Online booking compulsory for trekking to Kudremukh, Netravati peaks under Kudremukh National Park from June 25
Trekkers have to log on to www.kudremukhanationalpark.in
Trekking to Kudremukh and Netravati (or Hirimariguppe) peaks in Kudremukh National Park will be allowed only through online booking from June 25. Kudremukh National Park is a landmark in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka
According to Sivaram Babu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kudremukh Wildlife Division, Karkala, trekkers will have to log on to www.kudremukhanationalpark.in to book their trip.
A person can book for a maximum of three persons. Only 300 trekkers will be allowed to each peak on a day.
The number of trekkers was fixed on the basis of scientifically calculated carrying capacity of each peak.
Booking schedule, and tatkal slots
Booking for an entire month will open on 25th of the preceding month, starting June 25. For example, booking for entire July will open on June 25.
There will be some changes in the booking pattern for Saturdays and Sundays. While the number of trekkers, who will be allowed in a day (that is 300 trekkers per each peak), will remain unchanged, there will be two categories of tatkal booking for weekends. One is for local villagers, who can book for 50 trekkers, and another is last-minute booking for 50 trekkers.
Hence, for weekends, of the total 300 trekkers on a peak on a day, the booking for 100 slots is divided into two categories. The booking for the remaining 200 slots for Saturdays and Sundays remains unchanged.
The tatkal booking opens every Thursday at 10 a.m.
Karnataka’s troubled trekking trails
The Deputy Conservator of Forests said that takal booking was introduced on the basis of a request from local villagers (homestay owners) for a separate quota for them during weekends.
Separate logins will be created for local villagers. They have to approach Range Forest Officers of Kudremukh and Belthangady wildlife ranges with relevant documents regarding their homestay. After verification of documents, they will be provided with login credentials by the respective Range Forest Officer.
Local villagers have to register with the jurisdictional Range Forest Officers on or before June 30.
Congestion of trekkers at peak
The Forest Department of Karnataka was forced to introduce online booking for trekking to regulate the popular activity, especially on weekends, following congestion at Kumara Parvat under Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in January 2024.
Congestion at the Devaragadde checkpost near Kukke Subrahmanya in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, which is the starting point for the trek to Kumara Parvat, on January 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
file photo
On this Republic Day, 954 trekkers who had tickets and over a thousand more who had shown up with the hope of getting tickets had gathered near the entry point of Kumara Parvatha, near Kukke Subrahmanya. Videos of the overcrowding went viral. Greens had complained on the menace of plastic bags, bottles, and leftover food that littered the forest which is ecologically sensitive area on the Western Ghats. (EOM)
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