Monday 11 July 2016

TOP STATION, KOLUKKUMALAI AND MEESAPULIMALA in two daysssss!!!!!!





I have been to these three places before, i wanted to visit these three places in a weekend.

  • Location: Near Munnar and Theni 
  • How to reach: There are overnight buses from Chennai and Bangalore to Bodinayakanur..from Bodi you have to reach Kurangani which is the starting point of Trek
  • Trek Difficulty Level: Difficult(as you are going to climb 2KM up and 2.5km down, i am talking about height, not the length of the trail)
  • Trek starting point: Kurangani village, buses are available from Bodinayakanur.
  • Permissions: You need to get forest officer permission at Kurangani(200 per head) and one more permission is required at the meesapulimala entrance(100 per head). You can get these permission on the spot..no need to get it in advance...
  • Trek route: Kurangani------Top station----Top station to Suryanelli(via jeep)------Suryanelli to Kolukkumalai(walk or jeep depending on your time constraints and interest)-----Kolukkumalai to Meesapulimala(trek)----Meesapulimala to Kolukkumalai----Kolukkumalai to Kurangani(trek down)

From Kurangani there are two routes..check this link for more information. We went though the route which goes via the village Muthuvar kudi because it is more beautiful compared to the other route.

 Night stay you can stay in Suryanelli...there are lot of lodges available.......


There is a small stream at 10-15 minutes after the start of the trek where we can take bath and have tiffin(you have to take parcel in Bodinayakanur).



starting point of the trek





Starting 5km (until Mutuvar kudi village) is a jeep road, but it is steep, so will take some 1-2 hours depending up on your stamina




After Muthuvar kudi village the real trek start..it will take some 3 hours to reach top station from the village

It started raining in the middle of the trek and made both the trek and place even more beautiful





It rained for almost an hour...for the last 15 mins we could not able to see anything...as we got covered by mist..and then suddenly the rain got stopped....we turned back to see a terrific view of floating clouds..rain water running down the hills forming a water fall.....



Trek route to Top station from Mutuvar kudi village is a confusing one....when you feel that the route is leading you down....dont follow that route....




After reaching Top station, we had our lunch..then from there we booked a Jeep to Suryanelli(67Km)...Jeeps wont be available after 7pm...In Suryanelli we booked a lodge..lodges in suryanelli are resonable..1200 to 2000 per room(4-5 people can stay in a room)
                                           View of Kolukkumalai from Suryanelli-               Next day Morning we started from Suryanelli to Kolukkumalai by Jeep(if you have time, you can go by walk also..it is not that much difficult)..it will take 90 minutes by jeep...some 3 hours by walk
View of Suryanelli from Kolukkumalai-there is a tea factory on kolukkumalai which is worlds highest tea estate..you can have a tea there and start the trek to meesapulimala

View of Meesapuli mala and trek route- half of the people return back after seeing the steepness of the route from Kolukkumalai it will take 2-3 hours to meesapulimala peak(need to pack the food items in suryanelli or kolukkumalai)...we started at 11 and reached the peak at 1.

On the top of Meesapulimala- when we reached the top..the total area was covered with mist..almost zero visibility...so we could not able to see anything..we just stayed there  for some 30 mins..listened to the sounds of wind..waiting for the mist to go away so that we can enjoy the view of the world below us.....unfortunately...it did not get clear...we strated trekking down at 2...reached kolukkumalai at 3.30...had tea there..bought some tea packets..and started trek down to kurangani...reached kurangani at 7.....from kurangani..we took jeep to bodinayakanur(last bus from kurangani to bodi is at 6pm)..where our bus to chennai was waiting for us..



My  Kolukkumalai trek video




3 comments:

  1. Sir am planning to trip to kurangani, need your assistance, since, your contact number is not visible am giving mine kindly guide me.. contact no.9176598567/8667784835
    Name: jeeva

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    1. Hii..i have tried calling you..you did not lift the call...my fb id is chaitanya chvs...ping me

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