Anurag Jain - My travelogues and Adventures -Sakleshpur Abandoned Railway Track Trekking (Tracking) - Donigal - Yedakumeri (aka Yadakumeri, Edukumrei, Edakumeri)

Sakleshpur Abandoned Railway Track Trekking (Tracking)

(Donigal - Yedakumeri)

24th August, 2003
Donigal - Yedakumeri (aka Yadakumeri, Edukumrei, Edakumeri)

WARNING

As beautiful as this trek is, I have not come across on internet any warnings on how DANGEROUS and RISKY this trek is. Believe me, you better be well prepared for some mental challenges if you go on this trek, ESPECIALLY in monsoons. Read on to know why.

"Trekking Prohibited" Notice at Sakleshpur Railway Station (Courtesy Anuradha Goyal who had been on this trek a week before us)

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On the basis of the warning above, before you label me a novice, I must tell you that I have had my fair share of adventure sports activities. What was different about this trek though was that in all the info I came across on the Net on this trek, there was no mention of the risks involved. Even the people I talked to about this trek, nobody told us the kind of dangers that one should be prepared for. To top it all, I even got by email a write-up of 2 people who did this trek in the night!! That's incredibly insane to me. That write-up did, although unintentionally, in a subliminal way tell us that it was as easy as walking in your home street.

Since there's already enough info on this trek on the web, my purpose of this page is not so much of a travelogue, but to outline the challenges that one should be mentally and physically prepared for.

Having said that, I must say that its a WONDERFUL trek!! :)

An account

This beautiful trek is about walking on an abandoned meter gauge railway line between stations Donigal and Yedukumeri.

Me and Anirban started from Bangalore on 23th Aug, 2003 (Saturday) by 2345 hrs KSRTC bus to Mangalore. We had booked tickets in the day itself from Jayanagar 9th block KSRTC office. We had got the tickets for Sakleshpur (aka Sakaleshpur,Sakaleshpura, Sakleshpura), but later it dawned on us that getting down at Donigal (6-7 km farther from Sakleshpur) would be a better choice. Hence, we had to pay (read bribe) the bus conductor some extra money to get down at Donigal, which we did at 0400 hrs! Now, from the place the bus left us at, Donigal railway station was still 3 km farther. But Donigal was the safest place to get down 'cause there's nothing near the actual Donigal railway station, whereas the place we got down at had a 'happening' chai/snacks shop. Waited there till 0545 hours and then took a 'lift' in an LPG truck (Note: Mangalore has a petroleum refinery and access between Bangalore and Mangalore is through road / air only - There's no train. Hence, the route is full of petroleum products trucks.) Just like we didn't know where exactly to get down, that truck guy also didn't know where to drop us off! As a result, we went at least 6-7 kms ahead of the actual drop-off point! As soon as we realized that, we got down and took 'lift' again in an LPG truck, only this time in the return direction.

Tip to identify the getting-down point: You will cross a river and see an additional bridge on your left (while going from Sakleshpur/Donigal). That's where you get down and take the uphill trail in front of you (and not the trail just at the bridge). After about 100 meters of hiking up, you reach the left-in-time Donigal railway station!

We started 'tracking' by 0645 hrs I think. It was drizzling all the time. As mentioned by people in other travelogues, first 2 km or so was all plain. And then comes the first bridge. As we began to cross it, we realized the challenges that lie ahead! But until much later, we wouldn't know that it'd get only tougher and tougher from there on!

As we came to bridge number two, there was a torrential river flowing down under. Now, I am really scared of water but we crossed it somehow. We had breakfast after crossing it. There's an access trail to NH48 at this bridge.

