Kurinjal Peak
Seven kilometres each way from Bhagavathi camp, through rainforest into grassland.
Kurinjal rises to about 1,159 m inside Kudremukh National Park, roughly 7 km from Bhagavathi Nature Camp. The route runs through dense evergreen forest before it breaks out onto open grassland near the top. It is shorter and far less punishing than Kudremukh peak itself, and much easier to get a permit for.
What to do here
- Trek in from Bhagavathi Nature Camp with the forest guide
- Watch for lion-tailed macaque and Malabar giant squirrel in the canopy
- Stay overnight at the nature camp to start at first light
The best introduction to Kudremukh National Park on foot — real rainforest, a real summit, and permits that are actually obtainable.
Travel tips
Permit and forest department guide are compulsory; book through Bhagavathi Nature Camp or the online portal, and note that daily numbers are capped. Carry 2.5 L of water, full socks and leech guards, a rain shell and the photo ID your permit was issued against. Allow six hours.
Please note
Do: go with the assigned forest guide and stay with them. Do: carry salt or Dettol for leeches — this forest is thick with them in the wet months. Do: carry every wrapper back out. Don't: stray from the trail; the forest closes in fast and there is no phone coverage. Don't: take plastic packaging past the gate. Don't: camp outside the designated camp.
Combine your trip
Places near Kurinjal Peak
DamLakya Dam
The mine's old tailings dam, now a still green sheet of water under the Kudremukh grasslands.
Kadambi Falls
A thirty-foot fall through rock inside Kudremukh National Park, right beside the road.
WaterfallHanuman Gundi Falls
A rock-cut plunge inside Kudremukh park
Netravathi Peak
A long grassland walk above the Netravathi's headwaters, with the coastal plain in view.