Claimed to be the largest trekking symposium in the country it attracted speakers from different parts of South India and pre-dominantly from Tamil Nadu. The event had 18 speakers who have explored and kindled the unique passion within them. The speakers had varried interest’s from animals, snakes, trekking, waterfalls, turtles, photography, first aid, maps, navigation, HAM radio and various other outdoor activities. The event sprawled across two days and engaged the audiences from different parts of the city and few coming from Bangalore, Dindugal, Auroville and other places.

There were few topics I had very big expectations which turned out to be boring and few unexpected topics which were brain-storming and ‘food for thought’. Those who failed to leave a mark in me I forgot them when I came out of the venue only the rest of the speakers who had left an indelible mark in me have made me to pen.

How a photograph of a little frog can save our planet?

This was the question which was raised by Mr. Amogh. Although, it sounds like a hypothesis of a Ph.d dissertation. I was wondering with all curiosity what this Gentleman is going to talk about. However, he made a very good case and conveyed his message very effectively. Admiring his passion for photography and especially his unique passion to photograph small and un-noticed living creatures on earth was something which attracted me. His principles of clicking and sharing them as much possible and giving them free of cost for non-commercial activities are his distinct characteristic features. Although he appeared to be silent person his work and expressions hit me like thunderstorm.

That’s the reason precisely why I walked towards him and had the opportunity to shake my hands with this “Photography phenomenon” called Amogh.

Marathon in Marathon:

An unbelievably next door-uncle-kinda person who challenged the young guys with his bubbling energy is Mr.  Anand Anantharaman. As the saying goes there will be ‘calmness before a storm’ he never opened his mouth until he had an opportunity to do so. He made the walls reverberate through his youthful vibrations; his legs never stopped at a particular place and he kept jogging from one end to the other end of the room for innumerable times for almost an hour. Certainly, he was the person who covered the floor the more number of times.

He informed us that he started running only at the age of 56 years which I am unable to digest till now. He roared that “running is like a contiguous disease” when one gets to watch inspiring people like him talk I am confident “even a dead man would come out of the grave and complete a marathon”. Definitely he is a person “Born to Run”.

I speak for animals:

A thunderous voice unmatching to its owner was that of an old army Major Mr. Dawn Williams. Although he claimed himself to be as an animal welfare person he was definitely a threat to anyone who even attempts to threaten an animal. He may appear to be old but none of his actions, expressions and voice can make you feel he his retired from service. He his definitely a night mare for people who hurt, injure or even think of harming any five sensed creature.

He uses the nitty-gritty of legal provisions to fight his battle against harmers to animals which was evident from the number of people whom he has got arrested. He his definitely a night mare for any person who thinks of injuring an animal.

A walk to conserve turtles:

He appears like a boy from rural Tamil Nadu sporting with doothi but his English can make an Englishmen raise his eye-brows. This 6 foot tall gentleman walks along the chennai coast looking for sea turtle nests and dig out their eggs to take them to safe hatcheries and release them into sea when they start walking on their own. His new interest of making Tiruvanmalai hills green is an exemplary effort in this economic world where everyone is in search of money.

Arun’s walk has saved hundreds of Olive ridley turtles and I am confident he will walk to save thousands and thousands of these endangered creatures in the days to come.

Nilgri biosphere is my home:

Appearing humble his words spreads like a forest fire which echoes his feelings for something which is very close to his heart i.e. the Nilgris biosphere and its flora and fauna. He is a person who is committed to his word and follows his own set of jungle ethics when he ventures into the nature. His knoweldge about the nilgris biosphere is a product of his hard labour and his voice is unique among the crowd which speaks about conservation. Let him keep marching ahead in his journey towards conservation. All the best Mr. C.R. Jayaprakash.

There is a place on earth which is feared for its mysteriousness, which is worshipped for its magical powers, which is horrorred for its witch crafts; which is a home for many saints; which is a place for many cave temples. Standing tall and spreading its wings on the Eastern Ghats this place is a beauty by creation; it’s a paradise by birth; it as the vibrations which can peel your heart and as the name suggests it can kill you with its gorgeousness.

The agenda of the trek was to start from Puliancholai village and trek along the main stream to reach Akash ganga water falls. To explore and visit the caves on this mysterious mountain, to reach the top of the Akash ganga falls and to hit the 1,100 mts peak and ascend along a village trail to reach back to Puliancholai.

Trek along the stream to reach the Akash Ganga waterfalls:

The initial steps of the trek were climbed along the chill and refreshing stream of Kolli hills to reach the famous Akash Ganga waterfalls. Although the place was quite dry and the sun was on top of us, it never denied anyone of us from marching ahead. Taking a dip on the reverberating chill waters of Kolli hills we energized our bodies and headed towards the hunt for caves hidden deep inside the mysterious hills. Indeed, I have heard loads about the caves, the saints, the magical powers, the heeling leaves etc. etc. about Kolli hills but now all I wanted was to witness all these for myself.

