Yana, a range of large rocky mountains, located in the picturesque landscape of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. There are two ways to reach Yana, one from Sirsi and the other from Kumta. We took the Kumta route and the route is a treat to one’s senses. The roads are characterised by the gushing water streams on either sides of the road, green canopy of tall trees against the clear blue sky, sight of the colourful wild flowers.
You will be welcomed by the tall trees and a forest gate where a local shop issues parking tickets. The trekking distance is about 2.5 to 3 kms of trek from here.
The journey from here is on a nicely carved dark mud road. The sound of water stream continues to keep you in bliss till the end of this mud road. It’s the river Chandihole which flows along. It’s a well maintained road with stone and wooden benches placed throughout the path which trekkers can use as a rest stop. There is also an ongoing work by MESCOM to place electric poles on the way. The shades from the tall trees will keep the sweat and tiredness at bay as you trek along.
When the mud path ends, the steps begin. At the beginning of these steps is a temple of Lord Ganapathi. The temple was open and daily Pooja was going on. We took a short break here and continued further. After about 0.5 kms, we reached the first Shikara, Mohini Shikara. It was indeed a breathtaking view of the mountain from here. I fondly remembered the stills from the Kannada movie Nammora Mandara Hoove which is shot here.
The steps continued from here leading us to our final stop, the next rockymountain, Bhairaveshwara Shikara. This mountain looked wide and massive than the Mohini Shikara. There is a temple of Lord Shiva and Goddess Chandika situated at the base of the Bhairaveshwara rock/hill. There is also a cave like formation inside the Bhairaveshvara Shikara. One can go inside the cave by first going inside the temple, climb the steps from there to get into the cave. The cave had a distinct smell of the bats in the area. It was a straight walk on the rocks inside the cave with light making its way through the creeks in the ceiling. The descend along the steps rom the cave took us to the temple again thereby completing a circle around the temple, Pradakshine.
We finished our trek by savouring the spiced cucumbers at the forest gate. On the way back to Kumta, we could see the arecanut plants bearing fully grown fruits, distinct white flowers on the hills, old beautiful tiled houses which were pleasant to our eyes. We stopped by the Chandi river to eat our packed lunch. Splashing cold water from the river to my face took away all the tiredness. This river reminded me of the Bhadra river with large black stones near my childhood home. We fed our food to the fishes which came jumping to eat.
Trek Distance: 3 kms
Map
Trek Type: Easy
Happy Trekking!