Agasthyarkoodam - beauty in the woods

               ‘Couple of years back a senior scientist who came for research in this mountain had a minor fall, creating a small wound in his face. It took 48 hours to bring him to the base and get into hospital. But it’s all over when reached hospital. He died because of blood loss. Few years back, an elephant attacked and killed a trekker who was trying to click a photograph of the animal, with the camera flash light ON. There was another incident too not long before, when a Bison attacked another person, whose life could also not be saved...’. These were the stories the forest beat officer told us during his elaboration of the rules and guidelines to be followed while trekking. Most of us felt some sense of fear somewhere in the mind, which was overflowing with the emotions of thrill and adventure, till a few seconds before the forest officer’s briefing; especially, for first timers like me. But, this is what this trek is meant to be; the adventure of exploring and experiencing the jungle in all its gruesomeness. But the reward for all this is priceless – the joy of losing completely in the indescribable beauty of nature, the satisfaction of conquering the peak footslogging tough terrains, and the peace one gets while sitting on top of the peak,  experiencing cool wind, patted by fog and most importantly without any distractions to the mind. This is the story of four of us – Vipin John, Arun Mohan, Patrick Barackman and I, venturing into a trek of a lifetime, to one of the highest peaks in the Western Ghats – Agasthyarkoodam.

               Agasthyarkoodam is a 6,129 ft high peak part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, sharing its boundaries with 5 districts, 3 in Kerala and 2 in Tamilnadu. This UNESCO recognized biosphere reserve is home to a plethora of medicinal plants and is a place where a number of rivers originate. Trekking to this exotic location is allowed between mid-January and mid-March. The trekking passes are issued by the Kerala Forest Department online, for Rs.1000 per pass. This time around, all the tickets were booked within 2 hours since the booking was opened. Only 100 people are allowed per day, to trek into the forest. We were lucky this time get our passes amidst this huge demand. Finally, the day has arrived to set out for the 50 km trek into the jungle.

Day 1

               We left Trivandrum by 5.30AM in two bikes, and reached Bonacaud before 8 in the morning. The base station for the trek is at Bonacaud; driving through the twisty ghat roads to this place itself was bliss. Immediately after reaching the base station we had breakfast and got our lunches packed. By 9 AM the forest officer did the briefing and started letting in the trekkers after a thorough check of the bags for plastics and other banned items such as cigarettes, alcohol etc. However, a few plastic bottles were allowed by paying Rs.100, which will be refunded if all those bottles are brought back while reaching back in the base station. After all the checks and formalities we finally began the trek by 9.45AM.

               Vipin John, a fourth time veteran to this mountain, was our unofficial leader. There were a number of guides (from the tribal community) for random surveillance, who warned the trekkers in case of any animal presence or other obstructions on the way. The initial part of the trail about 4 kms, was through wider trek paths with forest on moderately high hills on one side, and deep gorges on the other. The first temporary camp on the way was the Lathimotta Camp. We took a break at the banks of the waterfall near the Karamanayar Camp, after the first stretch. Patrick even went for a quick bath in the waterfall.

               There are a number of waterfalls and streams on the way, so there is no need to carry large water bottles. We had one liter bottles per person and refilled them with the purest water from every stream. As the day was quite hot, hydrating our bodies was very important. The next stretch of about 5 kms was through forest with withered trees, and the path became much narrower. Vazhapainthyar and Attayar are on this stretch. Trekkers normally have their lunch near the Attayar camp. But we decided to go for it a little later.

               The next stretch was through grasslands, or in fact hills covered with grass. Climbing the hill isn’t that tough; but when done at noon under the scorching sun, became very tiring. For me, this was the toughest part of the first day. But from there, we got the first glimpse of the Agasthyarkoodam peak. After completing more than three quarters of that stretch, we took lunch break. There was a small temporary hut nearby, used by the guides for resting. There was a small stream too flowing in front of it, which made it an ideal spot for having lunch.

               The lunch we bought from the entry office had rice and a few veg curries. The lunch tasted much delicious that noon, especially for a person like me for whom some non-veg item is a must.  After having lunch and resting for a few minutes, we carried on. The last phase of the day was through thick forest and most part of it was vertical climbing. The trek path was full of rocks, which were slippery at many places. However, due to the thick foliage cover, this part was not so tiring.

               Finally, by 3.15PM we reached Athirumala base camp, covering almost 18kms in the process. There is an alternative trekking route to this place, which originates from somewhere near Neyyar, but only the local tribes are allowed to use it, and are closed for the rest of the world. This place was originally the settlement of the tribal people (Kaani), who are now relocated to some place near Peppara forest by the forest department. Immediately after reaching the camp, we got our floor mats and occupied a corner in one of the dormitories. The facility available there is just a cemented floor and a mat. We have to carry items such as blankets and bed-sheets with us.

                We went for a bath in the nearby stream. The water was ice cold, and a dip in that pure water was more than enough to wash away all the fatigue. We came back to the camp and had a few snacks and ginger-coffee from the canteen. We left the canteen after getting coupons for dinner, and went exploring the surroundings. There were a few abandoned idols nearby, as worshiping (pooja) and rituals are not allowed as per the Supreme Court judgment.

