Crawling up the Tadiandamol Peak, Coorg

The eve of a long weekend is always restless. Itchy feet of a travel freak nature-lover is an acute condition and I’m a fortunate victim!

On the trail. Pic Courtesy : Saptarshi

The plan was to trek the Tadiandamol Peak, the highest peak in Coorg, also known as the Scotland of India. Now, I wouldn’t go into the technicalities and righteousness of such comparisons. But Coorg is green with rolling hills, small and big waterfalls, rocky terrains and a sweet temptation to be out in the open.

On the trail. Pic Courtesy : Saptarshi

The onset of the trip was full of drama. Just the day before the trip, we got to know it might get cancelled because of some stuff that had come up at work. It was upsetting. The day went by in dilemma, finding half-hearted alternatives and browsing the cancellation process. It was about 7'o clock in the evening when suddenly the trip was back on again! And within an hour or so, me and my peers walked out of the office, hurrying back to our places to pack for the drive that very night.  

View from the 'HillStay Cottage'

The overnight drive to Coorg was bumpy, sleepless. But the next morning when we arrived at our AirBnB – HillStay Cottage, the Sun just peeped out from behind the hills, breaking the day with smiles and freshness. Our host was very cordial and brought us hot coffee, made from the fresh coffee beans. This area had coffee plants growing all around it – short stubby trees with big leaves and bunch of beans hanging low.  After filling our tummies with Rice Dosa, Chutney, Coconut Idly, we were set for the day. Whilst two in our group decided to take rest for a bit, two of us went out for a stroll.

Pic Courtesy : Saptarshi

The road from our cottage took a steep uphill on one side. We both found ourselves breathing heavily as we climbed up. ‘Ooh! Tomorrow’s trek is going to be interesting!’. As we continued, there was a bushy path to the left, lined all along with coffee plants, ferns, wild flowers, copper beach trees and other greens and reds that I don’t know the names of. We walked inside the canopy and found a small waterfall hidden in the hilly crest. One of the caretakers from the cottage said, this was the ‘Chelavara waterfalls’. 

Chelavara waterfalls. Pic Courtesy : Indrajit

We sat there for a while, looking at some little white fish like creatures that formed bubbles in the pool of water and a few spiders which swam efficiently in the fall water. We continued our walk through unknown lanes dotted with pretty cottages here and there. We went to the Nalknad palace (the last refuge of the King of Coorg, built in 1700s) and then continued pottering around. There was one point, when we appeared to have lost our way and found ourselves walking across a valley surrounded all around by hills and stretches of farm land. It was beautiful. We could just imagine the sunrise from this place would be picture perfect. After being ‘lost in the woods’ the whole morning, we finally found our way back to the cottage for the much-needed lunch.

Lost in a valley. Pic Courtesy : Indrajit

Post-lunch, we drove to Madikeri and did some touristy sightseeing there. We went to the very popular Abby Falls, Raja’s tomb, did some snooping around the local spice market and handloom & boutique shops and finally ended the hopping tour with a view of the sunset at Raja Seat. By the time we went back to our cottage, it was pitch dark. The sky was clear and studded with stars, big and bright. Such a relief to the eyes which were otherwise used to the concrete jungle in the cities. The day ended with a little bit of star gazing, a yummy dinner and rolls of laughter.

Raja's tomb. Pic Courtesy : Rana

Next day was the trek day! I am not sure when I dozed off in the night, but it was 5:30 in the morning my alarm buzzed, and it felt like I had just gone to bed. After a quick shower, I went outside, all geared up for the climb. The Sun wasn’t up yet, just a pinkish glow tinted the sky. I stretched my legs, examined a few flowers in the garden and finally took position to watch the sun rise. The two in our group who were asleep the day before when we had gone out for a stroll were sleeping this morning as well whilst the other two of us savoured the sunrise moment.

Sunrise or Sunset...forgot which one this was!! 

After a negligible delay, we finally set off. We were meant to get a drop off at the WestWinds Cottage to start the walk but our driver was hesitant looking at the road condition. So, we added some extra miles to our trek and started from just after our cottage. The walk up to the gate of the national park was quite steep in places. So, we were in for a surprise when we realised that the trail hadn’t started yet we were already panting. We got our tickets at the gate (which is meant to mark the real start of the trail) and the path from here seemed easy. 

Coffee plants along the way.

With the rolling hills on both sides, we walked along, sometimes through a canopy, sometimes through a wide valley. With each turn, we ended up debating which one in front was our peak of the day! We got to a point where we found all the trees and bushes on either side of the path were burnt down and there was a small hilly mound in front which was completely black with burns. We were not sure why this had been done. But it was not only a terrible eye sore but also very sad. From this point onwards, the path started getting steeper and rockier again. We crossed the valley and went inside a thick foresty bit with big steps entangled between tree roots and boulders. 

