Let the world rejoice the bliss I’ve realised
Feeling a trek experience is always mind-blowing than reading it. So get ready to book to glance the paradise from nature’s terrace, the Agasthyamala.
Distance from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India : 40 km, Near Bon-accord Estate
Time Required : 2/3 days, Night stays accordingly
Difficulty level : Medium to High
Feel and Feast : Waterfalls, Hill terrains, Steep climbing, Vast picturesque valleys
Gears : Gripped light weight shoes, Hat, Winter head accessories, sweaters
For Booking : http://www.forest.kerala.gov.in
The Geo :
Agasthyamala, one of the highest peak in western ghats located in Kerala with an altitude of 1868m is located in the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve(ABR), which was established on 2001 under the guidelines of UNESCO Man And Biosphere Programme spreads around 3500Sq.Km, by touching 3 districts of 1828 Sq.km in Kerala and 2 districts of 1672 Sq.Km in Tamilnadu. It is a highly restricted area maintained by the forest department of Kerala and Tamilnadu with central government funding. ABR is divided into three zones core, buffer and transition zones being filled with thick lush green forest large grasslands, gigantic trees it also has great scintillating perennial streams and waterfalls populated with wild elephants, boars and wild buffaloes. Agasthyamala hill is located in the core zone, here no modification can be done and human activities are highly banned. Buffer zones can be modified by strict regulations and in the transition zone, the human population is permitted but under strict guidelines without harming the biosphere, Some of the core zones are located in Tamilnadu which is a part of tiger reserve area. As per local information, it is rich in medicinal herbs having around 2000 species. Medical journals have been published about “Arogyapacha” an extraordinary herbal plant available here which is used by local tribes for a quick energy booster.
Agsathiyamala
The History :
Agasthyarkoodam aka agasthyamala as the name implies it is about the sage named agasthiyar who lived long ago, known as the father of Tamil literature and a great philosopher in a wide area of medicine, literature etc…, It has been believed that he might have lived in the era around 3000 BC. The mountain has been named after him because, under the belief, he stayed here and passed through the Podhigai mountain while en route to Kerala.
In a brief :
Only Kerala government is allowing public for trek and pilgrimage trips restricted for 60 days starting from January 15th every year by limiting the numbers by 100 persons per day with a reasonable fee under strict guidelines. The two-phase total one-way trek distance is 24 km with an approximately average journey time of 10hr excluding stay.
To begin the first phase of the trek you need to reach “Medicinal Plants Conservation Area, Information Centre” at Bonaccord (585m altitude) for entry pass verification and scrutinizing the luggage for plastics, liquor etc… by forest officials(I would like to share an information, this Bonaccord is a tea estate maintained by British/France peoples and named as Bon-Accord in french, literally Good-Agreement in English, But now it is being colloquially called as Bonaccadu).
THE TRAIL BEGINS :
Forest Department has set up five camps throughout the route with local tribal persons to handle any emergency situations, also, government-appointed local tribal guides are accompanying trekker groups in uniforms and they are very much friendly and cooperative. So no need to fear about on-the-way sickness or extreme exhausting situations. Better to take a walking stick from ochlandra-bamboo plant available in forest office, which helps a lot during the trek in the rocky and hilly terrains. Hydrating ready-to-eat eatables are better while trekking apart from breakfast and lunch. Initial trek path is smooth with a feeling of entering forest from the city and after a while, the path will become thrilling with ups and down and surely you will be used to it because by now you are slowly mingling with jungle. There are three notable streams in the route Karamanayar, Vazhapindiyar and Attayar. At the altitude of 570m, a perennial waterfall called Vazhapindiyar with herbal aromatic chilling water is great to get quick rejuvenation from walking tiredness. Next, the stream Attayar is a nice place to get rest at noon. Purest and far better than the bottled branded water can be availed in small streams throughout the journey.
