Kolli Hills - One day trip !!

It was a third Saturday of the first month of 2020, right after pongal celebrations, even before my alarm rings, I was roused to the crowing sound of the rooster at preciously couple of minutes before 5:00 AM in the morning. After few minutes, I got a call from my travel friend(Pugazh) who has woken up even before me. The plan was to reach Kalappanaickenpatti separately and ride through Kolli hills of Eastern Ghats from there in his bike. I boarded a bus around 5:30 AM at Manickamplayam (at my village) which dropped me in Namakkal at around 6:15 AM. There were two buses waiting which crosses Kalappanaienpatti, one of those buses was directly going to Kolli Kills but I boarded the other one as it started moving. I reached Kalappanaienpatti around 7:00 AM and I was having few conversations with local people while waiting for my friend's arrival. He had touched our meeting point  around 7:45 AM as he had some hick-ups with the route in his journey. Then we started riding through Karavalli and soon we were welcomed by the hills road with Seventy hair pin bends. Neither of us had Jerkins or any winter suites, freezing fresh air made us to shiver little, luckily the Sun was showing some mercy with it's rays often on the route. When we had crossed around fifty plus hair pin bends and spotted a spectacular view. Mountains were almost tightly covered with white moving mists. It was blissful to see such an wonderful view around 8:45 AM . We clicked some snaps and  after spending few minutes there, we started climbing up.

We reached Solakkadu around 9:10 AM and we had a slight breakfast on the way to Semmedu and then we visited Vasalurpatty boat house. It was not pretty impressive. Hence, We didn't do boating there. We just played with touch-me-not plant for a while and clicked some pics. We didn't want to waste time anymore with average places and decided to visit our prime point which is nothing but Agaya Gangai Waterfalls. On the way there, we stopped at Seeku Parai view point, which took our breaths for a while by presenting a wonderful valley view alongside with misty mountains. We spent about 15 minutes there and then we started ridding towards the falls. The crowd was more than expected.

Time was 11:15 AM, printed on the ticket that I bought for forty rupees for two persons. We started going down through a thousand staircases which covers about one Kilometer. This is the only falls that I have seen/visited (I have visited very less places, please bear with me), for which you have to go down rather than climbing up as it is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. We could hear the sound at a distance when we walked down about 20 minutes. In further 5 minutes, we reached the falls. This was my third visit , but Agaya Gangai Waterfalls never failed to astonish me with its marvelous height and width which allows water to fall from three hundred feet into the river Aiyaru. Because of its height, you will get hitting harder than you think, while you stand under the falls. However it was blissful.

People usually finds difficult while returning from falls as you have to climb up through those steep thousand steps after draining your energy at the water falls. We spent around 30 minutes at the water falls and we clicked some photos and videos. Around 12:05 PM we started returning back from the falls. We didn't stop anywhere, so that we could reach the base point in 30 minutes where the Arapaleeswarar temple is located. This ancient temple was built by the Valvil Ori (One of the last seven patrons of Tamil) around 200BC. We walked around the temple and worshiped the lord Shiva at a distance as we didn't want to wait in the long queue. Soon we came out of the temple and entered into an small hotel to catch our mild lunch and to taste a herbal soup.

Around 1.10 PM we started towards the Masila falls which is located in Ariyur Nadu.I was happy and eager to read the name boards across as they had wonderful Tamil names for the places (vazhavanthi Nadu, Ariyur Nadu etc). We reached Masila falls around 1:40 PM ,we parked our bike and walked inside the small park about 500 meters to reach the falls. We didn't took a shower here. We just witnessed the beauty of the falls for about 20 minutes and clicked some snaps in between. This would be a best spot for a family trip as elderly might feel difficult in climbing down Agaya Gangai falls.

It was 2:00 PM when we started our journey to the next notable place of our trip which is Masi Periasamy temple and it is located on top of the hill. You can't ride till the end, there is a place to park our vehicles and have to walk through the hills from there. We parked our bike. There was a paddy field next to the parking spot on the way to temple.What a colorful evening that was! Few men and women were working on the paddy fields. Couple of them were making sure the mud level is equal across the field and few were planting the paddy seedling. Ofcourse it will tempt you to get into the paddy fields and plant along with them if you are new to those. We captured videos and clicked photos. I remembered one of my friend who wanted to plant paddy seedling, but we didn't have our friend with us, but atleast thought of sharing those lovely pictures and videos. After spending sometime we walked further into the hills. It was a moderate 25 minutes walk which took us to the temple finally. The clouds were coming closer and tiny rain droplet touched us too. It was a small beautiful temple surrounded by wonderful mountain views which gave more divine feeling. We didn't want to get into rains like our other trip , So We started walking back. On the way, we took some photos and spent sometime on the big rocks in the middle. Also we stopped at a shop with a thought to taste the herbal soup again. The taste was better than the previous one. We also spent sometime looking at the paddy fields again while coming down. The time was around 03.30 PM when we were at the parking spot back. Some people were having the food they brought with them and very few even cooking there.

