Meenmutty waterfalls

Going through the new set of ‘Alive is Awesome’ concept ads on the Television and the Internet, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of déjà vu as fond memories of our similar experiences are bought alive again, true blue moments of adventure, craziness, excitement and friendship.

I will post a series of such ‘Alive is Awesome’ real life bathing adventures that would enable you to decipher the déjà vu feeling I’m going through.

Enjoy and have a blast :)

On an unexpected detour to a less visited waterfall nestled in Kerala,

traversing on a foot track that never existed;

negotiating slippery slides and withstanding numerous bruises that we took;

with no souls around and in midst of lush green forest;

with the sun rapidly going down and the winter chillness setting in;

only sounds but no signs of any waterfall nearby and the never ending downhill climb;

meeting a lone group advising us to backtrack;

fearful minds and wanting hearts;

all for the desire of been there-done that;

all for that adventure gene hyperactive in our self;

all for that sense of déjà vu that is just ‘priceless’.

Finally after negotiating all hurdles and the steep downhill climb, a valley view with a pristine virgin waterfall appears in sight out of nowhere offering itself in complete to you with no other souls around to be seen or heard, the only company you have is the roar of the intimidating falls and the distant music churned out by the birds around.

Haunting us the familiar question in a familiar situation: We plunge in or not?

The adventure gene is back in action and in an instant we are in the crystal clear, cool waters wading away to glory splashing around every ounce of water we can. As we near the thundering shower (where the water jettisons upon you with a thundering roar from the top), the heartbeat pumps up, unable to open the eyes, hands held together and with loud shrieks we take the plunge below the drop, we are jettisoned with water that seems being pumped out of a canon, we are lost in the moment…, we take a while to be back, to feel the aura of alive is awesome, we live to tell the tale, we live to say ‘Alive is Awesome’.

(Photograph by the author)

Just before departing, standing in the cool waters, all drenched and after the alive is awesome moments, with the cool breeze hitting you hard, we look back in awe at the intimidating falls that keeps on plunging, that brings a smile upon you, that makes you evoke, that was a Alive is Awesome bathing experience we had, a natural pressure bath that makes you feel lighter, better and happier.

Location: Meenmutty waterfalls, Wayanad, Kerala, India.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, I will be back with more such moments…, in the meanwhile have a look at this Alive is Awesome waterfall bathing video here.

Top Kerala Wildlife Destinations

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Top Wildlife Destinations in Kerala

A Look into the Vibrant and Bountiful Flora and Fauna of God’s Own Country

Photograph by www.flickr.com user Neal Young

Kerala, the state that never ceases to surprise, is filled to the brim with an exotic mix of flora and fauna that makes it a must-visit place if you are a nature lover. If you are visiting Kerala, be sure to set aside a day or two to explore the many wildlife sanctuaries and parks dotted all across the state. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous and fascinating wildlife reserves in Kerala.

Idduki National Park

Photograph by www.flickr.com user viwake

One of the finest wildlife sanctuaries to visit on your Kerala tour, Idduki National Park is filled with exotic wonders and splendid animal and bird species. Spread across an extensive area in the Munnar Forest Division, Idduki is home to the rife Nilgiri Tahr, undulating grasslands and a wonderful natural world. This national park houses the Neelakurunji flower that blossoms on a wide scale and has a lifespan that can last for as long  as 12 years. Come upon animals like Barking Deer, Mongoose, Gaur, Bears, Bonnet Macaque, Jungle Cats and various snake species. Abounding in bird species too, Idduki will let you chance upon rare birds like Laughing Thrush, Grey Heron, Malabar Parakeet, Kingfishers and many more.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Photograph by www.flickr.com user Keven Law

Well-known as an elephant and tiger reserve, Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a must-visit place to chance upon some of the most regal tigers and gargantuan elephants. Lovingly called Thekkady, this wildlife sanctuary is also home to the rare Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri Langur, and the Bonnet Macaque. Apart from these exotic animals, Thekkady is world-famous for its wide variety of delightful birds like the great Malabar Pied Hornbill and Racket-tailed Drongos. With a remarkable population of reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects, Thekkady is a wildlife you wouldn’t want to miss.

