Kudremukh Trek Guide: Homestay & Trekking Route Map

Kudremukh trek is a part of Kudremukh national park in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. Kudremukh is the third highest peak after Mullayanagiri and Bababudangiri. It is also among one of the famous western ghats treks in Karnataka. Kudremukh trekking information is given in full details below:

How to Reach Kudremukh Trek Base?

Reaching Kudremukh by Bus

There are regular buses from Bangalore to Hornadu via Kalasa available to be booked online at KSRTC. There are different kinds of buses as well such as Airavat (A Better One) and Karnataka Sarige. In Airavat, the fare would be around Rs. 700 and in Karnataka Sarige, the fare would be around 325. Prefer Airavat especially when you are going on the trek. The fare gets updated from time to time.

You have to get down at the town of Kalasa. From Kalasa, you have to find transportation to Balagal. Balagal is around 10 Kms from Kalasa. You can get Auto there which charge around 500 Rupees. It also depends on your bargaining skills. Another thing that you can do is to talk in advance with your Homestay guy to pick you up from Kalasa if at all you are going to stay in Kudremukh.

Reaching to the Kudremukh Trek Base

From Balagal bus stop, there is another five Kilometer of a journey to the forest department office. You can find Jeeps there which will take you to the Kudremukh Trek base. They will charge you another 600 Rupees for the same.

Or, if you want to avoid all these troubles, it is better to talk with a homestay person and sort things in advance. For example, we stayed at Bella Homestay. They charged around 500 which included Jeep pick up from Kalasa, breakfast, packed lunch for the trek, evening dinner, homestay, warm water, campfire, tea & coffee and even next day breakfast along with that they will also help you in arranging the permission for the trek and drop you at the base of the trek and pick you up in the evening when the trek is over.  So, it is better to relax and leave all the troubles to them.

Kudremukh Entry

Now only first 50 people will get the entry for the trek to the Kudremukh. If the group size is more than seven, the new charges are Rs. 500 per person.

Kudremukh Trekking Information

• Kudremukh trek distance: 9 Km (One side)
• Kudremukh peak height: 6050 feet
• Time to trek: 4 to 5 hours (one side)
• Camping: Not allowed
• Trekking permission fee: 475/ person (Near Balagal Bus stand)

Breakdown of Kudremukh Trek Entry Fee

• Entry fee: 200
• Guide fee: 75
• Trekking fee: 75
• EDC maintenance fund: 75 (So, Total = 475)

The trekking permission needs to be taken at the Balagal itself in the blue hut shown in the picture below. Or you can ask the homestay guy to arrange the permission. They are really helpful.

From Balagal, there are five Kilometers of Jeep drive to Mullodi village which is the base of the trek. Once you reach the base, your group will be assigned a guide. Most of the guides speak Kannada but they can understand Hindi or English with some endeavor. The trek has a lot of waterfalls/water streams en route. So, you can fill up the bottles wherever you want to.

Kudremukh Trek Guide in Details

Section I: From Forest office to Ontimara (lone tree)

Less than a kilometre of your journey will be spent strolling through open grassland before you arrive at the First Tree View Point. You can see mountain ranges and a mist-covered valley in front of you while on this trek. Soon you will be in the dense Shola forest. You’ll come across several streams of water in this woodland, the first of which you’ll cross after 15 to 20 minutes. Remarkably clean streams, you can fill your bottle with water from them.

The gentle elevation makes for enjoyable hiking in this woodland, and if you’re lucky, you might even see some wildlife. Soon enough, you’ll be exiting the forest area. The landscape opens up and you’ll be able to see the Kudremukh peak for the first time from here. You’ll be surrounded by several shrubs and ferns until you see a lonely tree, known locally as Ontimara. You can rest here for some time.

Section II: Ontimara to the zig-zag section

The initial ascent from Ontimara is level, with the Kudremukh valley on the right. Before you leave, this trail briefly becomes a forest trail with water streams. After that, you’ll spend at least an hour walking down a winding trail through an entirely open area of the countryside. You’ll be surrounded by bamboo bushes and hard ascents. You’ll be walking along the sides of hills, watching people climb up from below.

Keep an eye out for the surrounding surroundings as you hike from Ontimara to the zig-zag part because you’ll pass several stages of undulating hills and vast valleys. You might wish to grab your camera and record the constantly shifting landscapes. As you near the zig-zag section, there will be a steep ascent. This is another section where you should keep an eye out for the scenery. The whole of Kudremukh valley opens up after some point.

