Civved : Gavi

laluks · 5th March 2011, 22:54

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

By 14:30PM we started our hard trek for the trip. We decided to go into thick vegetation to a nearby check dam and return to the main road from the other side. Kids decided to stayback as it was a hard trek.

The initial route for the trek.

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I froze when I saw this fellow. Who is it?

Some how gathered strength and reached the Check Dam

The views around the check Dam

We got down the other side of the check dam and continued our trek.

continued...

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:05

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

We trekked along the wet vegetations braving the leech. By now I have given Gavi a nick name, The Leech Land.

The Leech attacks.

The scary trek paths

I kind of froze again on seeing these.

A wild elephant was here. He had taken fresh mud from here

A poisonous spider

Whose mark is it?

Again regained some strength and trekked back at full speed to the road.

continued...

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:17

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

All that was enough for me. I pushed them to reach the road faster.

The scary trekpaths

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Size: 379.1 KB

Ah! What a relief. Road sweet roads. I would have never ever craved for the roads like that.

We reached the roads

Finally reached the dining area by 16:15PM.

The hanging flowers

They are called thumpergia

Mr. Verghese promised to pick me up and the kids by 17:30PM for the evening safari. After tea, we relaxed in the room.

continued...

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:31

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

Exactly at 17:30PM, we started with the safari. This time we went towards vandiperiyaar direction.

Some Gaurs

We reached the first Checkpost.

From here this road goes to Pullumedu. Can you spot a barking deer?

This is a narrow road leading to Pullumedu. From Pullumedu you can see Makara Jyothi light very clearly. This is the route preferred by believers coming from Kumily direction. The forest department allows passage on this route only during the Sabarimala Season.

This route has become infamous recently due to the stampede tragedy in January 2011.

continued....

Funda · 5th March 2011, 23:36

Amazing pics....I like your way of story telling...I know whom to reach out the next time I am looking for a short break in and around south India. Your pics remind me of Aagumbe where you have similar dense clouds through the day. Every two hours you have rain and the visibility gets cleared for a few minutes and then back to mist. Waiting for the next set of pics. Thanks for sharing

Quote:

Originally Posted by laluks

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

Whose mark is it?
Attachment 512135

Again regained some strength and trekked back at full speed to the road.

continued...

I Guess its the Pug marks of a male Tiger. Please correct me if I am wrong.

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:42

Day02, 27.08.2010
GAVI

We turned around at the checkpost and started our return to the cottage.

We saw more Gaurs on the way back up the hills.

We reached the cottage back by 18:45PM. By this time Mr. Varghese was almost sure that I'd go via the other route and not the one via Vallakadavu Checkpost and Vandiperiyaar.

He agreed to come with me, and since anyway I had to reach Vagamon for the next day night I promised him to be dropped at Kuttikkakanam. From there Vandiperiyaar is very nearby and he could get back. He was more interested in the drive than me, and that enthusiasm was indeed helpful. I suddenly added the plan of visiting Pampa, and he was overjoyed with the decision. We parted for the day agreeing that we'll leave after breakfast the next day for our adventure. It turned out to be a very strong one for our poor Civvy, but she managed it just fine with our love and care.

We had our simple dinner by 20:30PM and we retired for the day. I was already dreaming about the very long day ahead, with so much of uncertainties in my mind.

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funda

Amazing pics....I like your way of story telling...I know whom to reach out the next time I am looking for a short break in and around south India. Your pics remind me of Aagumbe where you have similar dense clouds through the day. Every two hours you have rain and the visibility gets cleared for a few minutes and then back to mist. Waiting for the next set of pics. Thanks for sharing

Thanks Funda. Agumbe I guess is always wet. But here it is only in monsoons, and the funny part is that it rained all the way till November non stop in Kerala last year.

laluks · 5th March 2011, 23:57

Before moving on with the story of Day 03, there is an interesting stuff I wanted to share with you all. It is about the different variety of moth I was able to capture in those few hours at Gavi. Atleast 20 varieties I could capture

