Sakleshpur Railway Trek: Sakleshpur to Yedakumeri via Donigal (The Green Route Trek)

Sakleshpur railway trek is one of most famous treks in Karnataka among seasoned trekkers. Situated in the Sakleshpur district of Karnataka, this railway trek also known as Green route trek starts from Donigal railway station and ends at Yedakumeri railway station. Though this trek is banned now but I see trekkers still going. Here are more details followed by my trek experience.

How to reach for Sakleshpur Green Route trek?

Sakleshpur is well connected by bus and train from bangalore. It takes almost 5 hours to Sakleshpur by bus or train.
Go to Anemahal, situated on Bangalore-mangalore highway, is a near by town just almost 4 kms from Sakleshpur and the following route shows you the way to go to railway trek to Yedakumeri after Anemahal.


Anemahal to railway track to Yedakumeri- Sakleshpur trekClick on the photo to enlarge it


Route map to railway track from Sakleshpur town:

Where to camp at Yedakumeri?

Sometimes, Yedakumeri station master won’t allow people to stay inside station. So be prepared to pitch your tent on platforms too. So, Carry tent, torch, sleeping Bag and raincoat etc.

Exit route for Sakleshpur trek at Yedekumeri?

In worst case walk back to Sakleshpur (20 Kms) or proceed further to Subramanya road (25 kms same route ahead).
Walking back would be tough after trekking fo around 20 kms from Sakleshpur to Yedakumeri and same applies to proceeding for Subramanya road.  

However, Yedakumeri having good frequency of goods train, you can talk with guards of goods trains to help you out till Sakleshpur or Subramanya road depending upon the direction train is going to. Though there are other routes too from Yedakumeri but I have not much idea about them. I personally find the train exit plan much suited.

Eating facility?

There is no canteen at Yedakumeri and if run out of food, you can request the railway worker to cook for you at some paid charges as of right now, some construction work is going on the track. So, carry enough eating stuff and enough money too.

Train Timings at Sakleshpur railway station?

Karwar – Yesvantpur Express/ 16518
Starts At CANNANORE , Kerala
Ends At YASVANTPUR JN , Karnataka
Train Arrival Time : 01:15
Train Departure Time : 01:20

Yeshvantpur – Karwar Express/ 16515
Starts At YASVANTPUR JN , Karnataka
Ends At KAWR , Karnataka
Train Arrival Time : 12:40
Train Departure Time : 12:45

Yeshvantpur – Kannur Express/ 16517
Starts At YASVANTPUR JN , Karnataka
Ends At CANNANORE , Kerala
Train Arrival Time : 02:45
Train Departure Time : 02:50

Karwar-Yeshvantpur Express/ 16516
Starts At KAWR , Karnataka
Ends At YASVANTPUR JN , Karnataka
Train Arrival Time : 15:15
Train Departure Time : 15:20

Is Sakleshpur railway trek illegal?

Yes, but a lot of people, amateurs and from organized clubs go on weekends. For more information, drop a question in the comment section to get quick reply.

 Our Journey

7 wanderers on 7 hours of trek on railway track. 19 green kilometers through more than 20 tunnels. Fifties of railway bridges and waterfalls throughout the trek. Yeah! People call it Sakleshpur- Yedakumeri green route railway trek – Sssshhhhh!! (It was one among many to-do treks on my wishlist)

Sakleshpur railway trek

Till 3 AM, Under Warm Sleeping Bag: Sakleshpur Railway Station

– Creep inside the fleecy sleeping bag like a child. Lift the window-pane. Let the cold winds sip in through your bag (haha, better say it let the air force come in). And watch the sullen shadows running behind the train under dark cover of night.

First step which get us down in Sakleshpur ships me to the lake district of archaic 17th century England. It reminds me of William Wordsworth. He must have got inspired with valleys, woods-land, fells, lakes, rainfalls, red squirrels, fell pony, herdwick, meadows, heaf and tarns. I tried to look for these with my thirsty eyes and I found the world presented before my eyes in different shapes in nature.

