Date : Oct 2 - Oct 4, 2008
Origin : Bangalore
End : Bangalore
Group : 4
From Bangalore to Sakleshpur :
1. We boarded a bus from the Platform No. 4, Majestic Bus Stand, Bangalore at 0500 hours. Ticket cost was INR 75/- per head.
2. Reached Sakleshpur at 1000 hours. The journey till Hassan was fast. But the bus halted there for 30 mins and the route after that was from hills.
3. From the Sakleshpur KSRTC Bus stand we walked on the NH-48 towards Bangalore for 5 minutes to reach Surabhi Restaurant. This is good place to have breakfast. 4. After that we take the mud road, just next to the Surabhi Restaurant(I have marked this place on wikimapia) towards Sakleshpur railway Station. 10 minutes walk took us to the station(I have marked this place on wikimapia) but this was a big mistake. We were sent back from there by the Railway Authorities. The officer over there was egoistic and was teaching us the rules and regulations. Thus, never start the trek from the Sakleshpur Railway Station.
Sakleshpur to Donigal :
1. We walked back to the BM road(MH-48) and took a Jeep for the Donigal Railway Station. These Jeeps are normal medium to commute on these hilly areas. The cost was INR 15/- per head.
2. Pointers for Donigal Station: There will be a small bridge on the BM Road (NH-48). Just after that there is a tea stall on east. Get down here from your vehicle. Just in front of this stall there is a muddy path going up hill towards south. Walk on this path for 10 minutes to reach the Donigal Railway Station(I have marked this place on wikimapia). Note that Donigal Railway Station is not abandoned any more. There were Railway employees and operations were going on. These employees were very friendly and they encouraged us to carry on the trek. They told that a group of 15 trekkers has left the place in 0800 in the morning. They also gave us a lot of other useful info.
The Trek:
1. There are yellow colored boards on the whole of the trek every 100m. They are showing the distance in (KiloMeter/Meter) format. Donigal has the mark of 50/000.
2. We left Donigal at 1130 hours. We were slow because of lots of photography and a not-so-strong member in the team.
3. At 58/000 there is Kadagarahalli Railway Station. This is a newly inaugurated station and no where mentioned in the earlier blogs. If you have the sleeping bag/mat then it is easy to spend night here on the corner room. Obviously, carry the food for the whole trek because getting it on the way is difficult.
4. Next Morning (Oct 3) we left Kadagarahalli at 0630 hours and reached Yedakumarei which is at 67/200. This is a beautiful place and it is rewarding to spend time here.
5. After that we walked to Aryabhatta Railway Station which is at 75/100 mark. This station is also no where mentioned. This is under construction and yet to be inaugurated. We spend our second night here. The people here gave us a separate room.
6. Next morning (Oct 4) we left Aryabhatta at 0700 hours. We had to end our trek here. We asked the people at Aryabhatta for the way to reach the BM Road (NH-48). The road was visible from the station but it was not possible to fly.
7. Between 79/400 and 79/500 there is a bridge. Before that bridge there is a path on right going downhill. Take this path. From here the real fun started. Till now the trek was easy because we were just walking on the stones for the last 29 KMs. It became monotonous. This path was risky so be cautious in that.
8. Keep moving downhill. Sometimes a visible path was there. Other times one has to use his/her own skills to move ahead. We were in fact following the passage created by a water stream. Water was not flowing at that time. After some time we met a muddy path crossing this stream perpendicularly. This path is wide enough for the jeeps to pass on it and was created for the transfer of goods to the Aryabhatta Railway station back in time.
9. Take left on this path and keep walking to reach a small village. We did a big mistake of going right. We kept walking and after getting nothing we descended to the river. We thought that we will meet a bridge from where we can hit the road. But we were wrong. It was very tough and dangerous to keep jumping over the rocks. After some distance there was no way to move ahead. We also had a thought to cross the river. But that was also very dangerous. We sat for sometime and decided to move back to the muddy path from where we descended to stream. Suddenly we saw two people from the near-by village who were going for work. They noticed our shoe mark on the mud and followed us. They suspected that we have lost in that Jungle. I was amazed by the sharpness of these people. They led us to the muddy path again. So remember, after reaching to the muddy path from the Rail Line, take a left. 10. We kept walking on the path and reached a village. People at the village guided us to main road and we reached Gundya Check Post.
Back to Bangalore:
1. We ate dosa at a small restaurant at Gundya Checkpost and then took a bus directly back to Bangalore. The ticket cost this time was INR 225/-. The bus was deluxe and hence the higher cost.
2. We reached Bangalore at 2000 hours.
Some Personal notes:
1. On the blogs, people projected this trek as very good. I found it an average trek. It was monotonous all the time due to walking on the same stones along the Railway Line. Many times I felt that the places around Bangalore are over rated. People work in IT Industry in this Silicon City and they highlight the small things as 100 times more on there blogs. Many other places are simply awesome bus less mentioned on the web.
2. Safe way to cross Bridges: First let one person to cross the bridge. When he/she reaches the other end then others should cross. One person should stay back to watch any train coming from back. This technique helped us on a long bridge when a train came from back. I shouted loud to inform other who were on the middle of the bridge. They managed to run and take position on the side platform.
3. The platforms on the bridge are old without proper support. So better to not to reply on them. One has to have a strong heart to keep standing on them when the whole bridge is shaking due to train vibrations.
4. 99% of the times the bridges have a metal sheet installed on the bridges which make it easy to walk on the bridges.
5. Make sure to carry torches for the tunnels. Just after entering the tunnel one should check the sides and decide that on which side he/she is going to move if the train comes. We met train three times when we were in the tunnel. It was great experience. I can not forget the vibrations in my ears due to the sound of trains. It was as if someone is drilling on my ear drums.
6. At some of the Railway Stations people were talking as if they can arrange food for us if we pay them. We carried the food and thus were not in need of any help. However, this can be treated as a last resort.
7. Never trek with people whom you do not know well. I was not knowing anyone else in the group. There was one member who can quoting himself as a great trekker. He praised himself for every damn thing in this world. He was not listening to others in the group. Later I came to know that neither he was physically fit nor he was aware of basics of trekking. Another member, who was his friend also, told that this guy is like this during all the treks and never listen to others. I did not mind his carp behavior because he helped us also many times. But just keep this point in mind.
