One Monday morning, after a sleepy ride to office in the back seat of our office cab, the day was normal like any other day in BangaloreAfter reading my mails, some how I double clicked the folder where I used to store the photos I clicked.
Nostalgia, I started browsing through those photos from my earlier trips, and I got stuck in Pics from Parambikkulam. Those were from days of Film Cameras that was a basic Camera (Yashika fixed Focus - MF-2 Super), which I scanned some time last year. I have been there at Parambikkulam several times with friends and family, and was one of the sweet spot to be in for me. Thought of trying luck or fate or whatever you call, a quick call to my friend who used to accompany me for some of those trips. Success, I got the positive answer and he is available for the date which was in my mind
To add a bit of info here for those who are not familiar with this place, Parambikkulam Wild life sanctuary is situated in Palakkad District in Kerala. But the route to reach is only via Tamilnadu and so the nearest town is Pollachi.It comes after Top Slip which is a part of Tamilnadu. So to reach Aanappady (Where over night stay reservation, ticket booking etc), we have to cross two checkposts of Tamilnadu and one from Kerala. In 2010, it was declared as a part of National Tiger Reserve and from then they introduced some more restrictions One of the restriction is self driven vehicle are allowed inside the park only if we book an overnight stay which was not the case earlier. Two wheeler was strictly not allowed from earlier itself. Tribal people who were working inside the park for daily wages helps in maintaining the park extremely well and we can rarely spot a plastic bottle/Waste paper in and around the park. As a result it was selected as best maintained Tiger reserve in India by a Calcutta based NGO (I guess in 2013?)
Now back to computer,googled and got the contact number from
www.parambikkulam.org which is the official site maintained by Kerala Forest Department. To my wonder, Our trip got finalized in next five minutes!. With first call itself I got the reply and our accommodation got confirmed - A tree top hut at Parambikkulam. Its was an extremely unusual thing to happen with me ( May be true for any other city dwellers too), Normally it takes days for me to finalize any trips like this, or atleast a few hours of google, ask a friend, then rest for me to find a suitable date. But, here nothing of that sort happened
Now let me introduced my Travel Companions
- My Brown Heron: Duster RXL 110:-
A full tank Diesel from Shell Bunk
Air pressure checks
Water Wash I did myself
ProKlear Water Repellent coated myself for wind shield, side windows and rear.
- My Extra Eyes: Nikon D3300 with Kit Lens :-
AF-S VR ZOOM-NIKKOR 70-300MM F/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
(I was a Canon guy recently changed to Nikon and getting used to it and process of collecting Lenses)
- Dash cam: SJ4000 :-
(I love this device even its a compromise Model, it serve the purpose)
My Friend is against it since it record the conversation inside the car - Need to see option to disable Voice Recording
- My Guide: Map My India :-
The Plan was to have a Solo drive from Bangalore to Udumalpettu in Tamilnadu, form there after picking my friend, then head to Parambikkulam which is our destination. Animal sightings at Parambikkulam are as usual like any other wildlife Sanctuary, its purely luck and timing. Earlier at Parambikkulam, I have Sighted Elephants, Crocodiles, Alligators Snakes, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Bison, Leopards, Wild Boar, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Malabar Hornbill, some other Birds. Not lucky enough to see a Tiger, but heard roar of tiger from distance in the early Morning. Now Waiting for the planned day to start.
Bangalore to Udumalai Route
Udumalai to Parambikkulam.
