I have got used to this now..Rushing home from college on Saturday evenings, putting down my college bag and picking up my trekking bag, changing my clothes and quickly rushing to the bus terminus in Koyambedu. This time, though, it was a bit different. There was an extended weekend due to Pongal and there was a heavy rush in Koyambedu. My friend Karthik and I somehow managed to get into a bus to Cumbum where we would meet another trekmate, Ranjith anna. The bus ride was rather boring and we tried to pass the time by exchanging stories, discussing plans, etc.
The next day morning, we woke up to the numbing cold of Cumbum and we were both shivering pretty badly. It wasn't too cold though, it was probably our bodies reacting badly after having accustomed to the hot, humid weather of Chennai. We somehow warmed up and waited for our friend to arrive. After that, we left to Pannaiyapuram, the hometown of the legendary music composer, Mr.Ilayaraja. We encountered a tree full of huge fruit bats. They were disturbed by our presence and started to fly overhead. So, we left quickly after taking some shots. We visited a farm there, where we saw how racing bulls were being trained. There were so many bulls and cows in the farm and the farm owner told us a lot of things but this one stands out:
Us: Why do you spend this much for these bulls? (they feed the bulls with badams, pistas and other nuts everyday!)
Farm owner: For name!
Sums it up pretty much, eh?
Later, we went to Periyakulam from where we went to Sothuparai dam. We took the road to Agamalai from there and stopped enroute at a place called Kannakarai. It was a stream with a beautiful falls but it was strewn with broken beer bottles and there was a group of alcoholics nearby. We didn't pay them much attention and they too respected our privacy. We enjoyed a bit in the stream but I ended up cutting one of my toes by stepping on a glass piece. This is what happens when people come to know of such exotic places, I thought. I have seen the same happen to places closer to home, like Nagalapuram and Tada and I felt that the forest dept. should thoroughly check the bags of people entering such places.
From there, we went to Bodinayakkanur, the country's largest cardamom market. We then proceeded towards Kurangani, a small hamlet located on the slopes of the mighty western ghats. We started our night trek towards Central Station after clearing some doubts with the locals. We had our dinner near the majestic Sambalar falls. We then resumed our trek in the pitch black darkness with our flashlights helping us. The trail then split into two and veered off a bit but we soon hit the right one and reached Central Station. We slept in a house and I was woken up the next morning by the sounds of the severe winds blowing across the mountains. I stepped outside the house only to get my body instantly numbed in the extreme cold. At around 6 in the morning, the three of us left the place and resumed the trek to Top Station near Munnar. It was really, really cold and we had to keep moving to keep ourselves warm. I could feel my hands getting numb and senseless. Luckily, after sometime, the sun came up and it provided us with some respite. It was also mind boggling to see the golden rays of the sun getting reflected by some peaks in the vicinity. We saw a few Sambhars on the way and horses of the local estate owners grazing on the slopes. After reaching Top Station, we made it to the view point frequented by tourists. We had a nice, hot breakfast here and took a jeep to Munnar after that. We saw the Madupetty dam, Kundala dam and a couple of elephants on the way.
After reaching Munnar, we reached Suryanelli from where we took a jeep to Kolukkumalai. Man, what a ride it was! I have read in many places that it is one of the worst jeep rides in the world and it stayed up to its reputation. My entire body was aching by the time I reached Kolukkumalai, the world's highest organic tea estate. We drank awesome tea here. But that was not what we had come there for. For over two years, I have dreamt of climbing Meesapulimala, the second highest peak in India outside the Himalayas. At 2640 meters(8661 feet), it is only 55 meters shorter than Anamudi, the highest peak in the western ghats. However, my jinx with Meesapulima continued and I had to turn back at around 2350 meters(that was so close!) as we were running out of time. We had to trek all the way from Kolukkumalai to Kurangani and we felt that we would be caught in the dark if we continued our attempt to summit Meesapulimala. In short, we missed the monstrous peak due to the lack of 3 hours! The mountain kept daunting me with its gigantic looks when I was in the Kolukkumalai estate and I promised myself that I will summit it somehow within the next one year. The mountain is always going to be there, after all!
We now continued our downhill trek to Kurangani and the initial phases of the trek were frustratingly tough. We had to go through thick vegetation and at times, the trail vanished into nowhere leaving us in the middle of grass that was as tall as me. We also saw what looked like bear poo in a lot of places and the dark ambience of the jungle just pushed us to move faster. After an hour or so, we made it to the famous zig-zag trail that has captured the hearts of many trekkers. This was a wonderful trail on a mountain ridge with a zig-zag pattern and a lone pine tree in the middle. It was steep though and I realised how tough this trail would become in the monsoons. We then made it to a somewhat normal forest from where we started to run as we were at the risk of missing the last bus to Kurangani. We somehow caught the bus(I was also slowed down in the middle by a stray dog) and then made it to a place near Bodi to stay for the night. We had to walk for about forty minutes or so to reach the place and I was carried away by the view after reaching the place.
The next day morning, we woke up to a fabulous sunrise. Plenty of photographs followed and we even had a mini photoshoot. I was told by the owner of the place that the entire building is powered by solar and hydel power and they generate about 400 watts everyday. This place is located on a ledge overlooking the valley of Bodinayakkanur with tall mountains surrounding it on all sides. A stream running close to it adds further ambience to the place. In my own language, this is what I would call as 'Heaven on Earth'. The owner of the place was extremely friendly and we spoke a lot on various topics. He also asked me about why I trek and I gave him an answer. He looked very satisfied and smiled at me..He also told me that he enjoys spending time there compared to his house in Chennai where everything around him looks boring. 'Another person like you', I told myself. We later celebrated Pongal with some locals and then after bidding goodbyes and promising to return there, set out on the final trek of the wonderful three days. We trekked along a trail that soon vanished and we were soon inside leech infested jungle. We also spotted elephant poo all along the way but in an hour or so, we reached a jeep trail that would take us to Bodimettu, a town in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. We also met a local villager on the way and we spoke a lot with him. After we reached the main road connecting Bodi with Munnar, some forest department officials in Kerala asked us a few questions pertaining as to who we were, why we were coming from the jungle, et al. We answered them and they let go of us. Later, we caught a bus to Theni from where we went to Madurai after bidding goodbye to Ranjith anna. In Madurai, we treated our stomachs with some tasty food and later went on a mission to find some good street food shops. We eventually found the famous Jiggardhanda stall at East Marret street. I was astonished to see such a crowd there and inspite of being a small roadside shop, they had a CCTV camera installed! We later went to the sound and light show in the Madurai Nayakkar palace to pass our time. Later, we caught a bus to Chennai and soon we were back in the concrete jungle where even air is poison.
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