Muthappanpuzha-Olichuchattam

Ever since my first week at college, I have been captivated by the sight of a majestic mountain range, from the top floor of the main building. Most of the time it’s hidden behind a think shroud of mist, but when it’s visible it is an enchanting sight. The clarity of some of the features suggested that it was not far away, geographically. At first I used to think that it must be the Wayanad range, but after some researching, I learned that it was called Vellarimala, south of Wayand and west of the Nilgiris, separated by the Chaliyar valley. I also learned that the approach to Vellarimala is from a tiny village called Muthappanpuzha, about 25 km from my college. By the way, this range contains some of the tallest peaks of the Ghats (Vellarimala-2240m, Vavulmala-2339m).

The trek to the very top is very difficult (not meant for inexperienced trekkers) and takes more than a day, and it is nearly impossible without a guide, from what I’ve read. But there is a waterfall called Olichuchattam about 4-5 km into the trek, which is quite accessible. The thought of trekking to Olichuchattam has been at the back of my mind for some time now. Our second sessional exams ended on Saturday, and we were wondering what to do on Sunday, when I put forward the idea of going to Olichuchattam.

In the end, five of us, AKP(Arunkumar), Ashley, Nineesh, Nipun and I decided to make the short trip. We had planned to start out early, but being a Sunday, we were a bit late, as expected. We boarded a bus to Thiruvambady at 8.30 in the morning. I had thought that there would be local buses from there to Muthappanpuzha, but was surprised to learn that only KSRTC buses from Kozhikode went to Muthappanpuzha(which gives an idea of how remote it is), and we had to wait till the next one arrived. We had to wait for over half an hour. Our high spirits were also dampened by the premature return of AKP, who had received news that his grandfather had been hospitalized.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the bus left Thiruvambady. The ride was pleasant, albeit a slow one, and soon the road began to run by the banks of the Muthappanpuzha river, frothing its waters over the innumerable rocks in its path. I noticed that there were many churches here, which suggested that the people in this area are predominantly Christian unlike the rest of Kozhikode. Perhaps most of them are descendants of the farmers who immigrated from South Kerala half a century ago.

We got off at Aanakkampoyil and took an auto-rickshaw to the starting point of the trek (you have to take a diversion half a km before Muthappanpuzha). On the way, we got the first glimpses of the lofty peaks, and the driver told us that one of them was named Masthakappara, since it looked like an elephant’s head. We asked him for directions to Olichuchattam. A clear (jeep) track runs for most of the way before it enters the forest. He told us that we’d have no trouble with finding the way. But he warned us that it may not be easy finding the track inside the forest, since the season’s not yet started and not many people have been there this year. He told us to keep close to the river which would be on the left side, and we’d be fine.

Our spirits rekindled by the fresh air and the green all around, we started the trek. It was around 10.30 by then. Vellarimala is not a tourist location and only trekkers going to the Vellarimala or Vavulmala peaks come here. We soon crossed a bridge and found the river to our left, but the track led away from it. We kept following the track, which was steadily climbing. It is worth mentioning that the base of Vellarimala, unlike many other mountain peaks of similar altitude, is quite low-lying, with Muthappanpuzha at only around 400m above MSL. So the climb is indeed very rapid.

The track contined to lead away from the river and soon we heard the sound of another river on our right side. Later I learnt that this was Iruvanjippuzha and the one on the left was Thenpara. The track continued to climb and we took short breaks. The sun was also at its hottest and all of us were sweating profusely. We had been assured that drinking water wouldn’t be a problem as there were many streams running across the path. We were delighted by the sight of little huts nestled on the hillside, with huge mountains in the backdrop. A few cows and goats were grazing here and there, as well.

The track again veered towards the river on the left. We soon reached a fenced area on the left side, but there was no sign of the river. By this time, the track was barely visible, and it was clear from the vegetation that not many people had been there lately. Soon we entered the forest. It happened all too fast. Suddenly the green path gave way to think foliage. We were rather surprised, and initially had some difficulty in finding the path. Then we got used to it and forced ourselves forward, pushing away the plants that stood in our way. Again it was clear that not many had been there lately.

We could hear the river gushing down the slopes on the left side, but it seemed nearly impossible to find a way to it. By this time, all of us had leeches on our feet. We carried on, pushing our wills that extra bit, but we soon wound up at a dead end, a little rocky clearing with a stream. We sat there wondering what to do next, and helped ourselves to some biscuits in the meantime. It was well past noon, and I was not too eager to stay in the forest in the afternoon. When we had rested for a while, we decided to go back, and look more carefully for any paths to the right that would take us to the river. (We remembered the auto driver’s directions to keep to the river)

We had better luck at the second attempt, and Nineesh found a path a few feet from the dead end. On the way up, it didn’t even occur to us that there had been a path there. It was going in the right direction as the sound of the river became nearer. After a few minutes of struggling through the dense vegetation, we reached the river. Water, at last! It looked like a waterfall, but this did not look like the photos of Olichuchattam I had seen on Sandeep Unnimadhavan’s blog. Besides, we had been only about 20 mins into the forest, and I had read that it took more than that.