Silent Valley National Park

Photograph by www.flickr.com user Kailash Nadh

Nestled amidst the Nilgiri Hills in Kerala, the Silent Valley National Park is as tranquil and charming as the name suggests. Named after the absence of the racket making cicadas, Silent Valley houses some of the best animal, plant and bird species in all of India. With a rich biodiversity, all species, common and rare, co-exist peacefully in this national park. Visiting this park may afford you a glimpse of the White-bellied Treepie, Rufous Babbler, Nilgiri Blue Robin, Flycatchers, Long-legged Buzzard and other unique and wonderful bird species. Supposed to be the earth’s last unspoilt ecosystems, the Silent Valley National Park will render you speechless. Check out some great Kerala tour packages and jet off to this paradise.

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Photograph by www.flickr.com user blueeyes_inoki

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary in the Kottayam district of Kerala sits on the banks of the sparkling Vembanad Lake, and is a nature lover’s paradise. Known for the large number of migratory birds that make their way here from the Himalayas and a few even from as far as Siberia, this bird sanctuary is truly a place you cannot skip visiting. Come dawn, and you will be able to watch birds like Cuckoos, Herons, Moorhens, Darters, Brahminy kites, Siberian Cranes and many others, in flight over the lake or just being.

Wayanad Wildlife Reserve

Photograph by www.flickr.com user Shachi Sitaram

This animal sanctuary in Kerala is a beatific home to various species of animals like Indian bison, elephants, deer and ferocious tigers. The second largest sanctuary in Kerala, Wayanad is home to some of the most beautiful and rare wildlife species. Visit this sanctuary for their fun elephant rides and to witness myriad bird species taking flight, and the crisp and clean Kerala ambience.  For wildlife enthusiasts, Kerala packages are sure incomplete if Wayanad is missing on the itinerary.

Thattekad birds II

Read the earlier post here

Photo courtesy - Amit Krishna

With a unplanned trip, called Gireesh and he reluctantly agreed as we were only 2 of us, next was the hectic task of booking tickets - all that I could manage was the last 2 seats in the 7pm KSRTC Volvo Multi Axle bus to Muvatupuzha (enroute Kottayam) from Bangalore and the return journey too in the last 2 seats of an similar service. I generally rely mostly on KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) services as they are efficient, time keeping and generally good (the bus being filled to capacity is another testimony for their efficient and reliable services).

It was a smooth transit from Perumbavoor to Kothamangalam to Thattekad in the local privates buses, the only hindrance being the Malayalam language, still could manage with the people speaking broken English :) Gireesh's home stay is right inside the sanctuary gates with a couple of more houses around and is in an excellent location. As we landed, Gireesh was out with a group on the morning trail and we met his wife and later his mom who told us the guide would be available in the next hour or so.

Sanu was our guide for the morning session, and it was almost around 9am when we started off, a little late for early morning birding. The roosting Brown Hawk Owls were our first captives for the day and we saw them almost the entire day perched in the same place dozing peacefully. The lake just beside the main road is another spot for Kingfishers and the common water birds like the Darter, Coots, Moorhens and a few migrants if you are lucky. As we entered the trail inside the sanctuary, there was absolute silence with fewer calls here and there just like 'a lull before the storm' and then the frenzy started everywhere. The canopy is high and thick and the birds perch far away and its no easy sighting them forget capturing them, its a tough task and many a times I had to back out owing to neck pain. Chestnut winged Cuckoo, White bellied Treepie, Drongo Cuckoo, Brown breasted flycatcher and a whole lot of Woodpecker were all lifers for me ( in the sense seeing them for the first time ) and to top it up, the Malabar Trogon made a brief appearance and so did the treepies', drongo's, sunbirds, oriole's and a hell lot more...

