Yet another pre planned road trip. Have been wanting to do
this trip for long by car though we have done once in the past by other modes.
So was pretty much excited about the road trip and as usual I started planning
things well in advance. Got to know from a friend about a homestay and got
ourselves booked there. There was confusion initially regarding the mixed
reviews about the place where we were deciding to stay.
Day 0: Started from Chennai (Adyar) around 5:00 AM and took
the Vellor – Krishnagiri – Dharmapuri – Salem – Kangeyam – Pollachi – Valparai
route instead of the usual NH45. (For some reason my husband hates to go on NH
45 may be because he travels to work almost till Chengalpet on a daily basis).
So we decided to take our much liked route though it is a few kms more.
Enroute Valparai
View of Azhiyar dam from the hills
View of criss cross roads amidst the dense jungle
Monkey menace
Lion tail macaque on the roads
Reached Valparai around 3 ish. We had lunch at Hotel Gowri
Shankar, Pollachi. And started our drive towards Valparai. We called the owner
of the home stay and he clearly guided us on the route and got ourselves
introduced and decided to give a short break before we proceeded for our
evening walk. This evening walk was suggested by the owner who also happens to
be a naturalist. He was kind enough to accompany us inside the tea gardens
which also happens to be the territory of many wild animals. So we went for a
nice long walk in the tea gardens and it was one of its kinds as it is not
allowed for normal tourists. It was quite an adventurous experience considering
that wild animals are there on the prowl. It was a good experience walking and
it started getting dark.
Since it was a full moon night we had a beautiful sight that
day amidst the mountains. We saw a small light from a distance and suddenly we realized that it was the moon rising. That sight is something that cannot be
explained in words. It was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately since it was
very dark we couldn’t get the camera settings right to capture the same.
The path to walk was a very small single line where you
literally have to go one behind another. A little slip would take you down the
tea gardens in a jiff. The best was the return walk where except for the lights
at some distance we couldn’t see anything. If we had gone alone we couldn’t have
got back to the homestay at all. Thankfully since the owner accompanied us he
was thorough with the path and we were just trailing him. That was a very
simple evening and yet a different one.
Moon rise amidst the hills
Captured around 9 in the night. View in the moon light
Day 1: We didn’t make much plans, wanted to go for some bird
sightings, however we missed it. Went for a nice long drive along the Sholayar
route and the scenery was just breathtaking everywhere. We went for a nice long
drive and then headed to a small mess for breakfast. My husband had been long
time talking about this place called Chinnakallar. This place apparently is
supposed to receiving the highest rainfall in Tamil Nadu. It requires ticket to
visit this place. Though my husband has been telling a lot about this place, I
was very skeptical because of the leech factor all over again. I have mentioned
enough and more about these tiny slimy creatures in my previous blog. But I
thought I would take the courage and visit this place as I have heard that its
nature at its best.
Early morning view from the home stay
The other concerning thing was about the elephant menace happening
all over the town. We started post breakfast towards Chinnakalar and had to
stop at a place to take our tickets from a forest officer. Apparently he told
us about a tea factory that got in to shambles that night because of a herd of
about 13 raging elephants near that area and we were told that those elephants
have gone down on the same path that we were heading to and we were asked to be
very careful. Though I was very scared about the whole thing, we still decided
to move forward. Since it was a Monday there were not many tourists and hardly
one or 2 cars we saw in that route.
We paid for the tickets and started our slow drive towards
the Upper Nirar Dam first and then towards Chinnakallar. It was very calm and
beautiful drive amidst the forest and we couldn’t speed either ways because of the
poor road condition. We reached upper Nirar and we were the only ones there and
the forest guard apparently told us about many more wild animal encounters. It
all was sounding adventurous from a tourist perspective, however for the kind
of facilities these guards get for living in a surrounding where there is no
guarantee for life, I felt very miserable. I truly respect such people who work
because they have to make those few pennies to survive. It was a matter of life
and death for them. I admired that guy for the courage and for tough ordeals
they go through.
Road towards Nirar dam
View of the dam
It was good chatting with him. He showed us a little beyond
the dam. He also warned us to drive carefully considering those elephant
attacks. We bid him goodbye and drove towards Chinnakallar. It was a very
different experience as there were hardly any humans anywhere lest we can
expect any, because it was inside the forest. The drive was fun, though my
husband noticed that I was very scared. I was not comfortable about that lone
drive inside forests. End of the day we would be nothing in front of elephant’s
power. I just wanted to reach my destination as quick as possible and move back
to my homestay.
After reaching Chinnakallar there was a guide who was
awaiting us, we gave him the tickets and he escorted us inside. My fear was
that of the Leech and immediately I questioned him about the Leech before I
took a step forward. Thankfully that day it was not raining and hence the
surface was not wet. He just warned me not to venture in to the marshy area and
just walk on the designated path. I did what he said. As we walked I was
astonished with the beauty that was surrounding us. We couldn’t talk. We were
just silent amidst nature, the sound of the trees, birds chirping around, the sound of water at a distance, fresh air
around, the aroma of trees and bushes around, the green colour dominating all
over and the thick dense forests around. {Some pics below of the dense forests as seen from Chinnakallar)
We had a good time enjoying the beauty around, and hearing
similar survival stories from the forest guard out there. I was wondering what
kind of protection the government provides for such people. They do not have
guarantee for their life. Neither do they have proper facilities for staying. I
was shocked to hear when I asked him about what he does when animals come
around and all he had to say was run and hide for his life.
After seeing such people, after seeing the kind of life they
lead I only feel one thing, that I have been blessed with abundance. I feel blessed for everything this life has
given me and I thank life for the same. I cannot do anything to help them but
all I can do is I can pray they live a safe life.
After a very nice and memorable morning we were returning
towards the town. I was very anxious till we reached the main area. Once we
arrived we headed to a hotel for a nice lunch. There are not many great places
around to eat in Valparai, but lot of eateries to make sure you don’t stay
hungry.
After a simple meal we went back to the room to rest a
while. In the mean time the owner of the place informed us of elephant menace
in a place called Nallamudi Poonjolai. He said if we were interested we could
drive over to that place as he knew people out there and we can get a good view
of watching elephants in their own terrain. We were pretty excited about the
idea and around five ish in the evening, we drove towards that place. Our
friend spoke to the forest guard there and the elephant caretaker and he was
told that the elephants are roaming around in that area.
We reached the spot and were exhilarated beyond words.
Seeing animals in their own habitat is something I always keep dreaming about.
There are quite a few of them with two small elephants as well.
It started to drizzle and the whole place looked beautiful.
The caretaker mentioned to us that if not for the rains he would have taken us
much closer to the elephants. That day we learnt more about this sublime animal
and its characteristics. Nature is so beautiful and so are its creations. I
always used to admire elephants for their majestic looks but that day on
started appreciated the gift of nature, the gift of god. Most beautiful
experience we had that evening. Post which we drove to a small tea shop on the
end of the road and had a hot cup of lemon tea and started our drive back to
the room. If not for our friend there we could have never experience such
beauty.
The alluring Nallamudi Poonjolai
We headed back and the drive was pretty challenging being in
the hills, the rains and it was already dark. On our way back we heard some
daunting stories of animal encounters and spent the rest of the evening hearing
more and more stories before we hit the bed just before mid night.
Day 2: Next day started our journey back home with loads of
memories of the trip with each trip different from the other.
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