We, a group of 10 enthusiastic members, planned to go from Kundapur all the way to Kodachadri. We packed our lunch and left in a Tavera for our destination at 8AM. It took us roughly 45 minutes to reach Kollur, the Temple town, which is at the foothills of the Kodachadri Hill. From there, we started our ascent on Kollur-Nagara route. You will not be able to go all the way to Kodachadri, on your own vehicle. We have to get on to a Jeep either from Nittur or from Kattinahole. From Nittur, Kodachadri top was 16 km away, but from Kattinahole, it was 8 km. So, we parked our Tavera in Kattinahole and hopped on to a Jeep there.
We then understood why no vehicles except for jeeps were allowed.The road was very uneven and bumpy and it went on for 8 km. It is amazing how Jeep can go forward in such a road. The scenery kept on changing as we gradually went up. Many hills had these golden coloured weeds growing everywhere but the others were green with vegetation. After half an hour of hardship we reached the end at 12.00. Our clothes were red from the dust. The scenery there was mesmerising. There were Panchamukhi Ganesha, Parvatheshwari temples and the Priest’s house there. We offered our Puja in the temple. The summit is still 2 km away from there and we had to climb to the summit by foot.
The elderly and people who have some health problems or are scared of heights are recommended not to take the trek as it is very tiring. The path twists and turns as it ascends to the summit. The track is covered with loose mud and pebbles so sometimes we skidded. There were many food stalls selling friuts and juices so whenever one felt thirsty, one could always ask for a cool, juicy watermelon. On the way to the top, there was a tiny cave, ’Ganesha Guhe’, having a little Ganesha. It took us 45 mins to reach the summit. At the top, there was Shankara Peeta, which apparently was built by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, in one night. In the Peeta, there was a model of Shankaracharya. The Peeta was quite small but the view was worth watching. Up there we were around 1300 metres above sea level, Kollur town was visible at a distance.We sat inside the Peeta while the swami inside told us the remarkable story of how the place was found and how the Peeta was built. We rested for a while then prepared to descend.
To go all the way back down in the same path, it took us only half an hour. The descent wasn’t so bad as the ascent. We came back, rested, washed ourselves and then had our lunch near one of the temples there. After we had filled our stomachs, we got back on to the jeep and we headed down. When we got out of the jeep in Kattinahole, we couldn’t even recognize ourselves! We wiped ourselves clean, hopped on to our Tavera and headed back. The Jeep trip costed us Rs.1200. We visited the Mookambika temple in Kollur. The Souparnika river rushes past the Mookambika temple but we could only get a glance of it. Finally, at 7:00 we reached Kundapur. We had spent an entire day in Kodachadri but it was worth it.