Visiting Shri Gokarnath siddhar cave and Pamb atti (Snake Charmer) Siddhar cave:

Like a child who for the very first time witnessing a surprise thrown at him. I saw and wondered at the Kolli caves and learnt the life’s of these Siddhar’s who have left behind them loads of energy and vibrations in these caves. Now these places are worshipped and visited only by the locals and tribes who are aware of these consecrated places.

I admired and wondered how on earth these caves were formed and how these Siddhar’s happened to choose these places and used it for practicing mediation and as a laboratory to understand the medicinal properties of the flora in that region. Really they would have been brave hearts to have lived amidst these sorts of places encountering innumerable difficulties in their life.

The amusement of Kolli hills – taking bath in the Akash Ganga waterfalls:

Lost at the sight of her majesty; loving the chill moisturized breeze hitting my body; adoring the smell of her waters; I saw and admired the mind blowing view of the beautiful Akash ganga waterfalls dropping from the sky. No wonder it was named as “Akash ganga” a well deserved name.

Wondering at her appealing beauty I slowly ventured into her bone chilling water to take a dip in her soothing waters. I should confess here that this was one the best experience’s I ever had standing below a waterfalls and enjoying the pin-like water hitting me hard. My body was enjoying the enchantment of the nature and my heart was filled with absolute delight. Akash ganga will be ever remembered by us for the wonderful life-time experience it offered to us.

Camping near the Arpaleshwar temple:

Arpaleshwar temple is Lord Shiva devotees must visit place and as planned we camped there for night. The temple was thronged by devotees owing to upcoming Shivarathri from various parts of South India who knew its significance. The shops nearby offer excellent herbal soups made out of plants roots which can easily refresh any tired body and mind; I can recollect most of us having many rounds of herbal soup unable to control their taste buds.

As it became dark we cooked and had yummy dinner and the night which followed was a long and sleepless for many since the mercury dipped leaving behind poor souls to tremble in cold.

Visit to the top of the Akash Ganga waterfalls:

The next day morning we woke up to witness the revitalizing early morning sun. Soon we decided to conquer the Akash ganga waterfalls and hit its top and watch how it feels like to witness it from its top. When the tourist world is limited to Akash Ganga waterfall beautifying the Kolli hills we have realized that there is a life and society beyond tourist destinations which is close to our hearts. Sitting on the 400 mts. humongous cliff; enjoying the magnificent views; with the chill breeze soothing through nostrils; looking at the paths trekked; with an unconscious smile on the face and heart filled with happiness certainly quenches our adrenaline rush. It’s a trekker’s feeling lost in his own world far away from humanity nevertheless close to nature.

Conquering the 1,100 mts + Kolli peak:

After the return from the top of the Akash ganga waterfalls we decided to reach to the top of the kolli peak braving the scorching sun. We initially trekked through a village trail and soon reached the base of the peak then it was full of tricky rock climbing.

The climb to reach the peak braving the scorching sun was rewarded with wonderful views of the entire Kolli valley. The Akash Ganga waterfall was beneath us and we were blessed with the mind-blowing view of the entire Kolli hills. I could hear the appreciations going around on reaching to the peak through legs and watch the victorious moments being captured. The sense of satisfaction was very obvious on every once face and I am confident all the trekkers would cherish these memories forever in their life.

Ascending the Kolli hills through a rocky village trail:

After conquering the Kolli peak we ascended along the village trails crossing several villages and spending wonderful afternoon and lunch in some of the most beautiful and peaceful villages situated in the Kolli hills. The best part of the afternoon was fetching water from the village water well and quenching our thirst and finishing our lip-smacking lunch from the gardens of the village.

The most tiring part of the trek was ascending along the hilly and rocky steps to reach Pullianchoolai village. After few initial steps of hiking down our thighs started aching and made us feel exhausted but slowly and steadily we successfully ascended through the village trail and reached the Pullianchoolai stream and had a nice bath in the chill water.

Yet another good encounter was a villager who was successful in his attempt in capturing a huge fish from the stream. Initially when we saw his catch we mistook it to be a snake but finally realized that it was stream fish.

Kolli had been in my must visit places for hiking and I did not wanted to miss this opportunity and at the end of the two days adventure at Kolli hills I had a absolute sense of satisfaction in completing this wonderful trek and exploring few less visited places by mankind.

