Wildlife Everywhere

Its here, its there, its everywhere. Such is the abundance of wildlife in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. We have been to Chinnar wildlife sanctuary near Munnar before, in search of wildlife. We tracked animals on foot with the help of a trekking guide to spot deers and bison up close. It was all because of luck, we got to see them and that was a totally different experience. But this time we are in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. Things are different here, I could see wildlife everywhere. I have never seen such a high concentration of animals in any other jungle.

Parambikulam is a small village in the Palakkad district of Kerala, but Pollachi is the nearest town which is in Tamil Nadu. The town of Pollachi is where you'll get the bus towards Parambikulam and it leaves at 6:15 a.m. Being weekend, the bus was crowded. Private vehicles are not allowed inside the reserve, unless you book a treetop stay in the jungle in advance or you are participating in any nature camp. So, the Tamil Nadu road transport bus is the only option for the local people and the tourists. It takes one and half hour to reach Parambikulam. All three of us somehow managed to get seats. Being cold outside we fall asleep quickly. When we arrived, it was 7:30 a.m., and we woke up to see a bus stop, a teashop, local people and in the background a vast green landscape with deers, monkeys, wild boars and peacocks. Yes, these are common sightings in most jungles, but we were surprised to see these animals all around us. This is one of the few places on earth, where you can see so many different wildlife forms in a single picture.

The wildlife reserve authorities allow you to spend three hours in the jungle on a mini bus which they provide. We got our tickets to go watch the wildlife. But this time, it wasn't the way we expected. We felt this a bit boring being in a mini van with strangers who never wanted to stop talking to each other. And it was turning out to be like picnic. So here I am not going to talk anything about the uninteresting mini van part.

As soon as we entered the jungle route, we could see spotted deers and wild boars in plenty. Every five minutes you will get to see peacocks wandering and constantly searching for food and some trying to attract its mate. Next was the Indian bisons or the wild Indian gaur who were busy feeding. It looks like they were never really bothered by our presence. Then, came out a pack of wild dogs (aka dholes) from the bushes, but disappeared before we could get a shot. Probably the animals were on a hunt. But we had to wait too long to get the sight of an elephant. A few hundred meters away we saw a herd of elephants strolling through the bushes. 

Here are some of the pictures we got:

Spotted deer grazing

Wild boars

Peacock walking around

Peahens

A monitor lizard well camouflaged.

Indian Bison(Gaur)

Gaur

Parambikulam Wildlife Santuary

So many different varieties of wildlife in a day was really amazing. What was missing was a tiger. The thriving population of deers, bisons and other ruminating animals says the tigers and other predators find it hard to live here. Despite the inflow of tourists, the life of the wild animals here doesn't seem to be affected by them. One of the locals we met on the road shared a story of his first tiger sighting. He got the chance to see one crossing the road, when he was on his way back home on a truck. But that was the only time he ever saw one.

Go Trekking in Chinnar and Walk With the Wildlife

Our motive behind the weekend trip to Chinnar wildlife sanctuary was to film the wildlife here.

After a long five hour journey from Cochin, we reached Chinnar. When it rains in the nearby town of Marayur, it is still sunny here in Chinnar. The climate was looking different; so was the landscape. With thorny shrubs and very few trees, Chinnar looks like a dry forest. Human presence and settlements in this area is very less. This could be the reason behind the abundant wildlife here.

Hoping for watching some wildlife, Sreejith and I got our tickets to go trekking. We were joined by our trekking guide, Biju Chettan. I must introduce this amazing ranger first. Biju Chettan is the best tracker we have seen. He knows every nook and corner of Chinnar. When it comes to tracking wildlife, he is the best. We got to film a few animals, all because of him.

The trekking started near the Chinnar river bank led by Biju Chettan.Very Soon we were accompanied by monkeys. Some were busy playing with their infants, some of them were fighting over the jack fruit and some of them thought of giving us company and walked with us. We kept walking through the Chinnar river bank. Our first sighting was a Malabar Giant squirrel. Its tail is as big as the rest of its body. It was alone on top of a tree, making some weird moves. May be that little giant was trying to attract its mate. Our poor photography skills have let us down many times before. We had a bad time capturing pictures of animals from our previous trips. So, Sreejith and I decided to film and take a few pictures of animals with patience.