Our next spot in list was Ettukai Amman temple hidden inside the forest having pond in-front of it. It was beautiful and pleasant hill temple. We spent sometime there. Time was around 4:20 PM in watch but it looked like late evening. Hence we decide to return to home and started riding our bike towards Solakkadu. It was just 4:30 PM but we were surprised by the climate. It was so chill and white smokey mists were slapping our faces. We couldn't even see the roads clearly. That was a breathtaking ride for some distance. We stopped our bike for 10 minutes at Namma Aruvi falls. The falls was dry but the place had a wonderful view point. Then we reached Solakkadu, then to Kalappanaickenpatti and finally our respective homes.

Kolli hills would be perfect one day trip place if you are near by. Definitely you can make it as Two days if you are coming from a long distance or visiting with a family. Agaya Gangai falls entry timing is 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Masila falls entry timing is 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Agaya Gangai falls is the prime spot which will astonish you. I believe, comparatively the overall cost should be cheaper than other places, hence keep an eye if you love trips.

Overall it was a perfect beautiful one day trip. I would say, don't ever think visiting Kolli hills at January it is unseasonal. I am sure that, still, it is a very good option.

வளைந்து வளைந்து செல்லும்

கொண்டை ஊசி வளைவுகளும் !

மலை முகடுகளை முத்தமிட்டு

செல்லும் வெண் மேகமும் !

ஆயிரம் படிக்கட்டுகள் கீழிறங்கி

அன்னார்ந்து பார்க்க வைக்கும்

ஆகாய கங்கையின் உயரமும் !

தரையை தொடும் முன் காற்றால்

அள்ளி தெளிக்கப்படும் அதன் சாரலும் !

இடியெனே விழும் அதன் ஆற்றலும்

சற்றும் ஓயாத அதன் ஓசையும் !

அமைதியை உள்ளத்தில் பரப்பும்

சில மலை கோயில்களும் !

சத்தமில்லாமல் வழிந்தோடும்

மாசிலா அருவியின் வனப்பும்!

விழியை விழுங்கும் நெல் வயல்களும்

சமமான சேற்று நிலத்தின் செறிவும்

நாற்று நடும் நங்கயரின் நளினமும் !

சற்று கடினமான மலை பாதைகளும்

கண்ணில் அகப்படா சிறிய மழைத்துளிகளும்

தோகை விரித்தாடும் மயிலின் அழகும் !

மாலையை வரவேற்கும் குளிர் காற்றும்

பார்வையை மறைத்து கன்னத்தை

அறைந்து செல்லும் மேக கூட்டங்களும் !

நறுமண பொருள்கள் நிறைந்த கடை வீதிகளும்

எங்கும் கிடைக்கின்ற மூலிகை வடிசாறும் !

எழில் கொஞ்சும் எங்கள் 

கொல்லி மலை தை மாதத்தில் !

- செல்வா

Short Solo Trip (Thirumoorthy Falls and Aliyar Dam)

It was 26th Feb 2020 Wednesday. After attending my friend's marriage at Dharapuram, I was looking for a short solo trip, as one of my friend who came with me decided to return Chennai immediately. The marriage function was awesome as it was fully in Tamil way where all wishes and chants were performed in Tamil. Also the breakfast was wonderful. After a heavy breakfast and spending sometime with friends I started roaming to the near by places. One of my friend dropped me at Gudimangalam around 11.11 AM. I got a bus to Udumalpet from there in few minutes. I reached Udumalpet around 12.00 PM. Before  starting my travel to Thirumoorthy waterfalls, I thought of meeting a friend who works at one of the public bank at Madathukulam. We had quick coffee in the midst of my friend's busy cashier work. Post the quick nice meeting with my friend I was back at Udumalpet and waiting eagerly for the arrival of bus number 11  which goes to Thirumoorthy falls. It was 1'o clock noon in my phone and sun was bright and smiling at the centre sky, and my bus came.With a quick run I was able to get a window seat easily and I got a ticket worth of Rs.15 to the last stop and settled well on my seat to listen  wonderful songs played in the bus with  the scenery view as company through the window.

I reached Thirumoorthy falls at around 2.05 PM and in 5 minutes walk I reached the lord siva temple(Amanalingeswarar temple) located at the entrance. Got a ticket for Rs.5 and walked further for ten more minutes deep inside the hills and reached the falls around 2.20 PM. The climate was little challenging. However it was faded away by the wonderful falls. The crowd was less. There was a big group of village people came to get theertham for their village temple. I took some photos and videos and observed overall place once. There were few monkeys also roaming around. I found a small hole on a side wall of the falls where I kept my bag safely and took a happy shower for about 15 minutes. 