We climbed a few more feet to get a better view of the fall. By this time, it was past one and I really felt we should get going. Though I wasn’t sure that this was Olichuchattam, I was not confident about going further into the forest as it was, and we decided to return after spending some time on the rocks by the river. The return journey was uneventful, and our eyes feasted on the beautiful landscape. Once we were out of the forest, we stopped for de-leeching. Actually we had to go about twenty more minutes up the river to get to Olichuchattam.

Soon we hit the jeep track and around 2.30 we reached the road. We missed a turn somewhere and ended up about two bus stops away from Muthappanpuzha which meant that we had to drop the plans of visiting the village and the river bank. We decided to relax and wait at the bus stop for the 3′o clock bus back. We were all pleasantly tired and dozed off as soon as we boarded the bus. I stole a last look in the direction of Muthappanpuzha and told myself that I’d like to be back there sometime. It was slightly disappointing that we didn’t get to Olichuchattam (at that time, we were trying to convince ourselves that that itself was Olichuchattam!!), but it was a fantastic day out and we really enjoyed the trek.

See Photos of the trek.

Kannur Trip

Day 0- Friday, 3 October

Arjun, Febin, Aditya, Arunkumar, Ashley, Sabu and myself set off from Kozhikode, on the Shornur-Kannur passenger train, at 6.30 pm on Friday. It was very crowded, but luckily we got a couple of berths (meant for luggage) to ourselves, and we made ourselves comfortable. Many people got down at Vadakara, and we got proper seats.

We reached Kannur at 9.00 pm, had dinner and boarded a bus to Payyannur. We reached Febin’s house in Pilathara around 10.30, had a bath and hit the hay.

Day 1- Satuday, 4 October

We got up early (really early, by our standards) and set off for Paithalmala around 8.30. First we went to Thalipparambu and then caught the bus to Kudiyanmala. Since that is a nationalised route, only KSRTC buses are available. It was a painstakingly slow ride, as the rickety old bus could barely tackle the climbs in first gear.

We reached Kudiyanmala at 10.30, bought some bananas to carry with us, and caught a jeep to the summit. The jeep ride was around half an hour, and we got down where the trekking path began. The path is reasonably wide and an easy, gentle climb through the forest. After about half an hour, the path comes out of the forest, and continues through the open grasslands to the tip of Paithalmala.

We saw a less used trail, and decided to follow it. This trail led us along the slope of a ridge normal to and taller than the original peak. After walking for another thirty minutes, we left the trail and made straight for the summit. It was a bit tricky, but Sabu and Febin turned out to be excellent trailblazers, and we reached the top in a few minutes, with some difficulty.

The only disappointing thing was that the peak was not so much of a peak. It was rather a ridge running straight for perhaps a kilometre, and there was no place you could really stand and observe the lowlying surroundings on all sides.

We spent some time resting on the ridge, ate some bananas and started our journey downwards. We soon reached our trail and in another few minutes, we were back on the original trail to the watch tower at Paithalmala. Another half an hour and we were there. The watch tower turned out to be much less exciting than our earlier adventure.

We started back soon, as our water bottles were empty. Luckily there was a clear spring on the way back. A few of us had been reluctant to drink spring water at the beginning of our trek, but no one had any objections, as we were thirsty. The water which appeared out of openings in some rocks, was crystal clear. We also greedily ate the awesome Vattayappam that Febin’s mother had packed for us.

On reaching the road, we still had a long way to go. Paithalmala was 9 km from Kudiyanmala, and we still had an hour and a half to walk. After a while, we met some natives who were working in a plantation by the roadside, and they told us that there had been a shorter way down to Kudiyanmala, from the watch tower. We should have enquired more before starting from Kudiyanmala.

Then we got a lift from some BPharm students whom we met on Paithalmala, who were travelling in a Versa. We politely declined as there were seven of us, and it would be too crowded, but because of their persistence we finally accepted. We were saved from an extra hour of walking, but it proved costly for our kind friends. When we got down at Kudiyanmala, the van’s tyres were emitting smoke. They moved on, and on our way back on the bus to Talipparambu, we saw them getting water from a house with their van parked nearby. Hope they reached back safely.

We reached Febin’s house around 7 in the evening. All of us were weary and a bath breathed fresh life into all of us. Then we devoured the delicious Beef Biriyani that Febin’s mother had made, and went to bed after a long day.