Wooden benches; water dripping down from tin roofs. People smoking in the dark corner. A light blanket of mist depriving a yellow bulb of its yellow light and whole station bathed and vitrified in rain shower.

4.00 AM: To Donigal- The Starting Point of the Trek

If a plan is according as plan then remains as a plan, Where is the adventure in it? We walked under rain to bus stand. Unexpectedly, it was lively with sound of burning stove and rain drops pitter-pattering over tin shades and screeching of tires.

Donigal was some mysterious place floating across our minds. A secret magical place hidden somewhere in forest where the trek would begin. Almost as secret and enigmatic as Ninja-dera’s labyrinth of corridors.

Ask locals; they suggest to ask bus drivers; no fruitful result. Finally, a shopkeeper comes up to help us out and calls an auto-rickshaw guy who would drop us somewhere along highway in dark around Donigal where from we would walk for almost a kilometer till we find the railway trek.

On the way to Heaven (Yeah! Someone called it a Heaven and he was not wrong):

Heaven and hell on the way to sakleshpur railway trek

Applauds for the person who came up with this heaven-hell idea. Amazing! Yeah! Indeed we were on our way to heaven and hell lot of hell was left behind back In Bangalore (Most of the IT people who come from Bangalore must have realized it)

And the Journey Begins:

– little drops of rain spattering over raincoats
– fear of wild elephants (Most of the elephant herd cross the railway lines in morning)
– lights fading out in feet away
– slippery rail sleepers and seven souls wandering into the wild.

Crackling boulders were never such sweeter. You place your feet firmly over slippery sleepers like a bride and move on. Frigid winds are trying to cast raincoat off the shoulders while you try to hold it on, the same way you would hold your mother when it were dark.

Sakleshpur trek beginning in the morning

You can hear the sound of gushing water somewhere around, but its dark and you can’t see ’em. Someone one among us tries to shoot light searching all around but the light dies out too helplessly. Desperation for seeing a water stream kicks in but mortal man can not over take the immortal nature. The darkness is meant to be dark always.

Sun:
O sun! when would you come out and bathed us with your bright ray.

O sun! when would you pierce the sky and make it a lovely day.

Walking under open dark still forms a dark closet restricting the visibility and senses’ perpetual experience area to few feet only. We always prayed for the sun to come out and send us a warm smile but nature keeps a strict clock meter over everything and sun won’t come out before rooster’s crow.

Oh Sun! Come out soon.

It was obvious from the heavy rushing sound that there was a mighty stream flowing wildly direct below us but the agony of not seeing the water in dark made us unhappy for a while.

Donigal, Humans meet Humans:

Remember Christopher Mccandless from “in the wild” when he kayaks down Colorado river and meets hipsters, if I am not wrong, on the way. The same feeling we got when we saw a few old men looking like Mexicans, standing under Donigal railway’s dark shed waiting for the rain to let up. Believe me, If it had been few days, I surely have shout out:

“Look! humans”
After seeing us walking under rain they joined us too eventually. Dark Dementor Clouds and the Sun comes along:
Lazy dark clouds are still hovering in the sky like dark dementors not letting up the sun to come out of their black cloaks. The dark game of Quidditch has begun and light would vanquish darkness eventually. Though they would always linger in the dark rebellion sky.

Seam-foam blue mists are ascending along the dark hunter green forest over the ridge. As they rise little higher and meet the colorless thin air they turn into spin-drift blue. When this mixed mist further rises up and meets arsenic clouds, they turn into cerulean frost.

While on the earth, head of silver grey rails are shining over ash grey sleepers but the web and bullhead are rustic amid slate gray boulders. Mosses wearing chartreuse bridals are holding the black walls along the railway trek. The new ones look brighter.Brighter are the grasses too. Bright and light green.

