Pookode lake:Blue waters, chilling evergreen forests and misty mountains of Wayanad

Up the ghat pass of Wayanad at the very gateway of this ancient elevated paddy land or Wayal Nadu at around 700m lies this tropical blue lake skirted by vernal wet green forests and grass land tops.  The Pookode lake is a natural freshwater spring lake having  great ecological, geographical and cultural antiquity.

Going up the 9 hairpin bends of Wayanad ghat pass

This refreshing waterbody is so close to the highway (Calicut-Kalpeta) and travelers are wooed to its chilling charms.  Temperatures are much lower around the lake and it is a great getaway from the heat of Calicut.  I was drawn to this ancient beauty while attending the National Theatre Festival of Kerala 2011 at Kozhikode.

Forests and mountains encircling Pookode lake

Plenty of KSRTC buses are available from Calicut to this place.  It takes under two hours to reach the lake from the city.  The blue lake also has mesmerizing lilac waterlilies in its bosom.  Reeds, bamboos, flowering riperian shrubs and trees lull the lake from all sides.  The walk around the lake along the winding path is amazing and spectacular. It opens up a new view of lake at every curve and turning.

Canopied with bowers: The green walkway around Pookode lake

Plenty of tourists from other states are also here to enjoy the chill and charms of this forest fairy.  boating and canoeing provisions are available.  Plenty of monkeys are also here.  There are also a few fish ponds near the lake.  It is a plastic-free zone and rural handicrafts are available in eco-shops with mud walls and bamboo thatches.

Grey Pansy butterfly near Pookode lake

The ancient Banyan and a small shrine of Pookode Amma the mother goddess of Pookode prove that this was an ancient sacred lake and shrine like Devikulam near Munnar located well above 1600m in Iduki district towards the south.  It is interesting to note that this sacred lake is so close to the Jain ruins of Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady in Wayanadu.  Wayanadu itself is known for its Jain antiquity that still shelters Jain people in its natural bounty though reduced to a few in hegemonic invasions in history.

Rich reeds and bamboos skirting Pookode lake

Wayanadu with its geographical proximity with the Deccan plateau and Kodagu, Hassan and South Kannada districts of Karnataka was a cradle of Jainism from BC era itself.  Its closeness to Sravanabelgola is remarkable. Pookode Amma could be Pathmavady Devi or Khusmandini Devi or any other sacred fairies of Jainism with a local tint.

Cozy and cool cruise in Pookode lake

Now she is worshiped locally in the Hinduized form of Wana Durga or Bhagavathy.  I remember V V K Valath the renowned scholar and researcher in Kerala culture and history who opened up the mystery of Wana Durgas in Kerala by researching and disseminating the knowledge on their Sramana past.  He is the major organic intellectual in Kerala to expose the spatial and renaming strategies of Brahmanism with which it changed the whole cultural terrain in south India in a few centuries.

People enjoying the riperian beauty and soothing breeze of Pookode lake

Unfortunately he could not complete his mega project of writing about place names and local histories in Kerala.  Anyway Malayalees are gifted with his few volumes on a couple of disctricts like Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Ernakulam etc. published by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.

Banyan and shrine of Pookode Amma the mother goddess of Pookode on the south bank of the lake

Anyway today the azure blue waters of this virgin spring is still medicinal and contains healing powers for the local people and the tribals of Wayanadu who were its original owners.  This is one of the coolest summer locations in Kerala where you can beat the heat and rising temperatures in the planes and relax in the lap of mother nature for a while and regain your human qualities and creativity which you can utilize for the conservation of nature and culture in an inclusive and democratic way.

Lilac waterlilies in Pookode lake

Related posts:

1. Kodagu: Blue Mountains Beyond Malabar
2. Wagtails of Devikulam
3. Chandragiri Fort: A Landmark on the Kasaragod Coast

The thorny scrub of Chinnar is a unique habitat at the eastern margin of Kerala.  It houses the relics of stone age rock art and cave paintings.  The dry deciduous and thorny jungles of this eastern slope of the Western Ghats form a rain shadow country.  It  nurtures the sandalwood forests of Marayur and the Grizzled Giant Squirrels, Star Tortoise, Tufted Grey Langurs and much much more…  The mystery of Pambar and Chinnar rivers includes big mammals like Elephant, Gaur, Spotted Deer, Sambar Deer and a variety of birds and butterflies.