Day1:-
The Starting Point.It was a Sunday early Morning since my luggage were already loaded into the car previous Night itself, I started around 2:30Am from Bangalore to Udumalai. Its around 390Km drive and normally when I am alone, I prefer a non-stop drive. Around 50Km before reaching Udumalpettu, there is an area with lot of Windmills installed for power generation and if you happen to be there at just sunrise, its a nice view
Windmill Background
Reached Udumalai around 7:30Am after half an hour nap in between, and met my friend.We had breakfast and by around 9:30Am, we headed to Parambikkulam. Its another 72 Km drive. This route was nice with lots of greenery around hence I preferred a slow drive enjoying the surrounding. Around 11:30Am we reached the first check post on Tamilnadu, There they check the car for liquor, then some fees for car and camera, we continued. Within 15 minutes first Wildlife sighting - A group of elephants with a calf which is not very young at the road side. One of them, may be Mother elephant was bit suspicious about our presence for some time, but was not angry mood and then continued calmly. Enjoyed them grazing for about 5 minutes and from there we reached second check post in Tamilnadu which is in Top Slip. There they register the vehicle number, checked the tickets. Here also there is option for safari/Elephant Rides and stay, but less people prefer it
First glimpse of wild Elephant.
Safari Elephant at Topslip.
We started from Top slip and climate started changing slowly, Till then it was a moderate day. From there It started drizzling and it went through out the day which I like, but my Camera/Lens doesn't. We reached Parambikkulam, Aanappady around 12:00Pm and to my Surprise, my car clocked exactly 22000Km at out destination. There we paid the fees for our package which includes food, safari, Boating and guide fee based on the accommodation being selected. We got our guide, Murugan, who was born and brought up in same forest and belongs to one of the four tribes officially allowed to live inside the park.
He explained us the schedule and it goes like as below
- After Lunch, a Safari in the Otter and in that ride, the following are included
(They named Safari vans based on different animal seen in the park, mostly Swaraj Mazdas and Mahindra tourister, Other names are Hornbill, Thar etc)
- Dam view point
- One more view point
- Two Dam Site (Tunakkadavu and Parambikkulam)
- Lake Rafting
- Kannimara Teak - Worlds Largest natural Teak
- A Tribal Dance
The Lunch will be served only at 1:30Pm. Hence we thought of keeping our luggage in the hut, but our purpose was to have a drive through the park with our guide expecting some animal sightings and it paid off. Peacocks, wild boars, Black Langurs and Spotted deer were in abundance. Within 200 meters from the Aanappady, On road side again a group of seven elephants with one male calf and rest are females. The calf was peeling off the skin if a tree using it's small tusks and eating.
Elephants
More.
Male Calf Peeling of a tree Skin and eating.
A Butterfly.
An owl and Birds around the Reservation Counter.
Deer - Practice Fight.
Peacock.
We reached our tree top hut and I parked the car in front of it. This hut is familiar to me from my previous visits and its the first time I am going to stay in it. Its on the side of the lake created by the Reservoir. The hut is supported by four giant live teak trees and one or two small trees. The flooring was vitrified tiles, (But I prefer it to be natural wood/logs, which some people disagree), Walls are with bamboo and bamboo ply. Inside the room there is a table fan, two bed, a water filter, Plates and Glasses.There is an attached bathroom with heater which I find it OK for a place like this. At the veranda there are two cane chairs which is very comfortable with another hanging chair. There were lizards in the tree which is expected in a forest environment, and more over we are into their territory. The view from the veranda is facing the lake and is amazing, felt like I can spend hours without getting bored or hungry and actually it is.
Our Tree Top Stay
Veranda.
Inside the Room.
View From the hut.
View Behind the Hut.
A Sambar Deer on the way to tree top hut.
Around 3:30Pm, , The Otter came, our safari van which was already full of foreigners (They were not speaking English) and two seats for us. It was heavily raining that time and I thought I should not take my 300mm lens which I am regretting now. The rain stopped within 10 minutes and sky was clear and I am handicapped with my 18-55mm Kit lens. There was a 10 minute stop at both view points and Dam sites which I didn't find much interesting. But one the way to teak tree location, there was open field, which was full of Bisons and Sambar and one among that a unusually huge Male Bison. Then we reached Kannimara teak Location. Actual meaning of the name in Malayalam/Tamil "Kanni" means Virgin and "Mara" means tree. There is a folklore behind this Teak which is written near tree site and you can easily get from internet also. I heard most of the people pronouncing this name as "Connemara" may be they are more familiar with Taj Connemara. There is one more Teak somewhere deep inside the forest which is not easily accessible. That is much thicker than Kannimara teak , but it lost the title of "Then Biggest Natural Teak" because its not tall as compared to this tree and the damage was caused by Lightning stiked at the top. (I am not sure if it is in Parambikkulam forest or some other forest in Kerala)
Kannimara Teak.
