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-   -   A Greener Weekend in an unexplored forest - GAVI, Kerala (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/126164-greener-weekend-unexplored-forest-gavi-kerala.html)

Talks in office - Why don't we make a weekend trip, Then came the question where, when and with whom,

We made a team of seven who were on the same page to have trip to Greener place, Initially we thought of going to Thekkady and stay for two days

Started searching for accommodation and called "Wild side Villa" Mr.Manoj picked up the call and responded well, saying you can do a stay here and go to Gavi which will be good for trekking and animal safari too.

We decided and picked up my Xylo for the trip (instead two cars),

Journey started by dot 4:00 AM in Chennai Guindy, Drove till Asanur A2B and stopped for coffee, Ordered some pongal and kesari, I found it to be too much of Vanaspati / Ghee which gave a little drowsy feel.

Then drove to Trichy, Breakfast sponsored by a Trichy team mate (Thanks Venkat) and started towards Thekkady,

The whole team batted for a delicious Dindigul Thalappakatty Biriyani and eventually we delayed our trip by visiting Venkat's Friend's Coconut farm, Had relaxed for a while with the stomach full of tender coconut, and continued journey towards Thekkady,

Reached Wild side villa exactly by 6:30 PM and decided not to roam anywhere, Manoj called by 8:00 PM and informed that there will be a Jeep which will take us to GAVI by 6:00 AM,

We started very precisely on time and moved on,

First impression is we thought we will just have animal sighting and then be back to the rooms, It was unfortunate or fortunate that day it was raining heavily, we were traveling on a Commander Jeep which was having soft top and hence almost drenched.

Just before reaching the forest area, The rain god helped us to continue, and we started sighting the Natural beauties,

Here are few,
















After these sightings we had reached the GAVI information center where they served Breakfast by 8:30, Surprisingly the food quality was very good, Hats off to Kerala Govt to keeping it well,

Then we were assigned with a Guide Selva kumar, He came to our table and said, sir, please have your breakfast and relax for sometime then we will discuss about the trekking

Once breakfast and the relaxation over, Guide started explaining what is our plan,

Sir, how many hours you want to trek, 1,3,5 ?

We agreed on 3 hours since we were not sure about our capabilities in the forest and also the raining conditions.

Then the Leech socks came into picture :(

Few of the team members afraid about the possibilities of the Leech bites, Including me three of us already Had Leech bite while photographing the animals so the fear is limited for us.

We started and walked for around 700 meters and deviated from the road towards Green belt, Initially we went into a complete grass land for around 40 minutes + and then Guide stopped and instructed

1. Do not make big noise
2. Do not stay in same place for long (Leeches will climb up in pants)
3. Follow the Guide
4. Do not panic if you see any animals
5. Do not leave any footprints

Journey continued and we wondered the nature,



GAVI is a reserve forest and receives more rainfall which cause more Algae in the trees, and more Leeches in the land :)











Lemon Grass













Dangerous Spiders are in the forest (Poisonous and it has web on the way of our path)

Overall, The trek went for 5 hours and then we came back to the GAVI information center, once again had a nice food and back to the Room,

Next day we headed towards Chennai and decided to have a visit to suruli falls, Had a bath and headed towards chennai

Magical place! Your pictures show wonderful detail, thanks for sharing them with us. You are lucky to have visited it at the right time, I doubt Gavi would be as beautiful without the rain Gods being generous.

Our family spent over a week holidaying in Kerala. I forwarded this thread link to my siblings and we feel awful about skipping Gavi!

:thumbs up Whatever public facilities we visited in Kerala were 100% better maintained than their MH counterparts.

Out of curiosity, how do you avoid leaving footprints?

Brilliant pics. Gives you an amazing feel of the jungle and the rains

You've managed to get a pic of the Oriental White eye!! Great

The spiders in your pics are not poisonous - Giant wood spider, they are called I think

Was the safari through the public road itself, or did they take you off-the-road?
How was the crowd? After the malayalam movie 'Ordinary' the rush to Gavi had increased manifold.

Wow! amazing place.

We were planning to visit Gavi in the next couple of months - thanks to the malayalam movie 'Ordinary' which had beautifully captured Gavi's beauty.

