moving along on the hairpin curves, passing through a number of small valleys and getting brief glimpses of beautiful hills where the shooting of a song in the film ‘Galipatta’ done, we finally reached the ‘Bhattra mane’i.e (the pooja pundit’s house) at 11.30 am. Our proper trek at 11.45 am. We just walked on the used path hoping that it would take us to the peak. We trekked in a kind of an open place where we walked on the edge of small peaks. After taking several breaks, we reached at the peak by 1 pm where Shankaracharya meditated and it is popularly known as ‘Sarvajna Peeta’. As stated by the famous poet, John Keats ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ so no words would suffice to describe the beauty of that place, it’s awesome and inexplicable. We next set out to go to an area of Kodachadri which many are not aware of; and those who are aware of it never dare to make an attempt. The route is steep with inclinations of up to 70 to 80 degrees at some stretches. The route starts off behind the ‘Sarvajna Peeta’ and goes down the hill for about a kilometer and a half. Finally we reached the end of the way, ‘Chitramoola’ where a small stream of fresh running water seen amidst the crevices in the rocks was really amazing to us. These rocks were an ideal abode for sadhus to meditate and transcend themselves. We quenched our thirst and rested for a while and also meditated for some time. Then we climbed uphill back to Sarvajna Peeta which was very tiring, but finally reached. We had a glass of lemon juice which was really refreshing for the moment. Bidding good bye to the peak, we started on our trek down the hill back to Bhatramane, where we had our lunch. After the good lunch around 3 pm we returned to our waiting jeep and came downhill experiencing the topsy-turvy ride all over again. Finally, we all boarded a bus back to Udupi. On the whole, the Kodachadri trekking was awesome that we enjoyed to the max and also gained valuable experiences. Like all great travellers, we have seen more than we remember, and remember more than we have seen.