The force was perfect enough to stand under the falls gently. It gave me a great joy. Post my bath, I got ready and gave few minutes to my eyes to have visual treat. I started back by 2.50 PM and reached the temple at 3.00 PM. There was a group of people providing free food for devotees and one of them asked me to share the food. Since there was very less crowd, they were asking everyone pass by. I shared a light meal with them. 

The temple is next to the falls while coming down at the starting point of the hills. Followed by temple there was a Dam (Thirumoorthy Dam) and I went to take a closer look it was surrounded by the hills. It is not a big one. However you can find a breath taking view there. I witnessed the small waves touching the banks. 

After spending few minutes there I was back to bus stop and waiting for a bus to reach Dhally. The plan was to reach Dhally first and then get a bus to Sungam and from there reach Aliyar as suggested by local residents. After few minutes of waiting, I boarded a bus at 3.35 PM which dropped me at Dhally in 20 minutes. Dhally is a small wonderful village with less bus connectivity. The people at Dhally kindly helped me a lot with finding location where I need to board a bus to Sungam at a perfect timing. One thing that you have to familiarize with is the direction, they won't use left and right words much to show the route. Even for me, they asked me to go further more north by walk(vadaka konja thooram poganum kannu) for which I had to look at the Sun to ensure that, I am heading towards right direction. I boarded a bus around 4.05 PM and took a ticket for Sungam worth Rs.20. When I reach Sungam it was 5.05 PM and a signboard placed there says the distance for Aliyar is 11 Km from there.

I was not sure about the timing and I thought I would miss a view at Aliyar Dam. Somehow my gut feeling was telling me that they will allow till 6.00 PM.I had been there once while I was in college years ago. After waiting for 5 minutes I got a bus and finally reached Aliyar Dam by 5.40 PM and my travel didn't go in vain as the visitors are allowed till 6.00 PM. Thanks to my gut feelings. I took an entry ticket for Rs.5 and went inside. I directly went little inside and climbed up the steps which took me to top of the Dam. The sun was trying to hide west at the other side of the hills. It was a perfect evening to place our eyes frozen on the big mountains at one side and the land  full of coconut trees to the distance till the eye sight can reach at the other side. It was a spectacular view in the lovely evening. I spent sometime with capturing that splendid view through my eyes and phone. Followed  by that I spend few minutes in the park at the entrance. 

It was around 7.00 PM and I was waiting outside the Aliyar Dam for a bus to reach Coimbatore. I didn't want to proceed further.(Valparai is up on those huge aanaimalai hills and Athirappilly falls in further more distance). However my plan was to reach Comibatore and travel to Chennai from there. I got a bus at 7.05 PM which took me through Pollachi and dropped me in Kovai(Ukkadam) at 9.15 PM. Got a town bus to Gandhipuram and had a superb dinner(oru nalla mess la nalla sapadu) around 9.40 PM. It took sometime for me to find SETC bus stop and finally reached by 10.15 PM. There I got a non-ac semi sleeper waiting to start around 11.00 PM. I boarded  and bought a ticket to Perungalathur(Chennai) for Rs.520. The bus reached Perungalathur  at 7.45 AM next day morning.

 Incase if you make a plan, Thirumoorthy waterfalls is open from 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM and Aliyar Dam is open from 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM.  Also please note the Dam view in the evening was awesome.

Overall my partial solo trip was excellent. I was able to touch a new place(Thirumoorthy waterfalls). A special thanks to my friend who was giving me a virtual company through the phone by listening to me in texts, calls at times and sharing the joy with snaps and videos which multiplied my delight twice.

வாழ்க்கை விசித்திரமானது!