In an hour or so, we had sighted so many species and most of them first time for Amit and few of them for me too and we were enjoying every bit of the fun. Back at the homestay after an eventful morning session, we met Manisha Shah and Falguna Shah from the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad who were here for birding too and we would be going out in the same group in the later part of the day for those elusive Frogmouths.

For the evening session, we both along with Manisha and Falguna and a 3 'phoreners' were taken by Gireesh to the nearby Bhoothatankettu and Idamalayar dam region for some more birding activity. Gireesh knows nook and corner of the region and various roosting spots of many birds like the Frogmouth or different Owls and he is so accurate in sighting them and he knows their behavior too.. incredible to say the least! 

As the Frogmouths were missing from their usual spots, we went to a nearby small stream somewhere in the middle of thick jungle terrain and waited for the frenzy that was about to begin. The birds come to the stream to quench their thirst and have a bath and you can sit at a distance and silently observe all the fun that unfolds, you loose track of the time spent when doing this. White bellied Treepie's, Orange thrush, Rusty tailed flycatcher, White bellied blue flycatcher, Indian blue robin and many others paid a quick visit and entertained us, another good session and got to see some new species again. 

Sun goes down too fast and it was quite dark at 6pm and finally Gireesh searched out a lone Srilankan Frogmouth perched on a dead branch about to start for the day. With absolutely no light, we had to use the torch carried by Gireesh to sight and capture the elusive beauty. Frogmouths are so very difficult to identify even if you are standing right next to them as their camouflage is so very brilliant. They choose to roost on dead branches and their body color matches the surroundings and they are very still and that makes it all the more difficult to see them. 

This was the only individual we got to see and we were pretty excited about this sighting. After dinner, Gireesh drove us around for some nocturnal sighting of the Owls and Frogmouths, but all that we saw was the Jerdon's Nightjar right on the middle of the track, another first time sighting for me!

Next day, woke up to Gireesh's call at 6am (we were so damn tired of the long journey from home and all the walking and running for the entire day), we headed out to a nearby hillock passing through some rubber plantations and climbing up to get an wonderful view of the sun rising in all its glory. Elephant dung was all around and leopard scats too and that itself was quite exciting news early in the day. 

Here, another kind of frenzy started with the Malabar Grey Hornbills flying in from all over the place, I presume we saw nothing less than 50 individuals flying all around, it was a mela out there with many trees fruiting and these hornbills basking in the golden sunlight. Oriole's were all around and so were the many kinds of bulbuls, sunbirds, barbets, bluebirds, minivets and many others, it was a feast for the sore eyes.

The Black Baza was missing and so were the raptors except the honey buzzard that posed for us coming in from nowhere. All of a sudden the surroundings were reverberating with the alarm calls of a frantic barking deer very close in the dense thickets in the valley region beyond the hillock we were standing and in all probability it should be an leopard considering the fact that we saw their scats on the cliff we were standing on. The calls were so near and so loud, I'm sure he would have seen us and avoided coming into direct view of us, unluckily though! Back at the homestay, after breakfast we headed out to an secluded place for some quite birding and were not lucky to sight anything great in the afternoon sun.

After lunch and some rest and a small walk through the trails, Gireesh took us on the final ride to some nearby places to possibly sight some Owls and drongo cuckoos' instead we returned sighting the Whiskered tern, pygmy woodpecker, stork billed kingfisher and few more species. Falguna and Manisha dropped us till Kothamangalam and it was an uneventful journey back home from there.

