NELLIAMPATHY - HEAVEN ON EARTH. Review on Nelliampathy

23 hair raising, stomach churning hair pin bends through   narrow winding   roads with heavy vegetation on either sides  take you to Nelliampathy -  a place of pristine beauty and salubrious climate, hitherto a serene place far from the inquisitive eye,  value for money but priceless as far as  your experiences are concerned, famous for its tea, coffee and orange plantations,  is a quiet and  popular hill station in Palakkad district of Kerala at an altitude of  4600 feet  to the highest peak of Padagiri at 5200 ft  which incidentally was  visited by us.

At around 2.30 we reached Hotel ITL where accommodation was arranged and  lunch served. A sumptuous lunch followed by a siesta refreshed us to a great extent and  by that time the jeeps had arrived to pick us for the ride of our lives, a dream experience, hard to narrate as you have to experience the same to believe it.

All our life we  had scorned at Jeeps as clumsy uncomfortable rattlers of little use and rather cacophonic by nature,  looked upon with disdain but all   this was about to change. Never in our wildest dreams have we ever thought of a journey as thrilling and exhilarating  as the one that was about to happen.  Little did we know what we had in store  as we boarded the Jeeps for our onward climb to Raja's cliff at "Mampara". The were no motorable roads, just a jungle path, rocky and unbelievably steep. The drivers of the jeeps, each one adept in the art of mountain driving maneuvered these jeeps(which would give the hummers a run for their money)  dexterously  as one  false move would make sure the jeeps turns turtle. The amazing ease with which these vehicles climbed the sheer rock face was stunning and literally breath taking or in fact taking your breath away. There were places were these 4 wheel drive jeeps could be seen running on 2 or 3 wheels as such was the terrain rugged and jagged. We clung on to the Jeeps for dear life as we were tossed around like rag dolls during our 1 hr climb. The journey as exciting as we could see the summit and the way to reach it  made us  to skip a beat or beats. Finally after much tossing  we reached the summit to see a picture perfect  spectacular and panoramic view of the plains below, Parambikulam Sanctuary to our right  and also the Meenkara dam. In the distance we could see the twinkling lights of Pollachi and Coimbatore . The   winds were so refreshingly cool  that we set up camp there for taking a well deserved rest as our bodies had taken a beating and was aching.

The place was so enchantingly refreshing – no words could capture the beauty of this land, no thoughts could express the feelings, no photos could do justice, so amazing was it, that we were transported to an out of the world experience and took time to recover from the trance  and regain our senses to be our normal selves.

We were there for a full hour and darkness was setting in and setting in real fast. With each passing minute the howling winds gathered momentum and the air its chillness with an eerie feeling and we were miles away from civilization. Darkness was spreading and a pall of gloom fell on us as we had no other option but to take our  trip back to ITL. We cowered at the thought of the downhill drive, and our fears were true,  the return trip proved to be  more stomach-turning  and bumpy, as  we were plummeting at great speeds to the base station. Another  1 hour and we reached our lodging and got into a raucous  huddle at the experience we experienced and for being in one piece and surely this trip is not for the lesser mortals and the faint hearted.

Jeeps – we'now' revere them  and   hold them in high esteem and will do the same for the years to come as they have proved their capabilities beyond doubt,  and as a matter of fact we'll pay obeisance  whenever we see one, wherever it may be. A good nights sleep did wonders to us and Sunday morning trek started in right earnest at 6am. The drive to "Meenampara" was equally interesting with the morning mist just starting to lift. The winged warblers were at their vocal best as if to set up a reception for the IJHS Alumni. We encountered  Sambar deers, a humongous one,  Bison’s and an Ibex, positioned on the summit of the hills as if they were keeping a prowling eye on the visitors below. The scene at Meenampara was astonishing – the whole area draped in the lifting morning mist,  as the biting cold winds were at its grueling best, blowing you and your blues away.  Not able to withstand the pounding, we retreated to the comfort of the Jeeps(Jeeps were turning comfortable) . The trekking which followed was bringing the youth,  whatever left in us  to the fore as we climbed the rock face with gay abandon.

This is once in a life experience and do not miss this virgin land.