Day 2- Sunday 5 October

Since it was Sunday, we got up nearer to our normal time, as Febin and his family had to go to church. We got ready to go to Edayilakkadu beach around 9.30. Febin’s parents had prepared another sumptuous meal for us- Vellayappam, Kallappam, Beef and Chicken. It was the first time in my life that I had meat for breakfast.

Febin’s elder brother Abin joined us for the trip to Edayilakkadu. Six of us crammed into their Maruti 800 and Febin’s brother and Arjun took the bike. We passed through Payyannur, crossed into Kasargod district and finally reached the bank of a river, which we had to cross to get to the beach. All of us got into a canoe and it was a great experience.

On the other bank, we walked through endless coconut groves, and finally reached the splendid Edayilakkadu beach. It’s the most pristine beach I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s virtually spotless (thanks to the lack of tourists visiting) and extends in both directions for as far as you can see. The water is a bit violent, and we had a great time splashing about in it.

Then we played some football on the beach, but soon gave up, as the sand was scorching hot. We went back into the water. Around one o’ clock we decided it was time to return. On the way back there is a mangrove forest, but we didn’t have time to stop there. We gave some left over biscuits we had, to monkeys by the road side. On reaching Febin’s home, we had a bath to wash away all the sand, and started on our way back around 3.30.

We caught the Mangalore-Trivandrum express from Pazhayangadi. It’s a beautiful old railway station which still issues those little card tickets which leave you nostalgic. We decided to keep them as a souvenir of our trip. The train was packed but we somehow squeezed into the general compartment, and thankfully got seats from Kannur. It was a memorable and exciting trip, whose memories all of us will cherish for the rest of our lives.

See the photos of the trip here.

Thadiyandemol

At 1745 m, Thadiyandemol is the highest peak in Coorg, and the third highest in Karnataka. It is situated right on the Kerala-Karnataka border. We were told that on clear days, you can see the town of Kannur, and even a glimpse of the Arabian sea from the top.

Prasanthettan and I set off on our trek at eight in the morning, on Sunday the 6th. We took with us some bread and jam, biscuits, bananas and water, and a map which Mr. Prasad was kind enough to provide us with. The peak is roughly 6 km from Palace Estate.

The first phase of the journey was along a tar road winding up through the coffee plantations. We passed a few gurgling streams cutting across the road, on the way. After about one and a half kilometres, the tar road ended and gave way to a mud road which only four-wheel drive jeeps can negotiate. We stopped by a stream to have our breakfast, and refilled our bottle with its clear water.

We resumed our trek after the break and trudged along the mud road. That part of the journey was rather easy, as the road climbed, if at all, very gently. After another couple of kilometres, the mud road narrowed down to a trail, which seemed to be permanent, as the ground beneath it was hardened. We carried on, looking for a landmark indicated on our map, the “Big Rock”.

The path began to climb more steeply. We stopped regularly, to give our legs some rest. There was no question of becoming tired, as the weather was just perfect (as far as our bodies were concerned) for an arduous trek. Short spells of rain and a gentle breeze (at times stronger) kept our body fluids intact. At last we reached the Big Rock.

Half an hour later we reached another landmark on our map – the “Old Stone Wall”. As the name suggests, it is a neat little wall made of stones piled upon each other. It must have marked the boundary of some ancient kingdom. Next we had to pass through a little but dense forest. This was leech country! Hardly had we taken a dozen steps, when our feet were attacked by a swarm of those slimy bloodsucking creatures.

The path runs into a steep climb inside the forest and it was impossible to progress without resting. We tried to get rid of the leeches during one such stop. It was a mistake. By the time you removed one of them, a couple would have attached themselves to your feet. Standing still inside the forest was a bad idea. But still it was difficult to go on without stopping. Thankfully the path soon came out of the forest, and entered the final stage of the journey to the peak.

We stopped a few metres from the forest for de-leeching. We had brought some salt along with us, but found that it was not a practical solution, as salt takes some time to take effect. The best way to remove them was to just pull them out. It’s a bit tricky, but I almost mastered it by the time we reached back.

The last leg of the climb was upon us. Mr.Prasad had told us the night before that once you got out of the forest, it was a steep climb, but we shouldn’t get discouraged as it was only a few metres to the top. We set off again. This would prove to be the most physically and mentally challenging part of the climb for me. The steep climb and the leeches inside the forest had shaken my nerves, and I was starting to feel the tiredness and pain in my legs.

We stopped every few steps. It became tougher with each step. And we didn’t seem to get any closer to the peak. That we couldn’t exactly see the peak, due to the thick mountain mist, made it all the more depressing. When we stopped for yet another rest, Prasanthettan asked me whether I wanted to go back. He said that it was alright, of course it was my first time. He warned me not to strain my legs too much lest I get cramps.

