Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Anaikatty to Thenkara –A Delightful route to stunning landscapes


Definitely, as the name suggests, the route has it all. You can pass by the subtle differences in weather with a fine air of purity & nothing else, just the forests. Starting at Mankarai, the forest check post  chops the rest of the town from the scarcely populated, tribal colony, Anaikatty. It is exactly where the ghat road begins. Well, it isn’t a ghat road, but its presence parallel to two distinct hills makes it appear so. The hills on the east connect to the Attappady reef and to the west, it’s the Tholampalayam reef. There are numerous elephant corridors, which you will travel across once you drive through the ghat road. The route begins with the check post and then a lot of breathtaking views which you would undoubtedly enjoy if you are a route analyst. I did enjoy the views and started experimenting on them while on my tripping.

Once, when I had trekked, I remember the road that took to a small tribal hamlet, exactly behind the Salim Ali Center for Ornithology & Natural History, which shortly is called SACON. It’s an access restricted road, that tears through the dense forests, leading to a 2 km long rain forest area and finally to the hamlet. Everybody there has a promising sight of the wonderful vaidehi falls, because the colony is perched atop the hill. You descend 15 – 20 kms , there you are at Coimbatore’s Narasipuram. A really interesting data about the range is that, the forest road is well within the borders of Tamil Nadu, but the hamlet that ends the road falls in Kerala , so all we could take to reach there is a Kerala jeep,..

Now further heading straight thru the Anaikatty- kerala road, the stop that attracts you first is the Goolikadavu,, giving a town like feeling amidst the dry hills. Well before Goolikadavu, you will be able to find kottathara, pudhur and sholayoor; the last one being the thickly forested. Sholayoor is again a smaller place with not more than 500 houses,however there are lots of deviations invited by the eastern stretch of hills. Also in the routes to western side of the hill range, you find the hotspot, Mukkali, where the Silent Valley National park is housed. Areas like Thavalam, Kalkandi & ommala are located just in and around the forests. Far east from Attappady is Chittor , where the Singappara reserve or the forest station can be spotted. This is the adjoining reef to the Siruvani range. Especially where Siruvani, bhavani and smaller rivulets converge. The river that diverts itself right at the western side, at attappady is the Kunthipuzha flowing gracefully uphill to reach Ummathampady- mulli reef and finally Kinnakkorai,  a small village of magnificient beauty, where only tea estates and rain forests encircle it with nothing except forests and green vegetation grabbing vivid range of visibility . Many claim this the origin of the badaga community, nevertheless controversies exist . U will also have a divergence to reach Kundah dam. The Mother road from Goolikadavu heads straight to the hairpin bends, which passby the parts of the reserve, east of which a beautiful cascade can be spotted. With lush greenery and dangerous invertebrates, basically the Leech and russel’s viper, it’s a road that’s quite scary. 

There is a Malabar bus service and the ever existing Jeeps bearing  KL 10 registrations, tearing down to the greenish hillocks, you get to see the smaller hamlets here and there. You don’t really find sunlight in the hairpin bends until u are at the forest check post at Mukkali. The ghat roads terminate here and then you start feeling the hot weather of Thenkara – Mannarkad – either the Palakkad road ( goes east to Kanjirappuzha, MUndur )– or the Malappuram road ( goes west to perinthalmanna – Manjeri & Calicut). People from Kerala, whilst tripping to ooty, take the Malappuram – Chokkad – Vazhikkadavu road that stops at Munderi, within limits of Wayanad and then goes to Gudalur by crossing the Tamil nadu border. The road sweeps through the awe inspiring silent Valley National Park (main) being the Upper Bhavani area. It is just an excellently paved road , with just green vegetation & nested hills until clear visibility. You will find nothing else.

Try these routes, they aren’t so dangerous except for the elephant corridors, you will certainly enjoy tripping 

These are some of my Clicks 

Windmills at Sholayoor

Hut from a view point
 
Exotic flowers on the hill roads



 
Roads near Mukkali


 The house again
 
Attappady









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