Kemmannugundi is the name of a Hill Station located in Chikamagalur district of Karnataka in south India. It is situated at 1500 feet above the sea level. This hill station is a part of Bhadra wildlife sanctuary. The name ‘Kemmannugundi’ is a combination of three kannada words Kempu (Red), Mannu (Soil) and Gundi (Pit) and is attributed to the nature of soil available locally.
Kemmannugundi is 53 km from Chikkamagaluru and 17 km from Lingadahalli by road. The nearest National Highways, NH-206 or NH-48, connect to Bangalore. There is another route via Mullayyanagiri, a scenic drive. If you are dependent only on public transport then you can catch a private bus from Lingadahalli at 9.30am and the same bus (last bus) comes at Kemmanagundi at 4.30pm goes to Birur via Lingadahalli.
When we started the Trek, we only knew by name about a place called Z-Point. We reached kemmannugundi, asked the locals over there about the trek. They told us that we are here in a right season (winter). Rainy season is the worst time to go on this trek as the paths are narrow and very slippery. We got some advice from the locals and started our trek.
As it was winter, and the peak stands 1500 feet above sea level, it was too foggy and we could barely see the path. We proceeded and after 3km , we reached Shanthi falls. It didn’t seem to be a tough trek till then. It was as exciting and adventurous as it could get. We thought we could easily make to the peak. But that was not the case. Walking along the edge of the cliff on the final stretch, we realized it was not as easy as we thought. All of a sudden we were dragged in the direction of the wind and the winds were strong enough to have pushed us aside if we had proceeded further. It was our first time experiencing gusts of this sort. An experience that will last for a long time. We then started to walk slowly laying each step cautiously till we reached the end point. It was equally exciting and frightening to have experienced such high-speed winds. The view from the Z-Point was amazing. The Greenery of the Western ghats, Golden yellow light spread across from the setting sun, it was a Treat to the eyes. We sat there for an hour, taking it all in. Took some pics, screamed our hearts out!!! And started our journey back. It was an easy trek compared to others, but nothing can beat the beauty of the nature that we saw from above the peak.
