[vijayols]

The trekking bug is relentless and keeps biting you.It had already been more than a month since the last trek to Kodachadri and this time it was the constant follow up from Vishal who had been for a couple of treks with me including the kodachadri one who pushed me to plan a trek.What started off as a stress buster trip for Vishal ended up with four middle-aged men planning for an extended weekend starting on saturday and reaching back on Tuesday evening.








I was more than happy to pass on the options to Vishal which varied from a trek in Pench,to the netravati trek in Goa,to the Nadumale trek in karnataka and finally any trek in Tamil Nadu in the newly released portal by the TN govt to promote eco tourism.

The portal www.trektamilnadu.com which kicked off from November 1st and allowed options for treks on Friday/Saturday and Sunday has many wonderful trails and we picked the moderate 11 kms trek from Cauliflower shola to Kolaribetta which overlooked the avalanche lake and in fact started from avalanche forest check post.

The trek cost Rs 3500 per person and was expected to take 6 hours including a jeep ride to and fro from Avalanche to Cauliflower shola.The option of trekking from Avalanche to Kolaribetta which would have added another 10 kms to the trek and would be classified as tough was also there.

So the plan was that Vishal and me would start on saturday morning from Whitefield in Bangalore by 7 am and enroute pick Sreepad and Hari to Avalanche where were booked for the night at Kings Nook resort about 3 kms from our starting point.

The journey was largely uneventful till we hit Bandipur forest where we were lucky to spot a sloth bear though we could only capture a glimpse of the beauty on the phone camera. In fact through the trip we also could spot several elephants,bisons,hares,jungle fowls,barking deer and the spotted deer besides tons of peacocks in the rains.






Though we could spot the sloth bear by the time I could zoom on the phone could only capture a part of the bear.
















A hare scampering in the tea estate


A shy fleeting pair of barking deer amongst the tea gardens.

We did stop at Nanjangud for a visit to the famed Nanjangud temple and reached ooty late evening and headed straight to Moddys for some ice-cream and chocolate purchase.

For me by far the best chocolates in Ooty has to be from Moddys where I was particularly a fan of their exotic flavored chocolates. After all of us had finished our ice creams and made our chocolate purchases we made our way in the darkness to Avalache and our stay for the night.

Ice creams in cold weather and hot ginger chai with Ooty varkey biscuits was some how a must do when in Ooty for me. That and some ooty carrots are like a match made in heaven. Hmmmm.

Driving in the night with some crazy taxi drivers using high beam and the fog with intermittent rains is always a challenge and fun to drive at the same time. We did manage to reach the resort by 8.30 pm and informed them to keep some dinner ready.

[vijayols]

The only thing going for Kings Nook Resort which cost us Rs 10k for 2 rooms and nothing else (Infact did not even give us the luxury of using the rooms for freshening up after the trek maybe a couple of hours past their scheduled check out time.)was the location was the closest to the trek start point.The view of the avalanche lake and the food was also good though.


The view from the room overlooked the avalanche lake.



We had no time for breakfast as the trek reporting time was 7.30 am and we were told breakfast would probably be available at the Forest gate which was the starting point.


The forest check post gate was the start point.

Luckily the hotel opened by 7.45 that day and we were able to grab a quick bite and chai before the trek.There was another trekker joining us from Coimbatore Prashant a young boy who has just embarked on his professional career with a start up addressing cheaper luxury travel from airports to business hubs like from Coimbatore to Tirupur.


The 5 trekkers with the 3 guides and the 4th guide being the photographer!

We were debriefed by our guides led by Somu who incidentally is a badaga by birth.The interesting history of the badagas community is that they had emigrated from the plains of Mysore to become the hill people of the nilgiris.
They can speak some kannada as well as tamil and ofcourse their native language Badaga.Somu infact being a guide who used to run his own organisation and is very knowledgeable about the local terrain spoke good english too.

This being a new programme initiative they also took plenty of photos with us.The nice gesture was that each of us were presented with a bag full of goodies and essentials like a nice sun cap,a pack of juice and ORS,a pack of peanuts,a box of dehydrated poha for lunch and a leaflet of all the birds with information on their names and identification.

So we were now all set to start off on the cauliflower shola kolaribetta peak trek

Of course we too were curious about what exactly is cauliflower shola?A literal translation of a tamil word for the place? Turns out that when we spotted the dense shola trees on the mountain they looked like brocolli or Cauliflower shaped from the top and hence the name I guess.

The jeep ride to the start point of the trek which we chose by picking the moderate trek(The tough trek started from here on foot and traversed the same terrain but added 10 km to the total trekking distance.The trek from here would be on the road taken by the jeep though).

The ride as you would expect from most serene and largely untravelled forest road through thick tree foliages on either side was exhilarating.

