Valparai-Athiralappy-Parambikulam Jan-Feb 2020

2nd February 2020

Left home in Kodi at an extremely comfortable 7am. Hit traffic downhill till the Palani turnoff. Thereafter, relaxed drive. Empty roads. 

Stopped just past Palani on the turnoff for the NH for breakfast. The place, which used to be good a while back, now serves watered down sambar and chutney. Must be the crowd that drives by.

Google did it again. Took me to Aliyar by a different route. Why it shows different routes at different timings defeats me.

The climb up is comfortable. About 25 hairpin bends. All well marked and having reflectors for safety. Heavy on traffic. Once again had bikers coming at me. Super bikes, driven by super dick heads. Testing their driving skills in the middle of the opposite lane is no way to drive. Wish the money spent had been on driving culture, instead of fancy driving suits and cameras.

Got in to the Waterfall Tea Estate by 11AM. Located in the middle of a tea estate, it is peace in the midst of chaos. Being a Sunday, there were no workers. Only human contact was the caretaker at the guest house. 

Saw some interesting birds while sitting outside.

Had a three course sapadu, with applams. 

Went for a light stroll in the evening. Nothing exciting happened.

3rd February 2020

Left for Athirapally Waterfalls. The road is great till you turn off from the Valparai highway towards Sholiyar Dam.  Nothing has been done to keep the place neat. Dusty little village.

The next turn off takes you to the Kerala border and the forest check post at Malakapura. The road seriously deteriorates in width and quality. It is now a one bus potholed road.

The first few kilometres went quietly. Then came round a bend to see the side walls of the forest freshly scrubbed, with branches and leaves scattered. Was just thinking elephants, when I saw elephant dung ahead, lots of it.

Being a road by the side of a mountain, it winds continuously. Straight line visibility is never more than 10 meters.

Crawled around the next curve, to come to a dead stop. Mother and calf were at the curve ahead. Multiple thoughts struck me.  The first was that there was too much shit for one and a half elephants. The second was camera. The third was the car video camera. The fourth was, “Oh shit”. 

The second and third were acted upon, the final thought constant. 

Definite agitation. Mother stopped and looked back. Seemed to be giving a clear message. STAY BACK.

So, switched of the vehicle.

Then fear struck. What if the mother decides I was a threat. No way I could outpace the elephant driving on reverse on those curves. Decided to jump, vehicle be dammed. 

Waited a few minutes then crawled forward again. The amount of shit along the road reinforced my earlier thought that this was a herd of elephants, and the mother and calf were just at the tail. 

As the shit quantum increased, I stopped again for a few minutes. When I started to crawl forward again, a KRSTC bus came up, hustling me. Let him go. Seemed the right thing to do, elephants, fear and all.

The herd had gone off road. Must have heard the bus honking and decided to be civilised.

Or, the herd had naturally turned into the forest further ahead. The mother stopped when I came up, allowed the calf to take off. Then, as I sat shitless, just caught up with the rest.

Came out with a lot more experience than I went in. 

Last time it had been this bad was in a place called Manas in Assam. In an Indica,  sun had set, light drizzle, elephants trumpeting to the left, elephants trumpeting to the right, the mind playing tricks by sighting each tree in front as an elephant. The driver froze. Was not alone then, fortunately. Had a couple of experienced wildlife scientists along who took the wheel and drove us out.

Have videos of current experience. Made on a fancy car camera. Problem is that file size is huge. Unlike my simple record on phone mode, which I could share. One of the problems of allowing kids to interfere with how one functions.

Rest of the drive was uneventful. Great driving thru the forest roads, even though they were in bad shape. 

Got to Athirapally falls by 9.30am. Had to walk a few hundred meters to pick up the entrance ticket. The ticket counter was located at the Kerala side. TN visitors had to walk a bit more.

Went down to the falls. Water flow was at the minimum, since this was dry season. Must be mind blowing in the rains.

Had a couple of appams and muttai curry after climbing back to road level.

Started back by 11am. Again, lovely drive, but after the excitement of the morning, everything seemed dull.

Had a sighting of some Nilgiri Langurs. Not very photo friendly.

Lovely water bodies in the forest along the drive.

Got back mid afternoon.

Was standing in the estate lawn looking at the forest cover. 

The tree line seemed to have a good Nilgiri Langur population.

Spent a relaxed evening viewing the video, and reliving the moments.