Moth Photos, See them all to believe it. Consider this also to be wild life

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Nutty Nair · 6th March 2011, 00:17

Lalu, this was an eagerly awaited travelogue and as usual you have not disappointed us. Thanks for sharing this. One of my friends went to Gavi and told that the roads were pretty bad. Your poor Civvy must have taken a beating. How is she holding up? Btw you seem to have found out the correct settings for shooting in misty environs towards the later half of the log. Great job, pal. Rated 5* from my side. Also, pl. share the phone no: of Mr. Varghese. I think I may have some use of him.

laluks · 6th March 2011, 08:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

Lalu, this was an eagerly awaited travelogue and as usual you have not disappointed us. Thanks for sharing this. One of my friends went to Gavi and told that the roads were pretty bad. Your poor Civvy must have taken a beating. How is she holding up? Btw you seem to have found out the correct settings for shooting in misty environs towards the later half of the log. Great job, pal. Rated 5* from my side. Also, pl. share the phone no: of Mr. Varghese. I think I may have some use of him.

Thanks Nutty for the stars

.

Especially near Kakki Dam area, Civvy had to undergo a terrible stretch. We managed to pull it through, but those craters are big. She had scratches all over the body on both sides due to the narrow road and bushes extending on to the road.

Those photos are pure luck yaar

Mr. Varghese can be contacted at 0 9961144794. The mobile networks are weak there, and he has to climb some trees for the call. So expect some network issues. I hope he does not get shocked that he have become famous.

If you are going please let me know, I am supposed to have sent him all the snaps, and you know how busy I had turned out to be after the trips.

mallumowgli · 6th March 2011, 13:18

Vow! Another TL from Laluks to get inspired of. Thanks for bringing the beauty of the place out. And kudos to your family for the enthusiasm they have shown in going to such off-beat places

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funda

I Guess its the Pug marks of a male Tiger. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Is this a Tiger? Looks more like that of a leopard. Tigers are more close set, I think. In any case, find such fresh ones during a trek with only three members is...

laluks · 6th March 2011, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Vow! Another TL from Laluks to get inspired of. Thanks for bringing the beauty of the place out. And kudos to your family for the enthusiasm they have shown in going to such off-beat places

Thanks mallumowgli. They like the offbeat path and always help me with the planning too.

laluks · 6th March 2011, 17:22

Day03, 28.08.2010
GAVI

We had planned to leave Gavi by 09:30, so that we could drive to Angamoozhy, and from there reach Plappally and then connect to Mundakkayam and then to Kuttikkanam and further to Vagamon. Around 150KM drive and we budgeted 7 hours. We planned for 09:30AM so that we would reach the destination atleast during the day when we had sunlight, and also to avoid the misty situations at Kuttikanam. Since we thought we had additionally some two more hours during the day we added the visit to Pampa and the foothills of Sabarimala to the itinery. A total of 200Kms and 9hours at disposal we were determined to do it.

One great thing we overlooked was the road conditions from Gavi to Angamoozhy. In the end we reached Angamoozhy only by 15:30PM, and that makes it 60Km in 6hours. You can guess the road conditions now, and yes the beauty around.

But we stuck to the original plan, and we visited pampa and left Pampa by 17:30PM, and stopped at Mundakkayam for the much needed meal of the day, since we had not eaten anything other than junk food for the day. From Gavi till Angamoozhy, if you plan to travel carry food with you.

We reached Kuttikkanam by 20:00PM after negotiating the thick fog. Mr. Varghese and us had to go in the different directions that our life takes us from then. He said bye for then and got on to a bus to Vandiperiyaar and we turned left to tackle the foggy conditions further to reach Vagamon by 21:00PM. A total of 200KM, 60KM taking 6 hours and the rest 140Km in 3 hours.

The story and pictures follows.

laluks · 6th March 2011, 17:38

Day03, 28.08.2010
GAVI

We packed up, dumped the luggage in our Civvy and got ready to have our breakfast by 08:00.

