Trek to Ambara Gudda

Ambara Gudda is a hill near the famous tourist spot of Kodachadri. Ambara Gudda came into the limelight in the 2000s when a company started illegal mining. Locals joined forces and started protesting. The government finally relented and stopped mining. In 2009, Ambara Gudda got a natural heritage tag.

I was in my native place recently for a function. Ambara Gudda was on my bucket list, and the opportunity to visit that place was available. My uncle, cousin and I decided to visit this place.

Travel to Ambara Gudda

We started from our native place at around noon. The roads through Kargal, Kogar and Sullalli, were circuitous, but in good condition. Lunch was at a local restaurant at Sullalli, and we reached the village “Marati”, the base of Ambara Gudda.

The last two km of the drive was on the mud road. Surprisingly, my low-ground clearance sedan managed to cover this distance with ease!! The road ended at a farm, where we parked our car and started walking.

Hike to the hill

The initial walk was on the road constructed for mining. As there was no maintenance, it was in a bad state. The area, once busy with mining lorries and dust, was now peaceful and calm. It was a hot day, but we were in good spirits.

At one place, a small path diverted to the grasslands. We had some discussions about whether to take that path or not. Finally, we decided to take the deviation as it seemed to lead to the hill.

We planned to reach the top before sunset, and there was plenty of time before that. We gained a lot of time by driving on the mud road. So, we rested for a long time under the shade of a small tree before starting the final climb.

As we climbed up, the views got better and better. Kodachadri was visible throughout our climb. The path disappeared after a distance, but we climbed, looking at the destination. The satellite images also helped us. It was steep at certain stages, and I did not look down for fear of heights.

The last few minutes of the climb were very steep. The cool breeze and stunning views welcomed us at the top. There was also a small temple.

Return path

We spent a lot of time at the top. As we scanned the area, we decided to try an alternate path for the descent. I was confident of the route looking at the satellite map, but it could deceive me in the hilly areas. Anyway, we decided to try that route.

As the sun descended, we were surprised to see that light was going down on the side we had planned to go down! While we had torches, getting lost in the dark was not a prospect we were looking for. With some urgency, we started going down the path. I was leading as I was guiding with a map. With the light going down, I ran down the hill. Our main task was to find the mining road. There were some anxious moments when we could not find the path, but eventually, we made it to the mining road. The rest of the walk toward the car was easy though it was dark.