Magical Trails - The Karien Shola

Most of the people who are venturing in to the wild usually resort only to a short jungle safari usually conducted in a safari vehicle,which follows a strict safari route. Its easy and safe, as you are armored from the animals outside and the soft and cushy seats will provide you a comfy ride through the wild. This is most suited if you are on a busy schedule or having a family trip with your kids.

 Karien Shola

Unlike the African savannas which all of us might have seen in popular TV channels, where most of the terrain is less treacherous and have less number of trees in the landscape, the Western Ghats has a three dimensional terrain with hills mountains and cliffs making any car/bus safari a nightmare. Moreover,these areas are covered by impenetrable rain-forests and gets covered in fog during a major part of the year.

Malabar giant squirrel  ( Ratufa indica )

In my case,the thrill of being in the wild did not come from any safaris , but through a short trek through the deciduous forests of  Parambikulam to a patch of evergreen Shola forests locally called as The Karien Shola. I never had any experience in trekking through any rain-forests before and it was indeed a very unique experience to me.


It was a holiday for my collage due to 'Srikrishna Jayanthi' , the birthday of the Hindu god Krishna. I was having regular class on the next day and hence couldn't go to my homeland , which was my usual practice. At  Coimbatore, it was power-cut season and the sheer number of power-cuts was too annoying to me (Up to 16 hours per day of electric power blackout did existed in Coimbatore at that time) . Sitting in my room therefore was not an option for me. It was time fore me to execute my plan-B...

So, what is plan-B...?

Take my camera and get lost in the jungles in the neighborhood...:-) Luckily, I was having my camera with all of it batteries fully charged. But still, it was raining slightly on the outside. But the climate got overridden my by over-confidence that the rains would eventually vanish. But I had to reach there to understand that I was wrong.....
As I reached the information center at Anappady , I was surprised to see that I was the only visitor that day. It was raining heavily and was not a tourist season in Kerala. There was no safari that day due to lack of tourists and all I could do was to trek through the jungle trails. I had no other choice and I cashed my bill for the Karien Shola Trail. 

Drosera indica - An insectivorous plant

After having my lunch, I was accompanied by my friend & guide , Mr Sashi , a young and energetic member from the forest department. We started walking from the information center through the tarmac towards the gateway. Then we entered in to a deciduous patch of forest through a rocky terrain. The rain was fairly heavy and the visibility was reducing. We could see two elephants on the way and had to wait for some time until our road was cleared. My guide was trying to clear the route by making loud noises and calls. I was a little scared and did keep a distance from them.

As the route got cleared, we moved on. As we reached the Karien Shola, the rain ceased for a while. The forest canopy became more thick and it seemed as if there was very little light down there. The Shola was filled with thick undergrowth and a multitude of sounds. The guide showed me a Malabar Giant Squirrel, running around on the top canopy. It was very big in comparison to an ordinary palm squirrel found in my house and its sound was so loud. It took a look over us for a moment and I could grab a shot.

Elephants On the road

Suddenly, some thing felt so wrong.I looked at my shoes and OMG my legs were covered by leaches. Some 20 leaches over me and climbing up. I never knew that leaches were so extreme and was not prepared to face them. It was so tough to get off from my shoes and pants. You can never blow them away like a mosquito nor you can pick'em using your hand. I was totally scared seeing them climbing up so fast. The only way I had was to strike them using my index finger repeatedly as if I was playing caroms. The strike has to be delivered just at the very moment they move. Even though, one did grip on my nail and no shaking of  could get it off from my finger. I took my memory card cover and swatted it. Some way I got them off.

My Guide - Mr Sashi

Luckily, I had a good pair of socks and shoes and since I followed the instructions from my guide to put socks over my pants, I was not bitten by any of those blood suckers.They were so big and was dark brown to red in color.The easy way to get rid of them is by sprinkling salt on them. But , I was not expecting them and didn't had any salt with me.

Female Scarlet Minivet  (Pericrocotus flammeus)

As we ventured further, we could see a White bellied woodpecker, the largest of its kind on a tree nearby.Also we could spot birds like the White bellied treepie, Malabar grey horn bill Scarlet minivet,Malabar parakeet,Malabar whistling thrush and many other birds.

