Road Less Travelled - TopSlip - Adventure Tourism of its own

After a long long time being away from active blogging, am back here. Its been a very hectic 2009 for me personally . I have been travelling around non-stop for almost the whole year. These trips varied from short visits to see mom & dad, my friend's marriage trips, adventure trips with buddies and the occasional longer ones extending to 5-7 days. These trips took me to a whole bunch of new places which I have never visited before and familiar places that threw up new experiences and surprises.

I would like to share with you a few of these experiences that I have immensely enjoyed and which have taught me a few lessons. It was during my school days that I developed a liking for travelling. My dad being a timber businessman had to travel extensively in kerala for his procurements. If his business trip falls on my annual holidays, the family got the privilege to travel along with him. But most of these trips were restricted to TamilNadu and Kerala and hence places beyond Bangalore were alien to me.

This year I not only broke the bangalore jinx (!!) but did reach till the Capital of our mahan desh - New Delhi. Before I go into the details of these trips, there are a few experiences and incidents that I feel are worth sharing.

Letme start with the one that was the most unexpected and most exciting. During the 2009 pongal holidays, we, school buddies were discussing our long pending get together. We zeroed in on topslip as its a laid back place with great adventure opportunities. And TopSlip is far faaar away from the maddening tourist crowd.

We had planned for a two night stay at topslip on friday and saturday nights. So after prearranging our stay in one of the forest resthouses inside the reserve forest for a whopping 5K/night , we friends decided to start in two different groups. As planned one group of friends started on thursday night from Ramnad. But the group from Chennai had to postpone and start on friday night owing to last minute professional issues [:(].

The journey and Elephant Chase Story:

The Chennai group got together at Perungulathur where we had to board the KPN travels coach till pollachi and the onward journey from Pollachi to Topslip will be on a Sumo. After the hifies, we called our friends who were already in TopSlip. They thrilled us with the news of being chased by two wild elephants near the forest rest house that evening. My friends were returning to the FRH in Sumo and when they were 100m away, three elephants came from nowhere and stood in the path leading to th FRH. As they there in a group the guide didnot find anything unusual about their behaviour. But when the elephants started trumpeting loudly and expressed their intolrence towards the unwanted intervention he shouted to the driver to press the accelerator and not stop till they reached the FRH. After reaching the FRH all my friends ran helter skelter to the rest house leaving their baggage behind in the car. The FRH is nothing more than a concrete structure sans water & electricity. The only security against the elephants was the small ditch dug around the FRH. We spent the rest of the night discussing about our friends exprience[luck :( ] and hoping to have a great two days in TopSlip. And what a good time had. Read on.

Sights and Sounds of Pollachi:

We reached Pollachi at around 9 in the nine morning. Topslip is 45kms from Pollachi and a good 2 hour drive from Pollachi. Our friends had come down to pick up us from Pollachi. We heard the elephant chase story retold atleast 20 times that day. Since one of my friends is from Pollachi we stopped at his farm house for a hot cup of tea. After spending a couple of hours for the morning ablutions we bade them goodbye and started our ascent towards the Anamalai hills.

In Pollachi you are never far away from an irrigation canal or a river or a mountain stream. On the way to topslip just before the first forest check post take a hard left to reach a small stream. [Ask for the Nathi(river) with a small Amman temple] Being from Chennai we could not control the urge to dive into the water. We spent the next 2 hours in the river playing around, gossiping and making fun of each other. These small sessions are the best avenues to get yourselves up-to-date with your friends' lives. All this while the driver kept urging us to start asap as the evening sun was setting quickly over the rugged hills!!

In TopSlip / Anamalais :
After our short ride we crossed the first forest check post ( FCP ) where we bought our tickets and we were in TopSlip. Topslip is aka the Anamalai (Elephant Hills) aka Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary. IGWLS is more than 1000sqkm in size and extends fromValparai Plataeu to Amaravathi Dam to Parambikulam WildLife sanctuary in Kerala. TopSlip has the main tourist reception and interpretation center in the Anamalais. The activitis one can indulge here are Elephant Ride into the Forest, Safari in a bus and all the treks inside the park start from her. The reception center is the only place to replinish your provisions while your are in the jungle.