               We sat under the shade of huge trees enjoying the sunset that evening and the monkeys playing on the tree tops. As it became darker, we went back to the camp and had warm Rice Porridge for dinner, from the canteen. Without wasting too much time we went to the dormitory hoping for a sound sleep. But the night turned to be a horrible one. I had taken a not-so-thick blanket for me for reducing the weight of my backpack. But that turned out to be a HUGE mistake. It was very cold and the cemented floor added more suffering. On top of that, the loud chatter for a long time, by some of the pilgrims in the room added to the woes. Patrick spent time outside the dorm because of all these till early morning. Somehow, we completed that night and the only driving force that calmed us was the thrilling experience awaited us the next day…

Day 2

               After getting the breakfasts parceled from the canteen, we left the camp and began trekking by 7 AM. The journey became harder as we progressed. It was easy to miss the trek path in this area; so there were arrows marked in rocks and trees which helped a lot in taking the proper route. The rocky trek path was hardly enough wide for a person to walk through. On top of that, they were very slippery because of the rainfall happened a couple of days before. The dense forest and thick foliage cover, which tries hard to not let in even a single ray of sunlight, makes the land remain wet for many days. We passed through dense bamboo forests too on the way, which are usual paths of elephant herds. We saw fresh elephant and bear droppings on this route, but fortunately didn’t have to encounter any such wild animals.

               There were a few big rocks acting as viewpoints that offered beautiful view of the dense green valley below. As we reached higher, the trees were more like Bonsais - short, but with wide tops; this characteristics because of the strong winds in the mountain, that prevents the trees from growing taller.

               Two hours later, after covering 4kms, we reached Pongalappara, a major halting point on the way. This is the place where most of the trekkers have their breakfast. There are a few smaller streams and springs nearby, which makes it an ideal spot for having food. Devotees used to prepare cooked rice (Pongala), at the top of this huge rock, and hence the name Pongalappara. However, this is not allowed now, as per the recent Supreme Court verdict.

               After having breakfast and of course refilling the bottles we continued the trek, or rather, the climb. As we went higher the temperature dropped drastically and the thick intermittent fog only increased the cold. Climbing this final leg was really treacherous. It was mostly through steep rocks which had very narrow-but-curved tops. It was frightening to look behind or the sides while climbing through them. There were four places where the climb was only possible with the help of the ropes tied parallel on the rocks; rappelling literally. There was strong wind too blowing frequently, so we had to be very careful while climbing. A little carelessness or slip can be fatal. Finally after an hour’s intense climb we covered the remaining 2kms too and reached the top.

               The cool but strong wind, gentle fog and the mesmerizing view from the top, altogether was quite liberating. The idol of Saint Agasthya is preserved at the top within a rope fence. Devotees go and pray in front of it; however Pooja using flowers and other items are not allowed. Till a year back there was pooja happening all day, when a priest from the tribal community used to climb the peak every single day to perform the rituals. Quite unimaginable; for us this was adventure, but for them just a routine business. We spent almost half an hour at the top clicking pictures and, chilling out just to be invigorated by nature – the best healer.

               The descent was more dangerous. Each step had to be put very carefully, since one careless footing can result in pulling any muscle or even some dislocation of the joints. It took almost the same time of the climb, for us in the descent too, to the Athirumala camp from where we began the day. After reaching the camp around 1.30 in the noon we hurried to have lunch and prepared for the return journey, since leaving the place after 2PM was not allowed. There were two options available, one was to stay there on the second day too and begin the return journey on the third day, and the other was to leave the camp before 2PM on the same day itself. We opted for the latter option.

               In the return leg of the journey we had to cover another 18kms apart from the 12 we did before noon, and needless to say, it was a hectic day. After all, this hectic treks and adventures is what we are after. We had to maintain steady pace to reach the base camp at Bonacaud, before nightfall. But that wasn’t easy at all. All of us had tired legs and some of us including me had minor cramps, which lowered the pace of the trek.

               We took frequent water breaks and relaxed some time at every stream and waterfall on the way back. It felt like the journey back is tougher than the journey to. As the sun mellowed down, the forest looked more beautiful, at the same time increasing its fierceness. The last 15mins of our trek was amidst pitch darkness and the torch we carried came very handy then. By sharp 7PM we reached the Forest office at Bonacaud.

               We had some hot steamed-tapioca with chutney served in the canteen along with black tea; which gave us enough energy to thrive till we reached the next hotel. After resting for about an hour we left Bonacaud; and driving through those curvy ghat roads in the night too was a bit of an adventure in its own right. But, we had already completed the most adventurous and thrilling part. The accomplishment of a comparatively harder trek of about 50 kms, through thick forests, sunny grasslands, and slippery rocks was really something to show-off for any adventure seeker. ‘Should have attempted this earlier’, was the thought that flashed through the mind of most us while standing at the top of the Agasthyarkoodam peak. But as they say, ‘Everything has its own time to happen’, and this was our time to visit this exotic mountain…