Ceylon Frogmouth - (Batrachostomus moniliger)

Sambar deer were also spotted during the trail and we were amazed to find some pug-marks of the majestic Bengal Tiger on our way. From there, he took me to the bottom of a tree,were this pair of Ceylon frog-mouths (Batrachostomus moniliger) were photographed.

Peninsular Rock Agama  (Psammophilus dorsalis)

From there, we started our trek back to the information center. As we moved in to a large open area covered by rocks,I felt as if there is a movement on the rocks. As I looked closer, I could spot a small lizard called as the Peninsular Rock Agama (Psammophilus dorsalis). It is camouflaged as a piece of rock and hence is very tough to find. But there were lots of them on the rocks out here, that it was easy for me to find and photograph them. Moreover, the one that's in the photo was just circling around the same rock even when I chased it for a while.

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)

After the trek, as we reached back to the information center, we were welcomed by a pair of Indian pond herons in the garden adjoining the information center. In total, I was charged INR 500 Rs for the trek and a I strongly recommend the trek for everybody who want to experience the tranquility of the evergreen shoals of the western ghats .
  

The Thomman Kuthu Waterfalls Of Thodupuza

Front View Of The Waterfall

After our Eravikulam trip, we moved to our next destination,which is hidden in the remote jungles of Thodupuza. We had to utilize the GPS facility in one of our cellphones to route ourselves to the location. As  soon as we reached our destination,we moved towards the ticket counter and cashed for our entry passes. It costed 10 rs per head and an additional 10 rs was required for my camera. There is a short trek path through the patch of jungle .After a while , we started walking through the narrow path heading towards the waterfall.

 The climate was pretty warm and moist. The place was filled with a multitude of  sounds particularly that of cicadas.As we reached the waterfall,the sounds of the jungle got mixed with the noise of the falling water making it a music to both eyes & ears alike. We decided to chill off the day with a bath in the cool water. We had to skip over some slippery rocks to get ourselves in to the stream.

A small 'waterfall' on the way to the main waterfall

After a refreshing bath, we had a look around and could just see rocks,water and trees. The guards did warn us not to venture further and into the jungle. The daylight was fading as well. So we made our way back to the entrance and then back to our homes.

I wouldn't tell that it is one of the best locations, but still it is one of those destinations which you don't want to miss if you are visiting any of the nearby locations. Its small waterfall and the safer trek path covered by greenery is what you should expect from here. But still if you are for natural beauty, it can be an enchanting paradise.

My Eravikulam Visit No:2

Date: 22nd   May  2012



After an year's gap , I decided to revisit the Eravikulam NP. This time I felt more confident , had higher-end photographic equipment and was backed-up by my college friends for my assistance. They were always there for my assistance and this time ,all the planning were done by them.

We started our trip from my friend Arjun's house located at Kakkanad near Cochin. He was our tour leader, guide and he has got exceptional driving skills. He was having three four wheelers in his house and of them an MM 540 4x4 was the most antique and the most unique. It could easily occupy (8+1) passengers with ease and could handle any terrain with out a problem.

We started our trip early in the morning and reached Eravikulam by 11:00 am . As we reached there, we could see a very looong queue in front of the ticket counter. It was the time when the schools close for the summer vacation in various south Indian states . The crowd mostly consisted of tourists from other countries and states other than Kerala & Tamil Nadu.

After spending more than an hour in the queue , I managed to reach the park through the  mini-bus provided by the Kerala forest department. As soon as I reached the location, I headed towards the main entrance formed by a gate way . From there ,  a guard made a security check of my bag searching for anything suspicious (Warning!....liquor is banned here and can be a snare for U if you carry such items with U...Can easily get u behind the bars....) and checked my entrance tickets.

After the final checkup , I started walking through the short trekking path. I could easily spot a couple of Nilgiri Thars grazing close to the entrance.But the view was rather short-lived. The disappeared in to the adjoining kurinji bush  The initially clear climate started becoming  a bit misty and soon it felt as if the clouds were coming down.There was no sign if them when I started my trip and in no time, the sun vanished out of sight and tiny droplets of water started to fall out of the white sky. The temperature dropped drastically and on every step that I took me further on to the Rajamalai , my visibility got lower and lower.....

I started getting that bad feeling of getting my camera frozen as last time...But compared to that day,the climate was not at all wild at me...:-) That day was in the rainy season and I got embarrassed experiencing the shear fury of the Nilgiris.

