Reserve Forest- Manimutharu

The agony of having left Leh so early still fresh in my mind, i needed something quickly to forget it. Just like a drunkard who has that small peg in the morning, after a night of binge drinking...

News was rife in the workplace that a small group of individuals were wracking their brains to identify a good adventure zone. Out of the several suggestions that popped out, the balance was tilted heavily in favor of Manimutharu- Waterfalls & Reserve Forest. Now, the name didn't sound exciting anyway. In my books, it seemed like one of those god forsaken places where a 1000 bare bodied men & women would be craving for every single droplet falling from the mountains. Adding to the chaos, would be about 30-40 buses , while groups of people would be picnicking and littering the area.

After a lot of suggestions and counter suggestions, we ultimately decided on Manimutharu. The trip would be very short and last only 2 days. We pooled in 1500 bucks each for the trip. Train tickets were booked on 2nd Class till Tirunelveli Junction.

Saturday Morning: After a good night's sleep in the train, we reached Tirunelveli at 6:30 a.m.Breakfast of Pongal, Dosa & Idli at Aryaas hotel ensured that we would not be hungry for the next couple of hours. Luckily,the south Indian ponch is so tuned to accommodate any amount of such delicasies.Not so very good roads and a distance of nearly 60 kms delayed our drive considerably. We eventually reached the base of the mountain after 2 hours. By now almost all that we ate was well digested.

Route to Manimutharu: Tirunelveli – Amba samudram – Singam patti - Manimutharu - Manjolai –Kakachi - Nalu mukku – Kuthirai vetti – Upper Kothaiyar – Kuttiyar

The Manimutharu Falls was quite a spectacle. However, as expected there were some people already trying to beat the heat. We took off our clothes as well and had a nice bath. With the water gushing on our heads with tremendous force, the weariness seemed to instantly fade away and we felt fresh once again....

Manimutharu Dam was hardly visible from the hilltop. The mist was thick and we could barely see each other.We settled back into our seats and took photographs all along the way. Finally we reached the check point of the "Manjolai Estate". Manjolai in tamil means a Mangrove. Entry beyond this point is highly restricted and unless you have a special permission, the only option is a "U" turn.

Being a Wildlife Reserve, carriage of alcohol and cigarettes is strictly prohibited. The Reserve forest is home to the Tiger, Bear, Leopard, Bison, Blue Bulls (Neelgai),
Elephants, Boars and a host of smaller animals.

The Neelgai

Food was already cooked specially for us at the dingy forest restaurant. There are a few hundred locals who live within the forest precinct and whose livelihood depends on the tea estates owned by the 100 year old Bombay Burmah Tea Company.

It was already dark very early in the evening. The mist surrounding the Forest Guest House gave it an eerie look . The guide told us that there could be Bisons moving around close to the area. This was exactly what we had come expecting. We went around a couple of miles.The guide clung to the back window of our car and flashed his powerful torch into the jungle slopes. Suddenly, we could see several pairs of glittering eyes...The Bisons were very much there and their partly white legs could be clearly seen. As i rushed with the guide to get a closer look, they all left in haste leaving me high and dry!!!



We came back to the Forest Guest House.The locals warned us from venturing by foot out for fear of being mauled by wild animals. Respecting local sentiments, we wrapped ourselves in woolen blankets and rested near the fireplace. While relieving myself middle of the night, I heard some weird noises emanating from the shrubbery. Later, i was told that the place was infested by Wild boars....

Sunday Morning : We got up before daybreak and readied ourselves for a long trek. With an injury on my left toe, i had little option but to wear sandals. The previous day we had learnt that there was a cliff from where we could get a good view. It indeed turned out to be a marvelous sight. There was a small tower from where we got even a better view of the entire area. On the left, there was this inviting sight of a thick forest cover.


Watch tower during dawn

Peacock perched on a tree

Armed with a few sticks, we started venturing inside. This was no doubt a rain forest. There was no sound watsoever and every step of ours seemed like disturbing the tranquility. Beautiful flowers and trees were all around and then there was this ocassional peacock. It seemed like bliss...But not for long! As we treaded further it got mighty dark . The trees now seemed to be growing taller and taller and we could barely see the sky. The mild drizzle was almost a heavy downpour. As we looked around, we realised, we were now very deep into the jungle. We had walked nearly 9-10 kms!! The path almost seemed to have disappeared behind us. Elephant droppings were almost everywhere and Bison hook marks were still fresh in the mud. We stopped by a brook and took some photographs.

Bison Hoof Mark

With little or no protection, it was getting a little dangerous. There was noone amongst us who knew to handle snake bites either. Good sense prevailed and we made our retreat. After about 2 hours, we reached base camp again. The trek last a solid 4 hours.. While we changed clothes, i realised that something was clinging hard on to my leg. It was a big brown Leech. Pulling it out would be painful and difficult. A pinch of salt was used for eliminating this pest. Surprisingly, a lot of blood oozed out from my body. I realized that the Leech is no ordinary threat as it seems to be...
Leech Bite

We wound up quickly and had a bath in the rivulet on the way. The train started at 7:15 pm from Tirunelveli and we were back to business next morning.

(19/06/09 - 21/06/09)



MJ's dead (26/06/09)