Ideally 3 days is some good time to spend here and that is precisely my plan for my next visit to Thattekad and a re-visit to Gireesh's place. A wonderful birding trip to say the least and will surely not disappoint the birder in you :)

Checklist:-

1. Ashy Drongo

2. Ashy Wood swallow

3. Asian Brown Flycatcher

4. Asian Drongo Cuckoo

5. Asian Fairy bluebird

6. Asian Paradise flycatcher

7. Black Drongo

8. Black headed Cuckoo shrike

9. Black hooded Oriole

10. Black naped Oriole

11. Blue throated flycatcher

12. Brown Hawk Owl

13. Brown capped Pygmy Woodpecker

14. Cattle Egret

15. Chestnut tailed Starling

16. Chestnut winged Cuckoo

17. Common Flame backed Woodpecker

18. Common Iora

19. Common Kingfisher

20. Common Koel

21. Common Myna

22. Crested Treeswift

23. Crimson fronted Barbet

24. Darter / Snake bird

25. Eurasian Golden Oriole

26. Golden fronted Leafbird

27. Great Tit

28. Greater Flame backed Woodpecker

29. Greater Racket tailed Drongo

30. Green Bee eater

31. Grey Wagtail

32. Grey headed Bulbul

33. Heart spotted Woodpecker

34. Hill Myna

35. Indian Pond Heron

36. Jerdon's Nightjar

37. Jungle Babbler

38. Jungle Myna

39. Lesser Yellow naped Woodpecker

40. Little Cormorant

41. Loten's sunbird

42. Malabar Grey Hornbill

43. Malabar Parakeet

44. Malabar Trogon

45. Orange headed Thrush

46. Oriental Honey Buzzard

47. Oriental Magpie Robin

48. Plain flowerpecker

49. Plum-headed Parakeet

50. Pompadour Green Pigeon

51. Purple rumped sunbird

52. Purple Sunbird

53. Red Wattled Lapwing

54. Red vented Bulbul

55. Red whiskered Bulbul

56. Ruby throated BulBul

57. Rufous Treepie

58. Rufous Woodpecker

59. Rusty tailed Flycatcher

60. Scarlet Minivet

61. Spotted necked Dove

62. Sri Lankan Frogmouth

63. Stork billed Kingfisher

64. Whiskered Tern

65. White bellied blue flycatcher

66. White bellied Treepie

67. White cheeked Barbet

68. White throated Kingfisher

69. Yellow browed bulbul

You can see Amit's blog here!

Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Kerala I

Well, Thattekad was off and on my list for almost 2 years now, the distance and having no company had put this off quite often. Winter is probably the best time to be there and specifically the months of December to February when the weather is pleasant the bird life is active with lot of migrants visiting here.


Planned it on a weekend in January only me and Amit made this sudden rush to the place just to have a feel of the place and its quite sure I will be again visiting for a longer period here sooner than later.


Thattekad is famous for its bird sanctuary named after the 'master' or the 'legendary ornithologist' Dr Salim Ali and is also called as the Thattekad bird sanctuary in the Kothamangalam taluk under Ernakulam district on the north bank of river Periyar. Dr Salim Ali has described this place as "the richest bird habitat on peninsular India" and true to his words, this small sanctuary of 25sq km hosts more than 250 species of birds (resident and migrants)!

How to reach ->
Air - Take a flight to Kochi International Airport, from there 2 hours drive to Thattekad bird sanctuary.
Rail - Aluva is the nearest station about 48kms away. Local buses available from here.
Bus (this is how we traveled) - Bangalore to Muvatupuzha by KSRTC Volvo bus that goes to Kottayam(we alighted at Perumbavoor just before Muvatupuzha).
Perumbavoor - Kothamangalam by local bus that is about 15kms away.
Kothamangalam - Thattekad by local bus about 13kms away.
From Perumbavoor, it took us about 90 minutes to reach Thattekad.
Local bus transport operates efficient services to Thattekad from Ernakulam, Perumbavoor, Kothamangalam and Aluwa.
Road (from Bangalore) - about 550kms - Bangalore-Salem-Coimbatore-Kanjikode (Salem-Ernakulam highway)-Thalikode-Amballoor-Chalakudy-Perumbavoor-Kothamangalam-Thattekad.