Happy trekking
Durai Murugan

Few of the best evenings in my life were spent along the sea shore playing beach soccer at Thiruvanmiyur beach. The chill breeze, the sound of the waves hitting the shore, the scenic moon illuminating the beach, the cushioning sands of the beach all conspire together and pull my heart and make me hit the beaches to play a wonderful game of soccer.

I am not a footballer therefore apart from watching premier leagues and world cups; I have nothing great to do with soccer. However, ever since the day I started playing beach soccer I lost myself with the game and became almost like an addict towards soccer and the love for the game has increased in me phenomenally.

The game of beach soccer:

The game starts around 8 p.m when I and my couple of like minded friends join together and knock the floor of the beach. The on-lookers who come to relax and in-take sea breeze initially looked at us crazily but when time rolled on they realized our craziness and started enjoying our amateur soccer. Some youngsters have started playing with us also. Except for playing in foot the game has our own set of simplified rules which we have devolved over time and most of them are quite crazy.

There have been instances because of poor turn outs we had only 2 persons per side and there have been instances where we have had 20 persons per side. I loved both the versions of the numbers as long the ball is being kicked and I keep running behind the ball with my heart pounding hard.

At the end of each day’s soccer:

After the 2 hours of continuous hardcore soccer I would be completely exhausted. Sometimes, I even felt that exhausted that I would like to sleep on the laps of the beaches rather than getting back to home.

However, my body and mind had a sense of satisfaction after hitting the beaches the night which followed Soccer used to be one of the best nights. After consuming whatever is there for dinner I would go to bed and sleeplike a piece of log forgetting everything else in the world. Few days back when I was sleeping I hit the wall and scored a goal and only to be realized in the morning when my leg was paining because I scored a goal in my dream against the wall.

Jogging along the lovely coast with few best buddies:

We have now started going one step ahead and started jogging along the lovely coast with the chill sea water playing around our feet. Although the jog from Thiruvanmiyur beach to Besant nagar beach is quite challenging what makes me to complete stretch is the wonderful camaraderie of my fellow joggers. There have been instances when dogs have taken a ride on us and chased us to hell but still the jog along the coast is worth every bit of hardship it throws on us. At end of completing a whooping 6 kms jog up and down on the sands of beach normally my legs will start taking steps on its own involuntarily probably, the effect after a rewarding jog.

Although the love for the game is insatiable – to be honest, I don’t know the rules properly but that does not stop me from playing soccer; I run behind balls although most of the time I am unsuccessful getting the ball into my control and I try defending and hitting goals which most of the time land in opposition legs. Yes, I am not a soccer player but I love playing beach soccer.

Happy Playing,
Durai Murugan

One of my crazy and wanderlust dreams was to travel in the Indian Railways “unreserved compartment” for a very long distance. I decided to board the Tamil Nadu Express which ply’s between Chennai and New Delhi on 10.02.2012. It was an instant decision and I packed my travel bag and bought my ticket at the Central railway station, Chennai. It was a long queue to even get an open ticket. After 45 minutes halt I managed to get a ticket. The best part was the ticket which was priced only Rs. 287/-. I was all set to encounter one of my “Dream Journey” travelling in the unreserved compartment for almost 36 hours.

Discovering a place to rest:

A typical unreserved coach in Indian railways is poorly maintained with no place to sleep for longer journeys. More than the poor condition of the coach the compartment which is supposed to occupy 75 passengers was over flowing with 200 + passengers. There was no place to even keep one’s foot anywhere. The saddest part was even the filthy toilets were occupied by youngsters who used that place for smoking.

I had difficult time finding a place for myself on the upper rack which is usually the place to rest the goodies. However, two other youngsters from Andhra Pradesh and me were sharing that upper rack. The train started moving at 2200 hours and thus the Journey began.

A sleepless night on the upper rack:

There was no proper place for me to rest my back comfortably still I managed to tolerate it watching the fellow passengers lying on the floor and leaning against seats. Just remembered one of the best poetic lines written by Kannadasan for an old Tamil song “Enge Nimmathi” “there are Crores of people below you and one should know how to make yourself happy looking at their plight”. Since my place was slightly better than their place I was able to live with the dis-comfortness and prepared myself for the sleepless train journey. The next stop was after almost 6 hours in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh until then I was restrained from moving anywhere and had to squeeze myself in the very little place I managed to get. It was a long and sleepless night with temperature going down in the night.

Second day ordeal in the train:

The day started with a slight back pain and muscle aches throughout the body. But I was determined to complete my travel. The motivating factor of the entire trip was my fellow passengers who appeared to be down trodden but without any complaints were just enjoying the travel amidst the pile of human beings thronging everywhere.

The unreserved compartment is cordoned off from the remaining reserved coaches therefore I had difficulty in getting my food, water and attending nature’s call. However, in every stop I somehow managed to refresh myself and continued the journey.

