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. While the trek wasn't too tough, it's always good to have a good hiking shoes that would ensure that you have a nice experience exploring the outdoors.

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

To Sweet 16 and More!

While 16 years of Tales of a Nomad seems like a long time, hope to experience many more sunsets and sunrises from different corners of the world in the coming days, months and years.

Vattakanal, Kodaikanal. May 2022. 

The Wild Mysteries of Gopinatham

Past the small dusty towns of Chamarajanagar, and under the blazing sun I stopped by a few waterbodies, before speeding my way into the lush greens of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. A couple of forest check points later I was in Gopinatham, a tiny hamlet near Hoganekkal Waterfalls, and within the fringes of the sanctuary.

The secluded village of Gopinatham along the borders of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been away from the limelight for almost 20 years after the death of Koose Munusamy Veerappan. Now, that name might strike a chord, as Veerappan was one of the most notorious bandits who ruled these forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and was born in the village of Gopinatham. Though his notoriety and name linger over the village and the surroundings, life has moved on for the people here.

My intent of visiting Gopinatham wasn’t to delve into the stories of this place, but instead explore Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Jungle Lodges and Resorts owns a wonderful property here, Gopinatham Mystery Trails, which gives you the access to explore the wildlife and nature trails bordering Gopinatham. Nestled next to a sprawling waterbody, the property has rooms which are large tents built in the shape of domes, giving it a feel of camping in the wild.

After a yummy lunch I strolled through the premises of the property and along the fringes of the waterbody. It was all calm until one of the workers hollered that there are elephants on the other bank of the waterbody, and all guests ran to catch a glimpse of the same. A mother and a baby elephant were happily enjoying their afternoon drink. With zoomed in lenses and binoculars, we gazed at the pachyderms while they peacefully quenched their thirst. As they trudged their way back into the woods, I changed the angle of my camera to capture some cormorants, storks and egrets. Peacefully perched on protruding wooden stumps, they darted off directionless and randomly came back to the same stump. As most of the birds wandered off, I noticed the beautiful frame of lush green hills juxtaposed in the backdrop. It slowly dawned upon me that I was indeed in the middle of a forest.

A hot cup of coffee later, went on jeep safari with other guests into the wilderness of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Muddy red pathway meandered its way through the greenery, and the jeep left a puff of dust as we rolled deeper into the forest. We waded past a couple of streams and then paused at the memorial of the IFS officer P. Srinivas, who was assassinated by the dacoits of this region in early 1990s. Further ahead, we slowed down multiple times to spot many species of birds such as Indian Roller, Serpent Eagle, Lapwings, peacocks and many others. As we kept gazing at the branches of the trees in search of more birds, the vehicle suddenly halted, as ahead of us lay an exhausted and weak wild boar making its way across the road. A little later, the jeep braked again as there was a tusker behind the trees. With bated breath we waited for that moment for the pachyderm to turn up from the woods, but unluckily despite the long wait it didn't, and instead disappeared further into the thicket. We rumbled on the muddy pathway as the sun set, and along the way we also startled a family of gaurs, including a calf that kept staring at us for long.

Next day the naturalist knocked on my door at 6 AM, and we were out in the woods shortly going past the fringes of the lake, and into the wilderness of Gopinatham. The unclear path led us up the adjacent hill, which was scattered with boulders, and where trails abruptly ended in the middle of nowhere. As we neared the top of the hill, the naturalist was quick to point out the call of a few monkeys, which conveyed there could be a possibility of sighting some wildlife. Since it also didn’t feel too safe loitering around with those alarm calls, we trudged down another trail. Further ahead, the beautiful frames of the panoramic views of the village of Gopinatham and the lake showed up on our way back to the breakfast table.

As I headed out of Gopinatham, stopped by at a small shrine, and the traditions and their culture was quite evident with quintessential customs followed at any Hindu temple. The village has moved on from what it was notoriously famous for until a few decades ago, with schools, houses, temples and the modernity slowly wrapping it and taking it forward to help it merge with the outside world.

How to reach Gopinatham:

The nearest major town is Kollegala, 105 kms away. The nearest airprot is at Mysore, 168 kms away, and the closest major railway station is at Salem, 95 kms away. It is recommended to visit Gopinatham in a private vehicle as the public services are not frequent.      

Food and Accommodation:

Gopinatham Mystery Trails owned by Jungle Lodges and Resorts (a Govt. of Karnataka promoted enterprise) is the only accommodation option in Gopinatham. The package includes stay, meals and activities such as jeep safari and nature walk.