Then we continued further, and the bridges became scarier and scarier - the longer the scarier. More than anything, the slippery wooden planks were scaring shit outta us. After setting one foot on every next plank, we were not sure if we would make it without slipping! And it was becoming a problem. I found kind of a roundabout way to deal with this: Instead of walking in between the rails, where you stare right into the depth while stepping from plank to plank, I found walking on the sides (outside the rails) much easier! My reason: There was a steel girder beneath planks on the outside which gave me a psychological help! Anirban, on the other hand, thought that walking outside the rails was not a very good idea 'cause if you fall, there's nothing you can hold on to - you'd fall straight down (as compared to between the rails where there's some width available to accommodate you!)

In one tunnel, we saw a door on the right side and coming outside that door, we could see from little plain ground available, the mighty river in the gorge down below falling over rocks with its full force. It was a scary and fantabulous sight, both at the same time! Came across some laborers working there (work is under progress to convert this meter gauge track to broad gauge).

Passed through numerous waterfalls, rivulets and rivers. And then, after one particular tunnel, we came across one of the most beautiful sights: Railway tracks covered with plush green grass, as a result of which you could not see where it was going after a few meters. It kinda disappeared in a THICK green jungle. Man, this looked like straight out of childhood railways fantasy. It was like a comic where you can take liberty and draw the world like you'd like it to be and not the way it is. Only, this place and sight was real! Too good to believe!

As enjoyable as the views were, we were getting more and more unnerved with every new bridge. Bridges were getting scarier and scarier - longer and higher! It had come to the point where we were not sure of our very own feet. We were not confident if the foot we were keeping on next plank would hold or not! And then came the 'killer bridge' (I am naming it that!) : Bridge #20. Man, it was real high and hence real scary. To make matters worse, there was a vehement river flowing down in the gorge. And as if that was not enough, iron strip between the rails was missing at some of the most crucial points. Such as in the middle of the river's breadth, lets say! At this bridge, I wasn't really sure why the heck was I doing it. But there was no option because the only option (?) - if we can call it that - was to return to Donigal via all the other killer bridges that we had crossed already! I vividly remember that I slipped a bit just in the MIDDLE of the river and my life flashed before my eyes. I still don't remember how I made it through. It was scary, alright.

Now we had had kinda enough of the bridges and wanted out. Lucky we, just after 3 more bridges, after 23rd bridge and just before 14th tunnel, even as we were still almost 5 kms away from our destination, Yedukumeri, we found a villager smoking. Now, since we knew we wouldn't be able to reach the road even at Yedukumeri due to river water level there, the only option was that we'd have to spend the night at Yedukumeri station and then come back all the way to Donigal next day, going through the same blood-curdling experience over all the same bridges. We surely wanted to avoid that. Fortunately, with sign-language we could find out from the villager that there's a 5km trail to a village nearby which doesn't involve any god-damn bridges or rivers. Moreover, he agreed to take us there!! That guy was a god-send! We hurried after him on the steep uphill trail. It was 1410 hrs and he said there was a bus at 1500 hrs from that village. But soon, we lost steam due to demanding ascent and demanded a break from our guide. Only he wouldn't stop! This mountain trek was really beautiful with lots of landslides, tree falling down on the way, full views of western ghats and all! When the villager's home came on the top of hills, it was already 1450 hrs and still the village was 2 km away! By now, it was raining cats and dogs (I would say dinosaurs actually if size is any indicator of intensity!). But we didn't care. And we didn't care about the bus or anything. We were happy to be on the plains where we didn't have to cross any life-sucking bridges. So, in that torrential rain, we opened our snacks and ate away. And then continued further. Just as we reached the village Ungrala (Oongrala?) at 1600 hrs, we saw the bus ready to leave and barely managed to catch it. Later we got to know that it was the last bus outta that place for the day! Btw, this village is very close to Coorg (Madikeri). I think 30 kms or so! What had happened was that NH48 was on our right side while we were on the railway track, but we had trekked on to the left of the tracks to come out of the jungle. So, we were essentially very close to Coorg!