Stay - We stayed at Jungle bird homestay run by Gireesh, he and his mom Sudha are excellent guides.
Gireesh - 09847034520, Sudha - 09947506188
junglebirdhomestay@yahoo.com
Facilities were sufficient and served basic Kerala food, so don't expect any fashion foods out here.


K V Eldhose - said as one of the best guides from this region, but with his increasing popularity, lot of people who go with him have been inconvenienced.
http://www.earthfoot.org/guides/eldhose.htm

The Hornbill camp - http://www.thehornbillcamp.com/


A 3 storied watch tower inside the sanctuary has 2 beds, a kitchen and a toilet, contact The Assistant Wildlife Warden, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Njayapilli P.O. , Kothamangalam, Kerala Phone 0485 588302 (not sure of the number though)

Lodges available at Kothamangalam and the PWD rest house near Bhoothanthakettu dam.

Birds Lagoon -  http://www.birdslagoon.in/PHP/Tariff&Booking.php

Food - No food available here, you need to make out of what ever is available at the sole shop at the sanctuary entrance. Its better and recommended to stay in a homestay who would take care of the food and lodging.

Best time to visit - Avoid monsoons because of zillion leeches and because some part of the sanctuary would be flooded with water. Light is also an issue as the canopy is thick. October to March would be good, specifically January to February end.

Timings - The sanctuary is open b/w 6am to 6pm, lot of other interesting spots to visit other than the sanctuary for bird watching.

Entry fee - Nominal entry fee charged at the sanctuary and camera's too. Guide fees separate (around 500 for one session that lasts for 3-4 hours). Sanu is a good guide here.

Photo courtesy - Amit Krishna

Look out for the Part II with loads of photos soon... :)

Bekal fort - Kasargod

Well, it was a quick fire visit to the ancient Bekal fort in Kasargod, Kerala merely 50kms away from the port town of Mangalore. Bekal fort is the largest and best preserved fort in Kerala currently in the hands of the ASI.
Bekal fort was constructed during the period of Shivappa Nayaka and it later fell into the hands of the Mysore Maharajas and subsequently the British Raj. History says, Bekal was a fort used for the military and defense purposes and it became an important trade route during the Mysore and then the British empire.

How to reach: Nearest towns are Kanhagad (8kms) and Kasargod (18kms). Kasargod is connected to all major ciities by road and through the Konkan railway. Volvo's and Rajahamsa services are operated by KSRTC from Bangalore daily.

As this was planned last minute, we got the last 2 seats in a Volvo bus to Kasargod from Bangalore. It was a roller coaster ride and with every bump you get a feeling of floating in air (just as you feel if you are sitting in the giant wheel). Hopefully we don't end up in the last seats of an Volvo again. It was quite surprising for me to digest the fact that Volvo covered 260 kms to Sakleshpur in flat 4 hours and we never realized it! 

Next, I was back in my senses only when we were in the Kasargod town at around 6am. Looking for an accommodation, we roamed around the streets near to the bus stand only to realize the town was sleepy and would be awake after 8am. Found a decent accommodation at State Lodge located in the MG road that has a history of 60 years. It was raining all through and a small nap for a couple of hours and later we were ready to go.

Finishing our work near Bekal, we moved further towards Bekal fort with the weather being cloudy and sunny. The massive fort is now under the watchful care of the ASI and they are doing a good job in maintaining the premises in spite of the huge crowds that converge here during the weekends.

We spent close to 3 hours here roaming around the huge complex, photographing, watching the waves hit the shore and we got drenched too in the salt waters of the Arabian sea. A lone White bellied Sea Eagle kept us occupied for close to half an hour with its antics hovering around the shore and the sea.