ஒரு சாதாரண கிராமம். அளவிலான ஒரு ஓட்டு வீடு. கிராமங்களில் பெரும்பாலும் நீர் தொட்டி வெளியே அமைக்கப்பட்டு இருக்கும். அன்று இரவு 9:30 மணி, உணவை முடித்து கை அலம்பி விட்டு, வீட்டு வாசலில் ஏற எத்தனித்த அவனின் காலின் சுண்டு விரலில் ஏதோ கடித்து விட்டது. மங்கலான வெளிச்சம். சுர்ரென்று ஏறும் விசம். என்னவென்று பார்க்க ஒரு கூகுரல் கொடுத்து மின்விளக்கை ஏற்றும் முன், ஒரு சிறு பதற்றம் அவன் மனதில், ஒரு வேளை பாம்பாக இருக்க கூடுமோ என்று. எதுவாக இருந்தாலும் பார்த்து கொள்ளலாம் என்ற ஆசாத்திய நம்பிக்கை ஒருபுறம். சில நிமிட தேடலில் ஒரு பூரான்(Centipede) மட்டும் தென்பட்டது. ஆனால் வலி கால் முழுவதும் பரவுவது போல உணர்ந்த அவன் தனது தந்தையுடன் அருகில் உள்ள அரசு ஆரம்ப சுகாதார நிலையத்திற்கு சென்று இரண்டு ஊசி போட்டு கொண்டு, எதற்கும் மாவட்ட(நாமக்கல்) தலைமை மருத்துவமனைக்கு சென்று ஒரு இரத்த பரிசோதனை செய்து கொள்ளலாம் என்று கிளம்பினர். ஒரு துரித பேருந்து நிற்காமல் சென்றது. அதை தொடர்ந்து அடுத்து வந்த பேருந்தை பிடித்து இரவு 11.00 மணி அளவில் மருத்துவமனையை அடைந்தனர். மருத்துவரிடம் ஒரு பரிந்துரை பெற்று இன்னும் ஒரு ஊசியும், இரத்த பரிசோதனைக்கு ஊசியுடனும் வந்த செவிலியர் ஒரு மெல்லிய புன்முறுவலோடு கூறினார், நான் உன்னோடு பள்ளியில் படித்தவள் தான் நினைவில்லையா என்று ! அவளே பெயர் மற்றும் ஊரை வைத்து தான் தெரிந்து கொண்டதாக கூறினாள். அவன் அந்த பள்ளியை விட்டு வந்து 16 வருடங்கள் ஆகின்றன. தன்னுடன் பயின்றவர்கள் ஒரு அரசு செவிலியராக மக்களுக்கு பணியாற்றுவதை பல வருடங்களுக்கு பிறகு ஒரு எதிர்பாராத சந்திப்பில் தெரிந்து கொள்வதில் தான் என்ன ஒரு மன நிறைவு. இரத்தம் உறைதல் சோதனைக்கு பிறகு மருத்துவர் வீட்டிற்கு போகலாம் என்று கூறினார். மிகுந்த நன்றியையும் சந்திப்பின் மகிழ்ச்சியையும் பகிர்ந்து கொண்டு நடு இரவில் கோவை செல்லும் ஒரு துரித பேருந்தில், ஓட்டுனரிடம் இருபத்தைந்து கிலோமீட்டர் தொலைவில் உள்ள அவன் கிராமத்தில் நிறுத்த அனுமதி பெற்று, பயணத்தை தொடர்ந்தான். இது அவனின் மூன்று மணி நேர பயணம். இங்கு எது வேண்டுமானலும் எப்போது வேண்டுமானாலும் நடக்கலாம்.  வாழ்க்கை தான் எவ்வளவு விசித்திரமானது!

Cycling in Chennai Roads (CMBT, Annanagar, Nungambakkam & Egmore)

One of my friend has offered me his bicycle to use it for some days. I thought of riding it for some kilometers on a holiday. I have seen people riding bicycle through East Coast Road, however my interest was inclined towards riding thorough the inner parts of the city. I woke up before clock ticking 5:00 AM on the very first Saturday morning of 2020. It was not raining outside like new year day, seeing that I was telling myself, everything is set for a ride today. To start with I have set a target of riding till Vadapalani Forum Mall from Sholinganallur, which is an average of 25 KM for one way. After getting refreshed I started riding at 5:15 AM, within few minutes I reached OMR(Old Mahabalipuram Road) from my place. It was a steady ride at a moderate speed in OMR which has one of the well maintained roads in Chennai. I would say, even if is not loved like ECR, still it has never failed to attract cycle enthusiasts. I liked riding through OMR in early morning, I took a right before Anna University and travelled through Mount Road, T Nagar,  Ashok  Nagar and finally into the 100 feet road and in few minutes from there reached Forum Mall at 7:00 AM precisely. Well, not bad, reached as planned, I was telling myself. Just thought about one of my friend who stays near by and called to check the availability to meet if possible. But my friend had other plans who answered my phone in a sleeping tone who woke up to my phone call. Then I thought of touching CMBT bus terminus and return. I started riding through inner roads of Saligramam and eventually connected in 100 feet road, just a couple of kilometers before CMBT bus terminus. Soon reached CMBT.

A sudden thought appeared in my mind to visit the places that I have never been before in Chennai. One such kind of place is CMBT Market, which I have only seen of it's outside while traveling in bus before. After few minutes of pedaling, I entered into the market around by 8:00 AM and took a ride in the Flower market which doesn't have that much crowd. Soon took an exit and entered into Fruits market, where I was astonished with the loads of banana stacked everywhere. There was a good amount of Pineapple too. I didn't park my cycle anywhere, just took it along with me wherever I go even across the very narrow streets of the market. After few minutes of site seeing there, entered into the very busy vegetable market which occupies the largest portion of the overall market area. There were lot of wholesale purchases happening. More trucks and meen body vehicles were busy in either loading or unloading vegetable sacks. Without any doubt, the market is feeding many day labors who were really busy in their work by carrying those vegetable sacks. I took an entry into one of the very narrow sub street of the market, where you can buy vegetables in retail. When retails means in-terms of kilograms. Trust me, It is not place to buy vegetables in-terms of grams. Then entered into another busy main street and took an exit by around 8:25 AM from one of the Asia's largest perishable goods market complex.