Thanks for coming up with the thread.

Beautiful Pictures. Must have been exhilarating to trek into the deep forest.

Got a couple of questions for you.

1. Is it possible to get our own vehicles to Ghavi ? And by any chance you know if a Motorcycle is allowed?
2. Any suggestions of places to visit in Ghavi, ANy viewpoints / boating (Other than Thekkady that is)
3. And What was the cost of renting the Jeep / Trekking?

Thanks :)

Very nics pics of the wildlife and the wilderness. Amazing to see the beautiful greenery all around!

Do let us know more about the location place of stay, other details and pictures of it if any.

Lovely pictures, Gavi has been on the radar ever since HV Kumar and Lalu told me about it, now looking at these pictures need to find dayes to take off. Amazing snaps, and yes, do share more.

Nice written travelog with good pics. Me and my friends had a plan to go to gavi after seeing the Malayalam movie ordinary during onam time. Unfortunately it was dropped due to some other reasons. This will be a guide for us in near future :)

Hi GTO, I agree 100% on Kerala maintenance, And about leaving footprints

It was a hidden sentence of saying "do not mark your territory inside forest which would disturb animals" :)


Thank you very much, But for this i had to run behind it for a long time, it doesn't stay even for 5 seconds in one place


Probably you are right about spider, This was told by Guide and we followed his instructions that "be careful"

And it was the road inside Jungle reserve where we reach the GAVI, and there is only 100 vehicles allowed per day which is good for environment

-- Yes This is what i missed mentioning, you can visit directly through your any two wheel drive vehicles in case you have a accommodation inside GAVI, you can book the accommodation online in GAVI eco tourism, Which would cost you 2200 per person, per night

--- There is a boating place in GAVI itself which will also enable you to visit a waterfalls nearby, Other than that, Munnar is the nearest which would take 5 hours drive atleast

--- For Trekking, Boating with food they charge 1000 per person and if you opt for Jeep safari there is some extra 500 (i remember it is 500), If you are staying anywhere in Thekkady, The Jeep would cost you 2500 as charge (84 kms round trip) + your trekking charge


Here is few more pics




This is a aerial view of waterfalls, Its falling on a 40 ~50 feet depth, And it is not advised to go near this and photograph, Eventually I tried my luck

Brilliant!

This pictures seems like taken out from a Lord of the Rings movie !

I think that also means, not to litter around thowing plastic bags/bottles or any thing which is not bio-degradable. Though I stand corrected!

Anyways, the place itself is very beautiful and have added it to my must watch places list!

Thanks for sharing!

Gavi has been gaining a lot of attention after its mention in a recent Malayalam movie "Ordinary". I hope the surge in tourism does not turn it into another Ooty. We had visited the Silent Valley Forest in November last year and we had to book a slot at the forest office almost one month in advance. Is it required to do the same for visiting the forest in Gavi? If so, can you provide us the phone number for the forest office/wildlife warden?

trtraj, beautiful pictures. Some of them are really Amazing!

I'm ashamed to call myself a Mallu now. Lived there for so many years and never ever visited this place! :Frustrati

In your first post when you have captured those frogs, for the first couple of minutes I couldn't understand why someone would take such a pic. Only to realize later that there is someone hiding behind those leaves. stupid:

Thanks for sharing!

r-six

You can get more details here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...vved-gavi.html
We did a drive from Vandiperiyaar to Angamozzhy and stayed 2 nights at Gavi. But as i know now, you are not permitted beyond Gavi these days.



Wonderful log, brought back a lot of memories.

OMG, I am pleased to receive your comment and Thanks a ton, In fact My Gear helped me to capture it (550D) if its an hotshot it would have been less likely to be a better photo.

Very True, There should not be any plastics other than your Poncho, In fact you do not see any plastics once you enter Kerala

Please visit www.gaviecotourism.com which might give you an option of booking online

It is obvious that we do not give much importance to local places, It happened to me as well, I visited Papanasam in Thirunelveli after 30 full years, And the Frogs were called Leaf frogs, I still wonder the Architecture who designed exactly similar to the leafs

Hi Laluks, Thanks for the comment. I was told that if you have accommodation booked inside GAVI you can bring your own car.