The cold and second sleepless night:

Now the train crossed Maharashtra and entered Madhya Pradesh the temperature started dipping. I only had a thick jacket to guard me from cold. Almost my finger started to shiver with cold but somehow I was pushing myself with the hope that the day will start soon and it will be warmer enough to bring me back to normalcy. After a long struggle for warmness I somehow successfully managed to spend the night.

The train hit the Delhi railway station around 7 a.m and it was partially covered with mist and my muscles were crying out of ache. However, with the joy of successfully completing my “Dream Journey” of about 2,184 kms in unreserved compartment was something only a wanderlust heart would be proud off.

I had travelled on top of buses, goods lorry but still this journey was the longest and the best. With the joy of accomplishing my journey successfully I stepped out of the train and walked on the platform with the travel bag on my shoulders. Indeed, a proud feeling and I told to myself with the experiences I encountered in this journey I am fit to take any kind of travel in south India comfortably.

Happy travelling
Durai Murugan

Walking down the mountain trails; trekking along the banks of the stream; relishing the chill breeze soothing through nostrils; pleasing sun rays piercing the murky clouds; the songs of the birds adding melody in the air; breaking the morning laziness we started our trek from Senbagagathopu village which lies on the Northeast of the Javadhu range.

The agenda of this two day exploratory trek was to trek along the stream and reach the highest peak 975 mts in the northeast Javadhu range and explore this range of mountains and return back to the starting point, trekking along the ridges of the mountain.

Trekking along the river trails and visiting various hamlets:

The trek started along a trail of a river penetrating into the jungles and passing through the rocky mountain. Both the side of the trail was surrounded by sky-high peaks and the trek in between them was mind blowing.

We halted for lunch on the banks of the river and decided to take bath in the chill water which refreshed the wetting skin and brought in chillness to the body. After few of hours of trekking we reached a sliding pool and we dashed each other to dive and swim in the ice cold water it was a rewarding experience swimming and splashing in the river.

From here we trekked and trekked and finally in the evening we encountered a 30 mts high splendid waterfall which was a delight for the tired soul. The pool in front of the waterfall was very scenic. After spending considerable time with the natural beauty we started to trek along the river in search for a place to camp for the night.

Visiting Hamlets and understanding villagers:

I am given to understand that there are around 250 hamlets in the Javadhu hills and most of them have only walkable trails and no roads. Still untouched by modernization and industrialization the hamlets still use their eco-friendly granaries, huts and adhere to the local customs living with their cattle and begin part and parcel of Mother Nature.

The villages in the mountain are very small each having around 4 to 6 huts with a few dogs guarding them and cattle’s grazing around. The people in the villages are very hospitable and very friendly in nature. The best place to stay away from the noisy and polluted cosmopolitan cities and live close to the nature enjoying the chillness in the atmosphere and the melancholy in the wind.

Cold and sleepless night around the campfire:

We camped nearby the river and started preparing our rice and soup for our dinner and the fall of the sun brought in pitch darkness and chillness started spreading across the mountains. It was pleasure sitting around the campfire and eating our supper and chit chatting about the day’s trek and thinking about next day’s hike to the peak.

It was time to sleep and half the crowd did not carry a sleeping bag along with them and few had very thin sleeping bags. The mercury started dipping making us feel for heat or fire. The blankets and thin sleeping bags soon got drained with the fog and now people started wandering for some heat around 3 a.m.

Few guys started making a campfire to keep them warm and I could see the crowd around the fire slowly started increasing unable to manage the cold. Shivering to the chillness in the breeze they spent their night sitting beside the campfire. I don’t think these guys will ever forget this night which gave them endless and chilling night.

The morning was very peaceful and thinking of yesterday night cold made our bones to tremble and to keep us warm we started to sit in the sun rays. Soon preparing and having our corn flakes for breakfast we disappeared into the forest to reach the day’s target of hitting the peak.

Encounter with wasps:

It was around 11 a.m when we were hiking through the Javadhu hills to reach the peak I saw a bunch of disturbed wasps flying around us; I had a towel to cover across my face and quickly ran away from the scene. Two of my co-trekkers who were hiking behind me unfortunately had to encounter the wasps and got bitten by the wasps.

Both of them started developing signs of dizziness and the injured place started to swell. Luckily, we reached yet another hamlet which had 5 huts the villagers although surprised to see us trek to their place, welcomed us with charming smile and soon hearing the story of the wasp bite, one of the elderly lady took us to a tree and sliced its barks to extract the medicinal properties which they believed is the cure for wasps bite.

Only after few hours both of them recovered from the wasp bite and the group got split into two. Peter decided to stay along with the injured guys and take them safe to the starting place while the rest of us headed to conquer the peak.