We had lunch at the Kia-Ora restaurant at the Nirvana resort located just outside the fort, the food was great but a tad expensive on the pockets, nevertheless it's expected at a tourist location. From here back to Kasargod town and a little rest later, we were on the streets of the town roaming around each and every street. 

Every street here is filled with shops of electronics, dresses, automobile parts, gadgets and imported stuff. The roads are all lit up with bright lights and designer lamps. Past 8pm, half the town was shut down for the day as we had some light dinner stuff and headed towards the bus stop where the Airavat was waiting for us.


A short trip but nevertheless very exciting and entertaining for me and Raja.

Wayanad calling

It was quite some time since I had vanished from Bangalore and my adrenaline was pumping for some action. After deliberating on Kemmanagundi, Kudremukha, Chikmagalur, we finally settled on visiting Wayanad, this also being my first as a driver and my car being a new Alto. This was also the first time we were venturing out of Karnataka on an adventure trip and what an adventure it turned out to be!! 

Wayanad is close to Karnataka borders and yet to pickup on tourism, so it’s relatively cheaper and virgin like… with the tourists inflow slowly picking up, the potential now being realized by the Kerala government. Kalpetta is the district capital of Wayanad, which also serves as an ideal place to cover surrounding places. Wayanad has everything in it: leisure places in Pookote lake, Kuruva dweep and Lakkidi view point; adventure and trekking as in Chembra peak, Edakkal caves, Pakshipatalam; Wildlife in Tholpetty, Muthanga sanctuaries and a whole lot of waterfalls and the honeymoon getaways in the form of ultra luxurious resorts (tree-top cottages) in the Vythiri region. Route taken: Bangalore - Mysore - Nanjangud - Gundlupet - Sulthanbathery - Kalpetta Itinerary: Pookote Lake, Lakkidi view point, Edakkal caves, Meenmutty waterfalls, Tholpetty sanctuary, Tiruneli temple and back to Bangalore via Nagarahole.

Our Experience: 29th Feb 2008 – Being a fresh graduate in driving and also being a new car, we had permission only to start off early in the morning; finally 4 of us friends left Bangalore by 6am. We raced on to mysore road, filled up the tank sufficient to cross the border and zoomed ahead, made our mandatory stop at Kamat Lokaruchi for breakfast, then it was only the 4 of us, our alto, blaring songs from the music system and a empty highway and nerves full of excitement till we reached Gundlupet. Roads till Gundlupet were good, from there a deviation to right should be taken to proceed to Kalpetta, there the road stretch is under repair for about 10-15 kms, and once you enter Kerala roads are better. We were lucky enough to see a herd of elephants in this stretch, and one of them was in a mood to charge but we were in no mood to stop !! we raced ahead and reached Kalpetta by 1pm in the afternoon (with stops of nearly 1.5 hrs in between). We had booked our accommodation from Bangalore itself with the help of my mallu friend Uncle Joshua with just a phone call !!! (surprised when in many places inspite of paying we dont find accomodation !!). Also many more thanks to him for giving valuable inputs, suggestions and helping us in preparing our itinerary. Kudos to Uncle Joshua!

We covered Pookote lake (ideal for kids and those keen on boating) and Lakkidi viewpoint for the day. Sunset view from the viewpoint, one of the best I have seen and the numerous photographs taken provide evidence for that.

 

valley view from Lakkidi view point....

 

 

Sunset magic at Lakkidi view point...

We were there early and we were the last ones to leave, what a evening it turned out to be... We returned back to Kalpetta to call the shots for the day and for the very much needed rest for our soiled bodies.. (the accommodation was also decent enough and the rooms pretty clean and well maintained, i was particularly impressed by it...). Just dozed as soon as we lay on the beds awaiting a thrilling day ahead... ;-)

1st Mar 2008 - We had planned Edakkal caves, Meenmutty falls and Soochipara falls for the day, but ended up covering only the Edakkal caves and the mesmerizing Meenmutty falls with an added bonus of a trek into the deep estates...