Look down the rustic bridge into the valley. You have almost dived into a colorful world. Top sprouting leaves are lime in color as well the new Bamboo leaves. Bigger and older leaves are forest green and the leaves which are hidden and seldom see the sunlight are dartmouth green.Not only this but some trees also bear mahogany and sandy brown fresh leaves.

Foggy hill sakleshpur railway track trek

Encounter with the First Goods Train on Sakleshpur trek:

And I see an iron monster smoking crawling towards me from behind.

“Train, train”– I shout in haste.

British soldiers patrolling on the hunting ground of Helmland province Afghanistan come directly under fire from Taliban machine gun insurgents and we are in haste to take our cover position.

The train screams at us. Those yellow monster lights and those screeching solid iron wheels roaring and running towards us while we are standing aside holding on to rocks, waiting for the whole dark magic show to get over.

And, We meet the First Waterfall and the Gang-man. So, my friend had warned me before that this was an illegal trek and sometimes, gang-man would ask trekkers about their whereabouts but don’t panic, face them and move ahead.

Excitement of Entering inside the First Tunnel First time in Life:

Are you aware of giant Murud-janjira bastions in Mumbai, made up of big rocks? I got the same feeling when I saw the tunnel. A man-made cave with no endings. Big structures of stone bricks arched and stuffed in. A mixed feeling of excitement, fear, surprise and adventure.

Second Encounter with Train Inside a Tunnel:

I see a dark arched tunnel at a distance I am excited. It feels as if I am going to travel back in time to see Egyptian wall sculptures and Roman stone paintings coming live out of black walls of the tunnel. I am expecting to see out of the world things Like mythical gods, human performing hunting, elements of life descending down on earth from the sky.

There must be big cobwebs holding water droplets. When I would put a light over them in dark they would shine like a pearl. There is a waterfall just in front of the tunnel. In front of black shiny stones, I see many colors of the water. Albumen, transparent, immaculate, Milky and many more. There are algae and mosses plastered at the front wall of the tunnel. I can see rail tracks disappearing under the darkness of the tunnel.

Railway tunnel, sakleshpur trek

I am excited but I am little afraid of dark too. I step inside and switch on my torch as if I am going to witness wonders live in front of my naked eyes. The echo of crunching of boulders under my heavy trekking shoes makes a heavy resonant sound.

Water is dripping out of holes over the iron rails and they resound across the walls of tunnel. Tip! Tip! I am sure you can imagine them. A tunnel presents you with a totally different world. Bitter dark cocoa with sweet chocolate syrup. Each step that you take towards darker side makes you realize that how important is the light in life.

The drippage of water washed-out along curves of the walls of tunnel when reflected under light  from the other end of the tunnel gives a silvery appearance. Those shiny silvery washables looks argent. I try a load of silhouettes over them.

I am almost a few yards away from the other end of the tunnel trying silhouettes at argent water sips. But gradually, those silver drippage start turning into golden drippage. I am awestruck. When I take my eyes off the lenses, I realize that these are reflections of yellow halo of engine approaching towards me.

Train inside a tunnel while I was inside the tunnel, sakleshpur trek

I did not want to run away. I have a insane rebellion inside me. She calls me an insane and childish so does sometimes others call too but I want to stay young forever at my heart. This is my theory and my assumptions of this world.

Someday, I would tell her, “Hey sweety! You know what, maturity signs a deal of compromises with risks and there is no adventure without risks”.

I want to capture those million-dollars moment for long and for good. I want to capture those dark walls and silvery water changing their color thousand times each moment. From white to cream, cream to Citrine,  Citrine to Amber, Amber to orange, orange to Tangelo and tangelo to crimson.

So, I get some idea of the space in between me and the train. I am standing in middle of the rails for the projection of the life. I capture, is the golden tunnel. Train creeps in as a deadly tank in the war-field. It is puffing heavy black smoke and smoke has blackened the tunnel. My vision is hazing out under yellow halo running towards me.

A train inside a tunnel, sakleshpur trek

Did driver see me standing in middle of the track with a long shadow projecting behind me. He puts on a long terrifying horn. Ah! the horn stays in tunnel more than the time it was blown for.