Just before getting stuck for a while.

The path started getting interesting from here. We came out of the ‘forest’ (Its funny how the locals called this bit forest) and there waited a steep gravelly path in front. We started climbing up and soon were down on all fours trying to get a grip on the loose soil and pebbles. At one point, we were completely stuck. We couldn’t go up or down, too scared we were going to slip bad. I was sat there, flat on my bottom, trying to get support with my hands and couldn’t get a footing for what seemed like forever. We almost decided to give up. Gradually, I scraped across the path to the other side of the rocks and suddenly things seem to change. I was able to stand up, found my grip and stability and saw a few people taking a different route to get to the top. Gradually, we got back our confidence and finally, all four of us crossed over to this other route.  

We found the way!

You are stuck with a problem and you keep hammering it one way. And then you change your approach, ever so slightly and the problem just cracks open…easy peasy lemon squeezy! Every trek teaches you so much!

Aah! The view from top!

There was no stopping after this. What we thought was the peak was a deception (as we had read before) and the moment we crossed the gravely hurdle, the actual peak revealed itself. The climb from here to the top was a little rough in places and demanded full attention. The wind picked up too. It was the most amazing feeling to stand on the top, your face in the wind and the endless hilly folds in front. Beautiful.

View from the top again

We celebrated our summit, munching snickers and peanut chikkis. After soaking in the views from the hill top for a while, we slowly started our descent along the same way. It was about 3o clock in the afternoon when we finished our walk and I was back in the cottage with blisters on my feet. (Never wear stupid short socks with trek shoes like I did!) A hot and delicious meal of chicken biriyani, chicken curry, veggies, salad and fruit awaited us when we got back to our base! You couldn't ask for a better finish to the trek! 

The trip came to an end as we started our drive back that evening. It was a short and sweet weekend gateway and as for the trek, every hill and mountain is dear to me. What specifically stood out in the Tadiandamol trek was our initial setbacks. I felt I grew a little wiser, humbled by Mother Nature, as always.

Can never get enough of the greens! 😍

Manipur Travel

The new year started with lots of things happening among these one of them was a 10-day break from work. Amidst leaving my first job and joining the second and moving to a different city and handling all my other personal stuff, I decided to make use of this sweet break to take mum and dad to some off-beat place for a vacation.

Loktak Lake, Moirang, Manipur

Manipur was not an obvious choice. Tickets to most of the places had run out by the time we started planning the trip. We didn’t want to go too far either and we wanted to avoid any sort of crowd, for sure. One day, over a casual evening coffee, me and my cousin were discussing Loktak lake and that sort of stuck with me. All these, together with my love for North-eastern people made me book the flight to Imphal. 

Local kids in Ukhrul

Imphal, the capital of Manipur is a busy city. It was supposed to be a pit-stop for us. We checked in to Sangai Hotel (and even though the name reminds us of the place – Sanghai), this referred to the Sangai deer, famous in Manipur. We walked around the small city of Imphal, checking out the local markets, eateries, Shahid Minar, the polo ground and the main attraction - the Kangla fort. 

In the gardens of the Kangla Palace, Imphal, Manipur

We spent a full day in the fort. The fort is an old palace, belonging to the mythical God-King. It has a unique architecture and a vast landscape garden adorned with archaeological evidences of old ruins of temples and a museum.

At Kangla Fort, Imphal, Manipur

We ended up spending two days in Imphal and then made our way to Ukhrul. Ukhrul is at a higher altitude surrounded by mountains and well known for its tribal culture and rich wild life. On our drive up there, we visited the Mova cave. The car took a narrow right turn from a sudden ‘out-of-nowhere’ mountain road. After driving for a mile or so, we got down from the car. While mum & dad pottered around the place, I climbed down the cave along with our driver who showed me the way. It was a rocky climb down after which you enter a small cave and come out at the other end in front of a whooshing waterfall. My heart leaped instantaneously. Greens, hills, rocks and water…that’s what I live for! It was quite unkempt (just the way I like it) and there was not a single soul to be seen. After spending some time there, we drove straight till Ukhrul.

On the way to Ukhrul.

