Trekking in the Mist

There’s a part to most of us that wants to head off the beaten path, to take the road less-traveled, to experience the different. If this sounds like you, the tea gardens of Ponmudi should be your next port of call. Just 40-odd miles from Trivandrum (it has an international airport), the capital city of India’s Kerala state, this mini hill station can surely qualify as one of the most peaceful and least crowded getaways in the country.

Nestled at an altitude of 3,500 feet, this tiny speck in the vast magnificence of the Western Ghats has just the bare essentials that a traveler might need: a cafeteria, a coffee shop and some small, cozy rooms for a stay. Oh, by the way, there’s a beer parlour too!

The best time to visit is during the monsoons (June-August). The dense thick undergrowth, the hundreds of small rivulets cascading into the Kallar river, the explosion of flora and fauna, the all-engulfing mist that makes it seem you’re literally walking on the clouds, combine to make Ponmudi a memorable experience.

From Trivandrum, by road is the only way to get here. You can take either the bus or a taxi, but the 22 hairpin bends and the dead drops make it a stomach-churning exercise, if you’re in the bus that is.

Most of Ponmudi is covered with tea estates that belong almost entirely to industry giant, the Birlas. The tea produced here used to be much sought after, once upon a time, but today’s labour problem is slowly forcing many estates to close shop.

To the nature lover, the place is paradise unlimited. An amazing range of rare orchids and equally rare medicinal plants adorn these tropical rainforests. The spectrum of local fauna is no less impressive. The forests, contiguous with the adjoining protected areas of neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, support viable populations of the endangered lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri langur.

Other species to be found here include the bonnet macaque, Nilgiri tahr, Malabar giant squirrel, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, bear and monkeys. But the most-commonly seen animals are the sambar and elephants. Sometimes the road to Ponmudi is blocked, while these gentle giants march across to some nearby waterhole in true Jungle Book fashion, trumpet and all.

Panther and tiger too have a presence here, and sightings aren’t very rare. In fact, an hour’s trek to one of the highest peaks brings you to the mouth of a large cave, supposedly the residence of a lone tigress. I saw only dung and pug marks, but I’m quite content with that!

Ponmudi hosts a wide variety of avifauna, including the hill myna, Brahminy kite, emerald dove and the racket-tailed drongo, to name just a few, not to forget those great chatterboxes of the forests, the parrots.

There are also some wild spirits that descend here, attracted by the numerous trekking opportunities the Ghats offer during the dry season. Provided you have a good guide, strong knees, tough shoes and reasonable rations – to last a day or two in case you get lost (which isn’t quite difficult by the way) – trekking here can give you a wonderful bush experience. What’s more, if you have the stamina (and a loose screw), you could extend your trek by a few days and stray into neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

That, however, is part of another yarn. So welcome to the wild and unspoiled beauty of Ponmudi. While you’re there, remember to shoot only with camera, take away only memories, and leave behind only footprints.

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