The Key to our cottage. It gives you a number to Call

The parting shots of our cottage

Some been there moments

Getting Civvy out from where he relaxed for two days.

But the roads taxed our Civvy. She did not know what was coming on her way next. This was just a trailer
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Size: 498.6 KB

Some views

From here you could see Sabarimala, but the cloud cover did not help us that day.

I took Civvy down and parked near the reception and went for breakfast. Mr. Varghese was getting ready for a full day trip and was busy handing over certain responsibilities to his wife and to office.

continued...

laluks · 6th March 2011, 17:51

Day03, 28.08.2010
GAVI

The day was bright. There was no rains. Weather was cool. Overall we felt it was an excellent day. For the record it was a Saturday. Since it was almost 10days ago we started our holidays, which day it was did not made any impact

The place looked more beautiful today.

I walked up to the Bridge across the Gavi Lake.

There was a welcome note too which we missed in the fog

The beautiful Gavi Lake

The Boat Landing Area

The dining area covered in Greens

The Reception to KFDC Green Mansions

Finally by 09:30 Mr. Varghese comes with the Check Out Certificate to be shown at the Checkposts.

So finally we have to say bye to the KFDC Eco Tourism Centre at Gavi for now. We slowly rolled on excited about the adventure we had in stock for us next.

continued...

5th March 2011, 22:54	#31
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day02, 27.08.2010 GAVI By 14:30PM we started our hard trek for the trip. We decided to go into thick vegetation to a nearby check dam and return to the main road from the other side. Kids decided to stayback as it was a hard trek. The initial route for the trek. I froze when I saw this fellow. Who is it? Some how gathered strength and reached the Check Dam The views around the check Dam We got down the other side of the check dam and continued our trek. continued... Last edited by laluks : 5th March 2011 at 23:07.
	() Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:05	#32
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day02, 27.08.2010 GAVI We trekked along the wet vegetations braving the leech. By now I have given Gavi a nick name, The Leech Land. The Leech attacks. The scary trek paths I kind of froze again on seeing these. A wild elephant was here. He had taken fresh mud from here A poisonous spider Whose mark is it? Again regained some strength and trekked back at full speed to the road. continued...
	(1) Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:17	#33
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day02, 27.08.2010 GAVI All that was enough for me. I pushed them to reach the road faster. The scary trekpaths Ah! What a relief. Road sweet roads. I would have never ever craved for the roads like that. We reached the roads Finally reached the dining area by 16:15PM. The hanging flowers They are called thumpergia Mr. Verghese promised to pick me up and the kids by 17:30PM for the evening safari. After tea, we relaxed in the room. continued...
	(1) Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:31	#34
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day02, 27.08.2010 GAVI Exactly at 17:30PM, we started with the safari. This time we went towards vandiperiyaar direction. Some Gaurs We reached the first Checkpost. From here this road goes to Pullumedu. Can you spot a barking deer? This is a narrow road leading to Pullumedu. From Pullumedu you can see Makara Jyothi light very clearly. This is the route preferred by believers coming from Kumily direction. The forest department allows passage on this route only during the Sabarimala Season. This route has become infamous recently due to the stampede tragedy in January 2011. continued....
	(1) Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:42	#36
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day02, 27.08.2010 GAVI We turned around at the checkpost and started our return to the cottage. We saw more Gaurs on the way back up the hills. We reached the cottage back by 18:45PM. By this time Mr. Varghese was almost sure that I'd go via the other route and not the one via Vallakadavu Checkpost and Vandiperiyaar. He agreed to come with me, and since anyway I had to reach Vagamon for the next day night I promised him to be dropped at Kuttikkakanam. From there Vandiperiyaar is very nearby and he could get back. He was more interested in the drive than me, and that enthusiasm was indeed helpful. I suddenly added the plan of visiting Pampa, and he was overjoyed with the decision. We parted for the day agreeing that we'll leave after breakfast the next day for our adventure. It turned out to be a very strong one for our poor Civvy, but she managed it just fine with our love and care. We had our simple dinner by 20:30PM and we retired for the day. I was already dreaming about the very long day ahead, with so much of uncertainties in my mind.
	(1) Thanks