Rocky hike to reach the 975 mts Javadhu north east peak:

We started our hike from the hamlet heading towards the peak trekking and navigating by ourselves, braving the thorny bushes and dense plants. It was an adventurous trail, at times we had to climb through rocky mountain. At few places we got stuck because of the sloppy rocks and had to do rock climbing. Indeed, it was unforgettable and adventurous to do this rock climbing along with trekking. A mixture of trekking and rock climbing was a real treat to an adventurer.

Rock climbing to reach the 975 mts peak:

The peak was bald and a humongous piece of rock. It at all we had to reach the peak we have to climb this rock. Most of us were quite reluctant if we can climb this rock. With an unconquerable will to conquer the peak we decided to climb this rock. Each step was a cleverly kept; each 1 meter climb made my heart pounce harder although in the middle of the climb I dared to look back to see where I am and think of what will happen if I fall down but I enjoyed the thrill very much. I never hesitated to take my camera out and capture my co-trekkers clever movements to and their expressions.

Successfully climbing the 25mts + high humongous rock we felt as if we “are the KINGS of the Javadhu hills” a nice feeling. Nature rewarded us with glorious views of the peaks below us, the hillock Kottaimalai temple, the greenish Javadhu valley, the view of the Dam.

Running along the ridges of the mountains:

After the conquest of the peak we all were over delighted and rejoiced therefore started dashing in the village trails to reach the Dam where we have parked our vehicles.

This time I choose to stay ahead of the group, myself, arun, vishal and few other guys in the front started running on the trail. We ran and ran carrying our trek bags and utensils and to confess I was able to feel my heart beat on my throat. Enjoying every beat of my heart I ran from one village to another village and on the ridges and finally reached a mud road it was almost getting dark. The sun was setting in between two mountains it was a scene of lifetime to watch different colours unfold in the sky. Watching the sun slowly settling for the day we walked along to take a dip in the river and jump into our vehicles.

At the end of the two days trek this is what is would like to state “why would I ever want to go to Scotland to admire landscapes when am lost in the picturesque beauty of Javadhu; why would I ever want to bathe from a frozen Himalayan lake when am convinced of the cold streams of Javadhu; where on the earth can I find peace, tranquility and wisdom if not for you ‘mighty Javadhu’. You are a pristine glory of Eastern Ghats”

This is how my 2012 pongal was celebrated in an adventorous way.

Happy Trekking,
Durai Murugan

“We stood together as a natural barrier to save you from the killer waves;
We stand collectively providing you scenic beauty while you enjoy your ride on the coastal road;
We accommodate you and your folks charmingly and provide you with shade and comfort;
We intake the toxic smoke, we listen to the non-sense you utter, we on-look the shady things you perform;
But, why do you slash me with your broken bottles; why do you suffocate me with plastics and trash??”

The silent cry of the pine trees should have been lost in its beauty; the weep of the scenic beach must have been washed away by its waves – possibly leaving the by-passers untouched and the polluter to take pleasure in polluting.

Am convinced the cry of the pine tree and the moan of the beach were heard by a 70 year young man and a 7 year old kid who marched on a Sunday morning to make a difference within and outside.  With the elderly gentleman sharing the ever-green tales about the Scenic beach and with the strong hope of witnessing the beach as it was in the past and the innocent kid listening to the tales and wanting to see and feel for him what his grandpa was telling him was “nothing but the truth”.

The morning sea breeze with its gentle smoothness; the roaring waves breaking the silence in the air; the pine trees dancing to the music of sea breeze a small group of like minded CTCians made an attempt to wipe the tears of these pine trees and listen to the moan of the beaches. The few hands and the dedicated heart started to collect the plastics which formed as a layer above the sea sand not allowing the rain water to drain. Bending down closely to the earth and listening to the cries of the beach we picked up the litter and started filling our bags.

The bunch of young gals who came to spend their Sunday morning watching us cleaning up the beach with no hesitation and second thoughts wore the gloves and picked up the bags to collect the litter along with the silent but powerful vow they took “I will never litter my mother earth and suffocate it to breathe”. Like a snow ball which draws its strength when it rolls this clean up mission attracted more hands to clean the coast, we piled up heaps and heaps of litter with our dedicated and sincere work.

With the kids volunteering to carry the sins of our fellow country-men it was an emotional scene for the on-lookers which prompted their mind to raise a question to themselves “what did these innocent kids did, to carry our sins??” with no second thoughts few more hands joined the mission to collect the litter. The other CTCians despite the pain on their thighs and hip collected the litter with much greater spirit. I am proud of the parents of these kids who had brought them to perform this righteous exercise and guiding them to become an environmental conscious person.

