Kodaikanal Exploratory - 1

Three of us set out to explore the Gundar Valley for possible village trails that we could use in our upcoming Gundar Valley Exploration treks.

We reached the beautiful hamlet of Poomparai early in the morning and stood there in silence admiring the beautiful setting. This place was so beautiful!

We then set out on the village trail to Pallangi. This meant we had to climb and cross over 4 mountains each with a significant altitude gain and drop. The whole purpose of this trek was to understand the local trails that we could use in the future treks, identify which parts of the mountains were easy to trek through and find if there was anything we had to be cautious about.

We met a lot of friendly people on the way and we joked with them about how they were so much more open and forthcoming than city dwellers. The trail was a narrow, slush filled one and we trekked through numerous plantations. We had a great time spotting birds and it soon turned out into a birding trip. We spotted so many species that we lost count and at times, we just used to sit down and observe them instead of trekking.

We soon reached the Gundar stream and we decided to take a small dip there. However, the moment we dropped our feet into the stream, we called it off as it was freezing cold. Rohith's hands got swollen immediately and my legs became instantly numb. We still managed to take a few photographs though.

After this spot, the trek was through dense jungles and the terrain was climb was pretty steep. We spotted a group of giant squirrels and even after trying for more than 30 minutes, we couldn't manage to get a decent photograph. They kept moving and jumping across the trees but it was fun to watch them do this.

After reaching Pallangi, we decided to head back to Kodaikanal and rent a room there as it was way too cold to camp. We rode back to Kodai in a mini-lorry and found a cheap place to stay. 

The next day morning, we woke up and headed to Mannavanur to check out the ecotourism center developed by the Forest Department. We had a great time walking on the grasslands and riding a coracle across the lake.

2016 is going to be a year of explorations with a follow-up trek in Kalrayan and the Gundar valley occupying the first two months. Happy new year everybody!