Waynaad - Nature's Wonder  
Just living is not enough!               

    27th-28th July 2002

The district of Waynaad in Kerala lies to the southwest of Mysore and is reputed to be Nature lovers' delight .Our group of friends from The Mysore Gymkhana , having done tours and treks earlier  are eager to tour this part of south India .

The opportunity presents itself when Madhu informs the group that his relative Venkatesh lives in Ambalavayal , a small town situated a  few kilometres off the road connecting the towns of Sultan battery and Kalpetta,  the  headquarters of Waynaad district and would arrange a tour of the pretty district

                                                   with host Venkatesh & Family

A group of ten members pile into a Maruti Omni and a 800 and head towards Kerala.Driving through the Jungle and gently  winding ghat roads we reach Ambalavayal, a small town nestled amidst the vast expanse  of  Western Ghats.The same evening a trek is arranged to the Edakkal caves situated on the fringe of town. We trek up the  slope of a steep hill. The hill is dotted with pretty, little farm houses.  Nearing the summit, the path becomes steeper and we have to clamber over rocks.The caves at the top are formed by the wide crevices between  the huge boulders & rocks. Inside the caves we come across ancient tribal sketches and carving After spending some time at  the top we return back to our friend's home situated amidst plantation  of Tapioca,Cinnamon and pepper

                                                              Edakkal Caves

Early next morning we are treated to  sumptuous breakfast of soft steaming idlis and the local delicacy nendram Banana  by our hosts.  Venkatesh volunteers to be  the tour guide . We drive south of Ambalavayal towards distant mountains. The thick deciduous forest gives way to hillocks of tea plantations.  It is no wonder that Kerala has earned the sobriquet "God's own Country".  People here are certainly lucky,they live in  paradise! In the distance we see tall blue mountains and wisps of white cloud floating by. The Chembara peak we are told is a trekkers  delight,but we are warned that Summer is the only  time  to trek the same.

                                                                                              

 

An hour's drive through dales ,hamlets and grasslands bring us to a narrow mud road. Traversing a kilometre further where the road ends we park our cars and  begin our trek through thick clumps of  lemon  grass. The path suddenly descends downwards and we make our way through heavy bushes and undergrowth towards the bottom of a steep valley. The ground becomes increasingly  damper and slippery.  We hear the deafening  roar of  water.  Soon we are at the bottom of the valley and  see water thundering down from a height of  about 150 feet  from the mountain to the right. In front we see the majestic Soojipara mountain rising  like a wall over 3000ft  high. Soojipara  translates literally  as 'needle rock'  in  malayalam,the local language. The reason is obvious and right before our eyes. The  peak of this solid  rock formation is in the form  of a sharp cone .The soojipara falls  is  actually a series of  cascades, water roaring down in steps to the bottom of the valley from where it flows as a stream. We notice dense clouds snaking around the mountains through the valley.  Once in a while the clouds rise to reveal the densely wooded  emerald green mountains all round.The  scenes are breathtaking and gives a picture post card effect  The more adventureous members of our group decide to take a dip in the icy cold water.

We set  up  kitchen on  a Concrete ledge perched precariously on the mountain face. Soon

 we trek up the mountain to our cars and drive to  the town of Kalpetta, from where we reach pookot lake, the largest natural fresh water lake in Waynaad. The lake is a natural formation  situated in the middle of a ring of thickly forested mountains The rain water from  the mountains directly flows into the lake. Boating in these tranquil waters  is a soothing experience.

                                                                                        

From  the lake  we proceed towards  the Lakkidi view point, situated on the western most tip of this  mountain district from where the plains of Calicut provide a panoramic view. On the way we  stop  near a tree called the Chain Tree, so named because we see a thick iron chain running around a  horizontal branch ,  the ends firmly anchored to the ground. Our host has an interesting story to narrate:

'Legend has it that the view point was discovered by a local tribal  chieftain long ago which made him famous among the locals.A few Englishmen owned plantations in Waynaad even at that time. One  of these gentleman in  order to gain fame as the discoverer of the view point is supposed to have had the tribal killed. The ghost of the tribal  chieftain then began to wreck vengeance. A variety of mishaps befell   all who ventured  near the location. So, the services of a sorcerer  was requisitioned .He lured the  soul to the  tree and bound it there with the iron chain. The curse of the tribal ended. However as a mark of respect to the troubled soul every visitor stops by the chain tree to pay obeisance . Even today a small oil wick lamp is kept burning under the chain tree.

                                                                      

                 Soojipara peak

After duly stopping over at the chain tree, we travel up to the Lakkidi view point. The road to calicut snakes down the tall mountains from here. The plains up to the arabian sea is visible.After feasting our eyes on nature's wonder we make our way back to Kalpetta . Thanking our host and bidding goodbye we head back towards Mysore satisfied with the experience.

Just as we all think that the tour is over and sit back in the cars we are in for a surprise.  Into the Waynaad forest reserve we see an elephant family-  Father,Mother and little calf right in the middle of the road about 300 yards away. They are trying to cross over to the Bandipur national park side of the  forest. However a deep trench to allow rain water  flow , runs along the spot that the elephants  have chosen to cross the road .  The tusker easily ambles over. The calf is unable to do so. Immediately the tusker proceeds to gently pull the calf with  its trunk while the vigilant mother prods it from behind. However the calf is terrified and lets out a squeal.  Sensing the human presence and  predicament of the calf , the mother takes a few menacing strides towards our cars. We have stopped our cars a fair distance away and remain silent. Gradually the adult  elephants abandon the idea of crossing over at the point and guide the calf to the safety of the forest. Amazed by the scene of parental instinct we have just witnessed we drive back to Mysore totally contented.

The Team: C S Sharan,Chinnappa,Shyamsundar,Sharath Babu,A Venkateshwara(Madhu),Mohan, Murali Mohan, T Ravindra, S Prabhakar, K.R.Dinakar,C S Jayanth Subramanian