This magic equation formulates my previous visit :

Heavy(Rain+Wind+Fog)  =   [Wet (clothes+bag+camera+shoes) + A Torn & Broken Umbrella + Zero Visibility]+ Fatigue for the man and the machine involved

This time , there was no wind and the temperature was not un-bearable. The drizzle was not disturbing either...I made a trek over the tarmac track till its extreme end. I could see the whole landscape around me from that point...could spot few new birds and had a view at the shola forests that in fact , are the forest patches formed in-between two adjoining hills. Also I could get a view of the majestic Aanamudi preak which is of the highest out here and has got its name from its physical appearance as that of an elephant (Aana in Malayalam means elephant)


But still I couldn't photograph the flagship species of the sanctuary.I searched around but there was no sign of them...I tried to get some place to sit on and wait... But the other tourists had already reserved their seats...I moved on cursing them....

On my way down , I was stopped by a small piece of rock that rolled down from the slopes aside me..As I looked above..the Rock-star emerged out of the mist...heads up and looked down straight at me as if it was
the king...That was just the moment I was waiting for...I pulled out my camera and had no time to make decisions over the lens to be used...The camera was mounted with a macro lens (Which is typically used for shooting insects and small subjects) which I did attached to shoot the plants and flowers on the way...I pointed it at the animal and kept on clicking...

I was not ready for waiting for another animal to take another shot...I chased the thar and fired my shots  from a distance...But suddenly , I got surrounded by a family of thar, that emerged out of the bush and they felt to be so comfortable even in our presence and did even tasted my lens amazed by its reflection on the glass elements...:-)

After spending an hour or two, I trekked myself downhill  and back to the bus stop. While waiting for the bus to come for my pickup, I was amazed seeing one of the senior forest guards who was disposing  the  tourist leftovers in the bush, in to the trash-bins as a measure to prevent the littering of the forest area .
Note that most of the tourists here are well educated and highly qualified people...I don't know what makes these people to misbehave in such a protected area. More over , the animals can get irritated by the tourists who touch and groom them without understanding that the horns on thar are not just meant for a fancy...
Any time they could be put in to action. Its only due to such devoted protectors that these iconic creatures thrive in these rocky and mountainous terrain and definitely the Nilgiri Thar is the Rockstar Of these Rockies.....

Eravikulam National Park

                                                                                                                                                          Text & Photos by N.A.Varun


Since my childhood, I used to hear about the Nilgiris, which literally means means 'Blue Mountains'. They are called so because, once in 12 years, the neela kuruji plant flowers to produce a blue flower. These flowers along the western ghats will make them look as if they are covered by a beautiful blue blanket.The kurinji flowered last in 2006 and Eravikulam National Park was the focal point of tourists as the park witnessed the flowering in a larger area.

But in 2006 I was doing my school and was doing my 10th standard education. I remember reading about the kuriji bloom in the news paper. But I was not bold enough to take such long distances.Hardly,I missed that chance and will have to wait till 2018. There is also an information that another bloom will occur in 2014 as there are more than one species of kurinji in the western ghats. Next time, I won't be missing the chance again.

A small herd of Nilgiri Thar. The black line on their back is often mistaken as the reason behind their local name as 'Varayadu' .The real source of name is from Tamil,where varai means cliff and Aadu meaning goat. It is currently the state animal of  Tamil Nadu

Its not just that the Kurinji bloom that you would miss, if you have never visited Eravikulam. You will also miss the beautiful shola forests, grasslands and the mountains of  Rajamalai. In addition , you will miss a chance to see the Nilgiri Thar, an endangered species of mountain goat , which is endemic to the Nilgiris.The park is home to the largest population of this unique species.Thar's live in rocky terrain and can easily move over the steep and slippery rocks that even mountaineers will find extremely hard to get through. They are known for their capability to take on extreme terrain. Because of this, Mahindra Motors,one of the popular Indian automotive company have given the name 'Mahindra Thar' for their SUV, which is ment for the extreme offroaders.

The forest patches formed between two adjacent hills are called shola forests. They are home to unique species and house a verity of birds,reptiles and mammals.The formation of these forests is still of a debate between the various scientists and naturalists.These forests are of great abundance in the Eravikulam  NP.