The echo effect.

I hurriedly jump towards side and hold on to the wall. “If a cat can creep through its head through a vent then she can pull out her whole body”, the same way when Engine, the head crosses away, I was relieved.

After the train leaves the tunnel, its smoky everywhere. I can feel the smoky smell and when you walk out of the tunnel and see the light and greenery around for again, you realize how precious your life were and how graceful are you to see the life again.

Fearsome walk over railway bridge:

railway bridge, sakleshpur trek

You can face this world standing alone but facing your own fate requires another fate working behind you. You can anticipate the future but you can not run away from them unless future gives you sufficient time to walk away silently.

A lonely iron bridge stands there with rare stands at sides, the only place where you can walk is in the middle of the railway tracks. What happens if a train comes and you are in middle of the bridge almost 100 feet away from the nearest end?

Run! Its a run of your life. You know that you can not be lucky all the time.As you step over iron grids and plates, the spiritualist inside you heart realizes the price of your life. There is a care of life in your soul. But the water stream gushing and yelling down below the bridge is making it tough to anticipate the horn of the train from a distance. The vocal denotation is dying down. In this resonance unison, every note of music is being played at same scale and it has become very tough to differentiate between the high note and the low keys.

There is something inside you which pulls you towards the bridge and this fear of running out of control seem to be never ending. You want to stand in middle of the bridge, but before you stand you make sure there are not any trains creeping up towards you silently within a radius of 200 feet.

you take a snap; look around; make sure you are in safe zone and the procedure repeats itself. And finally, when you are done with capturing the beauty of the nature, you walk past the bridge very fast and when you have crossed the bridge, you turn around with a feeling of veneration (Oh Yeah!)

Ah! Finally I did it: Yedakumeri at 3 Kilometers:

“Anna! Yedakumeri?”
“Moon(3) Kilometers”
Did I hear something?
I can’t believe it.

We have been walking for past 7-8 hours and journey never seemed to end. Feet pain; Calf muscles got caught; Back is stiffened; hunger and rigid shoulders, but this mellisonant sound of “three kilometers” gives a thrust to the heart and boost the blood pumping rate. It feels like as if we are on verge of conquering something which wealways have coveted for.

Longing through out the day, through out the night, in the dreams, in the sleep. The orgasm of reaching the destination is pushing me slowly closer to the moment of intense pleasure.

It has been almost 15 minutes of walk and I see a rail crossing.

“Guys! we are almost there”- I could not stop myself and I almost run.

The station smiles back at us. Like a mother smiles at her warrior child returning from battlefield. There is a whole lot of space to embrace and fall in love with.

A green hamlet. The railway tracks crossing each-other, Lonely iron benches sitting alone under rain for years, Trees almost hazed out in heavy rain and mists, Greenery all around, those red signals of victory. The station master standing with green and red flags in his hand.

yedakumari railway station. sakleshpur railway track trek

Rain intensifies, its pattering hard over us, clouds are ascending along the ridges, water streams are filling each dry void of nature. And we seven souls have finally stepped over the Yedakumeri railway station. Yes! we made it much before our estimated time. 

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145 Replies to “Sakleshpur Railway Trek: Sakleshpur to Yedakumeri via Donigal (The Green Route Trek)”

  1. Vijay

    Hi,

    Is this trekking route still banned..?
    please let me know, by getting the permission from authorized department is it possible to go there..?

    waiting for your reply

    Thanks

  2. Vijay

    Hi,
    Is this trek still banned..? we are planning and eager to go for this trek.
    is there any possibility that we can make it by getting the permission from the authorized department..?
    waiting for your reply

    Thans
    Vijay

  3. Pradeep

    hai sir we will plan for trek at 31st december and how get permission at forest department how will be plan .trek available or banned can you pls tell i would like to go there

  4. Santosh

    Hi,

    I had never heard about this trek before. After reading this post, I’m really excited to there. Actually I have planned to go for Tadiyandmol trek with my friends. But now I’ve decided to change the plan to this green route trek.So please let me know whether now it’s allowed or not. Even though if it’s not allowed, would I get any problem from station officers, if we go?

