Thadiyandamol is the highest peak in Coorg at an elevation of 1750 meters. The mountain has patches of Shola forests in the valleys.
-
Difficulty
Easy-Moderate -
Trail Type
Well-marked trail through grasslands and steep slopes -
Distance
8 KM -
Base camp
Kakkabe, Coorg -
Best Season
September to February (after monsoons) -
Water Source
There is a water source only at the forest camp(It can change in and after monsoon). So carry atleast 2L of water.
How to reach the starting point of the trek
This is the most appropriate map of Thadiyandamol Trek, I got this from here.
Thadiyandamol trek map
You can reach Point A by local buses run from Madikeri or Virajpet. You can either start your trek from here only or you can hire a jeep from Point A to Point B. You will find shops between Point A and Point B, to buy food or water. Also, there are many homestays in-between like Honey Valley Homestay is located at Point B, so you can arrive in the afternoon here and stay in one of the homestays and start trekking early morning from there.
Trek Route
If you are starting from “trek starting point A” then it takes around 1-2 hour to cover initial 4Kms which is marked in blue color in above map. We started from point A. After trekking sometimes from Point B, we reached forest camp where we paid a small fee. At forest camp, the tree shade suddenly ended as we took a turn that brought us to the edge of the hill we were on.
Night stays are not allowed at Thadiyandamol peak, so you cannot take any tents or sleeping bags with you. If you bring any, you can keep it at forest camp and take it back while returning.
After trekking around 2.6 km you will find a big rock.
The Big rock
From here, the track becomes rocky, muddy and much steeper. You will feel like you are climbing infinite stairs.
Trail after big rock
Thadiyandamol is an easy trek even for beginners as we pretty much kept walking along the trails we could see and, it being a long weekend, we often passed people who were returning from the peak.
After climbing this trail, I was totally exhausted but the views up at the peak were simply a delight for the eyes. I thought “yeah this is it, we finally did it”, because a lot of people were there. We clicked some photos, drank water and ate bananas.
Fake peak
But soon, We can see another peak ahead of us. I don’t think I can capture those moments of thrill when you step over a leg of the journey to reach the momentary peak only to find out that this isn’t the final peak and you have to keep going. For me, it kept happening as after each small hill I climbed, I could see another one in front where the trails continued! It was both exciting and fussy that every time we thought we had accomplished the peak, we could see a new one in front.
But, at last, we decided to go ahead. After this, we encountered Shola forest. It was greener, denser and steeper. Inside Shola forest, It was feeling like heaven. Temperature and forest beauty was telling my soul to live here forever. After 5-10 min of the climb, we cleared forest and again entered open field area.
As we went in February, we didn’t face any leeches but if you are going after April, you should definitely take care of them. Try to avoid sitting on rocks especially in the forest area. As soon as drizzling starts in Coorg, Leeches becomes pain in the ass everywhere in Coorg.
After more than 4 hours of climbing up towards the peak, we finally reached our peak. We met another group of trekkers who were resting at the peak.
We spent 1 hours at the peak, clicked lots of photos, had some water and bananas.
Peak Panorama
The peak
Thadiyandamol Pics
Coming Back
While descending, I had no water left. That was most problematic. I fell 2-3 times, hoped for some magical rain so that I could have some water but we finally reached forest camp. We marked ourselves as returned, had a lot of water, chatted with fellow trekkers. Believe me, coming down was more tiring for me. We finally reached our bus stop in one and half hour.
Camping
Night stays and Campings are not allowed at Thadiyandamol peak, so you cannot take any tents or sleeping bags with you. If you bring any, you can keep it at forest camp and take it back while returning.
The Stay
Honey Valley Homestay is the one which is closest to forest camp. It is located at Point B, so you can arrive in the afternoon here, stay for the night and start trekking early morning from there.
Conclusion
Tadiyandamol was my first trek of the life and I can’t tell you how much it made me addictive for trekking. This trek has beautiful scenes, a little mischevious but you will will enjoy each and very step of your trek.
In the end, if you have not trekked before, this is a perfect to start with. I am sure, You will make an awesome lifetime memory and if it does, give me a whaaaat up?! or maybe a big high five.