Once in bus, we changed into sleepers from our shoes-turned-buckets. And dried up a bit. On the way to Sakleshpur, this bus goes to 2 villages off the main road - Vanagur and Kodlipet, where it has to come back to main road again. We reached Sakleshpur by 1730 hrs or so. And then took a nice KSRTC ultra-deluxe bus at 1830 hrs to Bangalore, where we reached at 2330 hrs!

All in all, since we made it back, it was real fun! Dangerous Fun, though!


Another_Waterfall_along_the_rails 391 X 585 68 KB	Back_From_Trek H_Terrace 600 X 390 58 KB	Back_From_Trek On_My_Bed 600 X 395 55 KB

Bridge 652 X 425 76 KB	Bridge_plus_Tunnel 600 X 391 78 KB	Chota_Waterfall_along_ the_rails 600 X 392 39 KB

Gushing_river 600 X 396 92 KB	Light_at_the_end_of_tunnel 600 X 394 33 KB	Light_at_the_end_of_tunnel2 600 X 389 22 KB

Preparing_to_cross_Bridge_No_2 600 X 390 63 KB	Pretty_Western_Ghats 600 X 394 33 KB	River_on_Bridge_No_20 780 X 1196 209 KB

Back_From_Trek_On_My_Comp 594 X 391 45 KB	Forgot_Which_Bridge_It_Is 600 X 398 58 KB	On_A_Bridge 600 X 388 71 KB

Tracks_going_into_Jungle 394 X 585 95 KB	Waterfall_along_the_rails 600 X 397 70 KB	Tired_at_Bridge 600 X 389 83 KB

Crash Course

Distances/Fares

Bangalore - Sakleshpur: ~220 kms (KSRTC Rajahamsa bus: 135 Rs)
Sakleshpur - Donigal Railway Station: ~ 5 Kms.
Donigal Railway Station - Yedukumeri: ~ 13 Kms.

Tracking Options

Sakleshpur Station - Donigal - Yedukumeri
Donigal - (road) - Donigal Station - Yedukumeri
Donigal Station - Yedukumeri

Bridges / Tunnels

Bridges : 25+
Tunnels : 19?
Big /High / Scary Bridges : #1, 2, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20
Longer Tunnels : # 6 (250m), #7 (375m), #12 (592m)

Exit Options

A few km. trail to NH 48 (National Highway 48) to the right of the second bridge (from Donigal).
A 5-6km hike (3 km steep uphill) to village Ungrala / Oongrala just before 14th tunnel, on the left. There, you can get a bus to Sakleshpur (1 hour), I think till 430pm only!
Yedukumeri itself. But access to NH48 via the kaccha road (trail) from Yedukumeri might not be possible from Yedukumeri in monsoons, because you have to cross a river on the way to NH48.

Must Carry

Good Flashlight / Torch for EVERY person - VERY dark tunnels, infested with bats.
Water / Food - There's nothing available on the way.
A GOOD backpack. It pays a crucial role in balancing on those planks. Also if you slip on planks, probably it would hold you from going down straight in the gorge/river. Don't make it too heavy.
VERY good shoes - A fair part of trek is on gravel/boulders. Also the planks on bridges are slippery.
Sawdust - If the planks are too slippery, use it on the plank before stepping on it.
Snuff/ Salt/ Lime - to prevent/get rid of leeches, just in case.

Anirban's travelogue: "TRACKING" (sic) Experience

Was it "Trekking" or "Tracking" or sheer MADNESS that I indulged in this weekend?!! Well, I am not too sure how I should describe it. I leave it to you to decide what it actually was!!

There is a meter-gauge railway line between Sakleshpur in Dakshin Kannada district of Karnataka and Mangalore. After broad-gauge railway track between Bangalore and Mangalore was operationalized, this track was abandoned in the year 1988. The track cuts through the dense forests right in the bosom of Western Ghats and is supposedly a trekker's delight. Having heard about it from a common friend, I and a friend of mine decided to take the plunge and go for it this weekend.