A Thar fawn 

On my first trip to Eravikulam, I was accompanied by my friend Arjun K.P. It was in the monsoon season and we started our trip at 6:30 am from Coimbatore.We went to Pollachi and then to Udumalai. From Udumali , we had our breakfast from and entered the Munar bus. The bus goes from Udumali to Chinnar,Marayur,Eravikulam & finally to Munnar . After Chinnar, the route was full of rain forests and tea estates. By 12:00 Pm, we reached Eravikulam information center. The bus stopped right in front of it and we got down. Munnar is still at about 10 kms from Eravikulam.

There was a large queue in front of the ticket counter. The entrance to the park is by a mini bus. The ticket charge was Rs 35 and Rs 25 for still camera. After getting into the bus, I made my camera ready for action. We could see two herds of Nilgiri Thar with fawns, on the way. The climate was very cold ,foggy and rainy. It caused my camera to get cold. But had no problem until we got down at the visitors rest house at Rajamalai.. Due to fog, visibility was vary low and I couldn't get any landscapes in my frame.My umbrella got snapped and was destroyed in the wind. We moved into the photo gallery . From the inside, we put on our sweaters to protect us from the extreme cold.

Inside the photo gallery of Eravikulam NP

As the rain stopped, we trekked through the mountain ways. It was very cold and we were shivering in the cold with our sweaters on us. We could see a small Thar in the bush while we were trekking. I took out my camera and as I clicked, some thing felt very wrong. Yikes! I got mirror lock syndrome to my camera. The camera was frozen due to the extremes of temperature. It could no more take any photos. It sounded like it went crazy. The mirror was rattling non-stop inside, but no photos were taken and an 'Error' message appeared on my LCD screen which made me shivering with fear of the damage done to my equipment.

Still we trekked further and after reaching the end of the permitted route, we returned back.I thought that the camera would work after a few minutes. But it never did.By the evening,we reached back to the bus stop and entered a local bus to marayur as there were no direct buses back to Udumalai at that time. The bus was full of people and we couldn't get a seat. The roads were narrow and was not tarred well, making the  bus shake inside. I felt like I was about to vomit. I was praying to god to take me to to my destination fast. Suddenly, we could hear an explosion. The bus stopped and I could understand that the bus tire got punctured. Everybody got down and tried to catch the next bus. But not many buses are there in the route.

I was feeling very sick and I vomited out my lunch.My friend gave me water and told me that he was feeling the same too. We ate a sweet stuff called by the name "Home Made Chocolate" from the tea shop near by the ticket counter. That was probably the only thing which could have made me sick. At that instant itself, I took the packet out of my bag which contained the remaining amount of it and trowed it out in to the road with anger.

1 hour passed by and then another bus passed by us in the opposite direction. That  bus gave their stepney tire to our bus and after changing the tire, we moved to Marayur. From there, we could see a Munnar- Banglore express bus which had almost twice the ticket charge as compared to the local buses. The conductor told us that there are not many local buses by that time. So we got in to the luxury bus and was taken to Udumalai. I had a good sleep in the bus. After reaching Udumalai, we went back to our homes.

The trip was probably the most adventurous trip in my life.

• I was caught by viral fever and was admitted to hospital and was having a temperature measuring 103 degree Fahrenheit.
• My camera was damaged for the first time ever. I sent it to the service center and it took about 1 month to get it back to my hand.
• The camera lens got affected by fungus as it got wet in the cold and wet climate and was required to be cleaned.

After that unforgettable experience of walking in the clouds (thick fog) and facing unexpected accidents , I learned my lesson to be more cautious while traveling to and through such unpredictable places.

Topslip & Parambikulam National Park

                                                                                                        Text & photos  :  N.A.Varun

Gaur- The flagship species of the sanctuary

The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Palakkad district of kerela. The park is located in the Anamali hills and shares boundaries with the Indiragandhi National Park in Tamil Nadu . The entrance to the park is through Tamil Nadu. Limited number of  Buses are available from Pollachi, the nearest town located in Tamil Nadu. Buses start from Pollachi at 6:10 am,10:00 am (KSRTC)  & 3:00 pm. There is also a bus at 11:30 am to Topslip, the nearest bus station to access the Indiragandhi National Park.