I was in a dilemma. My heart told me to go on, at the same time I was aware of the danger of cramps. I took one last glimpse in the direction of the peak, and made up my mind. I got up, and told Prasanthettan that I would carry on – I wanted to reach the peak. That last stretch turned out to be not so strenuous after all! We had actually completed the most difficult part of the climb. In a few minutes we were cheering each other on the peak! What a feeling that was! It’s something beyond words…

It was eleven o’clock. The climb had taken us exactly three hours. We sat for about ten minutes on the flat square rock on the peak, looking at the clouds below us on all sides, imagining the view we would have had, had it been a clear day. I wonder how that rock reached there. It’s as if it was put there for the trekkers to rest. We ate a few biscuits and started our return journey.

I understood the significance of my decision to carry on to the top, when we started our descent. Mentally recharged and reinvigorated by the accomplishment of reaching the peak, the ache in my legs seemed to have disappeared. I experienced that mysterious and magical link between the mind and the body.

In a few minutes we reached the edge of the forest. This time, we decided we wouldn’t stop till we reached outside. We told each other not to look at our feet, so as to avoid any temptation to stop and remove the leeches. We quickly walked down the slope through the forest, and in about five minutes we were on the other side. It was amazing how quickly we had covered the same distance which had felt like hours on the way up.

We took a few more steps and stopped to remove the leeches. Prasanthettan had got about 30. Me, probably 20-25. And we didn’t stop even for a moment! The rest of the journey was a pleasant walk through the lovely meadows. The mist had more or less cleared, and we were able to see some of the breathtaking beauty of the landscape which had been shrouded in mist on our way up.

The descent took about two hours, and we were back at Palace Estate by 1 pm. Took a shower and devoured the fabulous meal which was waiting for us, with the great appetites we had worked up!

Visit Prasanthettan’s album to see the photos…

Kodagu

I reached home last Thursday. It’s good to be back! I couldn’t write till now, since my computer’s RAM had been damaged and I had to get it replaced. One more week before the next semester. Had a great time in Bangalore and Coorg.

I reached Bangalore on Friday the 4th, around 8 pm. Praveenettan came to pick me up, braving the frustrating Bangalore traffic. We set off early for Kodagu the next day. It’s a long drive from Bangalore and we reached the place we were staying, a home stay called Palace Estate near Kakkabe, around 4 pm. We were given a warm welcome by our host Mr.Prasad.

After relaxing for a while, we went to see a waterfall inside their estate. I received my first leech bite during the walk! We had a sumptuous dinner, and afterwards Mr.Prasad gave us a map and precise directions for climbing Thadiyandemol, the third highest peak in Karnataka. The next morning, Prasanthettan and I set off at 8 o’ clock for Thadiyandemol. We reached the peak around 11, and reached back at one in the afternoon. I’ll describe the trek in detail later, because it deserves a separate post.

In the afternoon, all of us except Prasanthettan, went to visit Thalakaveri, the origin of the river Kaveri. They have put up a marble temple there. When we reached there the whole place was covered in mist, and you could hardly see a couple of metres ahead.

On Monday we set off on our return journey around 10.30 in the morning. On our way back, we stopped at Nisarga Dhama, an island on Kaveri, and also at the Namdroling monastery, in the Tibetan settlement of Byla Kuppe. We reached Bangalore by 10 at night.

(Photos will be uploaded soon … )

Trip to Tirunelli

I was at Tirunelli, in Wayanad, for the last couple of days. I went there with my father and two uncles. It’s a beautiful place, with nothing except a temple and a guest house, nestled deep inside the forests of the Western Ghats. It has mountains on all four sides – Brahmagiri to the North, Udayagiri to the East, Kari mala to the West and Narinirangimala to the South.

It was my first drive in the Ghat section (9 hairpin bends) sitting behind the wheel! It was a fantastic experience. Tirunelli is 125 km away from my college. The best part of the drive, apart from the Ghat section is the portion from Mananthavady to Tirunelli, 31 kms entirely through the forest.

The temple is supposed to be nearly a thousand years old, and is set in a scenic landscape, with the Brahmagiri in the background. A fascinating feature of the temple is an aqueduct built by an ancient ruler, leading down from the mountain and into the temple. It is supported by granite pillars a couple of metres tall. It brings water to the temple even today!

Then there is the Papanashini river – a rivulet, rather, where the rites are performed. It’s right inside the forest, and a five minute walk from the temple. There was not much water, owing to the beginning of summer, but still there was enough to bathe in.

It was a great trip, and I’d like to go back there sometime. I was so captivated by the beauty of Brahmagiri, that I’d like to go trekking there. I see that there is a trail to the top, but it’s the core area, and you need permission from the forest department to go there. Someday…