A wet and wild weekend in Valparai

The rain tumbles down , a gentle drizzle at first . It slowly gathers force, raising its tempo, drowning all sounds of nature . The green becomes greener but the sky wears a dark sheath of grey. The forests close in on us, the creepers magically entwining us into their world. I am warned that is going to be a wet and a wild weekend.

But there is something about the rains in a tropical evergreen forest that brings out the real wild person in you. We are heading to Valparai, a plantation town, a hill station, a bio diversity hotspot and a tropical rain forest – all rolled into one. Located in the Anaimalai Range of the Western Ghats, this is one of the most pristine spots in Tamil Nadu.

The rains become a part of the landscape as we stop for the first glimpse of the Anaimalais. The mountains are in your face and intimidating, but the scenery is breathtaking. Low hanging clouds merging with the mist, playing hide and seek with the mountains, roaring waterfalls, quiet lakes – there is no dearth of them. I count the many shades of blues and greens as the weather turns nippy. The road curves and the winding hair pen bends treat me to some of the most beautiful vistas of nature. There are about forty of them and the mist comes calling as we climb uphill .

The rains come down in full force, but sometimes it is the gentle drop that drips from the ferns and leaves that refreshes you. I feel a gamut of emotions inside me. Initially it is all about gay abandon, then the rains rejuvenate you as the forests come alive. Then as the earth gets wet and the skies are forever wrapped in dark clouds veiling the sun out of view, you long for some warmth . However the rain forest eventually wraps you into a world of magic, a world which is green, misty and wet. There are ferns and orchids everywhere with droplets of water dripping from them . The mist and the rains take turns to come calling. The waterfalls beckon. I learn to ignore the leeches and lose myself in the roaring cascades . And for a moment, I almost throw my umbrella and rain coats and rain poncho and let the rains drench me to the bone.

There are patches of tropical evergreen forests and then there are rolling tea and coffee estates .But it is in this rich bio diversity hotspot, that some of the endangered and endemic species live, fighting for survival. And I am hoping to spot a few of them – from the critically endangered primate lion tailed macaque to the nilgiri tahr, to the great hornbill among several others.

Our journey comes to a halt as we have company on the road. A herd of nilgiri tahr is effortlessly climbing uphill, only to lock horns and engage in a mock fight. The birds call as a lone nilgiri tahr comfortably sits high up in the grassy patch overlooking the entire valley.

We look for the endangered primates, lion tailed macaques and find them in their own world, blissfully unaware of the dangers that face them. Today there are barely few hundreds of them in the Anaimalais. Locals, NGOs and wildlife conservationists are striving to protect these species in this pristine environment. Some villagers learn to coexist with these primates as we see them in their own habitat, busy with their day.

The birds are next on our agenda. We spot woodpeckers, eagles, babblers, coucals, thrushes, mynahs but the moment that I have been waiting for is yet to arrive. We squint through the greenery and look for the Great Indian Hornbill . As we almost give hope, we see them hiding amidst the leaves. We wait patiently and saw the majestic colourful birds fly away , a spectacle to behold and an image that will never fade away from my eyes .

We head out in the night and catch a glimpse of the flying squirrels gliding gracefully from the trees . We look for frogs, civets, insects and several other nocturnal creatures and attempt to photograph a few through our macro lens.

Valparai is not just a story about a tourist destination . It is about a journey through the forests that opens our eyes to conservation , to the shrinking rain forests and to the endangered species. We go on a wilderness trail across lush forests, encountering wildlife, soaking in the waterfalls and getting drenched in the rains, learning a bit about wildlife photography understanding the bio diversity of the region from conservationists .

However it is an understatement to say Valparai is beautiful . The plantations and the forests present a fabric of green . The mists are everywhere ; the rivers and the waterfalls follow you wherever you go . And the legend goes, that an old man called Velu claims to have “Seen God” in the human form here. Velu still comes to the viewpoint at Seen God or Nalamudi Poonjolai everyday, hoping for a second darshan . You should probably believe him, because in that rich dense canopy, there is a possibility that God does exist somewhere .

Now, if this experience does not leave you Alive and Awesome, I cannot imagine what else can .  

