What to do and what not to do..!
My energy point trek to KP aka kumara parvatha pushed to last week of January 2019, so somehow i wanted to flex my legs which was put to rest from Nov 2017 my last trek to KP. Even though 2018 March saw alemaarigalu team trekked Shivagange, after that i cooled my heals for more than 9 months, and yes it is time to deliver :-)
My trusted Lieutenant Sandeep was occupied, Latesh was out of town, then came Giri, he too was not free..but wanted some outing..so I zeroed on Skandagiri...
Its like it was in my list from quite a long time, and it was crying for my attention..Giri also tried many times, but was on the other side of success..
Finally it was destined to be decided on Jan 11th. Few messages, few tele calls and one telepathy...pulled a team of eleven soldiers ready to peak skandagiri.
It was Giri, Chinmay, Kishor and Sri...hold hold hold...followed by all gals gang...Rashmi 1, Rashmi 2, Lakshmi, Damini, Manjula, Jamuna, and Sheethal.. !!!
It was a fabulous journey from Bangalore to Skandagiri. We started from Electronics city at 12.45 in the midnight.. It was song and dance till we reached Skanda Giri Base.
It was wee hours on Sunday chilled morning.. Our bones were crying for attention. Already there were 100's of enthusiastic trekkers piled up near the ticket counter. Unfortunately tickets were sold out...what am not talking about KGF or Petta Movie...yes tickets were off for the day.. but asked us to book online referring to a website. In next few minutes chinmay screamed...got it...and we were on the path to the peak!!!
It is nice to walk in the pitch dark, with torches on.. and if we talk someone either from front or behind will answer your questions...it will be fun :-) :-) :-)
only 100-200 mtrs everyone with mufler, caps, jackets were looking like Eskimos..then they started putting caps, jackets, mufler in to the bag..and enjoying the chilled weather.
As usual I was treading the path in my usual pace, Chinmay marshaling Kishor and Rashmi. There were enthusiastic and energetic legs in Giri, Rashmi Hegde, Lakshmi, Jamuna, Sheethal, Manjula, Damini they rushed to the peak in no time!
Ravi/Sun/Dinakar/Bhaskar in whatever name you call, he staged a perfect play over there!
First he announced to the world that, he is coming on time, by painting the sky with his favorite mixture of red/orange... !
He switched on his torch showing us the white patch of blanket on the landscape...every one on their heels by seeing the first scene of the play!
Then the scene started.. he put one blanket on another..so it was extreme thick white blanket all around!
We started screaming as we do in the entry scene of our demigods on the silver screen! It was awesome landscape.. Sun showing is face up..brightening the whole landscape, thick cloud bed..waaah amazing!
We burned enough space in the memory card via selfies, DSLR, SLR and of course our beautiful eyes. You can not say ok, enough, let me go!!! We turned like kids, one ice cream...and we used to scream for another!!!
It was a fantastic day, amazing team who supported each other. Few talks, few jokes we all became a feathers of same bird.
For information :
- Skandagiri trek open up at 4.00 hrs in the morning.
- Better to book online
- Night trekking is banned, so dont try to do that
- Nothing is available at the top nor on the way, carry enough water, eatables, fruits
- Trek is about 4-5kms, it is easy in the beginning, moderate in the middle, and you will be gasping for breath in the last leg, but dont get disheartened once you reach the peak you will get an amazing view
- The trek is open 365 days, I would recommend to trek only between October to January, as you can see ocean of clouds under your feet.
- Make it to the peak before sunrise, and enjoy, and trek back to reach the base by 9.00, so you will be at your dining table for lunch!
- There are plenty of places of interest near by Sir M Vishweshawaraiah birth place turned in to museum, Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple, Devanahalli Fort, and if you have enough wheels on your legs Nandi Hills also at stone throw away distance.
- The entry fee is Rs. 250.00 Per head, even though it appears pricey, but keeping the trek place intact some restrictions are required otherwise it becomes garbage yard!
We spent amazing sunday on one of the best landscapes around Bangalore for a one day outing. Yes, stamina is required to do the trek, but it is not mandatory...Always will power over rules the stamina..!
Keep the will to visit Ocean of clouds underneath!
Have a great time and keep the environment clean!