  5. Vikram

    i was planning to go in the coming weekend, 12th and 13th aug, is it the right time to visit and well after reading this i got to know like the trek is banned…so what to do now?? shall i go forward or backout?

    • Vishnu g nath

      Very nice place…take an auto and go to donigal railway station,don’t get inside to station,there may some problems,so continue the main road,there is a curve on main road.on right side you can see railway track,get on and walk….first 5km walk is total waste,after 5km its nice,we started trekking at 9.30 and reached yedhakumari at 4.30pm….you have to carry food and water..on the way you will got forest streams,pure natural cold water… The tunnels may long from 85meter to 678meter long…total of 20 tunnels,…there two ways to get out from forest…1st is from yedakumari,go to subramanya by goods trains,get in at last coach and 2nd way is after yedhakumari 2km,from 69/200 get down the bridge…5km you have go inside forest,after that you have to cross a river,there is a path to cross that,from there you will get bus to sakleshpura…..for more information contact me,8277437929

  6. Sharanya

    Hi …It’s nice.
    We are planning to go there on 26th January 2017.
    Is it possible?
    Where we have to take the permission?
    How much time it’ll take to complete the journey.

  7. deepika rasila

    Thank you for the Wonderful description you have given 🙂 Really helpful…Just a question do you have any idea if this place is still ok for a trek for 26th Dec 2016.? Appreciate your response. Thanks once again..!

  8. Ram

    Hi, we are planning for a one day trekking at Sakleshpur.. From where we can start trek at Sakleshpur to yedakumari? How much distance from Sakleshpur town?

  9. Ajay

    We are planned day after tomorrow . any body is coming leave the details . we will be on 19 Th morning at sakleshpura railway station and we will begin for trekking

  10. Harshith

    Hi Trekkerp,

    do we know if can still trek through the tracks.? also,can you inform if there is a contact available in yedakumeri station to check the possibilites

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Harshith,

      This trek is totally banned now. I am sorry I do not have any contact number. However, if you want to contact someone, try contacting at Sakleshpur railway station because the trek begins from Sakleshpur station so permission must be granted from the place the trek begins.

    • trekkerp Post author

      Kindly go through the blog to know the answer. There is only train at 4 in the morning towards sakleshpur and there is no other facility available. you can either you can walk back or you can wait for the goods train.

  11. shashi

    Hey planning to go there by nxt week…
    is it safe to go now and in tunnel do we have space to stand when trains arrives when we are inside the tunnel…
    and how much time it takes us to reach to Yedakumari station

    • trekkerp Post author

      Yes, There is enough space to stand inside the tunnel. You can see in some of the pictures where the train inside the tunnel ave been shot. From Skaleshpur to Yedakumeri it should take around 7-8 hours, if you walk at medium pace.

  12. vishnu

    How about the safety of the trail?I heard about snakes near the track eating rust powder of the track.Also,can we start the trek directly from donigal without seeking permission?

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Vishnu,

      The trail is totally safe except for the points when the bridge are narrow and single way without stands (imagine atrain coming in) and in the tunnels. We did not find any single snake eating rust powder. I think snaes also do not want to come to human until invited 😉 you can start from donigal wihtthout seeking permission but pls be sure to face the police or have some other arrangements

    • trekkerp Post author

      Sir,

      Sakleshpur trek is banned now. You can still try your luck with asking permission from the Railway station master of Sakleshpur. There are no guides available. The route is pretty straight forward. I dont think you need a guide for this trek actually.

  13. sheela

    Hi. I’m a female trekker planning to do a rail trek this weekend, by myself. Between dudhsagar and this one, which is recommended? I don’t plan to camp and want to return to a town/city by night so that I can either stay overnight or take a bus back to bangalore. Please keep in mind the beauty/trek awesomeness and connectivity is the second priority while recommending

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Sheela,

      Sakleshpur trek is legally banned. If beauty is your first priority then I’d recommend you sakleshpur but keep in mind that Sakleshpur is illegal now, banned, connectivity is another problem there and returning is also little tougher.