 

 

me on top of Edakkal thinking what next !!! Manoja trying to pose

Only me and Raja reached the top as the other two lost courage mid way !!! Edakkal has nothing much to offer but some century old carvings on rocks and a lengthy crevice between two rocks. A small peak is on top, which can be climbed which ended up as a mini trek for us preparing us mentally for our next adventure at meenmutty.

 

 

The crevice b/w two rocks at Edakkal; the valley view from the top of the hillock.

Meenmutty falls was supposed to be a 4km walk into the deep estates but ended up being one of the most misjudged, tiresome but adventurous treks into the estates. But once face to face with the falls, we just stood there capturing the natural raw beauty, which made the difficult trek we undertook worthy. People presence here is low compared to Soochipara falls because of the trek involved, was good to see clean natural environment.

At 4 in the evening, in the cool water, below the magnificent falls, we were only four of us with not a soul around and that was itself so enjoyable with nobody else to disturb and the whole place for you to use as background for the customary photo session. Wondered how the falls would be during peak monsoon as water was pretty cold even in summer, but most importantly there was water rumbling down as the magnificient Meenmutty falls. This falls can be scaled right upto the top, but as dusk was fast approaching and still we had to do a 4km trek uphill and with no guide, we dropped the idea and continued our sojourn back after playing in the cool water for sometime...

 

the meenmutty falls in all glory...  

view of the falls from where we need to descend below the rocks; estate view on the way to the falls..

 

trespassed into one of the estates for the photo session on way back to kalpetta... .. 

Came back to our hotel for the much-needed rest and waiting to encounter the nerve wrecking next day to unfold.

2nd Mar 2008 - checked out of the hotel at Kalpetta and proceeded straight towards Tholpetty sanctuary which borders the Nagarahole sanctuary in Karnataka as we had to return back to Bangalore the same day. Managed to sneak in at 10am even after the timings was over because it being a Sunday and the gates were shut after the last jeep with us in it entered the sanctuary. Lucky 4 of us!!!

It was turning boring of the customary sighting of deers, langurs etc till we saw 2 jeeps ahead of us which had stopped midway. We sensed something and raced to that spot only to see elephants behind bushes at quite a distance.

  

  Wild Dogs, Spotted Deer at waterhole in Tholpetty...

Still we persisted there trying to capture them on our hungry cameras when suddenly the herd getting irritated of us started charging behind us on the jeep track. All of us were shocked, excited, dumbfounded at this sudden charge which took all of us by surprise and those scenes rest peacefully in our memories to cherish for a longtime.

 

 

the chase photos..... this being the 1st experience remains etched in our memories forever...

After having our share of excitement and preserving long lasting memories, which we encountered during those 3 days, it was time to go back to our roots. After a brief visit to the Tiruneli temple, we chose the route back via Nagarahole, as we did not want to traverse the same route by which we came. We stopped enroute at Nagarahole hope to catch some more wildlife scenes but ended up seeing only deers all around with a lone sight of a tusker miles away.

 

 

the male tusker; herds of deer at Nagarahole

 

 

nagarahole map; sunset view on hunsur highway...

The driveway in the Nagarahole sanctuary has been tarred newly and numerous humps are provided so as to not exceed the speed limit of 40 kmph. Reached back Bangalore by 10:30 with loads of memories, unforgettable experiences and with a hope to visit back after monsoons.

Check out these videos of Elephant chase and Meenmutty falls.
 

Participants : Santosh, Nagaraj, Gururaj and Manoj

Tips and suggestions:

Atleast 3-4 days required to cover Wayanad with full paisa vasool. Food is authentic keralite, be ready for it.

Knowing Malayalam is very very helpful otherwise u might struggle at some places

Refer these for more information:

http://www.wyd.kerala.gov.in/places.htm, http://wikitravel.org/en/Wayanad, http://www.wayanad.org/

Go there relax and enjoy...

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!