Where is this place: 90km from Calicut, near wayanad in Kerala.
How to reach: From Calicut government buses are available to Muthappanpuzha, from the village trek starting point is 4km
Is it difficult: Yess...it takes around 8 hours of climbing with a total distance of 14km
Is Guide necessary: Yes....there is no proper trail....
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| early morning on the top |
When i read in other posts that Vellarimala trek is the toughest trek in South India, i did not believe, i thought they did not go to Velliangiri, which is very difficult. But after completing vellari mala trek, i feel it is tougher than velliangiri for two reasons
1. Whole 14 kilometer trail is steep, in other treks..you see a flat path somewhere on the top, you motivate yourself to reach there and take rest, but in this trek, the whole trail is steep..you have to climb, climb and climb
2. It is completely dense forest, like other treks...there are no views of hills, clouds, valleys....if you do trek to have some good view of hills and clouds or if you motivate yourself to finish the trek to see the view on the top...then this trek is not for you....
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| iruvanjipuzha river flowing down the hill |
A small stream is available near the trek starting point which is a good place to get fresh up and start the trek.
From the trek starting point it will take two hours to reach water falls called 'olichuchattam'....there will be lot of leeches throughout the trail in the rainy season.
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| olichuchattam falls |
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| view from falls |
From the falls you have to cross the stream two more times and after that we have to walk two more hours(5-6 hours from starting point) to reach the first camping site called 'Mastakapara'
It is a good place to camp, where 8-10 tents can fit, but there wont be water resource available.
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| The temperature gets down to 10 degrees on the top |
If you want to camp near water resource, then REC para is correct place, REC para is 1 hour away from Mastakapara.
In between REC para and MASTAKA para, a view point will come which is called Ketanpara...you can have a good view of hills where you can see the chembra peak, vavul mala peak.
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| view from Ketanpara view point |
After camping in the night either in REC para or MASTAKA para, we can climb to VAVUL mala next day morning...it will take some 2-3 hours to reach the peak.
The whole trail is through dense forest, so if you want to spend some good time in thick jungle, experience the real thick forest....this trek is for you.
Here is a video made by me about this trek, watch for more clear information
