Bhadra river, which originates in Gangamoola, flows through Gangadikal area where the Forest Department has implemented the standard operating procedure for trekking, in Kudremukh National Park, Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka, on July 2, 2026.
| Photo Credit: UMESH S SHETTIGAR
After Karnataka’s Forest Department introduced Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for trekking in forest areas, Kudremukh Wildlife Division is the first to implement the SOP in four of eight trails where trekking has resumed.The division, headquartered in Karkala in Udupi district, comprises three protected areas — Kudremukh National Park, Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, and Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary — spread across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts. The department has re-opened trekking in eight of the total 16 trails — Netravati, Kudremukh, Kurinjal, Gangadikal, Kodachadri (two trails), and Narasimha Parvatha (two trails) trails.Of the eight, the SOP has been implemented in the first four trails, Conservator of Forests, Mangaluru division, V. Karikalan told The Hindu. The then Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology B. Eshwar Khandre had released the SOP on April 17 after a trekker from Kerala went missing in Tadiandamol forest in Kodagu district.The Conservator said the Do’s and Don’ts listed in the SOP are primarily aimed at ensuring the safety of trekkers even as they focus on conserving the fragile ecosystem in the trails through which the trekkers move.
