When my friend Kalpalatha offered the prospects of a weekend getaway to chinnar and a stay deep in the jungle I didn’t have to think twice before nodding a yes- Forever drawn to the wild. ?
We started off from Coimbatore at 5 am, picked up our friend and naturalist Ranjith Ram from pollachi and proceeded to our destination. As the morning broke,the trees lined up on either side of the road forming a green tunnel as we approached Amravathi from Udumalpet offered a stunning and soothing view. We stopped for breakfast enroute at a small hotel by the roadside at the outskirts of the sanctuary.The lady who doubles up as the cook and her daughter kausalya generously served us piping hot idlis and vadas as we sat on the outdoor swing that was hanging from the nearby tree .The backdrop of mountains looming behind the mango orchard made a spectacular scene jolting up our moods to a great start to the day. We reached Chinnar checkpost and from there started our trek into the wild accompanied by two forest guides. The creaking vines, the chirping birds and the gurgling streams.. the sounds of the jungle made the experience one of pure bliss. It was about losing and finding oneself in the wilderness.
We spotted peacocks, kingfishers woodpeckers , minnivets ,deers, grizzled squirrels, langurs to name a few and the elusive spot bellied eagle owl.Butterflies flitted around as we trudged our way across streams ,rocks and giant gnarled roots .The sunshine filtering through the tall trees lent a surreal magical feel to the whole place.