4th February 2020

Left at 545am for Top Slip and Parambikulam. 

Ignored google maps for a while. Finally gave in to its persistence and was forced to drive 20 kilometres out of the way. Google took me thru the back roads, saving possibly 10 kilometres. But, bypassed all major roads and therefore all diesel outlets. Had to fill my tank before I went up the next hill. Had to backtrack from Setumadai for about 12 kilometres. 

Haven’t yet figured out how to get google stick with highways and avoid one car wide back roads.

Got to the Forest gate by 7.15am. The drive up to Top slip is a winding road thru treed grassland. Very green and scenic.

At Topslip had to decide. Do the Top Slip safari on forest jeep loaded with other tourists. Or, go on to Parambikulam where I could possibly drive into the forest in my vehicle. 

Well, obviously, my vehicle won the day. 

Reached the Kerala border by 8am. The forest officer very politely told me to wait till 8.45am, as guide were not yet available. Tried to tell him that animals normally go in to the forest once the sun is out, but, he stuck to his rules.

Went to my vehicle to get my camera, just in case. Turned around to see movement across the Kerala side in the trees. Went closer, saw a Elephant head, and then the body. Was a tusker. He seemed to be coming down towards where I stood. Then changed his mind and went into the forest. 

About 10 minutes later, saw violent movement in the trees further down the road. Was lucky enough to get my camera up when the elephant ran across the road.

The forest officer had come out by now. He went to stand by a small water body that was between the TN and Kerala border. And, motioned me to come there, as the elephant was coming around the water body. Got a few clear pictures of the tusker, as it ran past trumpeting. 

Was obviously not very happy that it’s normal path was occupied by humans. Thankfully, it worked around the situation. No confrontation. Truly admire their patience.

Thought crossed my mind that this was a sure sign of luck. A sighting this early could only mean that I got nothing rest of the day !!!

Was given the pass to drive into the Parambikulam area by 8.45am. Was told that a couple of kilometres ahead, my pass would be checked. And, a guide would be assigned.

Came up to the build up area, which was the actual entry to the reserve forest. And, a large group of wild pigs. They are all over the place, seemingly unconcerned by humans. This one stood guard while the rest disappeared into the forest.

My pass was checked, and was told to go to the office and wait. 

It was 9.45am by the time the official who assigned guides made an appearance. Asked him if he understood animals. That animals had the sense to get into dark wooded areas as the sun came up. It is only stupid humans that drive on roads expecting to see animals.

All I saw was a Sambar deer, a couple of Giant Malabar squirrels and a herd of Cheetal.

The drive inside the Parambikulam forest is very nice. Lovely wooded area, lots of grassland, lots of water. But, the officials screw the situation because they do not seem to care about visitor sightings. I got one of the older more experienced guides. He called the Nilgiri Langur a karuppu korungu. That is the level of their knowledge. Compare that with the guides of the same department at Thekaddy, who even know the scientific names and medicinal properties of all the vegetation. Sad way to screw a lovely reserve forest.

In hindsight, should have done a Top Slip safari. Hired the jeep for myself paying for the entire ride. Well, that was that. 

The drive up to Valparai has the Aliyar dam.

Got back to the Tea estate by 3PM, to find a Mumbai couple with their Creta. 

Took a long walk to create space.

Fortunately, they enjoy their evening drink. And, very important carry own supplies.

5th February 2020.

Woke up late. At 5.45am. 

The couple had left for Top Slip. I was imagining them having some awesome sightings there, cursing myself for the wrong decision of going to Parambikulam.

Went for a stroll within the estate. Saw a Barking deer. It darted back into the bushes before my trigger finger got the camera on. 

The couple got back early. The safari into Top Slip was a disaster. 30 minute run to an elephant camp. Zero sightings. My honest feeling ?? Very good !!!

Did nothing but eat  a heavy breakfast, drink pre lunch with one pissed off Mumbaikar, eat full spread lunch, drink again and eat.

Only item added was a longish walk to the estate accounts office to settle dues. Took me about an hour.

Was early into bed.

6th February 2020

Decided to drive via Dindigul, instead of Coimbatore.

Left at 6AM.

Was doing some great time, till I ran into the Palani crowds. One lane was blocked with people heading to the Palani temple. This extended 30 kilometres each way out of Palani. Towards Angalakurichi and towards Dindigul. Well, stayed patient for a while. Then a bit of aggressive driving. Lost about an hour.

Back home by 3Pm.