A Complete Guide to the Valikunja Trek

The trek to Valikunja is one of the least frequented trails inside Kudremukh National Park. When looking for alternatives to the crowded Kudremukh Peak Trek, most trekkers end up choosing Kurinjal. But even Kurinjal has its crowds nowadays. Valikunja, however, is still off most people’s radars. On most days, you would have the entire trail for yourself. This seclusion is a very calming experience in itself.

The trail to Valikunja snakes through dense forests and open grasslands. The forests open up suddenly into big clearings. The panoramic view of grassy hilltops from these clearings is unmatched.

The forest section has its own highlights as well. These ancient forests of the Western Ghats are home to fascinating species like Kudremukh Bush Frogs and Malabar Trogons. On a lucky day, you may stumble upon a herd of deers or cross paths with gaurs. In monsoon, the forest is abuzz with cicadas. 

While Kudremukh may have grander clearings and meadows, Valikunja weaves magic with its summit views.  At 3,200 ft, the peak offers sweeping views of numerous grassy summits of Kudremukh and all the other hills around.

How the trek gets its name: At the peak, shapes resembling large footprints are embedded in the rocks. Folklore links them to Vali, the mythical monkey-king of the Ramayana. Valikunja, located at the tri-junction of Chikkamagaluru, Dakshin Kannada and Udupi Districts, also overlooks the entire Sringeri region. Sringeri is famous due to its close ties to Adi Shankaracharya. So, whether you're spiritually inclined or a history buff, there's plenty to explore before or after the trek.

Can beginners attempt this trek? Although the approach to Valikunja is gradual, the summit push on a steep incline can be a test of nerves. The sheer drop over the cliff’s edge is almost vertigo-inducing. Also, you find lots of leeches in the forest section. Come mentally prepared for this. The Valikunja trail probably has more leeches than any other trek inside Kudremukh National Park. Prior trekking experience certainly helps, but fit beginners can also attempt this trek.


Total Trek Distance (one-way from Kerekatte Forest Check Post to Summit): 8.8 Km
Highest Point: 3,200 ft at Valikunja Peak

➤What to Watch out for

1.  The Forest Section

The trek to Valikunja starts at a dense forest section. The sheer variety of trees makes this an otherworldly experience. After all, it’s not just any other forest. The rainforests of Western Ghats are among the most biodiverse places on Earth. From beetles and cicadas to rare frogs, endemic snakes and charismatic mammals, the list is endless.

2. Views from the Clearings

At the end of the forest section, you arrive suddenly at a wide clearing. How abruptly the forest transitions into open grasslands surprises you. And the bigger surprise is the view that opens up.

You are greeted by a magnificent array of green, grassy hilltops. On your left, some of the most well-known hills of the Kudremukh range – Mullayanagri, Mertiparvata, and Sitabhumi – stand right in front of you. You hardly get such views of the Kudremukh range from any other trek in the region.

3. A Thrilling Summit Push

The last kilometre of the approach to Valikunja is exhilarating. You start with a short ridge walk before you stand face-to-face with a steep uphill climb. On your left, is a sharp drop, several hundred feet deep.
The climb starts amidst grasslands, goes into a forest and opens up into a grassy clearing again. And the ascent only gets steeper until you reach the flat summit.
On a clear day, you get 360-degree views from the top. On rainy days, you enter a magical world of clouds and mist. The effort you put into the climb and the rewards at the end of it, together make the summit push an unforgettable experience.

➤ Suggested Itinerary

• Plan to reach your stopover at Sringeri by 6 AM. There are multiple homestay options to choose from. Have breakfast, freshen up and also remember to pack lunch for your trek.
  
• Drive to the Kerekatte Forest Office, sort out formalities and reach your trek start point by 9 AM. It should take you no more than 2 hrs from Sringeri to the trek start point. Plan to start the trek by 9 AM, you allow yourself a 1-hr buffer. Make sure you don’t use up any more time than that.
  
• Reaching the Valikunja peak can take anywhere between 3-3.5 hrs. The way back also takes between 2-2.5 hrs. Adding rest stops, water breaks and lunch breaks, the entire trek should be wrapped up in 7-7.5  hrs max. If you have started by 9 AM, plan to be back at the trek starting point by 4.30 PM. The earlier the better, as the hills are notorious for afternoon showers.
  
• Getting too late on the return might be risky. Prioritise getting back to the trek starting point before it gets dark. It is good to set a turnaround time of 1.30 PM. That is a cut-off time point, beyond which you begin to return no matter whether you have reached the summit or not.
  
  Setting a Turn Around Time helps because:
  1) It ensures safety on your trek by eliminating risks that come with lingering in a forested area after sundown.
  2) Having a cut-off time ensures that you manage your time better even if there are unforeseen delays in starting the trek.
• Return to your rest point in Sringeri by 7 PM. Freshen up, have dinner and leave. You are expected to reach Bengaluru by early morning the next day.

