ADVENTURE CITIES HEAVEN ON EARTH

TREK UP TO THE WORLD’S never thought I could ever get high on known for trekking but also has jeep safari HIGHEST ORGANIC TEA ESTATE tea. In fact for that matter, anyone options and stay on top where the Tea IN FOR AN who treks up to the World’s Highest Estate is situated. Once you reach the INEXPLICABLE EXPERIENCE. Organic Tea Estate will surely get campsite, there is another trek of about BY MEENAKSHI GUPTA high. Shades of green, tall pine and 3 km to view the most enchanting and Ieucalyptus trees, acres of tea bushes, scintillating sunrise. The sunrise is the freshwater streams from Kurangini highlight of Kolukkumalai. Amidst clouds Range of mountains and misty clouds all and number of peaks, the sight is beyond over the place left me spellbound. words. If you are a nature lover, trust me you will never want to come down. About ABOUT KOLUKKUMALAI 15 km of a challenging trek is worthwhile. Located at a height of approximately The jeep safari on a bumpy dirt track also 6,800 ft, this tea estate was built in 1935 takes you through the same route covering but the farming in the area is being done misty estate and is also one of the most for 150 years. Kolukkumalai is a village in thrilling experiences. The trek and jeep , which is also accessible from safari both start at a height of 3,800 ft in . The place is primarily above sea level. Jeep ride takes you up

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location which can be reached only by jeep KEY TAKEAWAYS from Bodiyakanur. , in Tamil Nadu, • Ensure your stay in advance. is the nearest town from where the local • Though it says easy to moderate trek, remember it takes about 4-5 hours on one side. ply to Bodi. Theni can be reached • Check the weather conditions before going. It becomes very cold when it rains. from various locations. All major State • Carry some light woollen clothing as the nights are chilly. Road Transport Corporation buses ply to • Always carry a raincoat with you. and from Theni. It is about 450 km from • Beware of leeches during rains. They are harmless creatures but can give nightmares to the first- Bangalore, 570 km from Chennai and just timers. Carry salt and vaporub with you. 100 km from Munnar in Kerala. Try to • Don’t expect the stay to be luxurious. It provides basic comfortable tents with sleeping bags and grab a window seat when travelling from a decent wash and bath facilities. Theni to Bodi to admire the mesmerising • Carry snacks and enough water as nothing is available during the trek, though the stream water landscapes en route. The U-pin bends, is edible. curvy roads, cloudy valleys, tall trees, the • Wear good fitting and sturdy trekking shoes. beautiful sky should not be missed. • Travel light, as you’ll have to carry your baggage while trekking. I had read many blogs before heading for the trek. Most of the information I gathered said it was an easy trek and about through 40-45 hairpin bends so be ready 10-14 km long. Well, that depends on your for that adrenaline rush. The misty cloudy fitness level. I’d say, the trek route level is Kurangini mountains, chirping birds, moderate to difficult, not only for me but steep trails, lush green tea bushes, the for my fellow trekkers too. My Garmin whole atmosphere is like a dream smart watch recorded 33,000 plus steps painting. which meant it was nearly a 20 km trek one way. It took me about five hours to HOW TO REACH reach the campsite, as I was also taking Kolukkumalai is at the hills of Kurangini loads of photos and videos en route. Yes, Tea Gardens Range of mountains. is the base everyone becomes a photographer here;

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the natural beauty all around doesn’t need killing us after the trek. By then the dinner any special skills to capture those was also ready and we decided to finish landscapes. our dinner early so we could retire for another long day. The accommodation THE WONDER TREK was in comfortable tents with sleeping We left Bangalore on a Friday night by bags. road transport for an overnight journey to Theni. By 7 am, we were in WAKING UP TO SUNRISE Theni and checked into a small hotel for The next day, we started at 5 am to get a wash and change. Whenever we go for glimpse of the famous Kolukkumalai treks, we look for a local eating joint for Sunrise but since it was cloudy we couldn’t food. Not only do such joints serve witness it. The view from that height was authentic food but are also clean as they unexpectedly beautiful. That followed are fast-moving. another trek of 3 km that took us nearly an After finishing our breakfast we headed hour. The wide range of Kurangini to the old bus stop of Theni to board the Mountains and lush green tea gardens, oh! bus for Bodi. It took us nearly an hour to I missed a heartbeat. We spent some time reach there. At Bodi, the jeeps were there to take pictures from all possible waiting to take us for that adventurous angles, time-lapses, videos and used all ride till Suryanelli, which took about an our creativity to capture some memorable hour as it was drizzling all through. The moments. Face Rock curves and bends made the traffic go slow It was time to visit the Tea Factory. Built in misty rainy weather. But I was enjoying in 1935, the factory is still in working the ride thoroughly as the route has some condition with old machines producing scintillating views. the finest organic tea. This is the only Once you reach Suryanelli, you have to campsite that is well equipped with wash buy tickets (pre-booked) to stay at the and bath facility and a full-f ledged campsite. We refuelled ourselves with running kitchen where sumptuous meals oranges and energy bars which we had are served all the time with of course the carried along with us. Please note there no most delicious tea one can ever have. restaurants at this place, so you have to Normally, the descend takes lesser time carry your lunch too. and weather was also clear the next day. The trek starts at 3,800 ft high above sea We came down pretty fast. While coming level. Since it was raining and was really down, not to miss, there is a ridge which misty all through the route, it became divides Kurangini range between the two Trek Route little slushy and difficult to trek. For the states Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The end of first time, I encountered leeches. Passing the ridge has a Tiger Face Rock and to Pongal Vada Breakfast at Theni through beautiful tea gardens, foggy pose yourself with that rock will give you trails, some dense and dark forest route adrenaline rush big time. You will literally and water streams we reached our have to stand at the edge to get a good campsite by 5.30 pm while the remaining photo, but it is worth it. group members who trekked slowly It was time to return home but trust me managed to reach by 6.30 pm. It was really no one really wanted to come back from a dark by then with no lights. place that was almost like heaven on An amazingly refreshing and freshly earth. The spectacular view of clouds over brewed organic lemon tea with banana the mountains with steep slopes of tea fritters awaited us. We almost attacked gardens at the bottom made it a dream- the food, as the hunger pangs were really like experience. ■

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