We found a group ofwild pigs just below the reception center. While we were clicking away at the wild boars a herd of chital [spotted deer] crossed the rugged road some 200m metres away from the reception. We framed the beautiful deer and dutifully took snaps of the famous topslip glass house ( remembr the Glass House from tamil film Suriyan). Our friendly forest guide Mayyan met us around 5 in the evening and we were immediately off to our FRH which was locted 3 km inside the forest. Mayyan gave the news of spotting the same group of elephants while on his way to Reception from FRH. So with high hopes of spotting the herd of elephants we set off into the evening.

The sunset trek:

Eventhough we didnt spot the elephants we did get a glimpse of the Giant Quirrel of the Western Ghats and a Rat Snake popped its head from behind a bush before quickly slipping into the thicket. We reached our FRH around 5:45 and Mayyan suggested we take a 1km trek to sunset point to watch the beautiful sunset. Mayyan being a forest dweller all his life is as agile and surefooted as a Nilgiri Tahr. We followed him dutifully and reached the small clearing around 6:15 pm. The forest was full of life and we could hear the chattering of various insects in the background. As the sun melted below the hills in distant Parambikulam WLS, the forest resembled a huge golden yellow carpet. It was early feb and spring was one month away. All the trees had shed their leaves and the forest floor was covered with layers of fallen leaves which were roasted in the sun. So whenever we stepped on the carpetted forest floor we could hear the disinct crakling sound of breaking leaves.

We guys were busy snapping fotos of each other and didnt notice the darkness surrounding us like a blanket. Night sets in vry soon in a jungle and before you know, in a matter of few minutes its pitch black. Mayyan started immediatly asking us to follow close behind. Myself and three of my other friends who were enjoying the fabulous views from the clearing were left behind. When we started back it was already dark and the guide had already left with my other friends assuming we will follow suit. We were alone and our heart were in our mouth when we negotiated a thick bush covered on all sides by thick undergrowth. Eventhough there was no lurking wild carnivore behing the bush I had a really tough time making up my mind to cross the bush. In a forest even the slightest movement catches your senses and your brain automatically goes to full alert. On that evening we reached back at 7 and were very happy to be back in the safe confines of our FRH.

Forest at night:

We immediately scrapped our plan of the night trek as our sixth sense warned us this is not the right place for silly adventures. Mayyan further scared with stories of spotting the Raja Naga 9King of all snakes) within a few metres of the FRH. He also told us that Leopard Spottings are very common around the FRH and tigers often visit the check dam right in front of the FRH. Our dinner was gtting ready at Ambuli Illam which was 2 kms from our FRH. So we had to take the Sumo to carry the food back. The driver of our car was vry experienced and easily negotiated rocks and potholes inside the forest without flash lights. We also found the Sumo [Qualis/Scorpio will also do] was the best suited for a trip to the forest as the ground clearance is satisfactory and the vehicle is rugged.

Early Morning Adventure:
After a well deserved dinner we laid ourselves for a peaceful sleep interrupted by continous Sabhar Deer calls very near to the FRH and the distinct call of frightened herbivoures. As always happens myself and my roommate Aru woke up very early [ we guys cant enough sleep while on trips] and came out of the FRH and went for a walk around the house. We spotted fresh dung of a herbivoure which Mayyan later identified as bison's!!! We were soon joined by Arun and all three went out to answer natures calls. If you have remembered, th FRH doesnt have water [neither running nor stored] and electricity. The only source of water was the check dam constructed acorss a perennial small forest stream. This checkdam forms a small lake upstream and this were we were headed. The checkdam is a good 100m away and I didnot have courage to negotiate this stretch without our guide. Arun was the more courageous and after deliberating for a few minutes we decided not to wake up our guide and decided to venture alone into the forest.

It was early morning and this is the time where forest denizens are most active and make a beeline towards the nearest water source. After hearing the sambhar call all night and spotting the fresh dung of a bison, we were scared to across the small ditch surrounding the FRH. Mustering enough mental strength we started towards the check dam. The way to the check dam slopes smoothly from all four slides which are relatively open interpersed with few trees. After stalking our surroundings for a full five minutes we walked down to the check dam with each of us keeping a look out for wildanimals in all directions. We squatted near the check dam to relieve ourselves. [I was reminded of the unfortunate forest folk in Jim Corbett's Man Eaters of the Kumaon. These brave men of the Lower Himalayas had no other option but to answer natures calls in the forest. A whole lot them were dragged by the unforgiving ManEater of Rudraprayag who had a special liking for the human flesh] If at that point of time a carnivoure had come he would have had the opportunity to taste yummy software engg flesh. But we were lucky that day and came back without any incidents.