Although the spirit was very high to clean up the entire east coast we had very few hands which could clean up only a tranche of the pine forest. I am positive about the passer-by who stood to watch us cleaning will never pollute again; I am over-confident that the kids who joined us in cleaning will inspire more souls to swear “I will not pollute” and finally after reading this if it inspires one soul to think twice before dropping a plastic bag I would then treat the mission to have succeeded – till then volunteering hands and dedicated hearts have to do this job…

Durai Murugan

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal”

–Lord Bryon

Every time when I go into the wild, I re-collect Lord Bryon’s enchanting lines which energize me to take the pathless mountains, live amidst the lovely woods, respire the pure oxygen, drink the cold crystalline water, get drenched in the unpolluted rain, bathe in the ice cold waterfalls, admire the mammoth peaks, enjoy the blissful melody of birds, lie under the skies, gazing at it even as it is busy with its chore of accommodating the twinkling stars!

Promenades along the Palar dam, gentle drizzles welcoming the us, dark rain-bearing clouds engulfing the mountains, a herd of cattle staring at us, avid pelican’s frisking waters, misty mountains revealing its beauty, the aroma of wet soil, the over-flooded streams caught inside the scenic Dam, the rhythm of birds flapping their wings adding melody to the fresh and colourful morning – I swear “I saw and felt heaven on earth”.

Whilst marching ahead on the jeep trail along the wide river we were successful in crossing a side stream with sheer team work; but we could not even attempt to cross the over-flooded main stream; the flow and currents were terrific and we would have miserably failed if we tried to cross it.

Undaunted by the never-allowing ferocious river which denied us from crossing it we decided to climb the dense and bushy parallel peak and trek along its ridges to explore the valley and get drenched in its beauty. The temporary waterfalls overflowing from the mountains would be the best scene which a trekker would be dying to get at the start of the trek to quench his thirst not for water but to trek more; nevertheless the thirst for trekking is insatiable!

Heavenly hike to scale the 1,200 Mts peak

The western side of the valley had no trails; all it had to offer us was  dense bushes, thorny plants everywhere, a 70 degree steep climb, loose and slippery soil, and yes, the icing on the cake, the non-stop rain! We started our hike slithering, crawling and rolling inside the dense bushes; some of the brave soldiers who dared to wear half sleeved shirt and trousers had love bites (between bushes and trekkers to be clear) throughout their body.

We started the climb from 350 Mts altitude and for every 50 mts hike my heart started beating harder and harder – despite the strenuous climb I was still able to listen to my heart which was pounding to remind me “there is pleasure in the pathless woods… society where none intrudes” enjoying the adventurous climb to the fullest of the extent; I can sense from the expressions of my seasoned fellow trekkers that this “the best climb” they have had in the recent times.

Spell-bound with the Palar Dam’s beauty:

As we hiked to a decent height on the mountain we were lucky to observe the mist slowly clearing away and exposing to us the hidden beauty of the “Palar Dam”. The beauty of the Dam and the small mountains which formed the natural boundary to the Dam are beyond my expressions; my eyes were hesitant to blink and it’s a gift to the trekking souls. I heard one of the trekker confessing “man, wish I had this view at my backyard to see this throughout my life”. “There is rapture in the lonely shore….” kept ringing in my ears over and over again.

After negotiating with the bushes and finding our way to reach the peak we were invited to the witness one the best views our eyes would have ever seen. The rain bearing clouds above the winds mills, the fully decorated Palani temple, the majestic view of the peaks below us, the greenish valley with few waterfalls tweeting out, all these mesmerized us and made us feel that we are living on a place people call it as “heaven”.

Camping on 1,200 mts peak – a delight:

We pitched our tents before the darkness started to engulf the entire Palani range. The drizzles were cold and the heavy wind banged the trees making it to dance to the tunes of the nature. My heart was thoroughly enjoying the music of the wind and the dance of the trees sitting on top of the 1,200 mts peak.

Sleeping under the dark rain bearing clouds un-knowing when it will drench us completely I enjoyed the soupy noodles with few like minded CTCians. Still during the nights I feel like sleeping above this beautiful peak with my heart admitting “There is society, where none intrudes”.

Woke up in the “Heaven” – still a miracle:

It was around 5.30 a.m I could hear inside our tarpaulin tent “We are in heaven, we are in heaven” before my heart could realize my mind feared if something happened to us in the night. Rolling onto the next trekker’s sleeping mat I crawled through the tent and went outside only to be taken by surprise on what I saw – yeah, I also jumped in delight echoing the words “We are in heaven, we are in heaven”.
Would it be suffice if I say the “clouds were beneath us and surrounded the entire valley”.