Chinnar:  The Jungles in the Eastern part of Western Ghats. See more pictures from our trekking here

We walked deeper into the jungles of Chinnar. Soon we got to film the long tailed common Langurs, a different species of monkey which are normally shy and scared of humans. They love to be on the tree tops, looking after each other. After two kilometers of trekking we reached the end of the Chinnar River which is met by another fast flowing river. The meeting point is called “kootaar”. The other side of the river belongs to the state of Tamil Nadu, said Biju Chettan. All this way our trekking was kind of easy through the Chinnar river banks. We then moved in a different direction in search for bigger animals. Soon we started climbing the rocky slopes which was full of thorny plants.

We walked another two kilometers. By then we were on top of a hill, from which we got a very good view of the whole sanctuary. We were disappointed at first as we didn’t find any form of wildlife there. We sat on top of a big rock without making any noise for a few minutes hoping for animals to come out of their hide. We waited patiently with our eyes open and ears sharp to listen for any movement in the bushes. Still found no sign of wildlife in the area. Animals would have already eloped after they felt our presence in their area, said Biju Chettan.

Biju Chettan was never ready to give up; he had another plan in his mind. He said, we will track them and find them. We continued our trekking and suddenly he started sneaking through the bushes and asked us to follow him. “I can see a lot of footprints here, the animals are somewhere near. It could be deer or the wild boar and they might be watching us now.” said Biju Chettan. Suddenly out of the blue, a herd of Sambar deer (Mlavu in malayalam) strayed out of the thorny plants, but they flew seeing us. We started walking without making any noise. Cry of the peacock, far from the jungle was the only thing we could hear. We kept moving further deep into the jungle and got to see more Sambar deers in the bushes. But this time we took a few pictures and filmed them. Our next sighting was the spotted deer. They were aplenty, but too quick for our cameras. Our trekking was coming to an end, but to our fortune the show stopper was the wild Indian Gaur. The animal was grazing with its calf. Without making any noise we filmed the calf and its mother. After travelling almost 7 Kms through the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary, we came across a variety of wildlife. The joy of watching wild animals in the wild is a different experience. Chinnar is definitely one of the best places in Western Ghats, where they are abundant.

Our search for wild animals was unsuccessful at first. But towards the end of the trekking, we learned a couple of things: Talk less and listen to the wild calls. Always mind the space. When you see an animal staring at you, do not try to approach them to get a better shot. Just stare back at it with your camera and film them or get pictures.

Trekking Details:

You will get the tickets for trekking at the amenity center near the Chinnar check post. Tickets for trekking will cost you: 225 INR. No additional charges for camera. For a night’s stay in the jungle, they offer tree house and log house which is above 2000 INR and you have to book them in advance.

A Bus Journey to Eravikulam During Monsoon

Unplanned trips during weekends are nothing new to me and my friends. Unlike the other weekend trips, my journey to Eravikulam was an unusual one. We usually get away to nearby destinations during weekends. But this time I was alone. I really needed a break from my work and I decided to leave for Eravikulam. As monsoon was getting stronger, it wasn't a good time to go for a trip. It was pouring outside and a bike trip didn't seem like a good option for me. I thought about trying a different mode of transport which is safe. So I decided to get there by bus.

I Started early in the morning from the Ernakulam transport bus station. My destination is 135 Kms far from Cochin. Till morning it was raining really hard and I doubted whether my plan is going to work. But all of a sudden the weather changed and was looking Ok. As the bus rode up the hilly terrains of Idukki district, I could feel the air was getting colder. What really inspired me for this trip could probably be the Ghat roads of Idukki. Some of my friends who did their college education in Idukki have told me about the bus journey through the Ghat roads. Journey through these narrow Ghat roads offer a different experience.

Getting on top of Rajamalai hills

It took almost three hours to reach Munnar. The Eravikulam national park (Also known as Rajamalai to the locals) is half an hour drive from Munnar. The national park is known for its endemic population of the Nilgiri Thars. This mighty mountain is part of the Western Ghats which is about 2500 meters above the sea level.

To get on top of the Rajamalai hills, the park authorities provide minibus service. These mini buses will take you to a point on top of the Rajamalai, till the end of the narrow road. Cold wind kept blowing gently and it rained every five minutes. You have to walk further up, where you can see the Nilgiri Tahrs or the Nilgiri mountain goats in large numbers. Their body is designed to withstand the cold climate here. The Eravikulam national park attracts thousands of visitors from different parts of our country and other parts of the world.