Gavi: Get Enveloped by Rolling Mist and Passing Rains

“My roots are from Sri Lanka and I was there until the age of 10”, our guide chuckled as he rowed our boat. That turned all our attention towards him from the pretty surroundings that we were enjoying until then. He delved further into the history of Gavi, which has a large percentage of residents with Sri Lankan lineage. His forefathers were Sri Lankan Tamilians who were repatriated to the forests of Gavi in the 1970s as part of the agreement between the two countries. While some left for other places in Tamil Nadu, many stayed back, and they have since then been a part of Gavi and worked in the forest departments and cardamom plantations of this land.

Despite the summer being at it’s peak, once we crossed the forest entry check post at Vallakadavu, it was gentle breeze and lush greenery with gorgeous views of distant hills along the windy narrow road that led us to Gavi. Very few vehicles crossed our paths, and that was probably because of the restriction in the number of entries allowed to Gavi in a day. The tall trees gave way to open landscape views intermittently only to show up again with clear blue skies in the background.

As we drove through the lush greenery, mobile networks slowly gave away, and without a cue, Gavi Reservoir showed up, signalling our arrival at this tucked away hill station in Pathanamthitta district, which has been attracting numerous visitors over the last few years. Green Mansion run by the Kerala Forest department is a nice stay option located opposite the Gaviyar Dam, and Arun was the designated guide during our 2-day stay at this pretty hill station. 

Laced with water bodies, plantations and distant hills, Gavi is where one can laze around, enjoy the rolling mists cover you up, get drenched in the unpredictable rains, and soak up the beauty of nature, while staying disconnected from the outside modern world of networking, doom scrolling and socialising.

After a delicious lunch at the restaurant with expansive views of the reservoir for company, we kicked off our exploration with a boat ride across the Gaviyar reservoir. Dark clouds loomed overhead as Arun rowed his way on the placid waters with stories from his childhood flowing in a heavy Tamil accented Malayalam. The talks slowly drifted to Gavi (which loosely translates to escarpment), its dams, the hydro electric projects run here, and the very popular pilgrimage, Sabarimala, which is not too far away. There are five dams in this vicinity- Kullar, Anathode, Kakki, Kochu Pamba and Meenar, which provide water for the hydroelectric project.  Gavi constitutes of 3 villages- Gavi, Meenar and Pamba, and 90% of the residents are Tamilians.

We rowed past the dam and went further ahead to the other bank of the reservoir, which has a waterfall. A short trail along the fringes of the waterbody took us to the falls, and being summers, the water levels were quite low as expected. We still went ahead and had a cold shower under those waters, while balancing precariously over slippery rocks.

On the way back the frames changed, as mist slowly rolled in, the drizzles got heavier and the clouds looked darker. Anticipating a heavy downpour, Arun rowed swiftly and took us back. Soon it rained and the expansive reservoir looked prettier with mist engulfing the trees and the hills in the backdrop; a picturesque sight that I gazed at for long. The night ended with a dinner, and we slept away to the sounds of crickets, but not before sighting a couple of leeches, the omnipresent souls of the Western Ghats during the monsoons. 

Woke up to the hoot of an owl early in the morning, and pretty pink skies over the misty lake welcomed us. Soon boarded a bus and went on a morning safari through the winding roads of Gavi. There were a couple of pits stops which offered beautiful morning frames of green hills with birds chirping in the background. The forests of Gavi are home to wildlife such as sambar, gaurs, peacocks, wild boar, Malabar giant squirrel and a plethora of birds. Wildlife sighting is pure luck and all that we could spot were a couple of playful Malabar giant squirrels perched atop a tree. However, the chillness of the dawn and panoramic views of the landscape made for a beautiful forest drive.

We were soon back with Arun on a short nature trail over the slopes of a nearby forest hill. The trail through the forest slowly opened up to vast open lands with eye catching frames of distant hills, clear blue skies and lush greenery. After a while Arun stopped, and took out his binoculars to spot a herd of gaurs grazing on a nearby hill. As we gazed at them, the large herd slowly walked away and soon disappeared into a nearby shola forest. He then changed the angle of the binoculars and pointed us to the Sabarimala temple and its hazy surroundings, which could be seen far away. We trudged further, and the trail soon became a narrow pathway lined with tall trees that led us to a large cardamom plantation where we ended the nature walk.

With frames of beautiful landscapes, nature’s play with mist and rain, and the Sri Lankan stories, which was a revelation, we drove back from Gavi with a bucketful of lovely memories.

 

How to reach Gavi:

Pathanamthitta is the nearest major town, 100 kms away, while Kochi is about 170 kms away from Gavi. The closest major rail head is at Pathanamthitta, and Cochin airport is 170 kms away. There are buses available from Pathanamthitta and other towns to Gavi, but they aren’t frequent. It is recommended to visit Gavi in a private vehicle.

Food and Accommodation:

Green Mansion run by Kerala Forest department has nice rooms and the food is good. Details of the same can be found here- https://kfdcecotourism.com/home