Kudremukh Holiday Trip

Trekker’s paradise Kdremukh is 6,214 ft above sea level in Malnad, 95 km south west of chikmagalur and 351 km west of Bangalore.

On the route to Kudrekukh it is a good idea to keep the driver caffeinated, though it will always be the scenery that will wake up the senses here. As you go beyond Chikmagalur and to the windward side of the Malnad coffee hills, spring would have already reached there. Coffee trees that still await the first shower in chikmagalur are drenched in white blossoms in Kudremukh. With no apparent effort, the land here grows coffee arecanut palms fragrant cardamom and mango all at the same time, with quite a few hills also given over to mosaic-like emerald green tea plantations.

Kudremukh is a landscape designed entirely by rain and there is an ease to life in these parts that is obvious in the freshly painted villages and the clean streets. Laying on the southern edge of karnataka’s border its beauty makes an apt foreword to kerala.

Kudremukh town was set up entirely by the kudrekukh Iron Ore Company Limited. Built like an American town with wide open spaces and low buildings it’s a pleasant place to stay but doesn’t have very many tourist spots. Most places to see around have their won dots on the disrict map which means a lot of driving. So this holiday is best done with your own car. If you are hiring one go for a sturdy vehicle as roads are bad in parts.

Kudremukh Peak

At 6,250 ft this peak whose name means the horse face hill falls before the town and requires a small hike up. On a very very clear day the blue edge of the Arabian Sea is visible from there. The peak is closed to visitors in the forest fire season.

Lakya Dam

The dam just outside kudremukh was built by kiocl to deposit the red sludge from its mines. It has a stark industrial beauty and is a great place for an evening walk. Though there is a guard to post all warnings, under no circumstances climb over the rocks because the sludge is like quicksand it swallows everything including grazing cows that venture too near.

Interestingly to protect animals and the forests of the kudremukh National Park the park authorities had filed a case against the Kiocl which is now disputing the Supreme Court order to stop mining by the year 2005. Timings Weekdays 4.30 am to 6.30 pm, Sundays 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Kudremukh National Park

The park 10 km from the town consists mostly of evergreen rainforests and is extremely beautiful. But forests here are so thick that big game sightings are rare inside the park 1 km from the Mangalore Kalasa Road, you can stay at the kudremukh forest department’s Bhagwati Nature Camp.

Around Kudremukh

Kalasa 20 km

Kalasa is a small town encircled by a host of interesting places to visit. Topping the list are the Panchatirtha the five sacred ponds. Rudra Tirtha is 5 km from silent valley resort, next is Vasishtha Tirtha at 6 km Amba Tirtha is 8 km, Varaha Tirtha 30 km and Amba Tirtha is a huge boulder called Bheemana Kallu, which bears a Sanskrit inscription stating that Sri Madhavacharya founder of the Dvaita School of philosophy brought and placed it here with one hand. Duggappana Katte, a viewing point is 5 km from silent valley resort and at a similar distance is kallubhavi an unusual well dug out of rock which goes quite deep.

The Kalasa trip is done easiest if you are based at Silent Valley Corporate Resor a hotel set amidst natural surroundings also a good base for visits to kudremukh. The Bhadra River is just 4 km from here. All the rooms here are individual ethnic cottages quite pretty and self-sufficient and the huge restaurant overlooks the pool.

Horanadu 28 km

The Annapoorneshwari Temple in Horanadu 8 km from Silent Valley is surrounded by great natural beauty. The Kaleshwara Temple dedicated to Shive is on a hillock 4 km away. Half a kilometer from there is the Girijamba Temple. A 3 day festival celebrating the marriage between kaleshwara and Girijamba is helf here just after Diwali.