Ukhrul on a Sunday is a sleepy town. And I don’t mind a sleepy town at all but when it comes to my hunger pangs due to closed restaurants all over, I start getting panicky. Sundays are big in this town. Most of the population are Christians and they celebrate the Sundays by going to church and spending quality time with their family. All the shops were closed, and streets were deserted except for a few kids playing here and there and some lazy walkers. There was only one person at the hotel who juggled his role as the receptionist, caretaker, cook - everything. He declared to our disappointment that no food was available. He could, however, arrange for some rice and eggs for dinner, If we liked. We agreed immediately and then went out surveying the town. The view all around was beautiful with the never-ending folds of the Purvanchal mountains. 

Pretty Town, Ukhrul.

We walked up and down the undulating streets. It was very cold, and the constant chilly breeze sent shivers down the spine. We didn’t find any snow, but it was getting so freaking cold towards the evening that we decided to rest inside, beside a makeshift fire that the hotel arranged for us. We came back to the hotel and to our pleasant surprise, there was a table full of food! There was steaming rice, green salad, a hot soupy vegetable, daal and chicken curry, all neatly laid out on the table, secured in hotpots! We were cold, hungry and the caretaker’s effort to arrange a good meal and that too, hot, was overwhelming. I’m not so sure about God but its people like him I like to follow.

Khajing Bora, local fish delicacy

This is what I love about the people in the mountains. They are so humble, polite and always eager to walk that extra mile to help others is a rare, almost extinct quality in the cities.

From Ukhrul, we made our way to Moirang. Moirang is popular for the biggest fresh water lake in Northeast India - Loktak lake and the Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world, also the home for Sangai deer.

Loktak Lake - View from the Sendra Resort, Moirang, Manipur

We were staying in the Sendra resort which is on the island, Sendra, in the Loktak lake. We had a little cottage to ourselves. The front of the cottage was all glass and the first thing you see when you open your eyes in the morning is the serene loktak lake in front, surrounded by tall trees on which sat many colourful birds. 

From our cottage at Sendra, Moirang, Manipur

This place was amazing. It was a small island in the lake and we could walk around it all the time. There were lots of long, slender trees and birds, chirping tirelessly. It was the perfect treat to the ears and the eyes. You could take the stairs up to the highest viewpoint on the island. From outside the resort, you could walk down to the lake side and take a motorboat to explore the lake. We went to a few other nearby islands, Karang and Thanga. The islands were of different shapes and sizes, each having a hilly bump on it. We climbed up and down the Thanga island and then took our boat to visit the floating homestays where the fishermen lived. It was an amazing experience. They lived on a makeshift floater carpeted with grass and had artificially created phumdis for fishing. 

Fishermen's house in the middle of the Loktak Lake

The fishermen (a greater number of women than men, I noticed) were very sweet. They showed us how they did fishing and the fishnets. The nets held the fish together whilst still in water, keeping the fish alive all along. They also offered us coffee and fried fish. It’s one of those rare luxuries in life when you could sit on a float inside a phumdi on the Loktak lake, sipping hot coffee and having fresh fish fries. I’m not sure if it was the freshness of the fish or the magic in the ambience, but that was the best fish fry I have ever had. There was a floating restaurant in the middle of the lake as well. It served hot momos, noodles and some basic stuff – all very cheap yet very yummy. We spent two days on this Sendra Island doing nothing but wandering around soaking in the nature and trying out local delicacies like Khajing Bora (Pakoda made of shrimps), rice cakes, watin, etc.

Coffe and fried fish in the Lake, Moirang, Manipur

Very near to Loktak lake was also the Sangai National Park which is a well known place for spotting Sangai deer. I must admit I was a tad disappointed here. We were driven to this elevated spot and before us was this huge thick forest with small trees and shrubs and narrow canals. We were given binoculars to spot deer from there. We did see a few but I guess, in my mind, I was looking for a more soulful experience. But it being the only floating national park does add to its charm.

Nature Park

We also went to the Japanese Peace memorial and the INA War museum nearby. The INA museum displayed a fantastic collection of information on Netaji’s life and details on his work. We gradually made our way back from Moirang to Imphal to catch our flight back home. Just before reaching Imphal, there was a big waterfall (Sadly, I cannot recollect the name now). You would have to climb up the rocky steps to get to the source of the falls. This walk was nice, very green, slightly wet and personally, I would remember the walk as I got a call from my next job whilst walking towards the waterfall. Now that’s something, isn’t it?

Waterfall on the way back to Imphal

From Imphal to Ukhrul to Moirang and back to Imphal, the tour in Manipur collected a lot of memorable moments in the landscapes of Kangla, on the beautiful Sendra Island on Loktak Lake, in the chilly wind in Ukhrul, in the falls of rocky Mova, on the wet steps of the waterfalls, the dear Sangais and so on.

Serenity...

With a fresh start to the year, signing off temporarily until I get back to the Nature’s lap…