The air was nippy and cold especially with the cloud covered overcast sky a direct result of the cyclonic effect near chennai.The weather forecast for the day was favorable with rains predicted at 4 pm today unlike the previous day which was rains for most of the day.Just the perfect weather for a great days trek.

Our Driver who had neatly decorated the jeep was from the Toda tribe who again were a native tribe of the nilgiris.He was to pick us again at the end of our trek from the same spot.He pointed out to several birds based on their calls mentioning that the region was a treasure trove for Bird watchers.



The trek started with a steep ascend through the tree foliage on a narrow slippery mud trail which quickly opened out to a huge valley densely packed with cauliflower shaped Shola trees for as far as the eyes could see.What a calming effect this had on all of us trekkers.It was so wonderful to soak in the beauty of the forest.A short distance later we crossed a small stream and after a short walk through the forest reached a vast meadow full of lush green grass.We could spot the Kolaribetta at a distance with a Tower on the top which was our destination.





Somu was informing us about the various plants and trees endemic to the area as well as growing wild in the forest.He also told us that the kolaribetta peak was the second highest in Tamil Nadu @8625 feet after Doddabetta.The other peak Devarabetta which was rated a tough trek from Avalanche was also visible from here but seemed to be through dense forest land.





A lovely gurgling stream with a cute wooden log bridge to cross looked pretty amongst the grassland.The route was a gentle elevation with the vegetation varing from lemon grass plants to the shola forest in the distance and as we gained eevation we could spot one,two three,the count going upto seven lakes on one side in the far distance.The blue water between the vast green terrain looked so much like alpine lakes up in the himalayas.









The other side opened up to the group of Avalanche lakes amidst human settlement.The sun was beating down but luckily the winds get the temperature cool as we shortly reached the peak by lunch time.











The journey had been easy and pleasant and seemed to be apt for first time trekkers or even kids.Seemed to more in the range of easy than the moderate it was described as by the forest department.

The sights are also worth it with lakes on both sides visible and rolling green hills all around.










And yes impeccable service from the team of guides who had dipped the dehydrated poha in hot water and served as piping hot poha for lunch to be washed down with a paper boat Mango drink and some ORS and finally a bag of peanuts and chikki as desert.Talk about overkill for the effort made.Looked to me that we gained more calories than we spent!

The journey back as usual was much more easier than the ascend and rather without much incident given the gentleness of the terrain.It was also at a leisurely pace as we stopped to snap photographs.Oh well it wasn't exactly all smooth sailing as Vishal had a small slip and hurt his ankle but it was nothing serious.

We then had the jeep meeting us at the designated spot and we were back at the base by around 2.30 pm.It was quite crowded at this point with the spot being a picnic spot for tourists wanting to see the Avalanche lake up close.
Always was fascinated by the beauty of the Avalanche lake.

We then took off to our destination for the night at Devashola homestay in Kolicombay.The most heavenly part of the trip.But more on that after a brief thoughts on the trek organised by the TN Govt.

The pros were

The Govt opening up several locations promoting eco tourism which had been unaccessable in the past to the tourists.Treks from Top slip and to Mukurti seemed to be salivating options.

The goodies kit was nice.

The number of guides and their knowledge on the terrian was good.

The trek route was not crowded and pristine.

Not much of waste thrown and failed to collect much of plastic waste in my recycling eco bag.

The cons were

The treks were priced a tad expensive compared to other treks.But I guess they would learn as the gain experience.

The treks were only open on fridays,saturday and sunday instead of all days of the week.

Dustbins in the base were defective though to be fair it was better to dump the plastic and other waste collected back to Bangalore rather than dispose the same at ooty.

Overall I would give a thumbs up to the new initiate and wish them all the luck in the success.Hope to explore many more treks in TN in the future.

[vijayols]

Now back to the story as we thoroughly enjoyed the drive from Avalanche to Kolicombay through the tea gardens including Chamraj tea estate where we stopped to enjoy a cup of hot flavored green tea(Saffron-rose flavor for me).The board mentioned Chamraj tea estate was the second highest in the country.

On cue at 4 pm the heavens opened up.Simply amazing how weather.com got its prediction bang on.The mist covered road and the green tea estates all around was simply heaven.







By the time we reached the familiar Devashola Home stay it was past lunch time and more tea time territory.We were treated to some hot ginger chai and pokodas which we hungrily devoured.We were put up this time in Bison Valley which were comfortable and cosy not to mention economical.Rajitha was our cook who was hosting us.The one thing you could count on at Devashola is their impeccable hospitality and the fussing they do over the guests to ensure a comfortable stay.The views also are simply breathtaking.








Next day we woke up for a nice trek around the property.The rest of the day was spent lazing around before we set out for a short ride to Conoor where we drove to have a cup of tea at Oasis Glendale near dolphins nose.We didn't make the effort to book a table at Cafe diem.