To see more photographs of Valparai click here . If you would like to travel with me, visit my Facebook page or you can follow me on twitter

Travel Tuesday - Getting poetic in Athirampally

Our forest officers are poetic as well. I was driving through the dense Athirampally - Vazhachal forests , when I saw this board , dedicated to Frost's Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening

Come September

Come September and the seasons change in most parts of the world. And loads of destinations come into the “season “ phase as well. The monsoons will soon get over in most parts of India but it has left behind a lush green country. Readers of this blog are in for a lot of stories this month . We will visit Valparai again and I will publish stories from Naanjil Naadu. In the international scenario, we will visit Asia and Europe . Local festivals and memes like Skywatch and India through my eyes series will continue as well.
The furore around Ganesha festival has already hit the streets of Bangalore and I see large idols of the deity all over the place. While I do soak in the energy here, I feel the idols should not be dumped anywhere and everywhere on the streets and pavements . We should ideally have a designated place – maybe a playground in each area where stalls can be set up . The streets have become a mess with garbage and Ganeshas both sharing the same space unfortunately.
Meanwhile , August was a great month on Backpacker and I thank you readers for visiting my blog. Stories on Madras did extremely well as the city celebrated its birthday. Its been three years since my last visit to Singapore, but many of you are still interested in my post on the country. Dussera may be a couple of months away, but a lot of you search for golu bommai and land on my post on Navratri. In fact I just picked up a few kondapalli bommais (dolls)for the coming festival. And finally, I always see Chola trail being very popular. I wonder which of these posts will continue to be on the top of the charts in September . So look forward to more of your visits this month. Happy reading, sharing and commenting ! Would love to hear from you.

And yes, I may be travelling too if all goes well..Fingers crossed !

Valparai and the Great Indian hornbill

One of my favourite birds is the hornbill - ask any birder and most of them would die to see this bird. The sight of it with its wing spread out , flying in the sky is an image one can never forget. In Valparai, we were lucky to see this bird and here are some photographs of it

The man who says he has Seen God

This post is my entry for Indiblogger's  Expedia - Around the World Contest

It almost sounded like a war cry. Velu threw his hands high up in the air, his head looking upwards at the sky, eyes firmly shut and his taut muscles getting tighter as he called out passionately to the heavens . And then he said in flawless English “ This is where I saw God, “and he went on to tell me the exact date and time , 37 years ago.

Nallamudi Poonjolai in Valparai was just another view point in the hills until Velu’s tryst with the divine . The destination now has a different name. A board at the entrance read “ Seen God “ with a footnote below it - ”Om Adi Muruga.” Velu ‘s shrine was just around the corner .

He claimed that God had arrived in a bolt of light and sound and he could see a human form. “Romba azhaga irunderma , “ he added in Tamil, describing that God looked indeed handsome. He had been coming here everyday at 11 am to see if he would be lucky a second  time. “Innum kelunga – I will tell you more , “ he said, sensing my curiosity. Little did he know that I was more interested in his life than in his sighting of God.

He said he was over 70 years old, but had been coming here ever since he was a young boy with his father, who was  a mason. “ I studied, I worked, I married like everyone, but then this is my calling, this is where I belong,” he said nonchalantly when I asked him about his family .For a matriculation  pass who was employed in a factory and tea plantation, Velu was not cut off from the outside world. He was aware that one of the photographers in our group had posted his photograph on the internet. And his memory was sharp. He even remembered the girl who had photographed him a year ago. But then he lived like a nomad – wandering around the hills, wearing just a dhoti around his waist, living on fruits and herbs. Once in a while, he mentioned that his wife visited him. And then he claimed that the wild animals do not harm him at all.

It had been raining in Valparai for the last couple of days and the view of the Annaimalai hills was shrouded with fog. The sun was teasing us. Only a while ago, we were treated to a glimpse of the verdant mountains, gushing with waterfalls. But then the mist curled up again, hiding even the tiniest branch in view.

For most of us, God that day was somewhere in the pristine valley, veiled by the fog in the canopy of forests spread over the Annaimalai range . We waited with bated breath ,hoping to see a great hornbill in flight. The mist unfurled and furling rising up from the depths of the valley and merging with the clouds.. It was a mystical moment. Velu went to the edge of the cliff and called out to his Muruga. We watched him for a while as he stood silently by himself,  looking out into the hills.

The tea plantations parted ways to lead us through a carpet of green , dripping with rain droplets . As I walked down the slippery slopes, I could hear Velu calling out to his God again. I knew he would be here tomorrow  and every other day at 11 am to look for Him.

2011 Flashback - Nilgiri Tahr in Valparai

I was in Valparai in August 2011 where I attended Kalyan Varma's photography workshop in the rainforest. It was one of my best trips of the year. I am yet to document it ,except for some photographs of the lion tailed macaques in FB and my column on Velu, the man who has Seen God in The Hindu. Here are a couple of photographs of the Nilgiri Tahr from Valparai

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