I continued my cycle trip towards Thirumangalam and then Anna Nagar (formerly known as Naduvakkarai) which is one of the prime residential area located in north-western part of Chennai. I have been into few places of Anna nagar before including the tower park. As I liked it before, I visited the Anna Nagar Tower Park (officially known as Dr. Visveswaraya Tower Park) around 8:45 AM, part of my this trip too.  The park has 135-foot-tall, 12-storied tower located at the centre which is the tallest park tower in Chennai. I took my bicycle inside the park, the atmosphere was very nice in the morning. People were looking like prominent fellows in the society. I planned my next stops there and after spending sometime about 15 minutes took an exit on the other side of the park. I was riding through Anna Nagar Third Avenue towards Numgambakkam. Anna Nagar has very good and spacious roads filled with trees on both sides. It was nice to pedal on the Anna Nagar Arch Flyover seeing the heights of Ampa Skywalk Mall, which connected me in the very popular nelson-manikam road. While coming down on the flyover, I just realized why people took their bicycle to the mountain tops by walk and riding it down. It was a wonderful feeling when going down on this bridge like flying in bikes though you are just sitting on a bicycle. Of-course climbing up on the bridge was tough and allowed me to test the lowest gear possible.

Around 10:00 AM, I reached Semmozhi Poonga by crossing the Gemeni flyover, which is an another untouched place by me. I parked my bicycle outside and took an entry ticket for 20/- Rupees and entered into the Poonga. There were different species of plants, little amount of high trees and aromatic herbs around. It is not a bigger one, it is comparatively small. You can also spot variety of birds singing on those tress and few Mongooses around. Most of the places were filled with couples who were doing romance, which will leave you to think, is it paid lovers park?. There was also couple of families, bunch of students taking photographs and there was a shop and the shop owner was setting it up for the day. I had a walking all around the park and left from there in 20 minutes around by 10:20 AM. When I entered Mount Road, Sun is heating bit, riding becomes little difficult. I took a left turn, right after the Spencer Plaza mall and riding towards one another place which I have been thinking about visiting it for years.

Around 11:00 AM, finally I entered into Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore which also houses one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India, which is none other than Connemara Public Library. I parked my cycle in the parking area and signed the register and entered into the library. It was an excellent place where you can find the books about almost in the all the flavors including General, Engineering, History, Business, Law, Medicine, Literature, Languages and Text books as well. I could even spot all of my engineering text books out there. Little nostalgia after a decade on looking at them. I roamed around all the floors and then came back to ground floor again to look around the general section in detail. The old library building is blocked for a maintenance. Upon enquiring with the support staff, I came to know, It will take couple of months to return its serving state. You can also get a membership and you can take books to home as per the library rules. Overall, it seems there are wonderful copies of books that you can consider for reading. I was not in a good mindset to read there. I had some water and took a visit of the other buildings out there which are housing Museum and Art Galleries. The environment was very calm and clean. People were even reading outside scattering under the old trees. Trust me, if you are an avid reader, you can spend days here. Even for visiting, including Museum, it is worth to consider for an half or full day. My suggestion would be pack your lunch, go and spend few hours at least. If you are in Chennai, you must consider about visiting this wonderful place without fail. After spending couple of hours I planned to return to my room.

Since I skipped my morning breakfast, I had two Tender Coconuts on the way. On the way back to  my room, thought of meeting one of my friend at Mettukuppam. Reached there around 2:15 PM. Since it was sunny, riding back was not pleasant as in the morning. I had a light lunch at Mettukuppam. I spent around about an hour there and started riding again and reached my room back around 4:00 PM in the evening. Roughly, I think I have covered around 60~70 KMs, which it is not a great distance for any cyclists, However it was a very different experience for me to know the City by Bicycle. Please do inbox me (mnselvaraj@gmail.com) or text me (+91-9952359249), if you know any best place within the City to ride, I will try my best to visit and write about it.

With great thanks - Selva.

Velliangiri (Vellingiri) - Overnight Trek - Seven Hills - At its toughest

After Sathuragiri, we (I and my friend) wanted to visit Velliangiri and we were waiting for the right time. Finally we decided to go on Saturday (next day after full moon), second day after the general elections.  The plan was to start from our home and return to Chennai on Sunday night. As usual we failed to book Tatkal ticket for our return.

