We started off from mysore at 6 in the morning, The drive till Belur cross via Hassan was pretty good, no bad patches but after Belur cross till Mudigere where we take a deviation towards Horanadu was at its worst. potholes every 10 meters greeted us. After Mudigere, The Western Ghats range starts across, We can find vast ranges of Shola grasslands on those hills, ranges of tea and coffee estates which have been cultivated over here since ages.
It was a time of peak summer we travelled towards Kudremukh, and almost the Shola grasslands were dry, since it hadn't been drained by the monsoons. We reached Horanadu via kalasa around noon. Finished our darshan and had our lunch which is served at the temple. Next we drive across to Kudremukh via kalasa, The drive covers most of the area of the the Kudremukh National Park, Once you cross Kalasa you are given a ticket and given atleast 2 hrs to cross the other side of the National Park. Camping is not allowed inside this reserved forest area until and unless you have permission.
Kudremukha National park is one of the most untouched parks devoid of human inhabitation. Majestic shola grasslands cover every inch of the park, even in such peak summer we could feel the breeze coming from the grasslands. I can guarantee this is one of the most scenic drives you will have in your lifetime, 2 hrs through the National Park with no traffic and only birds chirping( Yes!! U need to shut your music system if you are travelling by car), very difficult to sight wildlife but can be excused, because you need to camp over here if you are so interested in Wildlife.
Some of the Scenic pics on the drive through Kudremukh National Park
Fast Facts: Kudremukha
Kuduremukha( ಕುದುರೆಮುಖ in Kannada/Tulu) is a mountain range nestled in Western Ghats at an average height of 1200MSL in Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka. Kudremukha peak is about 1892MSL. It is also the name of a small town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometers from Karkala and about 20 kilometers from Kalsa. The name Kuduremukha (as it is known by the natives) literally means 'horse-face' (in the local language Kannada) and refers to a particular picturesque view of a side of the mountain that resembles the same. The Kudremukh National Park is the second largest declared Wildlife Protected Area (600.32 km²) of a tropical wet evergreen type of forest in the Western Ghats. Kudremukh National Park is located in Udupi and Chikmagalore districts of Karnataka states. The Western Ghats is one of the thirty four hot spots identified for bio-diversity conservation in the world. Kudremukh National Park comes under the Global Tiger Conservation Priority-I, under the format developed jointly by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and World Wide Fund-USA. Camping is not allowed inside Kudremukha National Park until and unless you have the permission from the Forest Department. You can also check the following link regarding trekking/camping inside the reserved forest
http://www.karnatakawildernesstourism.org/Trekking_opp_in/Kudremukh.htm
Hanumanagundi Falls
On the drive towards sringeri from kalasa, we can reach gangamoola( Birthplace of River Tunga) and the hanumangundi falls. To reach hanumanagundi falls, U need to climb down around 500 steps, but it is worth. This falls will be filled up during monsoon and is a pleasure to watch.
Sringeri:
We had reached Sringeri by around 4pm and we were told the temple opens only at 5, so left with no option but to move around the temple premises, watched lots of Mahseer( katla in kannada) fish on the banks of river tunga, fed them lot of puri's which are available. crossed the tunga river, marvelled the architecture of vidyashankar mandir, and finally, doors were opened into sringeri sharadamba temple. We sat inside the temple for half an hour and then left to our ancestral village.
The route we covered
"Mysore--> Hassan-->Belur Cross-->Mudigere-->Kalasa-->Horanadu-->Kudremukha-->Sringeri"
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