|
My spouse and I just spent 4 days in Avalanche which is a
reserve forest (Kundah RF) area at 2036 m AMSL, about 30km from Ooty. We were
picked up from Coimbatore
Airport by our friendly
taxi driver Jagadeesan - 09442370007 (we have used his taxi before). In
fact, thanks to Jagadeesan who hails from Nilgiri Distt, we first discovered
Avalanche last year. Our route took us via Karamadai then to Geddai,
Manjur, Yedakadu finally reaching Avalanche Forest Rest House, on a very scenic
hairpin bend jungle route between Geddai and Manjur. We were thrilled to spot
the exquisite banded peacock butterflies on the way. By the time we reached it
was around 6.30pm just in time for the fading sun, quite spectacular at these
altitudes. The first thing that hits you at Avalanche is the palpably pristine
fresh air. That night the minimum temperature was -4C, anticipated and welcome
compared to grotty Mumbai!! The next morning we went upto the terrace of the
Rest House to watch the sunrise over the mountains behind. In front was
the emerald coloured Avalanche lake and shola mosaic grassland covered hills
across. A family of Nilgiri black langurs occupied the trees of the
resthouse. Such beautiful, gentle, shy creatures. They were busy
eating leaves and never came near us for tidbits unlike their Matheran
cousins! We could see a herd of feral Toda buffalos on the meadows
across, so we quickly ran there to get some photos. After a sumptuous hot
breakfast, we were taken by Jagadeesans brother Ramesh who works for the
Avalanche Power House , to the Avalanche Valve House is about 300m higher
at a 70 degree gradient! Our route was initially through the dense shola
forest behind the EB colony. The jungle was dripping with epiphytes - ferns,
orchids, mosses, lichen literally falling off the trunks and branches.
Pristine mountain streams were everywhere, and at parts the shola was dense,
dark and seemingly impenetrable (had Ramesh not been there). The shola
forest is what we had come for and we were not disappointed. After about
2/3 the way up, we emerged at a grassland from which we had a stunning view of
Avalanche and Emerald lakes. From here we climbed (huffed and puffed) the
rest of the way on the steep staircase along the penstock, stopping every now
and then to take photographs (actually to catch our breath). The cold
temperature combined with strong sun shine - high altitude / low latitude,
ensured we never felt tired, however we did get sunburnt. Lesson - always wear
a hat. From the top near the valve house we had breathtaking views of the
Nilgiri ranges, the lakes, Kolaribetta peak directly behind us, and a herd of
Nilgiri tahr high up on the rocks behind the valve house. A recent
landslide had destroyed the road going to the valve house, and we were thrilled
to see huge pugmarks in the mud which Ramesh assured us were of a tiger - quite
possible given the size. Elephant pug marks were also to be found.
Lots of little white and pink wild daisies (?) were growing everywhere
including on the broken road and alongside the penstock. We could have sat
there enjoying the views forever, but after a couple of hours we descended
along the same route, discovering some more new ferns and orchids in the shola
forests. By this time it was around 4pm, and we decided to drive to the Upper
Bhavani reservoir about 30km away. The very bad road passes the deep Thai
Shola valley. This time we did not see the civet cats, Nilgiri martens,
wolves and elephants we saw the year ago, but we were fortunate to see a herd
of bisons and scores of sambar and barking deer, all coming down to the lakes
around sunset. We also drove further to Bangi Thappal which is in Mukurthi National Park,
and on the flip side of the Silent
Valley in Kerala.
One can also walk to the Sispara Pass, if you have the permit from the Forest
Dept. Splendid views of typical Nilgiri grassland shola mosaic peppered with
blood red nilgiri rhododendron trees just coming into bloom. They are
called Pongal pooh (flower) because they bloom around Pongal time which is next
week. On our drive back we stopped many deer in their tracks with our
headlights. Nights here are crystal clear and you can enjoy the Milky Way in
its full glory, except that it is also freezing cold! The next morning
after enjoying our langur friends, and breakfast, we decided to take the trail
into the huge shola behind our Resthouse. The caretaker gave us an
|