We started from our home respectively from Dharmapuri and Namakkal on April 20th afternoon. Both of us reached Erode around 4.15 PM and got into a private bus and it started heading towards Coimbatore. It’s the same route that I used to travel on the weekends of my collage days and it made me to look back into those old memories. While we were at Karumathampatti, it was drizzling and it started raining heavily the more we go into the City and that made our plan doubtful. We crossed KMCH, SITRA, CMC/CIT, HOPES, PEELAMEDU and finally reached GANDHIPURAM and realized that,"Oh It didn't rain here". We roamed around the roads of GANDHIPURAM to find a mess for our dinner and ended up in a normal hotel and had a light dinner. When we enquired about the bus to Poondi, one conductor told in a rushed tone "Go and catch that moving 7.15 PM bus". We had a slight run to get into the bus. It started running through the roads of the City and it was slowly taking us away from the City and finally we reached the base by around 9.00 PM.

We worshipped the God at the base of the mountain and we went through a plastic clearance check. You are not allowed to carry any plastic items. We didn’t anticipate that much crowd. Everyone was holding a stick but we skipped to carry it. We started climbing the 1st hill. The stone steps welcomed us and made us tired soon. We stopped two times for a quick refresh and after sometime we reached the start of the 2nd hill. The god's sculpture (vellai vinayagar) is what people call it as end of the 1st hill. We were told that 1st and 7th hills are the hardest ones. It gave us a little relaxed feel once we climbed up the 1st hill. We enquired about when the steps will end and we were told that "go for little more distance and the remaining is kind of pathway only".  We were little happy to hear that and soon realized it is not. The 2nd hill also was kind of steps only. We crossed valuku parai (the steps are carved in a big rock almost for 50 yards) and papamati sithar cave and further we climbed up. There was no clear boundary between 2nd and 3rd hill and we continued on the pathway which had steps structure formed by stones and mud.  In between we stopped couple of times to have snacks and "sukku kothamalli coffee". At last the pathway changed to a different form with minimum steep steps and also it’s a different kind of soil in sandalwood color. Yes. That was the 4th hill. The air was filled with chillness and it energized us. We continued. The 5th hill also had similar track like previous one. We were threatened by lightning and thunderstorm. However we moved with crowd. After a while we reached the end of the 5th hill and we stopped for another sukkku coffee  around 11.00 PM and it was wonderful.

We started walking again with new energy.   We thought of going nonstop. We have to climb up the 6th hill and then climb down across the valley and again we need to start climbing up the mammoth 7th hill. Once we reached the top of the 6th hill we were surprised as the powerful solar lights on the "Suyambu Lingam" temple gave us the hint about the height of the 7th hill. We started climbing down on the 6th hill. There was a rough and deep slope and series of wood were placed in a ladder form to pass that and we crossed it very carefully using our hands and legs. We walked further more down. It started drizzling and we didn't have either plastic bags or some trekking bags included with cover to safeguard purse and wallet. Though the plastic bags are not allowed for people to carry, the two sides of the pathway were filled with so much of plastics and bottles. Every shop there used to sell lot of items wrapped in a plastic. There are even no dustbins placed. We felt worse looking at all these. After few minutes’ walk we stopped around 11.30 PM in a shop as it started raining more. It was a little big hut hence around 50 people were standing/sitting inside for the rain. That place was nearly at end of the 6th hill. After around 20 minutes the rain had come down. People returning started moving to escape another possible rain. Also the shop owner urged everyone to free the hut and we too started moving down the hill. After a while it started drizzling again which made us little worry.  Soon we reached the end of 6th hill and there were few more little shops. We didn’t stop there and we marched towards the 7th hill along with the people. Almost around 25 minutes would have been passed, the rain started thrashing. There was no place to hide. We couldn't go either up or down. We were trapped squarely in the middle of the hill. We spotted a rock but it didn't help us to hide but it allowed us to stand there safely. People stopped where they were and there were around 10 people standing with us. Soon the rain hit us forcefully. We just sat at one side of the rock holding our bags tightly in the desire of saving our phone and purse. We couldn't even move an inch and we just adjusted ourselves little according to the rain directions in the brightness of the lightning. My T-shirt was also on top of my bag. Every minute I was squeezing it and placing it on top my bag again to avoid more water getting inside the bag. I was holding my bag very tightly between my body and legs. My friend was sitting next to me in a fixed stance and holding his bag tightly. We sat simply in the squat position at the opposite direction of the rain. In between we tried to find another spot to hide but we failed. Almost after half an hour we were shivering and thinking of "What to do, if it not stops". We thought of going down, however people there suggested that going down is not a good idea. Water started flowing across the path we climbed up. 15 more minutes passed by and we were clueless and everyone there started sensing a kind of fear including us. At last the speed of rain drops was decreased and it came back to drizzling mode. We got cramps in our legs when we tried to move and the shivering didn't stop. We managed to find another rock with the help of a lightning on the other side the hill which played as temporary shelter for us. Three more joined us. We relaxed for a while and still it was raining slightly.  All of our clothes were wet. Luckily we were able to save our mobile and purse, though the rupee notes were little wet, everything was safe. Time was around 1.15 AM. 