A lazy day done we were all set to end the wonderful break and head back to home.We were lucky to spot some more wild life on the way back.



Signing off by looking forward to exploring some more treks in TN in the future.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Neil Roy]

Really appreciate the efforts of Tamil nadu Govt. Forest department initiative to organize controlled trekking inside protected areas which are otherwise not allowed to the general public. You must visit my estate too if you are planning on using trektamilnadu services in kanyakumari

trektamilnadu has launched trekking in injikaduvu too and many nature lovers and environmentalists are coming here regularly now. Unlike in ooty where you can see many wild animals, injikadavu is famous for frogs, insects and a very unique fauna. Of course you can see the odd elephant, bison, deer, bear, leopard or even the tiger if you are very lucky. Sharing the video link posted in their website. At the 3 min mark, you can see the road that leads up to my estate. An off-roaders delight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZFH2yWpt6k

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

Really appreciate the efforts of Tamil nadu Govt. Forest department initiative to organize controlled trekking inside protected areas which are otherwise not allowed to the general public. You must visit my estate too if you are planning on using trektamilnadu services in kanyakumari

trektamilnadu has launched trekking in injikaduvu too and many nature lovers and environmentalists are coming here regularly now. Unlike in ooty where you can see many wild animals, injikadavu is famous for frogs, insects and a very unique fauna. Of course you can see the odd elephant, bison, deer, bear, leopard or even the tiger if you are very lucky. Sharing the video link posted in their website. At the 3 min mark, you can see the road that leads up to my estate. An off-roaders delight.
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=wZFH2yWpt6k

Thank you Neil both for your invite to your estate and for the information shared.Would definitely want to take advantage of both.

Would be great if you can suggest treks to try especially for Bangalore folks who have very little idea about the trekking scene in Tamil Nadu.My knowledge was only limited to Ooty side and Top slip where I have visited by road.Same I am sure is for my many trekker friends and group who would love to explore options in TN especially with so many untouched forests thrown open to eco tourists.A guide rating difficulty levels can also be shared to help people make infirmed decisions on treks to opt for depending on their fitness levels.Like I found the moderate difficulty level rating for the Cauliflower-kolaribetta or the difficulty level rating of avalanche-kolribetta ridiculous and would scale it down immediately a notch below to easy and maybe moderate which would also be generous.

Hope you can reply with suggested treks and high points as per the TN trek guide to help us decide treks to try.

Also wanted to check if your estate is doable on a 4X4 Tucson?

[VijayAnand1]

Brilliant. Being an Ooty-ite happy to see the deeper portion of Avalanche brought to forth. Next time, if possible, you can also trek from Kodanadu, which is an even more adventurous trek.

Cheers!
VJ

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Brilliant. Being an Ooty-ite happy to see the deeper portion of Avalanche brought to forth. Next time, if possible, you can also trek from Kodanadu, which is an even more adventurous trek.

Cheers!
VJ

Ooty is to bangaloreans what Goa is to beach lovers.

Would love to explore options from kodanadu if there are trekking trails or someone organising treks from there.The place is just so beautiful just to drive to so can imagine the beauty it can offer on foot.

Pointers on the same would be of great help to fellow trekkers.

Cheers.

Vijay

[Sonali Singh]

Thank you for the recommendation and the write-up. I happened to be in Ooty this week and went for the Cauliflower Kolaribetta trek. Fabulous it was! It was raining throughout and was quite cold, and the wind at the top of the hill was something else. I got lucky, as I was the only person to sign up for the day, so the feeling of splendid isolation was even more pronounced.

Just a comment on difficulty level for those undertaking it in the future: while I was back at the car park by 12 after we sat in the jeep at 7:15, the difficulty level should remain moderate account of the initial few minutes - the slopes had become treacherous in the rains.

[vijayols]

Originally Posted by Sonali Singh

Thank you for the recommendation and the write-up. I happened to be in Ooty this week and went for the Cauliflower Kolaribetta trek. Fabulous it was! It was raining throughout and was quite cold, and the wind at the top of the hill was something else. I got lucky, as I was the only person to sign up for the day, so the feeling of splendid isolation was even more pronounced.

Just a comment on difficulty level for those undertaking it in the future: while I was back at the car park by 12 after we sat in the jeep at 7:15, the difficulty level should remain moderate account of the initial few minutes - the slopes had become treacherous in the rains.

Thanks Sonali.And great that you could squeeze in a trek in this lovely weather at Ooty.I am sure the rains would have enhanced the beauty much more and the greenery of the trek would have been amazing.

The treks are yet to get popular and we can enjoy the solitude and the skewed guide to trekker ratio till it lasts.

Hope to explore more of the treks in TN in the coming months.

Cheers.

Vijay