Kodachadri in Bikes and Trek info

About the place:

Kodachadri is a mountain peak with dense forests(altitude - 1343 meters above sea level) in the Western Ghats in South India (Karnataka State). The name comes from native word "Kodacha" or "Kodashi" which means hill and "Adri" a Sanskrit word, both combined together coined the word Kodachadri. It is also called "Kutachadri" and "Kodashi Parvatha". Kodachadri forms a background to the famous temple of Mookambika in Kollur. Situated in the middle of the Mookambika National Park, it is home to several endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna. The peak is barren due to strong winds and as such, the forest covered nature is visible all around and also several smaller peaks and hills exist.

Kodachadri is around 90 kms from Shimoga and 380 kms from Bangalore.There are too many buses and trains from Bangalore to Shimoga. And from Shimoga, one needs to catch a bus to either thirtahalli -> nagara or directly to hosanagara. Then take a bus towards Kollur and get down at Nittur.

There are couple of starting points for the trek,

» Sampekette :-It’s around 1.15 hrs before Kollur,may be this route somewhere connects the route from Gowrikerre or may go via Gowrikerre itself.

» Gowrikerre:- This is the place were there is a left deviation to Kodachadri , its approximately 3 kms before Nittur also called as Kodachadri cross, this is the only motor-able road up to the kodachadri temple it’s 15 odd kms from the main road half of the road is tar road & the other half is a mud road. Also one can go to Hidlumanne falls from here, for this one has to walk approx for 1.5 kms from the main road to get a school @ your left ,here take a mud road to your right this road leads u to Yemmehonda junction(here this road meets the approach road from Marakuttaka).

» Marakuttaka:- Get down at Sigundur cross 3.5 kms after Nittur again trek back towards Nittur for 1 kms, just before the bridge, at your right u get Marakuttaka bus stop follow the mud road to reach Kodachadri via Hidlumanne falls.

» Karrakette: - This is approx 1.5 kms after Sigundur cross towards Kollur. Take left from karrakette which goes via Valur it’s roughly 9-10 kms to the temple, up to Valur it’s motor-able road from there a narrow trail uphill, Valur to temple it’s 1hr ascend. One can even go to Arshinagundi falls from Valur but only with an local guide because there is no pakka trail.

The Journey:

People usually take any of the above trekking routes. But we were crazy, since we decided to reach the top in bikes itself! 

We had planned a week long trip on bikes, covering all the places in Karnataka and ending up in Goa! This was the first place we covered. We left Bangalore at around 4 in the morning. The 4 of us(Me, Sharat, Shrinath, Sandeep) left in a Pulsar 180 and a Thunderbird. After riding continuously, we reached Shimoga by around 10, after having breakfast, coffee. My parents stay at Shimoga. So we went there, ate again, had rest for a while after riding for around 300 kms, then had lunch. We left Shimoga by around 1 and took the thirtahalli-nagara route. It was almost 4 by the time we reached Sampekatte, Nagodi village. There'll be many jeeps waiting there to take you to the hill top. There is a jeep route till the IB. They charge 1000 bucks for one way journey, no matter how many of you are there. 

We then decided that if a jeep can go in that road, bikes can definitely go, and then started our race against time to reach the top before the sunset. 

It was the worst motorable road one can ever imagine. We were regretting our decision to take the bikes, within 10 mins. Many sharp rocks were pointing out from the ground and there were too many potholes, big rocks, etc, all in the middle of the road. The pillion rider always had to get down and trek. So it was like a trekking experience to me. It took us around 2 hours to reach the hill top. As soon as we reached the IB, we had to run towards sarvagna peeta, the topmost point in Kodachadri, to see the sunset. And we had won the race against time!

We spent some time there relaxing and taking snaps. After 7, we started to trek down. It was totally dark and we couldnt see anything around us properly. We had  to walk using our mobile lights only, and as you would've guessed, we lost our way! We were lost somewhere and it took us around half an hour to somehow find the right way and trek down. We hadn't booked a room in IB. So we went to Parameshwara Bhat's house, which was situated next to IB. He served us with a normal dinner, which we felt was highly delicious, since we were tired. The next day morning, we caught a glimpse of sunrise and left to sigandur. It was just the 2nd day of our week long trip!

Guidelines:

-This post is about going to Kodachadri in bikes, and I have also given the details of the starting places for the trek.

- The trek is supposed to be enjoyable if you come in the right season. You will be seeing 2-3 water falls in the trek route.

- Bikes get damaged usually inn the jeep road.Better have a tool kit and contact numbers before starting the ride. 

- Tyres usually get punctured on the way, coz of too many rocks and sharp stones.

- Important contact numbers

 

Accomodation: IB - Mr. Rajendra - 092428 92299; 08185 290368
KK Parameshwara Bhat - 08185 295934

Routes :

Bangalore-Shimoga-Kodachadri-Sampekatte-Kodachadri

Final review :

Kodachadri is a must visit place for everyone from Karnataka atleast. Such a beautiful peak is worth visiting once atleast. This peak shot into fame after the movie GAALIPATA since the movie was shot here. The place is unforgettable if you give a visit just after the rainy season.