I am unable to stop my heart to confess here “if there is something called as ecstasy, it is before me; if there is something called as paradise, it is before me; if there is something called as dreamland, it is before me; if there is something called as heaven, it is before me” my heart cried with happiness and my soul flew along the clouds while my body danced in blissfulness.  My heart again never failed to recollect “What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal”

Walking over the ridges – a trek I would repeat 1000 times:

Finding an animal trail we kept walking on the ridge braving the sharp edged shoulder high grasses and thorns. We were able to see the magnificent beauty and heights of some of the adjacent peaks penetrating into the sky. The deep and thick woods gave us the required energy to trek through the up’s and down’s we encountered while the melody of the birds never allowed us to feel exhausted.

One after the other we kept encountering small and beautiful streams inside the valley and kept marching ahead while at few places we also had quick dips to drench ourselves completely into the chilling water.

Encounter with a 200 mts. (plus) cascading waterfalls:

As we crossed a heavily flooded stream we could hear thunderous sound towards the upper stream, I was taken by nature’s beauty when we saw a waterfalls cascading down as if, directly from the sky I never moved from that place for quite some time and admired with my jaw opened to witness the beauty of the waterfalls.

It seemed to be a no-man’s land and there was no evidence of any man-made trail’s leading to this place. We quickly bouldered to reach the base of the waterfall to be completely awe-struck in the mightiness and magnificence of this cascading waterfall. Yet, another great exploration and astounding discovery by CTCians. Indeed, a discovery to be proud off not only by the PX/2 team but by all the CTCians for being pioneers in exploring these sort of natural hot spots even in this 21st century.

With heavy heart we left this natural beauty just to penetrate into the dense forest and the tall grasses and after hours of hard core trek we went to a hamlet in the Palani hills. The villagers were initially taken by amaze and they felt hard to believe us that we trekked all the way from Palani to reach this hamlet, with an old lady in the village informing us that even the villagers dare to take this path to reach this place from Palani.

My heart confesses and records “if there is heaven, it can’t be more beautiful than the magic clouds which I saw below the peak we camped; if there is purity, it can’t be better than the fresh oxygen which went through my nostrils; if there is melody, it can’t be as mesmerizing as the hum of these birds; if there is something called as beauty, it will shy away from the face of these mystical mountains”.

I self-realized that my heart was precisely correct that “I love not man the less, but Nature more”

Happy Trekking,
Durai Murugan

Drenched in the melody of the birds; caught in the beautiful sight of the peacock’s; walking beside the huge mass of icy water; loving the aroma of the wet sand; adoring the misty atmosphere; admiring the peak which is penetrating into the sky, a bunch of CTCians started their exploratory trek into the Palani hills. None had the wisdom to predict or the guts to reject the “love and adventure” which the Western Ghats had on store for us.

The outline of this two day adventure was to hit the Permual mountain peak lying at an altitude of around 2,250 mts cutting through one of the side-stream of the Palani hills which is less known to mankind and waiting to be explored. Starting our trek at an altitude of 400 mts to hit the peak, the trek had all flavors which a trekker would aspire for and term it as “this is a trek to be cherished”

Bouldering and splashing in the charming streams:

Like every other exploratory trek this mission also started along the gorgeous stream passing through the wet and lovely woods; jumping on the boulders, running on the grasslands, diving in the beautiful water pools, bathing in the rejuvenating waterfalls.

The size of the boulders as we started our hike started increasing and at most of the places it was wet and gave us numerous challenges to proceed ahead. Unmindful of these huge boulders and slippery rocks we kept heading ahead to discover those beautiful pools and streams which was flowing through the valley. Splashing in the ice cold water pools we moved into the woods to trek along the side of the stream. A perfect beginning until we started facing our encounters.

Encounter with a huge waterfall:

Walking along the ice cold stream and climbing the greasy rocks roughly in the afternoon of a misty day – witnessing the numerous small waterfalls we first discovered that the stream is dropping from a height of almost 25 mts with a big pool in front of the fall – it was a moment of surprise watching this master piece of nature unfurl in front of our eyes. The mere sight of the falls attracted us and provoked us to jump inside the pool and in no time the experienced swimmers were at the base of the falls to feel the spine chilling water hitting them hard. Indeed, the lifelines of CTC treks are these beautiful waterfalls hidden deep inside the forests.

After admiring the beauty and taking couple of pictures I now decided to swim across to hit the base of the waterfall and I should confess “the spine chilling water re-energized my entire body; rejuvenated my inner soul; my body was crying for something hot but my heart never wanted to leave this ice cold water which was breaking my body into pieces, I was completely engulfed with chillness and after sometime getting hit by the waterfalls I reluctantly decided to swim back to the shore to continue the trek. Indeed, this was a sweet encounter to cherish unlike the other ones which were waiting for us in the day.