Section III: Ridge walk (zig-zag section) to Kudremukh peak

As you approach the summit from where the zigzag part began, you will make a complete U-turn. As the name implies, the entire 1 kilometre of your journey will be through a zigzag path. Make sure to stop at the British-era church remains, which are a detour on the right side, once the zigzagging part comes to a conclusion. Its past is intriguing because it served as a resting place for British soldiers. The building is now entirely decayed and overgrown with vegetation. Return to the trail after seeing the chapel.

You can see the route and the summit in front of you, so you’ll be travelling on a ridge from this point on. One of the most picturesque aspects of the hike is the ascent from here to the peak, where you can take in panoramic views of the surrounding hills and valleys. If you’re lucky, there may also be clouds and mist all around you. From here, it takes an additional 40 minutes to get to Kudremukh peak. We finished the trek in one direction in four hours, arriving at the Kudremukh summit by noon.

The Kudremukh summit offers without a doubt the greatest views of the entire hike. A 270-degree panorama of the mountains around you is possible. You can also be surrounded by clouds and mist, depending on the weather. Additionally, you will be able to view the Kudremukh horse face in all its glory. It is a peak that resembles the face of the horse. You can try capturing the same and all the other beautiful sceneries you observe from here.  Spend some time soaking in the atmosphere and have your packed lunch.

Kudremukh Route map details

From	To	Distance	Difficulty	time
Mullodi	Lobo House	4.5 km	easy	1 hour
Lobo house	Zig-zag starting point	2.5 km	moderate	1 hour
zig-zag starting point	Zig-zag endpoint	1 km	moderate	30 min
Zig-zag endpoint	Peak/ Top	1.5 km	Difficult	1 hour

Kudremukh trekking tips

• • Try to start your trek as early as possible because, by the time you reach near the peak and the final ascent, there will be the sun. So, it becomes harder to walk in the sun.
  • Do not worry about the water. The water is available throughout the trek and even near the peak.
  • Sometimes guides do not want you to ascend the peak because it will be dark if the trek starts late. So, it is better to start early.
  • We saw wild cow and deer while coming back so if you are lucky you can also see that.
  • Bring a small bag with you so that you leave behind other stuff at the homestay and carry things such as water bottles, camera, and food in the bag which would make the weight lighter and you will be able to walk fast.
  • Wear nice shoes with a good grip because on the steep slopes, chances of slipping and falling, in the summer as well as monsoon, becomes high.

Homestays Near Kudremukh trek

There are many homestays near Kudremukh which offer good services, especially for the trekkers. These Homestays are used by the organizers such as BMC, Nature Walkers, Escape to Explore. Most of these Homestays charge around Rs. 500 per person. Here are some of the basic facilities that are provided by these homestays.

• Escorting your vehicle to the Homestay in case you are unable to find them.
• On arrival breakfast along with tea or coffee.
• Packed lunch for the trek.
• Leaving you to the Kudremukh trek base by Jeep in the morning and picking you up in the evening (Maybe Extra Chargeable)
• Arranging permission and guide for the trek in advance (Extra Chargeable)
• Campfire in the evening.
• Room stay along with the option of a tent stay.
• Hot water facility along with shared room and bathrooms.
• Dinner and next day breakfast.

Here is a list of the Homestays and a little overview of them:

Bella Homestay

Newly constructed along with nice and spacious rooms. Nearer to the Balagal Market.
Rating: 4.7 (24 reviews) as on Dec’ 2017
9483800447
9480196796

Raaje Gowda’s Homestay

Very nice location and one of the oldest homestays for the Kudremukh trek. Near to Somavathi waterfalls which you can visit in the morning. The food has got some complaints about there.
Rating: 4.3 (39 reviews) as on Dec’ 2017
08263-249333 / 09481179008

Satish Mullodi House

Nearer to Raaje Gowda’s Homestay. Same facilities as almost above.
Rating: 3.8 (28 reviews) as on Dec’ 2017
08263-249595 / 9481074530 / 8722847688

Other treks that you might also be interested in

• – Bandipur Wildlife Safari
  – Kumara Parvatha Trek: the Toughest Trek of Karnataka
  – Kodachadri Trek
  – Mullayanagiri Trek: The Highest Peak of Karnataka
  – Tadiandmol Trek, The Highest Peak of Coorg
  – Brahmagiri Trek, Wayanad
  – Kemmengundi, Chikmagalur
  – Narasimha Parvatha trek/ Agumbe Ghats Trek
  – Ombattu Gudda/ OG Trek
  – Chembra Peak/ Heart shaped Lake trek
  – Sakleshpur Railway trek: The Green route trek
  – Dudhsagar Falls trek, Goa
  – Bandaje Arabi falls Trek
  – Nishani Betta trek
  – Nagalapuram western Entry trek: Along the waterfalls

Kudremukh trek Pictures

A signboard showing the road towards Kudremukh in Balagal