➤ Detailed Trail Information

The trail to the Valikunja Peak takes you through the magical shola forests of Kudremukh National Park. You go from dense rainforests and hidden forest streams to open grasslands and windy ridges. Wide open views of the Kudremukh range await at the end of a thrilling summit climb. 

This trek can be divided into 4 sections :

1. Drive from Sringeri to Trek Start Point: 38 km | 2 hrs
2. Starting Point to open grasslands through dense forests: 4 km | 1 hr
3. From the start of Clearings to the base of Valikunja peak: 4 km | 90 mins 
4. Steep climb to Valikunja summit: 600 m | 40 mins

Section I: Drive from Sringeri to Trek Start Point

Drive distance: 38 km
Drive duration: 2 hrs

Depending on where you start at Sringeri, the 30 km drive to the Kerekatte Forest Department Office may take anywhere between 40-60 mins. You see the Tunga River on the way. About 120 Km down its course, Tunga joins with Bhadra at Kudli to form the famous Tungabhadra River. It is on the banks of Tungabhadra that the famous Vijayanagara Empire, with its capital at Hampi, flourished.

But, from Sringeri, you head towards the Kudremukh National Park. This is opposite to the route that goes to Kudli. The drive is along a tarred road past towering coconut trees and areca nut plantations. Gradually, the forests flanking the road begin to grow thicker. At the Tungahole bridge, you cross over the Tunga River. The journey onwards is along the Vimla stream, which you also encounter multiple times after you start trekking.

On your way to the Kerekatte Forest Office, you pass the Entry Pass checkpoint (in photos). Do not confuse this checkpoint with the Forest Office. Keep following the tarred road that you are on.

Eventually, around the 30 Km mark, you come to a sudden man-made clearing. It has a small areca-nut plantation and a few dhabas. The Durgaparameshwari Hotel is the most prominent among them. The Kerekatte Forest Office is just around the bend from here.

Here, your permits get verified and a guide from the Forest Department will join you. You also cannot take your private vehicle beyond this point. Tar road ends here and a bumpy, off-road trail begins. You have to travel around 7-7.5 Km further on a pick-up van allotted by the Forest Department.

Guide Charges: INR 1000 per guide
One guide caters to a maximum of 10 people. If your group has more than 10 members, you must pay for multiple guides accordingly. This is mandatory.

Pick-Up Van Charge: INR 2500 (round-trip)
For the said amount, the pick-up van transports you to the trek starting point at the start of your trek and also brings you back to the Kerekatte Forest Office at the end of it. You must have an estimate of how long you take to reach the summit and return to the trek start point. This needs to be communicated to the pick-up van handler in the morning itself.

After getting onto the pick-up van arranged by the forest department, prepare for a bumpy ride. After an initial smooth stretch, the trail is rough and gravelly. It is an off-road jeep trail. The forests flanking the trail also grow dense after a point. You need to be constantly aware of jutting branches.
You also pass by villages embedded in this forest setting. Near the villages, the forest opens up into agricultural land and the rough road has a temporary cement cover. Beyond the villages, dense forests resume. Roads are rough and bumpy again.

How far you can navigate this jeep trail varies from season to season. Expect this 7-8 km ride to take anywhere between 40-45 mins to an hour.

Section II: Starting Point to open grasslands through dense forests

Trek Distance: 4 km
Trek Duration: 1 hr

The pick-up van drops you at a point, beyond which you start trekking through dense forests. This is the main forest section that you traverse on this trek. Within 5-10 minutes, you arrive at an open field and then cross a small stream. The trail winds through tall trees and dense thickets. From large strangler figs to the broad-leaved canes near streams and ferns near the forest floor, the variety is mind-boggling. Leaf litter carpets the red, lateritic mud.

At the 1 km mark, you cross a stone bridge and just 100 m ahead of that bridge, you see a clearing to your right. Two trails go two different ways at this point. One of them turns right towards the clearing. The other turns left and re-enters the forest. Take the left.

In about 400m, you cross a small stream over a cement bridge and arrive at a clearing beyond it. Forests resume immediately and you arrive at a broad stream-crossing. This is Vimla, the stream that you encountered after crossing the Tunga River. March on through the forest trail. In the next 600m, you walk across two different stone bridges laid across forest streams. The second bridge is much bigger than the first. It is near the bigger bridge that the headstream of Vimla originates.

Beyond this big stone bridge, the trail begins to climb slowly. After the gradual ascent for 1 km, you arrive on level ground again and enter a very dense forest section. Here, the undergrowth is so dense that you may not even be able to see the trail. The guide’s expertise is crucial in carving a way through this section.