Innumerable blockades and the rock-hole encounters:

Even in the wildest of our imagination we would have never thought that we are going to face soo many blockades which would stand as threat for us in proceeding ahead. There were places where we had to throw our bags into holes and sneak through them to proceed ahead. Indeed, these challenging moments made the trek even more en-thrilling for the entire squad.

We had to sneak into few holes in the rocks to move ahead, we almost became like rats to crawl through these holes in the mountain. The innumerable blockades did not permit us to trek forward. Once, we encountered a place with mammoth slippery boulders which never permitted us to move ahead and we have to spend around 1 hour to just find a way to get rid of this blockade and finally few climbed up that slippery boulder and we had to pull the group using tarpaulins as the rope. It was one of the best encounters which I have come across in the recent times in my trekking life. While perching on to the rock I realized that if I slipped from there I will fell down just to be broken into pieces but the thrill was rewarding – worth the risk which some of us took.

Endless night on top of a waterfall soaked in chill water; shivering body; witnessing the first flash flood:

The sun was settling down for the day so was our body which wanted rest after a tiresome and arduous trek precisely when we encountered a beautiful cascading waterfall slipping through the mountains carrying chill water. Watching this beauty unfold in front of our eyes amidst a dense jungle in between the mountains was one of the best moments of our entire trek. Indeed, these sceneries pull us again and again to these natural hot spots.

We almost settled down for the day after preparing and having some hot soup and noodles when the nature warned us with lighting and thunder storms creating wearisome in our minds.

I and my tent mates spreading out a tarpaulin sheet were lying on the top of the cascading water fall close to the stream and witnessing the glittering stars doing the magic on the sky and slowly the stars were engulfed with pitch dark clouds and around 9 p.m it started to drizzle. Within no time it started pouring down ‘cats and dogs’ and we had no other option except to cover ourselves with a tarpaulin sheet. Slowly the ice-cold water started to trickle inside our tarpaulin sheet and completely drenched our sleeping bags and our clothes. Now completely soaked in the chill water our body slowly started becoming cold and there was no sign that the heavy down pour will rest now. I opened up the tarpaulin to see what is happening outside, the stream which was running almost 6 feet away from our side earlier has come closer to the place we were lying down.

Soaked in the chill water and shivering in the frosty breeze our bodies slowly become numb with rains showing no mercy hitting us very hard. Now slowly we started to realize that the water is flowing underneath our tarpaulin sheet and if we continue to stay here we will be washed away in the flash flood. Within no time we just wrapped up whatever we could get in our hands and rushed to an elevation in between the rocks. It poured and poured and we witnessed how flash flood occurs in forest right in front of our eyes. There was not even an iota of dry place for us to even sit throughout the night we had to literally squat underneath the tarpaulin with the heavy rain slashing us apart.

The next day early morning we were shivering with cold had no other option except to wrap up our bags and to continue our trek. Although it was tricky for us to cross the stream we were able to do it and we started our hike through a estate to reach the palani ghat road. Quickly preparing and having tea we left to the Vadakounchi village in a narrow human trail.

The ice-cold bathe in the spilt waterfalls:

Following the trail which is taking us to Vadakounchi we encountered another appealing waterfalls which invited us to take a dip and splash out with no second thoughts almost all jumped into the pool and took bath in the water fall. The chill water flowing from the valley above refreshed our entire body and gave us energy to proceed ahead, with heavy heart we had to leave this beauty and had to trek ahead to reach the remote village in the Palani Mountain.

Deadly hike to the Permual mountain peak braving the bloody leeches and heavy down pour:

It started pouring again when we decided to start our trek from Vadakounchi village. The villagers were starring at us in a weird manner and I can silently sense them saying “are these guys insane to trek to Perumalmalai peak in this pouring rain”. For the kind of spirit we carried with us this rain or for that matter even a thunderstorm could never stop us.

Un-battered by the heavy rains we marched through the heavily leech infected area and within one hour of our trek almost all our legs were bitten by the blood thirst leeches and every one’s leg sported in red colour, with leeches perching on to our skin. Yet, we did not want to give up and we kept hiking towards our target to hit the Perumal mountain peak, within 2 hours of non-stop trek inside the pine forest we reached the peak. It was a moment of glory for the team making this trek successful after passing through several challenges and hitting the peak lying at an altitude of about 2,250 mts.

Still the mission is In-complete:

Due to paucity of time the explorers were not able to complete the trek as planned and missed the 150 meters high waterfall discovered during Ex/4 mission. “Cannot be explored” or “Incomplete” are words which a true CTCian is averse off. With the unconquered palani valley left to be explored am waiting to capture its beauty with my third eye and pen the thrill coupling it with my imagination while walking along with a couple of like minded CTCians lead by the “trek guru”.