“Walking on railway tracks isn’t called trekking”

This was my reaction to my friend’s comment “Let’s go to Sakleshpur trek”.

One of the magnificent hill stations in the Hasan District of Karnataka, Sakleshpur is often called as the hub of the nature lovers and trekkers. Showcasing the most pristine beauty of nature, an array of scenic and aromatic coffee plantations, the many different Sakleshpur trekking routes and much more, this quaint hill Station town entices plenitude number of adventure seekers from across the country.

Sakleshpur is well connected by bus and train from Bengaluru. It takes almost 5 hours to Sakleshpur by bus or train. Go to Anemahal, situated on Bengaluru-mangalore highway, a nearby town just almost 4 km from Sakleshpur and the following route shows you the way to go to railway trek to Yedakumeri after Anemahal.

I went for the Sakleshpur trek with my buddies back in 2009. Actually, we started from Donigal, a small station near sakleshpur. At 6 am in the morning, during the winter, we headed into the fog in excitement. The tracks disappeared into the fog. We weren’t able to see anything. At around 6.30 am, the fog started to clear. It was a sight to see!!! The true beauty of the western ghats. One side of the railway track is a valley and the other side is mountains with thick forests.

Through the trek, we crossed a few waterfalls, tunnels and streams. Tunnels were the exciting part of the trek. 300mts long, spooky, pitch black. Entering the tunnels with the torches, scared, and upon seeing light at the end of the tunnel, running towards the light like something is chasing us. The memory is still fresh. After the 10 hours long trek, we decided to stop and camped in a station near a small village, in the middle of the forest. The station master suggested that continuing the trek was not safe in that season. So, in the morning, we packed up and reached sakleshpur in the evening. It was my first trek and I was hooked. Throughout four years of my college, I went for around 10 treks.