      On the Other hand, Dudhsagar is equally good besides, connectivity being not a problem.

      • sheela

        I’m doing the dudhsagar trek as advised. After reaching the falls and coming back to dudhsagar station by 3PM, what’s the best way to reach Goa? Should I ask some engine driver and get a lift till Kullem and take a train from there? Or do any trains stop at Dudhsagar station after 3 PM?

  14. soumyajit sinha

    Hi guys, was thinking about going for a trek tomorrow morning. Is it a good time, keeping in mind the cyclone that is going to hit Vizag on 12th. Is it feasible?

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Soumyajit,

      Cyclone is hitting the Eastern Ghats of India (Bay of Bengal in the east) and Sakleshpur lies in the Western Ghats (Arabian Sea in the West). I find absolutely no problem with the weather going towards the west.
      Happy Adventure.

  15. vijay

    I heard that this route has been banned for trekking! since 2 years! is that correct!? Please let me know. And can people go alone? is that safe ?

      • girishbs

        girish :we have planned to go on 1st week of this october ,n how is climate der ? what about permission?

      • trekkerp Post author

        Its better to start from Donigal. You will avoid 3-4 kms of walking on railwy trek and the scenery begins from \Donigal

      • trekkerp Post author

        Hi Girish,

        The weather should mostly be rainy and there should not be so much of sun in the sky; A perfect weather for trekking.
        This trek is illegal however many people go there on weekends so, it should not be a problem. However, I wish there should not be any high railway official visiting the railway route. Sometimes that causes problem because officials at lower level are answerable to them. But the chances of this are very rare

      • girish

        what about returning from yedakumari aftr trekk ?? bus o train
        how to come back sakleshpura ??

      • trekkerp Post author

        Girish, Kindly read the blog carefully, you will have a clearer idea of eveything.
        However, Yedakumeri is in middle of mountains and there are no roads connected to it by far & long.
        Moreover, There are no villages and no settlements around. The purpose of the yedakumari station is to facilitate trains in technical check-ups (specially breaks)

        Only way to return from Yedakumeri is on foot or by train.
        Returning on foot will be tougher cuz trekking back around 20 kms would be tough.
        There is only one passenger train towards sakleshpur at 4 in the morning. Nonetheless, goods train have good frequency on this route. You can talk to the guard of the goods train and return to saklpeshpur.

        Or, you can also go to Subramanya which agaib around 25 kms from Yedakumeri ahead on the same route.

        Kindly go through the post. If any thing more, I will love to reply 🙂

      • girishbs

        what about returning
        from yedakumari aftr
        trekk ?? bus o train
        how to come back
        sakleshpura ??

  16. Anonymous

    We are a bunch of students here for an internship for a month and are really interested to take this trek. Will we be able to seek permission from the authorities? Also we don’t plan to stay overnight. So what is the frequency of buses back to bangalore if we plan to return after the trip? Thank you very much.

    • trekkerp Post author

      About seeking permission: Permission depends up on the situation and kind of person the station-master is. If any inspection of the railway-treks is going on or scheduled then its tougher because there would be higher officials on inspections but the chances of inspections are very little. However, it’s not bad to try your luck.

      Returning to Bangalore:
      Frequency of the Bus to Bangalore are good but, I think, last bus leaves around 10 pm in the night. You can check the availability here: http://www.ksrtc.in/
      It also depends on from where you want to catch the bus. Yedakumari railway station is halfway between Sakleshpur town and Subramanya also called as “Kukke Subamanya” town. Understand it that Yedakumeri is almost 20 kms from both the towns and in the middle. So if you start your trek in the morning, it would take you around 6-7 hours to reach Yedakumeri from either side and walking on the boulders all the way is a tough task. And, returning back the same day without taking proper rest demands a walk of 40 kms on a single day which would not be recommended by me.