Trek to Bison Point:

While pondering what to do next, we decided to try the sunset trip once more. The sun had not risen by now and hence the forest was covered with a thick blanket of mist and the whole place had a heavenly feel to it. We started walking briskly towards the sunset point aka bison crossing point taking confidenc from how we had negotiated the checkdam. The forest was very clam expect for the occasional call of the woodpecker and even the usual busy insects seem to be tain rest. We three didnot talk to each other but kept a close lookout for anything ahead/behind in the path. Suddenly a pair of cock and hen making loud noises ran helter skelter and disappeared into the forest undergrowth. By now my courage had vanished as I was not sure which animal had frightened the wild couple. Arun & Aru pressed further ahead and we came to the same bush which looked so scary at night. This time we didnot have any problem negotiating the bush but once we came clear of the bush an alarmed partridge (wild game bird) flew right into us before vanishing into the bushes beyond. By now our adrenaline had started pumping and we ran back to our FRH without bothering to look behind.

Tracking the Leopard:

By now the Sun had risen and thick mist covering the forest canopy was slowly vanishing. The forest was at its best and we were fortunate enough to take a few great shots. Mayyan suggested we take a trek to a waterfalls which is 2km further inside the jungle. We readily agreed with him and off we went on the best trek I ever had. I was giving Mayyan company and we were talking about his experiences in the forest. Suddenly we noticed pug marks of a small carnivore. Mayyan suggested its a young leopard and it will not be very long since he left. So we slowly followed the foot prints for a good 30 metres. Just when we knew we were quiet near the leopard, my friends ran from behind shouting and we could clearly hear sound of the leopard disappering into the forest. Mayyan ran behind th sound but the young one was too fast for him.

The Waterfalls inside the Jungle:
With our senses heightened we walked cautiously. Topslip is a great place to spot a exotic birds and its the place to watch the horn bills in western ghats. We spotted a large variety of birds on the way towards the waterfalls. The whole way was an elephant corridor and we could easily spot huge heaps of dungs in the forest floor. We took a fifteen minute break and since it was a descending climb we had no difficulty in covering the distance to the water falls. The waterfalls came into view from nowhere and it is served by a perennial sweet water spring. We had a chilling bath in the waterfalls as Mayyan kept a guard. The path leading to the waterfalls was very steep and we had to hold on to each other to reach to the fall. Even here we spotted a lot of elephant marks and were amazed to imagine the big frames rumbling downward at a steep descent.

After a refreshing bath, me and my two friends were left behind as we were enjoying the beauty of the forest and were in no mood to get back to the FRH. Just as we were chatting and slowly climbing up we heard the alarmed call of a langur. By now we were sure about ourselves in the forest and went in search of the langur. As we left the path and entered th forest, there came a crashin sound and a big crack from a nearby tree. Eventhough we didnt spot or hear any wildlife we decided against further advancing into the jungle. This was our third adventure in two days and I didnt want my luck to run out. So we walked fast and joined our concerned group.

The Final Act:
Its been two days and eventhough the forest had given us enough memories to cherish all life me and aru were still sad at not seeing the elephants. So with a great disappointment we started to pack and get ready to start for Pollachi. We had loaded our Sumo and we two were standing in the back of the Sumo and craning our necks to spot the gentle giants. Just as we were crossing the check dam we both spotted a group of elephants at the far end of the aritifical lake. Asking the driver to slow down we started taking quick snaps hanging to the vehicle. I had got down from the vehicle to get a cleared picture of the elephants. In the frenzy we didnot spot the bigger group of elephants standing on the near side of the check dam. There was huge herd of 12 elephants with 2 infants. The elephants had got alarmed at our cries and started coming aggressively towards the path and try to block our vehicle. They were hardly 20feet away from us. As i jumped into the backseat, the driver pressed the accelerator and we had a narrow escaped from being bullied by a herd of wild elephants.

Promising ourselves to comeback we bade goodbye to the guide and setoff for work back to Chennai.

Dont's in TopSlip:

• Never venture out without a guide.
• Never get down from your vehicle while on safari
• Dont pollute and spoil the environment.
• Donot smoke and drink. Smoking is the most frequent cause of forest fires.
• Dont make noise and disturb wild animals. Remember u are the visitor.

Do's

• Sit and enjoy the flora and fauna
• The elusive big animals might elude u. Dont be disappointed you always have a new chance and forests provid you with breathtaking views.
• Dont be in a hurry to click pictures. You will miss the real experience.