Spectacular Landscape of Chinnar

I visited this unique valley encircled by Eravikulam National Park on the west and south, Indira Gandhi WLS on the north and Kodaikanal forests on the east with an artist friend Jain in the first week of May 2010.  We saw plenty of Spotted Doves and Tufted Grey Langurs.  The landscape of the dry valley was breathtaking.  The dry jungles of Chinnar lie at an average elevation of 600-500 meters MSL.  From Munnar we can reach hear by driving down north east some 50 km through Marayur.

A Peafowl Pair in Chinnar

Blue Moutains and Green Jungle in Chinnar

The blue mountains in the background and the lemon green forests in the foreground formed a spectacular and highly soothing view.  We saw peafowls in the dry grass.  Spotted deers ran past us as we entered the thorny bush. A tribal forest watcher told us that it is also home to the endangered Mugger crocodiles which are rare in South India.  There are dormitory, rooms, tree huts and log huts by the Forest Department for travelers.

Tufted Grey Langur in Chinnar WLS

We entered the Tamil Nadu side and drove through Indira Gandhi WLS towards Udumalpet for a few miles to see a herd of wild elephants calmly grazing by the highway.  A mother and calf were enjoying their time together without much concern about the onlookers.   I could go up to 70 meters near them.   A forest guard was there to check the people.

Mother and Calf: A Close Elephant Encounter in IGWLS

While returning from this wonderfully and unbelievably close elephant encounter, before entering Kerala I noticed a big pale pigeon on a wild fruit tree.  Stopping the vehicle  I approached the tree with my camera and found a splendid Green Imperial Pigeon in its sheer beauty and grace.  Its glorious green wings and whitish underparts and head were visible in the dying light of the Chinnar sun.   I could also hear the yearning call of this pretty pigeon that animated and resonated the whole landscape and sunset at Chinnar.

Green Imperial Pigeon in Chinnar

Thorny Scrub of Chinnar

Thuvanam Falls inside Chinnar WLS

GRAY TUFTED LANGUR FEASTING ON A TREE

GREEN I PIGEON ON A FRUIT TREE

SUNSET AT CHINNAR

SURREAL LANDSCAPE IN TWILIGHT

Related posts:

1. Kochi: Biodivercity of Kerala
2. Lapwings of Madayi Para
3. Nilgiri Wood Pegions of Pambadum Shola

Madupatty Dam Reservoir

In the first week of December 2009 I visited Munnar Top Station and Kovilur.  It was bright and sunny in the afternoon and the sky was a blue deep.  As I passed Madupatty  and Kundalai the fog came in and covered the green hills and dales.  When I reached the Top Station the forest guard told me that it would be clear by 6pm and visibility would come back.  Forest department log houses and cottages are available nearby in the Pambadum Shola National Park. There are also rooms and humble home stay provisions around.  So after having a hot cup of tea I decided to stay there.

An Elusive Bird: Nilgiri Wood Pegion

At four in the evening I started my journey to Kovilur, 12 km away in the north on bike with a local guide.  The KSTP road in the Top Station region for 4 km is not tarred because it is the land of Tamil Nadu projecting into the Kerala border.  The board informed me that it is highest road south of the Himalayas!  As we approached the check post of the National Park I noticed a big wood pegion in the nearby tree.  Because of the mist and low light I could not take a decent picture, but it was surely a Nilgiri Wood Pegion!  The checkered pattern on the back neck, the dark plumage tone and the size confirmed this highly threatened bird which is in the red data book.

Kovilur

Passing the forest check post we  entered the moist and chilling Pambadum Shola.  It was quite dark and freezing inside that thick shola at around 2000 mts in elevation.  My guide and friend Suresh from Top Station told me that he has seen leopards and even tigers here.  Once they were returning from the sight seeing trip and caught in front of a tiger couple!  They were shocked and could not even take the camera.  The eyeball to eyeball stand still continued for a few seconds and fortunately a jeep came from the back and the tigers vanished into the green thickets!  There are still places like Panther Rock inside the forest on the old Munnar – Kodaikanal road now closed as it penetrates the Shola National Park.  Through that abandoned and closed road Kodai is only 60 km away from Top Station!  Now a new route is being developed through Kovilur.  But again it is through the Kurinji Malai National Park which is under consideration.