      So, lets say you started around 5/6 in the morning from Sakleshpur and reach Yedakumeri by 12 noon/1 pm, it would not be possible to return on the same day because you would be tired and it would be getting dark.

      So, at Yedakumeri you can wait for the goods train to either Subramanya or Sakleshpur and catch the bus to Bangalore from there.

      As far as I know except for weekly trains, there is a single train running on this route and that stops at Yedekumeri for 2 minutes everyday in the morning around 4.

      By the way, 13/14 th are the nice dates because you might see a lot of rain, greenery and waterfalls.

      All the luck with your trekking,

    • trekkerp Post author

      Getting permission for the trek really depends on the kind of person the station master of Sakleshpur railway station is and amount of work going on the route (He is also answerable to his higher officials). But the good news is, recently my friends went there just 2-3 weeks ago and they informed that somehow they were fortunate to get some kind of permission though not written.
      I wish you all the best for your trek. Please share your experience 🙂

  17. Anonymous

    Hi..Better get permissions for this trek or have plan B for escape from Railway Police.

    We had situation last year and that was great escape.

  18. Madhusudan

    Nice post. Remember going on this trek with 5 friends in 1997 when the track was unused (old narrow gauge not yet converted to broad) and the forest had partly taken over. We saw snakes and porcupine quills in the tunnels between Donigal and Yedakumari, and heard elephants calling when we camped on the platform at Yedakumari. Some locals from Shimoga were there to hunt (hares I think) and they had cracker to scare off the elephants. Then it started raining in the night, so we abandoned plans for Subramanya Road and walked through the bushes to the nearest town and bus station. Got a load of leeches along the way, got rid of some with salt pouches, passed some along to the bus driver (who remained unflappable) and then cleaned up at a hotel in Sakleshpura.

    • trekkerp Post author

      Wow!!! great to know your story. It must have been a lot of fun 17 years ago of course with more pinch of wildlife and adventurism to see. Now-a-days this track has not much of wildlife to offer like hares, quills, bisons or elephants. However, I guess the natural landscapes have remained the same over the years. Yeah, human intervention has pushed the wildlife on its back foot.. Would love to hear more of your experiences…..

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Krishna,

      The trek is although officially banned but you can find a lot of trekkers on the way to Yedekumeri from Sakleshpur. I have not heard of any great penalty or any harsh legal action against the adventurers. Might be, I am out of date but hopefully nothing much should happen 🙂

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  20. prabul

    Nice log, We had gone during the 2001 monsoon time. The tracks and stations were abandoned. Many of the bridges were in a tottering condition. Looking at the photos now, it looks like its all fixed! And no permission now? darn!!

  21. padmaprabha jain

    HAI, WE R PLANNING FOR TREKKING ON JAN 2ND WEEK IS THIS PREFERABLE TIME & PLS GIVE ME ANY LOCALITES PHONE NO. IF U HAVE & IS THERE ANY ROUTE TO GET HIGHWAY FROM YEDAKUMARI STATION.
    PLS REPLY

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Padma,
      I would rather suggest you to go during the monsoon so that you can enjoy the waterfalls and the greenery on the way….Yes, there is route to the highway from yedekumeri but you would need an experienced person who has already been there before or a GPS to keep a track of your location

  22. R.Suresh Kumar

    Your experience is wonderful. it make me to go there immediately. Thank you for the information given. it will be very useful for my trekking

  23. Anil P

    Nice one, i went there in 2011 and we got held up by track inspection team, huge trouble finally managed to escape in forest through very rough route. I still feel sad for not completing it. Please tell me when you did the trek (date) and was there any patrolling/inspection team? i would like to go there when there are no patrolling happening, do you have contact of any local ppl over there?

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Anil, We went there twice in last one year. the recent one was 4 months ago. Yeah, you were unlucky cuz you got caught. However, we are going to plan for the trek once again. We will invite you.