The Board near the Teak.
Our next point is River rafting Site which is at the catchment area of the Parambikkulam dam. It is near to Old Parambikkulam Round which was the only Location where food/Snacks were available earlier for the Visitors before announcing it as a tiger Reserve. In the center of the round, there is a Marble engrave showing this sanctuary was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, and that time it was under Madras State. There is a Police station near this and I remember seeing Leopard resting over the fence of the police station during my earlier Visit. Now it got a new Building
Parambikkulam Round.
The Rafting Site was amazing without a piece of waste paper or Plastic.Lake was having crystal clear water. The raft we about to go is made of Bamboo and can accommodate 20 people. Three people were rowing the raft. I felt Happy as well as Sad same time because there are around 20 elephants at opposite side of the lake with a Huge Male Tusker Running Fast towards our left side. Where as on the same side of the Lake, where we are standing to board the raft, there were another five elephants with a new born calf. I come to know from the Boat guy that because of this new born calf only, this group of five is staying there and avoid crossing the lake. Why I felt sad is that I didn't take my 300Mm because of rain and those tusker and other elephants were well above the reach of 55mm Lens. They took us in raft for about 30 minutes and after the ride there they served a Hot tea/Coffee.
Rafting site.
Otter resting after dropping us at Dam Site.
Elephants on the other side,Too far for my Lens.
Our Raft.
While Returning back, it was almost getting dark and on the road near a turn, there is something on the road. A group of around fifteen bison. We stopped there for 2-3 minutes and one by one started disappearing to the Forest. Again within next one Km, elephants, there were three of them. Unlike Bison, elephants are determined to block our way even after waiting for 10 minutes. Now its the Safari Driver's turn. He started pushing the accelerator hard and with that engine noise also elephants didn't show any sign of leaving the way for us except one which ran to our left and still in out sight. Then he took the vehicle towards elephants and in panic, they started running, luckily it ran to the other side and went inside the forest. After that point road was full of Bisons, Sambar and Deers.
A heard of Bison.
Elephant at Strike, Blocking us.
A Langur, Our Bedsheet thief ?
Otter dropped back us to our Hut and our Guide mentioned that not to roam outside during Night since this area is know to have Sloth Bear - One the the most dangerous animal to approach in Indian Jungle after Elephant. He also suggest to park the car a bit far away where there is a canteen for forest guards to avoid wild animals damaging the car. By around 8:30Pm, food was brought in a tower container bu our guide to our tree top hut and was good and we were Non-veg. After dinner, We sat in the Verandah for some time, thought of listening to the Jungle. Since its was raining, mating call of frogs were everywhere with sudden rush of Langur howl. This particular call is made when it spots danger and Langurs are watchers of the jungle. Mostly a leopard or a Tiger. Occasional calls of different birds which I cant identify clearly, I felt few of them are made by an Owl, The bigger species. Later some noises below tree where our Hut was made and when I checked, observed that it was a family of wild boars with tiny babies. Babies were having
stripes over their Body which will disappear while growing up.
Now Bed time - To our surprise, one the blanket is missing which was present when we got into the hut initially. We remember we kept one of the blanket outside the room by my friend and we started searching We found it in the Lake and some Monkeys visited our hut when we were out for the safari and they throw it into the lake which we recovered. The climate was so nice we didn't use blanker or Fan. The trekking was planned for next day 6:30 AM.
Day2 Continue Soon.