RSS FeedEscape to the Mountains – Day 2
Mar 5, 2011 Tamil Nadu, Trek
An old post (drafted in Jun 2006) long lost in drafts. Read here the first day’s story.
When we woke on day two, we were already behind 2 hours as per our plan. Breakfast was at Kotagiri and also we got our lunch packed. By the time we reached our trek start point Kodanadu viewpoint, it was already 10. With Sun blazing above our heads we started down to Thengumarahada. The descent started from an altitude of 2000 meters to 350 meters and a total distance of 16-17 KMs.
After a long 30 KMs trek the previous day from Bikkapathimund to Siriyur and back to Ebbinad, our legs were not coping with us. As we dragged ourselves down the zig-zag path through the slopes covered with grass, heaps of elephant dung welcomed us. The excitement of the pachyderms present somewhere around us alerted us and in a way made us to forget our tiredness. But that didn’t last long when the forest gaurd told us that they are more than a week old and the elephants are long gone from that area. Within few minutes, a pair of horns rose up from the tall grass some 50-60 meters away from us. A lone Gaur (Indian Bison) was staring at us. After few seconds of exchanging glances, the Bison disappeared into the slopes. Rest of the descent got most of us involved in most of the people narrating their experiences.
Slowly the slope turned into a flat ground and a small river was infront of us. After a leisurely bath and lunch by the river side, we took off to our end point Thengumarahada. With tired legs & heavy stomach we moved in snail’s pace giving every silly excuse to sit/take rest. Both us and the Sun reached our destinations almost at the same time. After dinner, it was time for a night safari as we heard from the forest officer that there were couple of elephants and a leopard in the vicinity. We managed to get a glimpse of the leopard from our vehicle, not once but twice. Content and tired, then it was bedtime.
Next day was the return journey where we also happened to visit BR hills. Thanks to my sleeping skills, I managed to sleep most of the journey and missied sighting of few animals in BR hills.
I Was Here: Chembra Peak
Sep 28, 2009 I Was Here, Kerala, Trek, Wayanad
Lean period continues for me. Not much options other than armchair travelling, pondering over my good old travel days and browsing through my photo archive.
Photo: En route Chembra peak, Wayanad captured during my visit in Dec 2006.
Dawn and Dusk at Kodachadri
Jul 11, 2009 Karnataka, Trek, Weekend Getaway, Western ghats
I camped at Kodachadri peak last December. I managed myself to be at the top well in time & also managed to get up early to witness sunset & sunrise at the peak. Hereare few photos which I took during that time.
To be honest, both sunset & sunrise weren’t that great for me. I didn’t get to enjoy it. May be beacuase of the huge crowd. There were atleast 150-200 people on the peak to witness the sight. I need to go there again when not many people around!
Well, detailed trek log to follow soon. :)
Trek to Parvathamalai
Jan 27, 2009 Pilgrimage, Tamil Nadu, Trek, Weekend Getaway
Most of my travels are limited to Karnataka and when I came to know that there is trekking plan in Tamilnadu, I jumped in. Parvathamalai, a pilgrimage near Polur in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu was our destination. Since it takes 4 to 5 hours to climb up, we left Bangalore on Saturday morning to reach Thiruvannamalai by noon. After visiting & roaming around the Shiva temple, we started towards Parvathamalai. It was past 2 in the afternoon when we started climbing.
Parvathamalai is more of a pilgrimage than a trekking spot. We saw pilgrims of all age – from as young as 3-4 years to as old as 70-75 years – climbing up & down the hill en route our trek. There is a temple of Shiva at the top, which the hill is approximately 3500 ft above sea level & is in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. There are two routes to reach the peak – one from village Thenmathimagalam which is lengthy but easier and the other from Kadaladi village which is shorter but steep. We took the latter for both climbing up & down.
The path from Kadaladi village starts off like a jeep track and soon narrows down to path where one has to walk one behind the other. Most part of the hill is shrubs with trees scattered all around. That means you can be under a shadow only now and then. The shrubs in the initial stretch were dry & full of thorns. Three fourth of the hill is a steady climb and can be covered without much fuss. The final part is the steep climb on rocks, which is not so difficult if you are there on a bright sunny day. But that will be challenging if you have to climb that stretch after Sun has gone done in the west, with a surprise drizzles making the rocks completely slippery.
We reached the top around 7.30, after the tough final climb. Apart from the visit to the temple & packed dinner which we carried, it was just talking, talking & talking till we slept. Coming down the hill was easier, thanks to gravitational force. We took little over 2 hours to reach Kadaladi. A nice bath in cold water was refreshing before we boarded the vehicle back to Bangalore.
Few things to keep in mind, if you are planning to vist the place and/or stay overnight at the peak – there is no water available at the peak. Every drop of water – be it for drinking or any other purpose has to be carried along. It’s better to carry food, though food is provided at the temple. Reason, most of the devotees climb the hill without bringing food. Last, but most important, please don’t litter.
Photo Credits – Srik. I lost all the photos of the trip as the memory card of my camera got corrupted.
