A trek page can tell you the distance. It cannot tell you what time you will be standing in a queue at Bonacaud or when you will finally eat dinner. This is the day-by-day schedule of a KeralaTrekking Agasthyarkoodam batch (3 days, 2 nights, 50+ km), taken from the itinerary on keralatrekking.in. Clock times are the plan, not a promise: weather, trail conditions, group pace and Forest Department instructions can change them.
Day 1: Trivandrum to Bonacaud to Athirumala (about 20 km on foot)
- 5:00 AM pickup at Trivandrum Central Railway Station. Reach Trivandrum the day before and stay near the station so you are not racing the clock.
- 7:30 AM reporting at Bonacaud. Forest officials check bags, and any plastic found is counted.
- 8:00 AM breakfast, then the trek starts around 8:30 AM.
- Lunch is packed and eaten on the trail.
- 3:30 PM expected arrival at Athirumala base camp, then evening tea, and dinner at 7:30 PM.
Day 2: Athirumala to the summit and back (about 10 km, steep and rocky)
- 6:30 AM morning tea, 7:00 AM breakfast, 7:30 AM the trek to the peak begins.
- Leave your heavy bag at camp and carry a 10 to 20 litre day pack with water and snacks.
- 3:30 PM expected return to Athirumala, then lunch, evening tea at 5:00 PM and dinner at 7:30 PM.
Day 3: Athirumala to Bonacaud to Trivandrum (about 20 km on foot)
- 6:30 AM tea, 7:30 AM breakfast, 7:45 AM the walk out starts on the same route as day one.
- 3:00 PM expected arrival at Bonacaud.
- 7:30 PM expected drop at Trivandrum Railway Station. Do not book a tight onward train or flight for that evening.
Three things batch trekkers get wrong
- Packing too heavy. A 30 to 40 litre backpack is what the itinerary suggests. A trekker who wrote about the trek for KeralaTrekking carried 60 litres and said it was not necessary.
- Carrying plastic. On our batches the forest staff take a caution deposit of Rs 100 per piece of plastic (cash only), returned when you bring the plastic back.
- Ignoring the night. Camp lights run on solar power and go off early. Carry a headlamp and a lightweight bed sheet or blanket.
Related: route and itinerary, packing list and the Athirumala base camp stay.
