Spend your next weekend, conquering the Kurinjal Peak in the lush Kudremukh National Park. Scenic views, lush mountains, and gurgling waterfalls keep you company as you make your way to the top. One of the most breathtaking bits of the Western Ghats, Kudremukh’s unspoiled forests and mountains make for a trekker’s paradise. A seven-hour drive from Bangalore will get you to the town’s national park where you can spend a day (or more) exploring the jungle trails. While there are a couple of trekking routes you here, the best known is the one that takes you to the top of Kurinjal Peak. Once you get to Kudremukh make sure you have the permissions from the local forest office (it will cost you about INR 300) before you start off the trek.
Monsoons are a great time to explore the national park. The forest is gloriously green and the streams and cascades are gushing. However, make sure you have the right shoes and gear while trekking here since it can get slippery and downright messy in many places. Also, do carry a raincoat if you are there during a rainy spell. Even for novices, the Kurinjal Peak can be relatively easy. The trail here ranges easy to moderate. However, it is a lengthy trek (it can take around seven hours both ways). So, it might be a good idea to build up your stamina before you attempt the trek.
But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of reasons to make stops all along the way up. The trek takes you through leafy paths lined with crisscrossing trees and small boulders, then there are open meadows from where you can view the mist-covered mountains all around.
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