We were told, rather than from Sakleshpur, it is a better idea to start the trek from Donigal, a place about 9kms away from Sakleshpur, and end the trek at Yedakumeri, about 20kms away. We took a KSRTC bus (pretty poetically named "Rajhamsa") from Bangalore and since there wasn't a scheduled stop at Donigal, requested and 'maskafied' the driver to drop us at Donigal. At 3.45am in the morning the driver dutifully dropped us at a place which was supposedly Donigal. It was pitch dark everywhere and to make things interesting for us, it was raining like anything. Having no clue of what to be done next or where the damn railway track was, we decided to forget about the railway track for the time being and right away start our trek along the highway itself. Fortunately, having walked for about 1km, we were delighted to discover a small shop (combination of grocer, dhaba and village pub!!) that was open at that unearthly hour to welcome nutty guests like us. We were informed by the shop-owner that though the place was Donigal, the Donigal railway station was abt 4kms ahead of us. We hogged on the hot idlies and a couple of tumblers of tea in that shop and befriended the truck-drivers who were having their rightful share of couple of pegs of the "Desi" variety in the shop. One of those kind souls took pity on us and offered to drop us at the Donigal railway station. It is just a piece of insignificant information that he had no clue where that stupid station was and hence we had a joyride in his truck without being anywhere near the station. All of a sudden the railway track emerged in front of our eyes in a valley about 200mts below the road. The truck driver was not too happy to let his chatting partners go and was strongly inclined to give us a free-ride till Yedakumeri or might be even till Mangalore. However, after some insistence from our side, he pretty unwillingly let us go. We got down and were wondering how to reach the railway track. By now it was dawn and a couple of villagers were to be seen. They informed us that the only nearby place from where we could access the track from the road was Donigal railway station, a place we had left behind by about 3kms. They flagged down a tractor for us and the driver was kind enough not only to drop us at the right place but also to show us the road through the forest that would lead us to the railway station.

By the time we were at the railway station, it was already 5.30am and darkness of night was starting to make way for light of the dawn. We hit the trail right away and our trek began.

For the first couple of kms the trek was pretty simple and we were wondering what the hell the hullabaloo was all about. However, our cockiness disappeared as soon as we hit the first bridge (Ist of the 23 bridges and 14 tunnels that we crossed during the whole trek).

The bridges along the way are without any railings. To cross them one has to step onto the wooden/metal logs placed about 40-50 cms apart. Since it was almost continuously raining, those damn railway slippers were pretty slippery. Looking down was really scary. It is quite an experience to see gushing rivulets about 75-100 mts below you while you are standing on thin logs of wood without any other support. Being a new experience, the first, almost a 100 mts long bridge really unnerved us. We crossed several tunnels, between 50 to 600 mts long. Most were in good condition, albeit requiring high-beam torches to negotiate the pitch dark, accompanied by the sounds of bats flying.

Moreover, gradually the track entered into thick jungle and at times the track itself disappeared under thick undergrowth. Knowing very well that the Western Ghats is the abode of King Cobras, we had to walk very cautiously with the help of a stick. Though we were told that the jungle (a reserve forest) was home of elephants, wild boars, bison, leopard etc. but fortunately or unfortunately we didn't get to see any of those big games. However, we did see a large number of very beautiful-looking birds (names of most of them are not known to me).

Despite all the dangers on the trail, the abundance of stunning beauty of the Western Ghats simply took our breath away. It is really something to be seen and experienced. I don't think I am capable enough to describe it in words and hence I leave it for you to behold and experience in person.

Finally, our "Tracking" was over and we treked uphill through the jungle for about another 7kms to reach the N.H. 48. It was about 6.00pm by that time. We hitchhiked on an oil-tanker coming from Mangalore and reached Sakleshpur. Another "Rajhamsa" carried us back to home-sweet-home!!

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Last updated: Feb 20, 2005

Created: Aug 29, 2003