May 17, 2007 09:19 PM
10352 Views
(Updated May 17, 2007 09:27 PM)
A long term plan:
I had long been eyeing on this trek to Tadiandemol peak which had so much hype in the many reviews and travelogues that I had read about Coorg. This is actually the highest peak in the district of Coorg.It was already 5 in the evening when we reached this place called Kakkabe in Coorg and perhaps the best time to start off the long awaited trek to Tadiandemol. I had to plan my logistics for the trek to save myslef from getting battered by my colleagues for poor arrangements. I bought some pen torches from the local shops, some soft drinks, plenty of water and some biscuits .
Leech bytes – welcome ceremony
We started off the physical trekking at about 05:30 in the evening and it was more than enough to keep the guys thrilled as they were pretty sure that it would definitely be pitch dark during the descend. And we had a surprise welcome ceremony by one of those ubiquitous leeches which managed to find its evening snacks in one of my friend’s left foot. You can also be pretty sure to be **ambushed by these leeches when you take up trekking here; this is how these inmates show there mild protest for an intruder. These stealthy creatures devour the blood from your body without even making you realize it and after a healthy meal, might leave you with gratitude.
*Entertainment - guaranteed!
The eeriness in the wilderness, the lingering cool breeze, occasional sight of some weird insects, the constantly fading sunlight, some animal droppings –(our guys imagined these belonged to foxes) and all that sent some butterflies in our stomach. As we walked amidst this **thrilling(infact frightening) ambience, we had serious discussions if all of us were insured; we laughed over the fact that none of us had a Life Insurance policy. We walked tenaciously for a little over an hour without breaks in between. We found ourselves gasping for breath and a few of us cracked some jokes to get unmindful of the resultant fatigue.
We called it a day once we got to the place where our trekking culminated and it was a sprawling ground on display - we then realized that we hadn’t even got to half the distance to Tadiandemol. But even this place was an absolute jaw dropper so beautiful and so unique. We felt so happy to have gotten here after a tiring trek; it is hard to pen those elated moments and feelings – I am not a rhetoric writer either and you got to be there to realize it. We were so enthusiastic about proceeding towards Tadiandemol. But we knew we wouldn’t make it as it was quite out of reach by then.
*Huh…missed the big brother!
*Luckily, we had other smaller peaks to feed our trekking zeal and we chose a hillock to conquer. As we kept getting closer to its peak, our hearts raced and we wanted to get there quicker, faster. We derived some energy out of will power and finally we were there… on top of the hillock and watched his big brother Tadiandemol soaring up to the skies and having brief conversations with every cloud that passed by, as if to pass on some message to another distant hill.We had to salute him and keep moving on. But before we left, we made it sure that, next time we visit Coorg, we would definitely trek to Tadiandemol.
*In the dark… and into darkness
The minute hand in my watch was just ten paces behind 7 in the night and was getting darker than we could manage with. We realized that we were **slowly losing sight of each other when we were just a few yards apart. We had to promptly proceed downwards and head towards our cab.
The way back was even more exciting and adventurous as it was pitch dark. We were totally at the mercy of moonlight and she hid behind those clouds on many occasions to send shivers down our spine. Fireflies kept hovering around and made us think that the stars above were moving. We were initially welcomed by leeches who did some considerable damage and as if to compensate for that, these fireflies were providing as much light as they could afford us.
I realised how much we would have suffered without those pen torches which came in so handy in darkness. It was complete silence out there and we could hear streams of water slithering over the boulders.
Unforgettable experience.
I was chosen as the scape goat to lead the team at the forefront to provide cover for the rest of them.As I walked in the front, I would stumble at some pebbles and caution those behind. The dim light that we had would create an illusion that something passed by in a flash and we would start screaming in chorus out of fear.I mistakenly stepped into a stream of water which washed my feet with **ice cold water and it was a tingling feeling the guys sent me ahead for this reason and they became alert. Poor me, I couldn’t even look for leeches that could probably have journeyed into my shoes when I stepped into the streamThe fun and frolic in this trek was always kept alive as the guys suddenly switched off those weak lighting equipments that we had and started making strange sounds to make things scarier. Trust me, it was a never before experience and we still discuss it at office/during leisure and get togethers and laugh over all those moments.
Suggestions:
*Ideally this place is best visited onward during the evening and offward early in the morning. Accomodation in tents, food, camp fire is actually arranged by some agents and tour operators in Madikeri. As per mouthshut policy, I am not able to furnish contact numbers in this review. While booking your accommodation in some hotels, you can actually request them to arrange for Trekking at Tadiandemol and they must be able to help you out.
Take plenty of water, eatables, warm clothing, Razaai and stuff other than some torches and good lighting systems. I am not sure if radios work here; you can have them as one of your items to take to this place. I would like to state this again – This would be a life time experience and you got to be there to feel it and believe it. Happy trekking.
