My Travelogue – Into the jungles of Gavi.

My Travelogue – Into the jungles of Gavi.

On  twenty eighth of November, 2015 (a Saturday morning), I set out for a trip to Gavi with some friends and families from Trivandrum. We had hired a mini bus for our trip and we set out by 5:30AM in the morning.

Gavi is a small town located 28 km southwest of Vandiperiyar, in Idukki on N.H 220, the highway connecting Kollam andMadurai. Gavi is inside the Ranni reserve forest and  is part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. 

We travelled via Kottarakkara -> Mundakkayyam -> Vandiperiyar to reach Gavi. After Mundakkayam, as we started ascending the high ranges. We stopped by, at a waterfall and spend around 15mins there, taking pictures enjoying going around. Soon we proceeded our journey.

As we neared Vandiperiyar, we had already ascended uphill and the terrain and vegetation had changed completely. The high ranges of Kerala has a magnificent and elegant look. The atmosphere was clean, and the air was chill.

The journey was filled with fun and excitement as people were laughing and cracking jokes on the way.

The trip from Vandiperiyar to Gavi was very beautiful and serene. As we advanced further, the tea gardens and plantations were soon replaced by deep dark woods. We passed through dense forest with lush greenery and which had all types of trees. Intermittently we could see trees with red coloured leaves, and some with bright red colored flowers. Amidst the deep green foliage, shades of red appeared which added an artistic touch. There were creeks and small streams at several places.

On the way few jeeps passed by, some with lot of European visitors. We spotted a wild elephant and calf on the hilly meadow, and stopped for some clicks.

We reached Gavi by afternoon at around 3:00PM. As we reached Gavi we drove over a small dam overlooking a placid lake with deep blue waters, and surrounded by dense jungle all around. The area was very calm and quiet, except for the noises of the jungle. There was a nice garden near the lake.

After checking in, and leaving our baggage in our rooms, we went for a boat ride in the lake to an island where there was a small waterfall. The water was ice cold and the air was chill. We embarked on 3 boats, all of us fastened with life jackets. There was thick greenery all around the place.

Our boats were rowed by experienced personnel. We went to one far end of the lake, to a small island where there was a waterfall. As we neared our destination we could hear the splashing sound of water, and could see the milky white water cascading down in the midst  from the top of deep grey rocks jutting out.

We all got down and went to the falls. Some took bath while some others stayed near the boats. We all had a nice time at the falls. The water was ice cold. I took lot of snaps, and then ventured into the ice cold water. It was a typical tropical rain forest. The moss laden slippery rocks, crystal clear water, dark grey rocks, milky white water, tall trees with chirping of birds and wild squirrels, it all gave the feel of a deep jungle.

We returned ashore, on our boats after spending almost an hour and had a cup of tea from the dinning lounge which was overlooking the lake. 

Had a sumptuous dinner later in the evening.

There were slight showers in the evening, and after that chill and cold air settled all around.

Nov-29^th-2015 (Sunday):
Early morning by 6:00am, after having a hot cup of tea we all got into a mini-bus for the detour of the place. It was very cold in the morning. We passed through thick jungle with all sorts of wild plants, thick lush greenery all around. The bus passed through narrow rugged road. Initially we passed through a path which had wild bamboo plants called “eetta”(in Malayalam)  all around (which is a favourite food for wild elephants), and as we went deeper into the woods we got glimpses of small rivulets, tiny ponds, creeks, water cascading down from the hills, hills covered by thick grass, grass meadows etc. We spotted lots of wild flowers and wild berries. It was our day, as we happened to see lot of animals - deer, wild elephants, peacock, pig & wild squirrel etc. I had never been into such dense and wild jungle ever in my life, though I had visited / gone trekking with friends to places like Thenmala, and Bonacaud and have also passed by train through some jungles of India.

While on the way in the bus we spotted lot of elephant dung and broken down twigs and bushes all around, and the guide advised that elephants were somewhere around and told us to be vigilant. We spotted a herd of 6 wild elephants standing together uphill on the grass meadow, and it was a delightful & unforgettable sight. We stopped our bus and took pictures. The majestic sight of the herd of wild elephants on the grass meadow was a mesmerizing and unforgettable one.

We went further to a view point, atop the hill and spend around 10 mins there taking snaps. On our way back we spotted elephants in the far off hill, which looked so tiny. We also spotted two peacocks on the roof top of a small building. We had a cup of tea from a canteen where our guide and driver stopped for refreshments.

On our way back we caught a glimpse of wild squirrel. It looked so beautiful. It had thick fur, and looked a bit like racoon. It's head was brown, with jet black furry body, with dark reddish patch around its belly.
We stopped at a factory where cardamom is processed, and spend some time there. We returned by 9:30am and had breakfast from the lounge.

After the breakfast we returned to our rooms for a while and again went out for trekking uphill, by 10:30am. We climbed up a huge hill. We were greeted by a panoramic view of the hills and thick foliage all around. I was very enthusiastic in capturing the pristine beauty of the place in my camera. We spend around 20 mins atop the hill gazing at the scenery and taking snaps.

After noon we left the place. By 1:45pm we started our journey back home. We traversed the same route back home and reached Trivandrum by 10:00PM.

It was a very thrilling and rejuvenating trip. The silence of the woods, the natural beauty of the jungles, the vast plethora of flora and fauna, and the ambience and calmness  that you get when you are far away from the busy city life, makes you really fall in love with the jungles of Gavi.

Gavi in my own words:
Gavi is a wonderful place. A place which can be described as a "wild hill station". It a hill station which is scarcely populated unlike other famous hill stations of Nilgiris, and is surrounded by thick dense jungle which hosts lots of  wild animals; with wild elephants being the most common one, but some rare visitors include leopards, and tigers.

There are some peculiar species of creatures and flowers in Gavi which were unknown to many of us. I was really fascinated to see a rare flower “Thunbergia” and a type of wild squirrel (‘ratufa indica’) in Gavi.

There are no shops, restaurants, hospitals or any buildings anywhere in the vicinity and not much signs of any inhabitation. Occasionally we were able to spot some huts and houses of workers in the plantations, and some faint signs of some settlement. The air is fresh and clean and the place is devoid of any plastics or any other non-degradable wastes. It has a beautiful lake and a small dam. The place is surrounded by jungle and there is thick greenery all around. During the day from 9am to 2pm usually it's a bit hot and after that it will turn a bit cold. There will be gentle showers by evening. It's very cold at night and still colder during early mornings till 8am.


-Suveen Jacob Abraham. 

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