Bramhagiri

Fresh from the trek, i thought would be the best time to cover this one on my blog. Bramhagiri is located in the Coorg district and arguably has the best wildlife among all other treks in Karnataka! Known for the amazing wildlife and lovely landscape, Bramhagiri is one of the most popular treks in the region and is among the top 5 best treks for many trekkers in this region! Travel details are fairly simple:
Location: Gonikoppal(Coorg)- Srimangala-Irpu falls-Narimal Betta guest house- Bramhagiri- Thiruneli(Kerala)-Kutta-Gonikoppal
Duration : 2 nights and 3 days including travel(bangalore)
Trek difficulty: Simple to average
Ideal season: When ever permission available
Requirements :Back pack, sleeping bags, minimum 2 liters of water, snacks, ration to cook food for 2 meals, clothes as per requirement, comfortable foot wear, extra socks, warm clothing, towel, candles, torch, match box, knife, cup, plate.
Bus to Gonikoppal in coorg. From there a bus to Srimangala where the forest office is located. Permission to trek and a guide along with the trekking group is mandatory. After sorting out the permission, get to irpu falls. Enjoy the waterfall and if your mind permits then take bath also in it! It is quite a local attraction, so you are bound to have aunties and uncles alongside. Naked uncles and screaming aunties would make more sense actually!
On finishing with the aunties and uncles and the waterfall, start trekking with the guide! Trek is fairly simple and uneventful on the first day! Hardly two and half hours and the first camping location is reached! A really short trek this one. Narimal betta guest house is the only place where the permission to stay is given. Camp fire and such things are not appreciated. The guest house is quite well equipped with vessels and a cooking place. Just collect firewood and you are all set! If the trek seemed too small, then a place called Pakshi pathalam just 4 kms away from narimal betta is a worthwhile timepass. Sunset and sunrise are major photography events. Try wasting less time than my friend in adjusting the lenses and the focus and the aperture and wat not!!;)
Second day the trek gets interesting. For me the highlight of the trek was spotting deer! Also we spotted a lone bull at quite a distance. The funny part is that we spotted this lone bull at 5 30 while taking pics of the sunset and when we came back next day for the sunrise photography session, we spotted it at the same place. A friend of mine suggests that its the male thrown out of the herd by the dominant male since its attracting attention of the females in the herd. ;) Thank God human's rnt like them. Else most of us would be thrown out of a lot of places!!!!....lol!....
The trek on the second day gets to full swing when Bramhagiri stands in front of you and all you can see is that nicely cut path which runs straight up. This also is the boundary marking between karnataka and Kerala! Walk in the path and you are in no mans land...lolz!...So trek straight up to get an amazing view from the top of Bramhagiri!!!!! Steep trek down the hill and you reach Thirunelli temple village. Visit the temple and board a bus to Kutta. Kutta to either Mysore or Gonikoppal.
One of the easiest treks in the western ghats range, but also one of the most beautiful treks. Dense wildlife and enthralling scenes is the USP of this trek. Any trekker in Karnataka region would have guaranteed heard about this trek. On a personal note this trek was my first all boys trek so it was fun and it was even better since it was with an alien group of guys! Group turned out to be amazing and it was superb sharing stories from various treks! Do this trek even if you aren't a trekker!!!! Its worth the little bit of effort! Enjoy trekking:)