Corona had impacted everyone all around the world, and this was around the month of January, the time when things were getting better. At least we were hoping to get things better. Suddenly on a Friday night, I get a call from one of my friends asking me if I'd be interested for Narasimha Parvatha trek tomorrow. Narasimha Parvatha, also called as Agumbe peak is the tallest peak in the Agumbe range, around 3800ft above sea level. There are 2 ways to trek to the top, one from the Kigga, and one more from Malandur. Distance wise, its around 8kms from Kigga whereas 12-14kms from Malandur. We thought of starting from Kigga, near Sringeri, 2.5 hours from my home. Without giving much thought I agreed.
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| En-route to Kigga |
The next day, I started from my home, early around 6 in the morning. We were to begin our trek by around 8:30 after getting the required permission. We reached Kigga around 8 in the morning, and headed to the RF's house, near Sri Rishya Shringeshwara temple, to get the permission. After giving our id cards, and paying the entry fee we started off for the trek. We parked our vehicles at the nearby house and started off climbing.
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| The climb to top |
It was after long that I had been to a trek, and it felt good. Though the time wasn't so convenient for trek, but we were covered by dense forest through the start. The trek to top is around 8km, and usually takes around 3-4 hours. The first quarter was quiet easy, going through forest, with well marked path all around. The second quarter too wasn't tough. Though the temperature was increasing slowly.
At around the mid point, we came across a big rock, where we took rest for few minutes to start off again. The next phase of our walk was all in the open. We had just covered half the distance, with another half still remaining. This walk was through steep hills, with not much of cover, nor shade. Finally we reached near the top part of the hill. On top of the hill, there's a storage house, indicating that people used to stay here before, or may be it was a part of guest house. Still climbing further, we reach the peak of top, providing a 360 degree view of the entire hill landscape.
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| Picturesque view from top of Narasimha Parvatha |
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| Picturesque view from top of Narasimha Parvatha |
Narsimha Parvatha has a mythological as well historical reference too. On top of the hill, there's a small idol of God, which will be worshipped first, during the annual Shringeri Jatre.
After spending some time here, and having our packed lunch, we decided to head back. Though there are multiple ways to reach the top, we decided to head back the same way. Getting down was quiet faster than climbing up. We were of course being pulled down by gravity, reaching back near the parking by around 1.
We were all quiet thirsty as all the water we had had got over by now. After having a small refreshment, we all headed back home, calling off for the day. Other than the trek, there are also few more places like Sri Rishya Shringeshwara temple, couple of falls, etc near Kigga.
Overall Narsimha Parvatha trek is a beautiful place to go by. The trek level is moderate, with enough shade almost more than half the way. Also, please note that one has to get prior permission from forest officials, before trekking to top. This trek provides a splendid view, especially more when visiting post monsoon.