View from the hill - Topslip

The Topslip & Parambikulam forest offices are seperated by < 5 kms , but you wont be allowed to cover the distance on foot .

Apart from being a wildlife photographer, I am also a student of engineering (EEE). My collage is located in Coimbatore disrict near to Pollachi. With my friend Arjun K.P. ,a conservationist from Kerala. In our first trip, we got into the 11:30 am bus. The bus looked old  from the outside and was painted in green. We got in to the bus and asked for a 'Parambikulam' ticket. The conductor told me in Tamil that the bus wont go to parambikulam now. It will go only up to Topslip and will return. Then the same bus will be going for another trip at 3:00 pm. He told me to enter in the bus when it reach Topslip again at 4:30. He also told that I will be able to see animals on the way.

Topslip

While the bus was travelling from Sethumadi to Topslip, two travellers were argueing inside the bus. One was a n old woman who sell Murukku  at Topslip and the other was a young man. Very less number of travellers were there in the bus. We watched the fight silently. Thn one of the fellow travelers scolded them and put an end for the fight.Later only we understood that the lady was the young man's mother. "Its looking like everything is getting wild past Sethumadi....",my friend sighed.

Bonnet Macaque 

He was true. The landscape became more filled with thorny trees, the temperature dropped , the lighting started to become dim. Only the sound of the bus was audible. We entered in to the jungle.Signboards with pictures of tiger and gaur were placed along the sides. We peeped out to the wilderness around us through the rusty windows of the grandfather bus.We traveled through hills covered with bamboo and teak.As we reached on top of the hill, we could see a check post.  A troop of  bonnet macaques were playing near the check post. We started seeing some people and a few buildings. That was the main office building of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

Spotted dove from the herbal garden - Topslip

The bus stopped at a bus stop and turned to go back to Pollachi. We got down.Only BSNL is having mobile phone network coverage up in here. The forest office building was having a canteen, a small museum    and an open restroom for having lunch. We went in to rest room which looked like a shed. We started eating the parippu vadi that we brought to eat from the bus. Suddenly, I saw my friend jumping up from his seat."Monkey!" he cried. A bonnet macaque took one vadi . "Why you gave food to that monkey? Now other monkeys will also come to disturb us...." one tourist from our state shouted in anger. We stood puzzled.

After our lunch(vadai), we moved out to see the things outside. We moved in to the bamboo forests and a temple nearby the restroom. We saw some Nilgiri Langaurs that were jumping and howling on the trees nearby the jungle. Compared to the machaques, the langaurs are larger in size and prefer high above the forest canopy. But they are less aggressive and more peaceful.

Nilgiri Langaur

A grassy hill was there in front of the bus stop. We moved on to the hill and near to a building on the top of it. Then we went to see the Machan tree houses and the herbal garden.Then we went in to the mini meusium where some stuffed animals along with the bones and remains of some animals. The only thing that I was interested among the jarred animals was a travancore flying squirrel .Any way , the museum is free of any charges so you can enjoy the views inside.

Roads through the jungle

In the evening, we went to parambikulam in the bus we came.We saw some spotted deer and  a wild boar.The bus was cruising through the jungle. So by the time I could aim my camera at any animal, it will be gone.In short , we could see less and photograph less in the bus journey .Cursing the bus,we went back to Pollachi and to our room. In short, dont think of a parambikulam trip on the transport bus.   

The elephant on the road is actually a sticker on the wind shield of the bus. You can also see a deer and the words saying 'Topslip' along with it.

Old photo of mine - Topslip

Years passed by. Again another boring weekend. I had my camera with me. I ringed to another friend for my company. He was a naturalist from Chitwan , Nepal . He agreed and this time we went well prepared. We got up early and catched  the first bus to Parambikulam. We reached there early and the jungle was just waking up. We reached Parambikulam information center and got down there. Then we took 150rs ticket per person for the bus safari. And entered the mini safari bus. As the bus got full, the safari  was started. A guide warned us to be careful to avoid leaches while moving through the grassy terrain.
The bus started gaining momentum.

We were sitting in the rear seat. I started to unpack my bag to gain access to my camera. The rear seat was shaking . Coupled with the poor roads inside the forest , I was thrown up of the seat as the bus was moving.
Suddenly, the sunlight started fading and water droplets started falling from the sky. I could feel a cool touch on my back. Yikes! .It was a big drop of water. The bus was having holes in-spite of its new look.
I moved away to prevent my camera from getting wet.