This rustic experience of navigating a rainforest, amidst the orchestra of bird calls and cicada songs is unparalleled. At the same time, come mentally prepared to encounter leeches. A lot of them!

This extremely dense patch opens up into a small clearing in about 200 m. The forests that you re-enter at the end of the clearing, aren’t as dense as the patch you just crossed. Just about 100-150 m into this forest, you arrive at a stone bridge, where the trail diverges. Take the left turn onto a gravel trail.

Beyond this point, the forests move progressively away from the trail. Thick undergrowth gradually grows thin. Eventually, you arrive at a wide clearing. A beautiful view of green grassy summits, interspersed with dense forests– the typical shola landscape– opens up on your left.

The array of peaks – including Mullayanagri, Mertiparvata, and Sitabhumi – that you see from this point is astounding. You do not get such views of the Kudremukh Range from any other trek. Rest awhile and take it all in.

This is the 4 km mark. You are almost halfway through your trek at this point. 

Section III: Clearings at the End of Main Forest Stretch to Start of Summit Push

Trek Distance: 4 km
Trek Duration: 90 mins

At the 4 km mark, the main forest section ends. You have arrived amidst grassy clearings. Although more forest sections lie ahead, none of them are as extensive as the one you just traversed. From hereon, you begin to see the tip of Valikunja peak if it is not cloudy or foggy.

As the trail ascends gradually, you begin to see black rocks. Western Ghats are one of India’s and even the world’s most ancient landforms. Some of the rock formations we see at the Ghats belong from the Archean epoch– 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago– the earliest period of Earth’s geological history. Dharwar schists, which are among the oldest rock formations seen in the Ghats, cover more than 80 % of Kudremukh National Park’s total area.

At the 5 km mark, you arrive on a ridge. But this doesn’t exactly feel like a ridge walk as tall trees guard its edges. You see multiple border stones here that mark the administrative boundary between beats. Walking straight for a km along this grassy ridge, you re-enter a small forest section and arrive at a diversion.

The right turn leads to a clearing. Ignore that. Take a left and proceed through the forest. It opens up into a small clearing before forests start again. Beyond this second forest section, you arrive at a big open patch.

This is an amazing viewpoint. On your left, you see the entire Sringeri region. On your right, rolling hills stretch endlessly. Famous summits like Kudremukh and Sitabhumi are visible. Valikunja is visible straight ahead.

A short 200 m forest section begins immediately after this viewpoint. Beyond the forest, you arrive on an open ridge that leads towards the summit. You walk almost one whole kilometre along it, among tall grass swaying in the wind.

Then, the clearings abruptly end and a dense forest begins. Navigate a 500 m descent through the forest, before it begins to get sparser. Gradually, you arrive at a clearing again.

This is the 8 km mark. The summit looms right in front of you.

Section IV: Summit Push

Trek distance: 0.6 m
Trek duration: 40 mins

Ahead of the 8 km mark, an extremely steep section starts. This is the last push to the summit. If it is raining, the trail might even be slippery. After an initial walk through grassy clearings, you enter a small forest section. Inside the forest, at the 400 m mark from the start of the summit push, you arrive at a fork trail. Do not worry as both of them lead to the summit. Continue climbing. Soon, the forest opens up into grassy clearings again.

Eventually, the views open up and you arrive at the summit. This final push can take anywhere between 30-40 mins. At the peak, you can see two large footprint-like shapes imprinted on a rock. Local belief systems link it to Vali, the mythical monkey-king from Ramayana. You would also see an old repeater station, which was used by the Forest Department to relay communication over walkie-talkies.

The peak, on a clear day, offers a beautiful 360-degree view. From the human settlements of the Sringeri region to the entire rolling landscape of the Kudremukh range– the entire expanse is right there before you.

The Return

You return along the same route that you took on the way up. The descent from the summit can be more tricky than the climb. Take extra care if it is raining. Beyond that, there are no other tricky sections that you face. You should be back to the point where the pick-up van dropped you, off comfortably in 3-3.5 hrs.
The forest department pick-up van drops you off at the Kerekatte Forest Department Office. From there, proceed towards your stop at Sringeri in your private vehicle.

From the Kerekatte Forest Department Office, Samse is just as far as Sringeri. So, you can opt to move to Samse after doing Valikunja. Samse acts as the base for the Netravati Trek, which is another well-known peak of the Kudremukh range.

From Samse, Kalasa is also just 8 km away. Kalasa acts as base for 3 other peak treks in the Kudremukh National Park–  Kudremukh, Gangadikal and Kurinjal.

➤ Best Time to do the Valikunja Trek

The best time to do the Valikunja trek is post-monsoon (late September to mid-October). You'll experience lush greenery, flowing streams, and misty hills with minimal risk of heavy rain. The trail can get muddy and slippery during continuous rainfall, and leeches are most active in the monsoon, so the post-monsoon period reduces these risks while still offering the beauty of the season.

