[nilanjanray]

You might find this interesting...stout hearted cow!
Tiger loses fight to cow in Valparai - The Times of India

[Raghunath Singh]

Great travelogue. Enjoyed watching the pictures and as always very informative. I really appreciate your efforts in listing smallest of details that will surely help the others who are planning to travel. A definite 5 star rating from my side.

[Raghunath Singh]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Yes. It is called the Cochin State Forest Tramway Trek. The railway track no longer exists, but we can see the remnants of the same. After some distance though, the railway track bed has been converted into a jeep road.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.......most of the activities at Parambikulam has been called off. There is no Tramway Trek, Moonlight Census and even the Sambar Machan :-(

Had called the reservation office couple of days back, the guy responsible for recreating Parambikulam WLS, Sanjayan Kumar, IFS has been transferred to Thekkady now. Not sure if this triggered the change, the officials owe the change to recent developments in Wildlife Conservation.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

You might find this interesting...stout hearted cow!
Tiger loses fight to cow in Valparai - The Times of India

Thanks Nilanjan. I too read in the newspaper. One hell of the cow it is!!! Anaimalai range has tigers but this was a surprise as people in the area are used to Leopards and they frequently sight them.

Originally Posted by Raghunath Singh

Great travelogue. Enjoyed watching the pictures and as always very informative. I really appreciate your efforts in listing smallest of details that will surely help the others who are planning to travel. A definite 5 star rating from my side.

Originally Posted by Raghunath Singh

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.......most of the activities at Parambikulam has been called off. There is no Tramway Trek, Moonlight Census and even the Sambar Machan :-(

Had called the reservation office couple of days back, the guy responsible for recreating Parambikulam WLS, Sanjayan Kumar, IFS has been transferred to Thekkady now. Not sure if this triggered the change, the officials owe the change to recent developments in Wildlife Conservation.

Thanks Raghunath. It is sad to hear about the changes in Parambikulam. Sanjayan Kumar had doena a phenomenal job there. The website of Parambikulam WLS must rank as one of the best amonsgst all the websites for Wild life sanctuaries in the country. Hopefully all these activities will start soon.

[lloydofcochin]

Sad to see such a majestic animal die.

I'm sharing some pics taken by my friend Frank Benjamin and shared on Facebook. He is the owner of Mistycreek Home-stay in Valparai.

Pic # 13 shows the Tiger's Heart with the Porcupine Quills which pierced it and the probable cause of death.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Sad to see such a majestic animal die.

I'm sharing some pics taken by my friend Frank Benjamin and shared on Facebook. He is the owner of Mistycreek Home-stay in Valparai.

Pic # 13 shows the Tiger's Heart with the Porcupine Quills which pierced it and the probable cause of death.

This is really sad and unfortunate that forest guys could not save it. This news comes along with the news of death of a male tiger in Nagarahole during a territorial fight between two male tigers.

Tiger found dead

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Raghunath Singh

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.......most of the activities at Parambikulam has been called off. There is no Tramway Trek, Moonlight Census and even the Sambar Machan :-(

Originally Posted by Fauji

Thanks Raghunath. It is sad to hear about the changes in Parambikulam. Sanjayan Kumar had doena a phenomenal job there. The website of Parambikulam WLS must rank as one of the best amonsgst all the websites for Wild life sanctuaries in the country. Hopefully all these activities will start soon.

I heard about this news too. A few weeks back, a cousin of mine had called up Parambikulam to check for the Tramway trek, but they said it had been stopped. Since it was summer and it is normal to restrict entry at that time, I assumed that it was a temporary stoppage. But looks like it is a permanent one :(

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Sad to see such a majestic animal die.

Pic # 13 shows the Tiger's Heart with the Porcupine Quills which pierced it and the probable cause of death.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. It is really sad to hear about the tiger which looks healthy in the first few pictures. Atleast, this one was not poached. The tiger died a natural death.

[girishglg]

Aye captain really crisp little travelogue punctured with some really nice pics. Was planning for the next getaway and among the options for quaint destinations was Horsley hills but now it has to be the Annamalais for sure. Its good to see such heritage stay options provided by plantation cos and hope it does not get dotted with hotels and such with just commercial interest and mar its beauty. Thanks for bringing light of a getaway unknown to many! Truly a hidden gem of the south. Also the website of sinnadorais has a great narrative, cheeky and full of character.

[northwood123]

Thanks for the wonderful travelogue! The pictures are spectacular.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Aye captain really crisp little travelogue punctured with some really nice pics. Was planning for the next getaway and among the options for quaint destinations was Horsley hills but now it has to be the Annamalais for sure. Its good to see such heritage stay options provided by plantation cos and hope it does not get dotted with hotels and such with just commercial interest and mar its beauty. Thanks for bringing light of a getaway unknown to many! Truly a hidden gem of the south. Also the website of sinnadorais has a great narrative, cheeky and full of character.

Originally Posted by northwood123

Thanks for the wonderful travelogue! The pictures are spectacular.

Thanks guys. Go there before it gets spoilt by crass commercial tourism. BTW, read this story on Valparai in the magazine section of Hindu newspaper on this Sunday.

The Hindu : FEATURES / SUNDAY MAGAZINE : In the wild woods

Outlook Traveller did feature Sinndorai Bungalow in their May issue as well.

[Fauji]

For all the Wildlife enthusiasts who want to know more about Lion Tailed Macaque, here is an excellent article published in the latest issue of Frontline Magazine.

Many moods of the macaque

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Thanks guys. Go there before it gets spoilt by crass commercial tourism. BTW, read this story on Valparai in the magazine section of Hindu newspaper on this Sunday.

The Hindu : FEATURES / SUNDAY MAGAZINE : In the wild woods

Had read that Hindu magazine article - definitely not keeping to the standard of The Hindu. Why would somebody who had enough of wildlife just because a monkey snatched a piece of bread from his hand, visit a place like Valparai. And why should Hindu publish it??

[PearlJam]

Hi Fauji, I heard that children below 12 are not welcome at SinnaDorai. Is that correct? Are they strictly enforcing this? Thanks in advance.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

Hi Fauji, I heard that children below 12 are not welcome at SinnaDorai. Is that correct? Are they strictly enforcing this? Thanks in advance.

Pearljam,

I answered this question earlier in this thread. NO, THERE IS NO RESTRICTIONS AT ALL. After i saw your question, i just now called up Sujata who is the Manager for Sinnadorai and she again reconfirmed that there is NO SUCH RESTRICTIONS AND KIDS OF ANY AGE ARE WELCOME

So no worries, take kids.

[PearlJam]

Thanks fauji. The earlier question that was answered was only about "how safe it is" in general for Valparai! The website of the bungalow (and also some other link) only mentioned kids above 12 years. Anyway, thanks for confirming!