5th March 2011, 23:57	#38
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Moths Before moving on with the story of Day 03, there is an interesting stuff I wanted to share with you all. It is about the different variety of moth I was able to capture in those few hours at Gavi. Atleast 20 varieties I could capture Moth Photos, See them all to believe it. Consider this also to be wild life
	(2) Thanks

6th March 2011, 00:17	#39
Nutty Nair BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum, Kerala Posts: 284 Thanked: 40 Times View My Garage	Re: Civved : Gavi Lalu, this was an eagerly awaited travelogue and as usual you have not disappointed us. Thanks for sharing this. One of my friends went to Gavi and told that the roads were pretty bad. Your poor Civvy must have taken a beating. How is she holding up? Btw you seem to have found out the correct settings for shooting in misty environs towards the later half of the log. Great job, pal. Rated 5* from my side. Also, pl. share the phone no: of Mr. Varghese. I think I may have some use of him.
	() Thanks

6th March 2011, 17:22	#43
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day03, 28.08.2010 GAVI We had planned to leave Gavi by 09:30, so that we could drive to Angamoozhy, and from there reach Plappally and then connect to Mundakkayam and then to Kuttikkanam and further to Vagamon. Around 150KM drive and we budgeted 7 hours. We planned for 09:30AM so that we would reach the destination atleast during the day when we had sunlight, and also to avoid the misty situations at Kuttikanam. Since we thought we had additionally some two more hours during the day we added the visit to Pampa and the foothills of Sabarimala to the itinery. A total of 200Kms and 9hours at disposal we were determined to do it. One great thing we overlooked was the road conditions from Gavi to Angamoozhy. In the end we reached Angamoozhy only by 15:30PM, and that makes it 60Km in 6hours. You can guess the road conditions now, and yes the beauty around. But we stuck to the original plan, and we visited pampa and left Pampa by 17:30PM, and stopped at Mundakkayam for the much needed meal of the day, since we had not eaten anything other than junk food for the day. From Gavi till Angamoozhy, if you plan to travel carry food with you. We reached Kuttikkanam by 20:00PM after negotiating the thick fog. Mr. Varghese and us had to go in the different directions that our life takes us from then. He said bye for then and got on to a bus to Vandiperiyaar and we turned left to tackle the foggy conditions further to reach Vagamon by 21:00PM. A total of 200KM, 60KM taking 6 hours and the rest 140Km in 3 hours. The story and pictures follows.
	() Thanks

6th March 2011, 17:38	#44
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day03, 28.08.2010 GAVI We packed up, dumped the luggage in our Civvy and got ready to have our breakfast by 08:00. The Key to our cottage. It gives you a number to Call The parting shots of our cottage Some been there moments Getting Civvy out from where he relaxed for two days. But the roads taxed our Civvy. She did not know what was coming on her way next. This was just a trailer Some views From here you could see Sabarimala, but the cloud cover did not help us that day. I took Civvy down and parked near the reception and went for breakfast. Mr. Varghese was getting ready for a full day trip and was busy handing over certain responsibilities to his wife and to office. continued...
	(1) Thanks

6th March 2011, 17:51	#45
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,442 Times	Re: Civved : Gavi Day03, 28.08.2010 GAVI The day was bright. There was no rains. Weather was cool. Overall we felt it was an excellent day. For the record it was a Saturday. Since it was almost 10days ago we started our holidays, which day it was did not made any impact The place looked more beautiful today. I walked up to the Bridge across the Gavi Lake. There was a welcome note too which we missed in the fog The beautiful Gavi Lake The Boat Landing Area The dining area covered in Greens The Reception to KFDC Green Mansions Finally by 09:30 Mr. Varghese comes with the Check Out Certificate to be shown at the Checkposts. So finally we have to say bye to the KFDC Eco Tourism Centre at Gavi for now. We slowly rolled on excited about the adventure we had in stock for us next. continued...
	(1) Thanks