Andhra’s Tumburu Kona pilgrimage: A hike that never loses its charm

It’s a treacherous hike through a vertical split in the mountains only a few feet wide, negotiating a bed of slippery rocks and a swiftly-flowing noisy stream, and through a dense forest. But the wonders of Tumburu Kona cannot be described in words.

I have been visiting Tumburu Kona for ages. And yet, it looks different every time. It did, too, this time, a day ahead of the Tumburu festival on the full moon night on Monday (March 25). That is the only time of the year this enchanting 15-km trail in Andhra Pradesh is open to pilgrims — to visit the shrine of Tumburu.

Starting off

It was 4 pm on Saturday (March 23) when we left Tirupati in vehicles. We reached Papanasanam in Tirumala — about 23 km from Tirupati — around 5 in the evening. The sun had already slid west.

We were 20 in all — including two forest officers, CCF Nageswara Rao and DF Sathish, their staff, and the trekkers. Our bags on our shoulders, we crossed the Papanasanam dam, and then began our walk through the dense forest.

Sanakasanandana Theertha

Even in the evening, the heat did not subside. Only a few minutes of walk brought us to Sanakasanandana Theertha, a small but beautiful waterhole. Despite the dense greenery around us and the calls of birds, there was no way to take our eyes off the pebbly and rocky trail.

Our mobile phones had already gone silent at Papanasanam. We were walking farther and farther away from the city and civilization.

Even as dusk descended on the forest, our hike through the valley of Papanasanam was not over. Desperate to cross the forest before it got completely dark, we walked faster.

The trijunction

Finally, we reached the trijunction where the path on the right led to Vengamamba cave. It would be our destination on the next day, on the way to Mamanduru. To the left was Tumburu.

By then, it was completely dark. In the light of battery lamps, we surged ahead, negotiating the rocks between two hills.

Right before entering Tumburu, there is a hill on the right and a flat plateau, where there is a small temple. Night had fallen by then and we pitched our tents in that flat area. We had walked 5.5 km in two hours.

Stay in tent

There is a lake nearby, and all my team members, barring me, sank their tired and overheated bodies in that cool water. I went for a dip after dinner.

The stream flows out from a lagoon upstream and moves towards Mamandur. Ah! That splash! In the middle of the forest, in the pitch darkness — that is an experience you cannot get every day. A body, warmed by a two-hour walk, cooled down in a single breath. As I looked up, the sky seemed to have shrunk between the edges of the two hills.

With a cooled body and a calm mind, I fell asleep as soon as I went to bed in my tent, with the roar of the stream for company.

Starting again

I woke up fellow trekker Madhu at half past four. After a breakfast of upma and tea, we started walking again. Even as dawn broke, we waded through the lake to enter Tumburu.

Then, it was time for the most-awaited moment of the trail — the walk through the vertical slit in the rocks. It extends for only about a kilometre, but every step of that walk reveals a different shape of the hills.

In some places, the edges of the faces touch each other and there are water holes in the middle. Eventually, the two ridges converge, with large boulders stuck between them. A stream trickles down from the gaps in the rocks above. We bathed in that stream and felt overjoyed. It was overwhelming.

The return

By 8 am, we began the return journey. A large number of pilgrims were already coming in, their journey beginning from Papanasanam at 6 am. Some pilgrims were also coming in from the Mamanduru side.

Crossing them, we went to Vengamamba cave. This is where Tarigonda Vengamamba is said to have meditated. We took the rocky road in front of it. In some places, water flows under the rocks.

On the edge of the hill is the “monk’s cave”. It is believed that monks lived in it. Now it’s a habitat for bears.

Back to Tirupati

From Tumburu, it is a difficult walk. It was half-past-eleven when he reached our vehicles at Bandirusu da Taka. It was a 12-km walk from Tumburu to Mamanduru.

In the olden times, people used to come to Tumburu in bullock carts from the Mamanduru side.

From Bandirusu da Taka, we went to Mamanduru forest guest house and had lunch. It was 2 pm when we reached Tirupati again, a distance of 20 km.

(Written by Aluru Raghavasarma for The Federal Telangana)