      • Anil P

        Thank u very much, can you tell me the date when you went there, mean which month. Just to make a wild guess when there will no patrolling.

  24. Karthik Kashyap

    Hi guys…..
    We aee planning to trek on friday….. can any one of you please shar your recent experience? Is trekking allowed and any permission required to trek here.
    Please let us know so that we can plan and leave….. please help us…..

    • trekkerp Post author

      Though trekking is not legal but people usually go on weekends. I did not go there recently but I think you should face much difficulty. We did not take any permission for trek since we started from Donigal railway station which is a kind of deserted railway station. and I think to take permission you need to go to Sakleshpur railway station master…
      All the best for trek. I hope you wont find any difficulty

  25. jagadeesh

    guys; can someone suggest me whether we need to take any Authorization letter to trek? becuase when we went last time Yedkumari station master troubled us and asked us leave from there

    • trekkerp Post author

      Hi Jagadeesh, You might had gone during track inspection day. These days, that track route is being renovated and most often, railway officers keep on visiting from Subramanya station. And solely, the station master at yedakumeri is held responsible for that. That’s why he behaves so erratic, on his part, until he won’t behave such harsh, people won’t listen to him.

  26. Nikhil

    This trek is on my wishlist.

    Was there (a lot of) human shit everywhere on tracks in this trek? 😛
    Last year we went to londha-dudhsagar rail-track trek.
    I witnessed so much of human shit throughout the day during this trek… that next day I was not even willing to shit myself… 😛 😀

    • trekkerp Post author

      Aaah.. I feel sorry for your londha-dudhsagar trek…
      Well, in this trek you are not gonna smell p**p even once… since there are no human settlements around this railway track….
      🙂

      • Nikhil

        There is no human settlement at all on that trek path also…. all the p**p was from toilets of passing trains…
        It was right over those tracks. 🙂
        It was not smelly though… as ther was heavy rain throughout the day of our trek.
        Duduhsagar trek is almost similar to the experience you have described above. Dark and long tunnels, never ending track, leaches, rain, lush greenery… and yes the very mighty dudhsagar fall. And thnkfully this trek is not (yet) banned.. 😉

      • trekkerp Post author

        In that case, I would say that there is, possibly, only one train which runs on this track….and that too it crosses the trek length around 4 in the morning when people are fast asleep (Going washroom would be too early ;)). Had the train been crossing this green route in morning, yeah, then the case might have been different the one we are discussing upon 😉
        I hope I was able to defend the beauty of this trek hehe 😉

      • Nikhil

        hehe.. good.
        And you’ve successfully defended this trek route. 🙂
        I hope that we’ll plan this trek soon.

        By the way, we’re planning for Agumbe trek (Barkana falls & manipura kote).
        Have you been to that place? If yes, it will be really great if you can share some contact number of local person from Kigga who can provide guide (and stay and food if possible). 🙂
        Thanks in advance.

      • trekkerp Post author

        Though I have not been there but I know a few people who have been there before…. Please give me 2-3 days time (I hope you are not going on this Friday). I will try my best..

  27. Javeed

    Dear Friends ,

    Thanks for posting your experience , please let me know your contact details for further clarification ,

    Friend please let me know should we need permission for the railway trek … if yes please let me know know should i go about it

    Please please help me on the same we are intending to visit on Nov 1st week 2013

    Regards
    Javeed Khan

    • trekkerp Post author

      Yup this trekking route is banned and there is a warning board near sakleshpur railway station which reads “trekking on this route is banned”.
      Nonetheless, when I went for trekking, I met along almost 70s of people in different groups trekking the same railway track. Furthermore, even one of the group had carried tents and sleeping bags for overnight camping at yedekumeri railway station.

      Rarely, gang-men or railway staffs hold you up. I think they are used to it and usually they don’t pay much attention. To add more surprise to it, one of my friends had been to yedekumeri and had to stay there overnight and a railway staff help them with dinner though it was paid.

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