We could see large herds of Spotted deer(chithal) on the move. It felt like they are just everywhere. The bus stopped once and then never stoped in front of the other chithal herds.


Many peacocks were also roaming nearby the roads.

Then we saw a herd of Gaur, the flagship species of Parambikulam WLS.

Further moving we came across many herds of spotted deer and some sambar  deers.

We could see some wild dogs (dhole)on the road.


We also saw a big owl, but couldn't get a good photograph of it.

On the way, we could also see the "Kannimara Teak" the largest living teak tree in the world.

We also saw the beautiful Parambikulam Dam and the Thunakkadavu dam.

On the way to Parambikulam dam, there was a big Ashoka Piller and many small tea shops with the names of trees. We had tea and by that time, the sunlight came back.That's the climate here. At anytime the climate can change and expect a rain always.

My co travelers taking photo at valley view point. The bus near them is our safari bus

As our safari in Parambikulam came in to an end, we moved out of our bus and started exploring the parambikulam information center and nearby areas. The guards here are helpful and co-operative. They will give the necessary guidance for you. A nice canteen is there next to the information center. I could see a large heard of spotted deer and a troup of bonnet macaques nearby the gate. After having tea and snacks, we moved out. We saw a shop for selling Parambikulam T-shirts,caps,honey,photos,stickers etc. An A.C. T.V room is also provided showing wildlife filims (No need of paying any charges for seeing the T.V. Its included in the safari ticket).We brought some stickers for 10 Rs and moved to the bus station.

 The bus station was near by the information center.I went there just before Onam festival which is the most important festival of Kerala. So I could hear the chief forest officer warning the guards not to take leave as the time is also the most crowded time for the sanctuary.

The  bus came at about 1:00 pm and we entered in the KSRTC bus and got down at Topslip. We went for the safari and saw a sambar deer and a wild elephant. The vehicle took us to an elephant camp inside the forest where the Elephants are taught the leasons in guarding forests and people. The trained elephants are called Kunki elephants. They are free to roam without any chains in the nearby forests.

Me at the elephant training camp at Topslip

 By the time we returned from the safari, we could see a large herd of chithal on the grassland in front of the forest office. They seemed to be un disturbed by the many tourists who were looking at them. We could see many birds at that time. Wild boars were running through the area.

Sunset at Parambikulam

The sunlight started fading away making photography tough. We moved in to the bus stop and the bus came on time. On our way back to our room, my friend said " This place is just amazing. When can we go again?". I couldn't answer him. Because,I was about to ask the same question to him.....


 

Bannerghatta Zoo

After an exciting safari, we were taken back to the gate of the Bannerghatta zoo. We moved inside. A white peacock welcomed us in the first exhibit.Those nursery students whom i mentioned before were standing around  the exhibit. I managed to move one kid in front of me saying "Move away from the cage or else it will bite you". The scared boy ran away from the front of my lens.The sunlight was causing glare in my images and I couldn't us my lens hood.So my cousin had to use his hand to prevent glare in front of some cages.

Then we moved in to some other small exhibits that were having birds like dove, owl and civet.

After taking a lot of shots , I felt like my cousin was starting to loose his patience. So we moved further to see the other exhibits.

One of the exhibits was adopted by Cricket Legend ,Shri Anil Kumble

The leopard is probably the only big cat inside the zoo. May be because that leopards needs fully closed exhibits or else, they may use the trees as ladders to get out . The leopard exhibit is the most impressive of the zoo.

Then we saw star tortoise, Mugger crocodile , Gharial  , Spotted deer , Indian gazelle, barking deer , a zebra, king cobra ,Indian elephant,various birds,macaques and many other small & large animals. The photographs of various animals in the Bannerghatta zoo are shown below.







There is a small bakery and a park available inside the zoo.

After spending much time in the zoo, we moved out of the zoo.At that time the gate man told us about a butterfly park nearby. It was within walking distance from the zoo. So we moved to explore our last destination in Bannerghatta.............

Prissoners Of The Wild

Gharial

Black Buck

Mugger Crocodile

River Turtoise

Jackal

Spotted Deer(chithal)