A travel becomes fruitful when we feel physically and mentally energetic and when what we want to see can be seen and understood without any obstruction. This time, my journey fulfilled all these conditions – a thrilling trip to the greenery of the rainforests, away from the busy life. In one way, it is a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage destroys the self in one and cleanses the mind and body. This is exactly what I experienced in this tour.
Now, about Agasthyarkoodam , the Agastya Hill is a part of the Western Ghats, that lies in the border between the Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta Districts of Kerala and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Agasthyarkoodam or Agastya Mala (Agasthya Hill) is a peak that is one among the Biosphere Reserves. This is a pilgrimage centre for the devotees of the Hindu sage Agastya of the Hindu Puranas, but for the nature lovers, it is a place that offers a thorough experience of the forests. For some others, it is a trekking destination. Anyway, I would say that Agasthyarkoodam presents a combination of all these.
Twice I tried to get the ticket to Agasthyarkoodam , but both times, I didn’t, so I coaxed one of my friends who works in the forests and got 2 tickets and we went together to Agasthyarkoodam. The journey started at Bonacaud, a place which still has no connection with the outside world. As there were no accommodation facilities in Bonacaud, we stayed at Vithura and travelled to Bonacaud the next day early morning. The Agasthiyar Forest Office (ticket station) is far from the check post. On the way, we saw a tea factory which was abandoned by the British long back. It looked like a Dracula Bungalow in the dim light of the daybreak. Past the factory, after a short while, we could see a big green board with the words “Agasthiyar Biosphere Reserve.” On another board nearby were the instructions to the trekkers.
I think we reached very early and that is the reason why there were just a few people. The office was not yet open. We admired the early morning view of the forests while sipping hot black tea from the canteen close by. After a short while, a guard came along with an officer. The guard was known to my friend. They opened the office and later, we could see tourists coming in, some came alone while some came in groups, people from different parts of the world, in different outfits. As mentioned earlier, some people consider this as a pilgrimage whereas for some others, it was the thrilling experience of the trekking that lured them. Such were the different types of tourist friends who came there.
We packed lunch from the canteen. Some tickets, including ours who came very early, were checked and we were all asked to stand aside. The officer took a class on what a forest is and the rules to be followed inside the forest. Afterwards, our bags were checked. Later, we entered the lap of the mother forest. Initially, the way was straight and offered a tireless walk. Every group has a guide with them. Guides are actually the tribal people of the Agasthiyar Forests. We kept a distance from the other groups as we wanted to experience the forest in silence. Sometime later, the way became narrow allowing only 1 person at a time. There were wonderful sceneries all around. The sight of strange-shaped old trees, the swings that are formed by big roots which look like python, the forest flowers which peep through these roots and smiled at us, the musical concerts held by birds and crickets, all these made our walk an indescribable experience.
Some parts of the forest were in darkness, the sun’s rays were not falling on those areas. As we walked ahead, we could see a stream that had started to dry up. We lay on the ground prostrate and took some water in our hands and drank. How tasty it was! We drank as much as we wanted and then washed our faces. I experienced the same soothing effect as that of my mother’s hand patting me. In this trekking way, there are 3 rivers to cross – Karamanayar, Vazapaithiyar, and Attayar. In between, there are camps which have the necessary facilities for the tourists. Here, there are first aid and wireless set available among other such important things. We drank water from a small river and took rest for some time at the Karamana River Camp. At a short distance, small waterfalls and Vazapaithiyar Camp were there. Even though it is small, the falls is beautiful. After that come another river and the Attayar Camp.
After this lie the barren hills. Here and there, some trees are standing; otherwise, there are only shrubs and grass. We could feel the real heat of the sun when we reached these hills. The meadow covers around 2 km. I saw some people coming in the opposite direction. They were returning after trekking. When they spoke, we understood that though they were really tired, they were excited and satisfied about the trip. As mentioned earlier, this place is not connected to the outside world, and hence, people who meet at this place get to be friends in a very short time. I consider this as an advantage of these kinds of tours. This becomes relevant in the modern-day world where, because of the spread of the new culture of modernization, nobody knows their own neighbours. In contrast to that, in these kinds of places, people from different countries and with different languages meet and become siblings in the lap of the Mother Nature.
Crossing the meadows, we came across the most attractive scenery, the alluring beauty of the Agastya Mala in the front and the distant view of the Peppara Dam at the back. Beyond that lies the lovely valley of the Athirumala. The trail became rocky and it became really difficult to walk. At some points, there were steep ascents. As I climbed, I felt like my knees were touching my face, the way was as steep as that. Inside the forest, there were worship areas and idols under big trees. They can be called nature-friendly worship areas. Truly, here, the people worship nature itself. Our forefathers’ beliefs were all related to earth and trees. Is it not the real worship? My thought is that today’s idol worship, beliefs, rights given certain groups is all for the benefit of some. Thinking about this, without even my knowledge, I bowed at this place. We can pray anything here. There are no special gods. ………… The rest of the trip will be continued in the next part of this article.