In sometime a group of 8 people joined us under the same rock. Everyone started throwing conversations and the place was quite fun filled for some time. It was around 2.30 AM and we were in a comfort place. Few were suggesting to stay there till the SUN rays shows light. But also we had a question "how long it will take for SUN rise in this hill". People started moving up and down the hill. The rain almost stopped. Three from the group moved on. The rest of us stayed in that high altitude from where you can see the clouds over Siruvani dam with straight eye sight. Nearly more than an hour passed by, rain stopped completely and the place was covered by mists in all directions. My body started shivering more as the cold mists were slapping heavily. We all realized that the only way to keep the body warm is to continue to walk either up or down rather than getting frozen under the rock. We both of us started moving up, the path was so slippery and most of the time it was like crawling. Also as there was a crowd, we were going slowly. Around 4.30 AM we reached the Lord Shiva temple on the top made up of three covered rocks. It was a divine feeling to get the Dharshan on that high altitude surrounded by clouds.  We told ourselves "Yes! We did it".

With a happy feeling we started climbing down from 7th hill. As the pathway was very muddy we were coming down slowly. We reached the base of the 7th hill and it was a clear weather outside. We continued further and at the end of the 6th hill we spotted an awesome view of Siruvani dam covered with clouds. We clicked few shots in our mobile. Also when we looked back we were astonished with the view of gigantic 7th hill with a rock on the top and we told ourselves, ‘Oh! No! It’s huge really'.  After spending some time, we left from there. 

When we were walking across the 5th hill, we were presented with a spectacular view of SUN rays started hitting the ground tearing the clouds on the land side. Soon, Sun also started increasing the density of its rays and we were getting tiredness. We realized pain in our legs and we couldn’t go faster. We stopped couple of times for a quick refresh. The steps were not reducing quicker. Somewhat we managed to reach the 1st hill. We had to climb down through the stone steps of big hill in a little sunny weather. We lost all our energy almost. Our legs were out of our control. Couple of watermelon pieces gave us good breath. Slowly we reached the base around 10.00 AM. We had left with no energy and we decided to go Coimbatore and we reached there around 11.15 AM. We thought of returning to Chennai as we couldn't even think of visiting other places. There was no direct bus to Chennai, we boarded a Salem bus and after a late lunch at Salem we boarded a Chennai bus around 4.15 PM. Finally we reached Chennai around 1.30 AM and we reached our home around 2.30 AM. What else, Time for a deep sleep.

Are you planning to Visit?

Based on the information I gathered from the shop owners, It is allowed for three months from Maha Shivarathri (Tamil months of Maasi, Panguni and Chithirai). If you ask me for  English Months, it changes somewhere from February to May. There are special buses in addition to normal buses during this occasion.I would suggest to start at night and plan for a sunrise at the top. As these three months falls in summer, day trek would drain all your energy. Misty Morning on top of the 7th hill would give you a blessed feeling. Girls are not allowed. Only aged ladies and kids are allowed. Girls can visit till the temple at the base of the hill.

Please make sure that you carry a torch and hand stick (can be bought at the base) and necessary snacks items, glucose (if required) and water. Also please don’t carry any plastic (remember it is not allowed) and avoid carrying too much luggage. Bags with rain cover would be more advisable.

Finally,

The 13 hours of journey became never forgettable one with witnessing all sort of weather conditions including normal, rainy, misty and sunny. Though my legs were paining for couple of days, it gave me a feel of an accomplishment.

End Note:

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to each and every one who spends time to read the blogs. I am very lucky and fortunate to have group of friends who provides continued support. I am very much thankful for their feedback on the initial versions and motivation. 

Chennai - Sathuragiri - Thiruchendur & Tirunelveli

I had to attend my college friend's marriage function on Feb-3 Sunday at Tirunelveli. My initial plan was to roam around Kanyakumari for the 1st day and to head towards Tirunelveli for the 2nd day. Then I realized that pradosam falls on Saturday, so I thought of visiting Sathuragiri. My friend said that he also would be joining for the 1st day. As we were only able to visit till the gate of Sathuragiri last time (we went 2nd day after no moon), this time we wanted to plan better. We confirmed the timings with our friends and we decided to go. Our tatkal train ticket booking attempt on podhigai failed. So we had a thought to go in unreserved ticket.

Day Zero:

We left office by 2.30 PM and got a moffusil bus to Guindy from Tidel Park. We purchased a ticket to Madurai thought of going in Tiruchendur express. But on our way to Egmore, we noticed that there is a kollam express which is starting by 5.00 PM and it will go to Srivilliputhur around  3.15 AM.When we reached Egmore by around 3.30 PM, Tiruchendur express was fully packed. So we thought of taking Kollam express.  Once the announcement of platform commenced we went to starting point of the platform and we were able to get window seat easily. The diesel engine train was running in its constant speed, making its own sound at times.In the midst of the buzzing sound we  manged to get some sleep in the night.

