Vellari mala and Vavul mala trek

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....

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....

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.

olichuchattam falls

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.

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.

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

VELLINGIRI TREK 2017

This post contains only photos of my recent trip to vellingiri, the information about the trek is in this post On March 4 2017, we went for this trek, this time we stayed whole night on the top and we found a beautiful spot where we can camp, here are the few pics from the trek

people who went to this trek, before poondi temple

To see this view point you have cross the trisool fence on the seventh hill and walk for some 5 minutes, it is a very good place for night camping

This is the route the view point in the previous picture

first trek with vesti

The same view point, if you are lucky you can see the bed of clouds under you

night time view from 4th hill

we slept beside a big rock which shielded us from cool breeze, we reached 5th hill by 8.30 pm, played some cards, slept until 3 am, got up and reached 7th hill by 5.30 am(took bath in small pond at 6th hill).

view of AADHI YOGI statue near isha temple from 4th hill

Aadhi yogi temple near isha temple

Kuttanadin kayalile- allepey to kottayam by boat

Place: Alapuzha(allepey), Boat trip from Alapuzha to kottayam, which costs 15 rupees.

Timings: You can find the details of the timings and routes in this site  http://swtd.kerala.gov.in/

It is a daily boat service provided by the kerala water transport cooperation for the local people. Try to  catch early morning boat or the evening one as the weather will be nice.



Kuttanad region always fascinates me, my English vocabulary is too poor to describe the beauty of this magical water world in a way it deserves, so instead of trying to be poetic, i try my level best to put this world that i have seen in this 2 hour boar trip in words.

Kuttanad region covers three districts in kerala, this region is popular for backwaters. Allepey, Kumarakom, Kottayam and other famous backwater destinations are located in this region only. When we planned for this trip to Alapuzha, i didnt want to book those house boats because of the budget problem, house boats are too costly charging minimum 5000 per room.when i was searching for an alternative way to explore this region i came to know about this kerala government boat service from alapuzha to kottayam. If you dont want to spend 5,000 to 10,000 bucks for a one night stay, if you want to explore the back waters in a very cheap way where you can interact with the local people who travel in these boats daily, you can happily opt one of these government boat trips.

This place is a very unique place, here every house is an island, every house's front yard will have steps leading to the lake where they wash the clothes, take bath, clean the vessels, every child here will get to learn swimming before walking ;-),  every house will have a small rowing boat instead of a car or bike. I have seen a lady selling buckets and other steel bowls on boat. Fish curry is a common curry in their meals like pappu in Telugu states and sambar in Tamilnadu. I think if they run out of vegetables, they simply go to the front yard and catch few fishes and make fish curry. For every 1-2 km there is a boat stand, these boats are there only means of transport and there will be monthly boat passes also.

Life in this region is very different, in this region  60% of the area is covered by water. As the boat slowly moves on the lake surrounded by palm trees passing through the paddy fields, churches, small houses and big house boats, all you can do is appreciate the beauty of the place.

We took the boat from Alapuzha to Kottayam which starts from Alapuzha at 7.30 am. It was on sunday, there was no rush at all, we reached the boat stand at 7.25 and got into the boat. This trip covers 25km from alapuzha to kottayam and the ticket rate is 15 rupees. It will take two hours to reach kottayam as there is a speed limit of 10km/hr on the government boats.If you got time, you can get down in some place between which you feel worth wile for spending some time, spend some time there and catch the next boat. Boat driver number is 09400050372, you can call him and ask about the boat service details.

In this trip, i have seen very small part of this region and though we took the 7.30 boat, it was sunny. I wonder how this place looks in night, how it looks when it is cloudy and rains. Hope i experience these things in my next boat trip.....

Kolukkumalai trekking

Kolukkumalai- world's Higest tea esatate

Region : Kolukkumalai, near Bodiyakanur, Tamil Nadu(near Theni)
Peak Height : 2,160 m (7,090)  Difficulty level: Easy to Moderate

If you are visiting Munnar, If you want to experience the most beautiful, as well as the bumpiest jeep ride....then you should visit this place...the world's highest tea estate is ready to show you the beauty of unending tea estates.

 

 
The right most peak is kolukkumalai

Trek details:

During the trek to Top station from Kurangani village Top station trek, we saw a beautiful ZIG-ZAG route on the opposite hill. Later we came to know that it is the trek route to Kolukkumalai from kurangani. Kolukkumalai is the home for world's highest organic tea factory and also the starting point to the Meespulimalai which is the second highest peak in the western ghats. Both the treks to top station and kolukkumalai start from kurangani village, the hill to the right side of kurangani is TOP STATION and the hill to the left side of the village is KOLUKKUMALAI. A 12kms trek from kurangani will take 4-7 hours depending up on the fitness level. You have to pack your lunch and water at the village, there wont be any shops or streams on the trek route.

To reach Kurangani(starting point of the trek), you have to go to BODIYAKANUR(some 20km from kurangani), from BODI there are autos and jeeps to Kurangani.

Trek Experience:

We(total 12) were supposed to reach Kurangani by 8, but we reached at 12 pm, an accident happened on the highway, due to which the driver took us through a different route which led to the delay. we took bath in the stream near the village(you can ask the villagers there, they will help you in reaching the stream). After that we ate poori in nearby hotel and started trekking around 2 pm.