We saw the marshy bogs and fields were Gaur and deer come to graze and drink water and marked the spots for the return journey.  A giant squirrel was enjoying some tender shoots on nearby wild tree.  Kovilur is a small rural town full of donkeys and vegetable fields.  Eucalyptus plantations are changing the soil structure and climate here.  It is at 1800 mts above sea level.  After taking a few shots we soon embarked on our eagerly awaited return journey in and through the dusky shola.  The mist was cleared and visibility was better

Rhododendron Nilgirica: A Shola delight!

in the twilight.

Gaur calf coming close!

The first animal we saw was a huge Indian Gaur.  This bull was grazing in the distant marsh land.  We admired the sight and moved forward to find a herd of Gaur right on the road.  One big bull, a few big females and two calves. One calf even came to us in its naive curiosity.  we watched them for almost half an hour in close proximity in 10 to 20 mts.  Finally they crossed the road and faded into the Shola darkness.  We soon returned to our camp in Top Station as it was getting darker and darker and unknown and eerie sounds were coming from the wild.

Indian Gaur: A small herd of a bull, few females and calves

The cold was unbearable at night and especially at the early hours of the morning.  But again in the morning around 6 it all cleared and glorious sunshine was milking the whole landscape.  There was a Thai film crew shooting a documentary at the view point about the vegetables and flora of the region.  Typical Shola trees and shrubs are seen in and around the view point in Top Station.  Rhododendron Nilgirica was in full flowring mode.  As I was admiring the red jewel-like blossoms they, the fairies of the woods appeared again! Yes the Nilgiri Wood Pegions in a small flight of five individuals crossed me over head.  And it was

Surise at Top Station

simply spectacular and mesmerizing in the golden morning sunshine.

Related posts:

1. The Black Eagle of Kolukku Malai
2. Ezhimala: The Landmark on the Malabar Coast
3. Serpent Eagles of Chokra Mudi

Chokra Mudi as seen from Rajakumari

It is a pivotal natural structure having great geological and cultural significance in the history of ancient tribes like Mannans and Muduvans in the Anamalais and Cardamom Hills. Its south slopes in Muttukad hosts megalithic dolmens and rock-cut caves. Its western lower reaches still retain place names like Mannan Kandam now known as Adimaly. It is visible from Adimali, Vellathooval, Ponmudi, Rajakad, Rajakumari and Bison Valley. This magnificent rock peak towers well above 2400 Mts. above sea level.

The Mighty Hights: Chokra Mudi Peak

My friends Kannan, Rajesh, Vinod and Unni from Rajakumari were not much interested in birding but were really enthused in rock-climbing and hiking. The craggy and steep terrain was a real challenge for them who were mostly raised in the high ranges. I followed far behind them and could manage to see a few birds as well.

Plenty of House Swifts and Dusky Crag Martins were seen in agile fast motion overhead. A few Alpine Swifts were also seen. In a grass patch a pair of Pipits were found, but did not get any shots and there fore could not identify them. A few Stone Chats were also seen around. Grey wagtails are abundant in the lower areas of the mighty peak constantly drenched by tiny springs and cataracts. In the foundation we can see unique flora mixed up with the grassland and rocky terrain.

After an hour of climbing we reached the half way mark and began to rest. Unfortunately this unique natural and geographical heritage of the Western Ghats is illegally colonized by a dominant religious group and some religious marks and icons adorn the rocks and the peak! We can see the whole northern Idukki district from here. From Bodimettu to Adimali is visible. This immense rock projection offers a panoramic view of Bison Valley, Rajakkad, Pallivasal, Rajakumari, Santhanpara and Muttukad areas down below. As we were enjoying this breathtaking sight I heard a distant “Klee – klee – klee…” from far above! It was repeated in short intervals.

Crested Serpent Eagle Spreading Wings over Chokra Mudi

After one more hour of hard and painstaking ascend we finally reached the summit. It was fortunately cleared of mist. Normally we see the pinnacle always covered with heavy fog and clouds. This time we saw clouds sailing well below us! It was a magical experience, though tiring. And without wasting time we began our down hill task which was more risky and dangerous. We managed to get down to the National Highway 49 near the gap-road as the dusk was engulfing the whole landscape. the sight of the Serpent Eagles in elevated flight and their repeated calls and responses are still simply unforgettable.

Down-hill Task

Related posts:

1. Honey Buzzard of Bison Valley
2. Nilgiri Wood Pegions of Pambadum Shola
3. Green Imperial Pigeon of Chinnar