Winter is also a good option, though many streams may have dried up, and the grasslands turn yellow. However, the crisp summit views and clear blue skies add a unique charm to the trek. 

We don’t recommend trekking here in summer due to the exposed nature of the trail after the 4 km mark.

➤ How to reach Valikunja Trek

The Valikunja trek starts about 38 km from Sringeri. To reach the starting point, first head to the Kerekatte Forest Office (30 km from Sringeri). From there, a forest department van will take you to the trek start.

Sringeri is accessible by car or public transport, though options beyond Sringeri are limited. While buses and autos operate between Sringeri and Kerekatte, they are unreliable, so it's best to use transportation services offered by local homestays, which also provide meals and packed lunches.

How to Reach Valikunja from Bangalore by Car

To reach Sringeri from Bangalore, follow the highway routes (8-9 hours).
Use Google Maps for navigation

After reaching Sringeri, head to Kerekatte Forest Office.
(also navigable via Google Maps)

From the forest office, a forest department van will take you to the trek starting point. For costs and details, refer to the Trail Information section.

How to Reach Valikunja from Bangalore by Bus

To reach Sringeri by bus, visit the KSRTC website for schedules. A recommended option is the 9:30 PM bus from Bangalore, which arrives by 5 AM, aligning with the suggested itinerary. From Sringeri, use transportation services from homestays for a reliable transfer to the trek start.

For the return journey, you can take the 9 PM or 10 PM bus from Sringeri to Bangalore.

➤ Frequently Asked Questions about Valikunja Trek

1. Is there any permission required to do the Valikunja Trek?

Yes. Valikunja comes is inside the Kudremukh National Park. You need to book your slot from the Aranya Vihara portal, managed by the Karnataka State Government. Valikunja is listed under treks in Chikmagalur District. Only 300 slots are available per day.

2. How difficult is the Valikunja Trek?

The trek to Valikunja is about 9 km one-way. However, the whole trek can be comfortably completed in 7-8 hrs. This route has no tricky or majorly difficult sections. So, beginners, and even children, can safely attempt this trek.

3. Can we camp in Valikunja?

No. You are not allowed to camp anywhere inside Kudremukh National Park.

4. Are there any food stalls and water sources on the Valikunja trek?

There are no food stalls on the Valikunja trek. The last food stalls are near the Kerekatte Forest Office. We recommend getting done with your breakfast at Sringeri itself.
Though water sources are plenty in monsoon, we strongly recommend you to carry enough water (2-3 litres) with you for the entire trek.

Tip: Carry purification tablets or life straw bottles in case you must drink from the sources along the way.

5. What is the distance of Valikunja trek from Bangalore?

Sringeri town, which acts as base for Valikunja trek, is about 320 km from Bangalore and is accessible by both private and public transportation means.

6. Can I do Valikunja Trek alone?

No. For any trek inside Kudremukh National Park, is mandatory to take a local guide with you, or the group.

What to pack for the Valikunja Trek

➤ Places to Visit after the Valikunja Trek

1. The Sharada Peeth: This is the main attraction in Sringeri. Established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, the temple is dedicated to Goddess Sharada, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. The temple complex is set on the banks of the Tunga River. Dedicated to the Yajur Vedic traditions, this is one of the four main Vedic Centers that were set up by Shankaracharya. Close to it is the Narasimha Vanam, the ashram of Sri Shankaracharya. Surrounded by greenery, it is worth a visit.
   
2. Tunga River: The picturesque Tunga River flows through Sringeri, offering a calm and serene atmosphere. You can also feed fish near the riverbank, which is a common practice for visitors.
   
3. Sri Malahanikareshwara Temple: Located on top of a small hill, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. From here, you can enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding hills and forests. The climb to the temple is a peaceful experience, especially during early mornings or sunsets.
   
4. Netravati Trek: Netravati is another peak inside Kudremukh National Park. The trek to Netravati starts from a village called Samse. From the Kerekatte Forest Department Office, Samse is just as far as Sringeri. So, you can opt to move to Samse after doing Valikunja and try the Netravati Trek next.
   
5. Kalasa:  After the Valikunja Trek, you can travel to Kalasa, which is about a 2 hrs drive from Sringeri. If you end the Valikunja trek at Samse, then Kalasa is just 8 km away. From Kalasa you can attempt three other peaks of the Kudremukh range – Kudremukh, Gangadikal and Kurinjal.
   
   

➤ Trek Contribution

Trek documented by Thokchom Aditya Singh, Manasa NL, Akshay Kevin, Surita Chakma, Gautam Singh, Bharath Ramesh and Indiahikes Trekking Club Members (Sharada, Shoubhik, Anjan and Sanjay)
Trek written by Upayan Chatterjee
Banner Image by Akshay Kevin