Trek until othamaram(single tree): 

 

Nothing special to tell about this part of the trek, it is somewhat steep and tests your laziness. You can have a good view of the village near kurangani where the film KUMKI was shot.

the place where kumki was shot, you can see the way from bodi to kurangani in the right side of the photo

Trek from othamaram:

 

Zig zag route view from middle station(during top station trek)

 

Here comes the best part(beautiful part) of the trek, a single tree is there at the midway of the trek, as you reach near the tree, you will slowly enter from the dense forest to the plain grass lands and the beautiful zig-zag route starts. Once we entered the grass lands, a strong wind started flowing through the large grass making a wild sound making the place more beautiful. From the single tree, for almost an hour we walked though the grass lands. For this one hour you can have the beautiful view of the wide mountain ranges, grasslands and the dense forest down below you. You can see the trek route to top station on the opposite hill.

Then after the grass lands we entered the dense shola forests, the trek from here to the top is somewhat difficult, you have to walk through lot of hairpin bends, it will take 1-2 hours from the starting point of shola forest to the top.

The 10 km off road jeep ride from kolukkumalai to suryanelli:

Clock ticked 7, light got almost faded out, we didnt reach the top yet. but then after crossing one more hair pin bend we saw the lights of the tea factory and the tea garden around the factory, our faces glowed brighter than those lights. The weather on the top was so cool, the tea factory which is the world's highest organic tea factory was closed, we went inside the office opposite it to it. The office is very small, it got few photos containing the information about the kolukkumalai and Munnar. There is a small shop inside the office where you can buy the tea powder.

From kolukkumalai tea estate we went to suryanelli where our accommodation was arranged. Suryanelli is a small town located 10km from Kolukkumalai. Kolukkumali has no shops and lodges, it got a tea factory and few houses of the tea factory workers. All these people staying in kolukkumalai has to go to suryanelli to buy the groceries. 

The 10km jeep ride from kolukkumalai to suryanelli takes some 90 minutes, yes...what you read is correct...90 minutes for 10km ride on jeep. It was like some mini adventure with our jeep tilting almost 45 degrees to the both sides. It was the most bumpiest ride i ever had. the jeep driver was a crazy guy doing some crazy things like switching off the head lights for 5-10 sec, switching off the engine and scaring the shit out us. If we ask him to stop doing these things, he will simply reply to us with a smile 'kochigadinga boss(dont get angry)'.

After reaching the lodge which is a tree house, we had a good dinner. Actually our initial plan was to trek meesapulimalai on the next day, but as we slept late, we could not able to get up early, so on the next day we went to a small waterfalls in chinakanal, took a dip in the fresh water, from there we went to a lake. After having lunch near the lake, we visited kolukkumalai tea estate.

The drive from suryanelli to kolukkumalai was so beautiful, you see acres and acres of tea estates throughout the ride. The backdrop of hills covered by clouds makes the view of tea estates more beautiful. On the way there are two three view points where you can have the bird veiw of the entire place.

 Few pics of the tree house and the drive between kolukkumalai and suryanelli:

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Suryanelli town

 

View point at kolukkumalai

 

route from Suryanelli to Bodi

 Is guide required for this trek:

The answer is a BIGGGGG NOOOOOO. Why do you need a guide for a trek???. To show you the right path, to tell the things that you dont know about the location, to arrange the transport for the other places that you want to see at the top of the hill, to arrange good accommodation and food. If you see the other blogs on this trek, you will find the contact of the person YOGESH. We contacted this person as we were not sure about the route. This Yogesh guy charges 3000 per head which includes 4 times food(lunch, dinner, tiffin and lunch), accommodation and the zeep charges from kolukkumalai to suryanelli. If you dont know tamil, then he will happily cheat you by demanding 3500-4000 per head. He wont stop for the people who got slowed down, he will just simply walk in front without waiting. There wont be any prior information about the next plan, you have to go to him and ask him about it, if you know any good place about which you came to know through net, he will tell that we cannot go there telling that it is dangerous to go there as the elephants are sitting on the way. The food that he will provide will be worst than that of those PG's in Bangalore. All i am trying to say is he is not even worthy of half of the money he demands.

Now you may ask me 'how to go for this trek without guide?',

• The trek route is pretty clear, there are no diversions. So there is no need of guide.
• Kolukkumalai has camping facility, it is a private property and has a tea factory which you can visit. You can camp in kolukkumalai with the permission of the owner. 
• Kolukkumalai estate people are organizing camping, the charge 1500 per head which includes tent, sleeping bag, campfire, food and a guide to show places around.
• You can find lot of lodges in suryanelli and chinnakanal which you can book in net.
• Before booking the lodge just ask the owner to arrange you the zeep from kolukkumalai to the lodge.
• The trek from kurangani to kolukkumalai will take 6-7 hours. so call the owner of the lodge(or zeep driver) before starting the trek, so that he will be waiting there at the top by the time you reach.
• If you dont want to trek, buses are available from Bodiyakanur to suryanelli, from there you can visit kolukkumalai by jeep.

Places to visit:

• There is a big lake in Chinakanal and chinakanal waterfalls.
• There are lot of tea factories where you can see the manufacturing process of tea powder.
• Meesapulimalai- this is second highest peak in the western ghats. you can trek this peak, the starting point is near the tea factory of kolukkumalai. 

Happy trekking......enjoy.....


My kolukkumalai trek full video