Another notable area after a rocky stretch is thick evergreen grasslands with long stoney path with roasting sun rays tests our body’s capability of hydration even at this altitude of 750m, but the fantastic picturesque nature’s scenery will make your eyes full and forget the tiredness of dehydration. Never appreciate yourself after crossing this difficulty, a real stamina testing test begins at the end of grasslands. The stretch is called colloquially as muttidichan–theri, a knee-hitting stretch. A long steep rocky terrain with gigantic tree roots crossings will squeeze out your sweat while walking at the altitude around 800m. Another cautious word here is frequent wild elephant crossings may happen. After climbing, a plain stretch will make you relax before reaching the Athirumala base camp. The camp located at 14Km from Bonaccord forest office at an altitude of 1000m with temporary stay will feel like a great p(a)lace in that occasion. It is a small plain area with a chilling windy weather having a nice stream for bathing. Wild animals may roam here after the dusk so better not go out of the safety trenches around the camp. An appreciable work by forest department is they built good restrooms and maintained properly. The camp is equipped with only solar power lamps which glow till 10pm, a temporary government-run canteen serves kerala’s traditional dinner, breakfast and lunch with tea, coffee at very decent price. Especially chukku-coffee will give you soothing warmness, and heal your throat in no time in that weather.
The Top:
The second phase of the trek is a bit strenuous one, So leaving early Morning freshly by 7 am towards Agasthyamala is always better. Pure oxygen in the lush green forest act as a catalyst for your energy and effort to cross this stamina testing stretch. Throughout this path better to move as a group because you are intruding bear and elephant’s regular path. Around 3 km walk from Athirumala at the height of 1350m altitude we can see a grand rocky terrain with a mega valley, from there a small non-perennial stream passes through, if you have guts to tame the chillness of the water you can have a quick dip and this is the last source of fresh water till the top. There is a place Pongalappara which gives a great breathtaking treat to the eyes, this falls in Tamil Nadu’s tiger reserve. From here the trekking difficulty-scale level always goes high with treacherous rocks makes the real thrilling rock-to-rock jumping experience. At 1750m height first of three near vertical hill terrain rope-climb should be done (Thanks to the forest department for the great quality ropes) with occasional highly careful crawling by overcoming high tempo cloudy chilling wind makes you feel the cloudy heaven. At 1800m, the second near vertical hill terrain rope-climb gives great confidence for invading the attacking wind. If you look down, you will be blown away by the creation of nature’s large mountains and valleys, we can spot five folded Pothigai mountain which is located in Tamil Nadu. Then the final climb won’t be scary even it is more vertical than other two since your brain will be used to tackle that situation at the height of 1850m, don’t attempt to take a selfie while climbing through rope if so the wind will blow you for miles. After the climb reaching the top by another careful crawl you can spot the Agasthyar deity, those who comes as pilgrimage offer pooja to the deity. It is surrounded by a thick circle of trees makes the heavy wind impact little. An additional Surprising information is only devotees taken this deity manually to atop not by helicopter or drone. Seeing around from down is really a stunning experience of feeling the paradise, yes our earth is real paradise no need to go anywhere. Loving and Enjoying nature always gives the feel of heartfulness and warm happiness.
Climbing down is an another bone-chilling experience through the slippery mountain rocks and tackling high-speed foggy wind by holding the rope. After all this, reaching again to Pongalappara is ideal for lunch as the wind is being partially blocked by huge rocks. whatever the food you take along will now taste like god’s nectar as our body badly need fuel to continue. Fast climbers can come down same day to Bonaccord and if you want to enjoy the beautiful creation of nature stay another night at Athirumala base camp, as a precautionary step from wild animals officials won’t allow anyone leaving after 1.30pm from camp. The calorie burning and the purest oxygen always takes maximum care of you from getting sick. Food Parcels can be bought from canteen for lunch while coming down. Again vazhapindiyar waterfall will rejuvenate you from muscle cramps and tiredness and makes you coming out of the forest as full fresh. A great thing followed by forest department is keeping dustbins in frequent distances throughout the path to avoid littering.
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