Day One:

The train reached Srivilliputhur by around 3.30 AM (I had to say it. perfect timing!). We took a walk to reach Ramanuja madam (We visited to the same madam last time) near by Srivilliputhur temple to get ready. It's just Rs.30 to get refresh, in which you can rest, bath, charge your phones for sometime and also you can take the drinking water with the bottles you have. Trust Me !!. As we visited the Srivilliputhur temple and had tasted palkovas last time, we skipped this time and we decided to go Sathuragiri as early as possible. We reached the bus stand after getting refreshed at around  4.45 AM. It seems there was one bus to Watrap or Vathirayiruppu (from there it seems Autos are running) earlier and we missed it. However we got a bus to Thaniparai itself by 5.30 AM. The bus was filled with pilgrimages, men & women workers with their tools and ambience was too pleasant. Cool breeze was slapping our face in a way reducing all the stress hormone. We reached Thaniparai at around 6.45 AM. and we started our walk to Sathuragiri top by 7.00 AM.

It was a modest trail. There is no water flowing across the trail paths as it was not a rainy season. It would have been a bliss if water was flowing through the valleys. When we reached the top after around 2 hours of walk (just in 2 or 3 places it was little difficult and rest of the trail was normal)  we could feel the chillness. On our way we also witnessed one different kind of bird and  Monkey (singa muga kurnagu). We spent some time on the top in  the two temples(sundara mahalingam & santhana mahalingam).

We had free breakfast  and spent time in the shops around. It seems there is a cave and temple (periya mahalingam/kasi parai) on top and local people said it has been not allowed for years for some reason, so we started walking back. We came to know there is another trail which will take to varsanadu, but local people use that only during Aadi ammavasai, due to high risk of missing the trail and animals attack, so we didn't attempt that one. Also it looks like there is an another jungle route from Saptur, and it has been closed nowadays. 

We were amazed to see the local men & women were carrying heavy goods(rice bags, vegetables etc) from base to top. No other transport option was available it seems. As you might have seen in the tamil movie "Merku thodrachi malai" still people transport goods by their own in western ghats. We reached the base(Thanipari) by 1.00 PM.

We took an Auto to Watrap as there was no direct bus from Thaniparai. From there my friend started going back to his home via Madurai & Salem. I had a great confusion about which direction I should take next, is it towards Madurai or Theni or Tirunelveli? As one of the local guy suggested I decided to go to Tiruchendur. There is no direct bus, I had to go to Srivilliputhur, then Rajapalayam and then Tirunelveli and finally Tiruchendur.  After 5.15 hrs of travel I landed in Tiruchendur by 7.15 PM. I expected a less crowd but it was not. However I finished my Dharshan by 8.00 PM and had a slow walk in the beach for around 30 minutes. It was nice to see a temple on the sea shore with people always. It had given me the divine feeling.

Then I thought staying there itself for the Night. The rooms maintained by temple (they are very cheaper than others, ranging from 100 to 300) was filled by online booking. After my light dinner, when I inquired about room, either they were costly or not worthy. When I saw people were sleeping in the open space mandapam in front of the temple, I also decided to sleep there itself as I didn't have to wander around finding room and I didn't have any valuable things.

I put my towel on the floor and had a bed sheet, so I slept nicely by positioning myself between two pillars.My long day of the trip came to an end.

Day Two:

Though my sleep was interrupted twice in between by the sounds of group of pilgrimages (musical bands/drums) who were circulating the temple, I slept well that I even missed the alarm at 4.30 AM. Somehow I managed to wake up by 4.45 AM and took a round at temple and a slow walk in the beach. I boarded a Tirunelveli bus by 5.20 AM and I reached around by 7.00 AM. I took a local bus to reach Nellaiappar temple from there. I would say if you are at Nellai it should be in your must watch list. I was impressed especially by the lotus style stone works (thamira sabha).

The piece at the temple gave me pleasure in the morning. After spending sometime I went to my another friend's house who's native is also Tirunelveli. We got ready and had a nice breakfast. From there we went to the marriage function and bought halwa at Santhi sweets and spent a wonderful evening at my friend's house again (skipped the plan of trying a ride for Tirukkurankudi/Papanasam). We boarded Nellai express and reached Tambaram at next day morning.

Please Note, If you have a plan to visit:

The famous irutu kadai is only open for Monday to Saturday between around 4/5 to 6/7 in the evening.

Tiruchendur Murugan temple is open for all days between 5.00 AM yo 9.00 PM.

Sathuragiri is open for Pradosam, Next day, full/no moon day and next half day.(3.5 days). They allow from early morning 6 AM to 4 PM. After that is not allowed considering the animal attacks. My suggestion would be to visit in the early morning. When you start early, your energy level will be high and before you get tired, you could reach the top. Also it would be awesome to look though the valleys in the Morning. 

How was it overall?

At the end of the trip, I felt like it was a nice relief from the machinaized life. Always the misty mountains does the magic to give immense peace to Mind !