PARAMBIKULAM OCTOBER 2014

We visited ParambikulamTiger Reserve twice during 2014. Easily reachable from Coimbatore, Pollachi. About 40 Kms from Pollachi.Its part of the Western Ghats Mountains.  The very atmosphere and the thought of the wilderness attracts us so much that we did go there twice. Even though the deep forest accommodations are no longer available to the visitor, its still worth a visit for the serenity, peace and the early morning bird calls that wake you up.

Our first visit this year was in October 2014. There were some rains, very unexpected, but good for the forest and greenery. We stayed in the Tented Niches. These tents are permanent tents in Annapady, by the side of the Reservation office and the Office of the Conservator. There are about ten tents and we are told that they want to add more. There are a few other accommodations available like the tree tops, about 2 of them, The Island package, Honey Comb Accommodation which are more like rooms in lodges.

 For the adventurous, The Island package will be ideal. You are taken to an Island in the middle of the dam by rafts, it takes about 1 hour or so. You will have to carry all your needs including the food that you want to cook and eat. There is no power in this Island. The Accommodation is a big room  in which about 5 can stay. It is very thrilling as it gets dark, and you are cut off from the whole world and in total darkness. You come out of the room and take a look at the night sky, it is breathtaking and awesome to see such a clear sky, which you may never experience any where else but in deep forests. If you have a pair of binoculars it will be fun identifying the stars.



A view of The Island

 Food will be prepared by the helpers who accompany you to the Island. It will be fun to help them cook the food you want and enjoying it under the clear night sky. The Island dosent have much of wildlife sighting except for Elephants which swim across to the Island in the evenings and stay in the Island at nights. You might hear the breaking of bamboos very close by, while the elephants are having a great meal. After a good night sleep, you can eat the breakfast you want and later leave for the mainland. You might get disturbed during night by rats running around in the room, but safe storage is provided so that the rats don't mess up your things or food. Overall it will be fantastic experience on the Island, very peaceful and right in the middle of the forest.

For those who stay in the tents, the activities available are a routine everyday, starting with early morning bird watch, come back and have breakfast and then leave for a trek in the forest. In the afternoons, after lunch, they take you for a game drive cum boating trip ending with a tribal dance at Tiger Hall in Parabikulam, which is about 20 Kms from the Tent Accommodation. This is more or less a set routine followed here. The cherry on the cake is the drive from Parambikulam back to the tents,after seeing the tribal dance. By the time they leave parambikulam, its a bit dark. The thrill is to sight animals by the bus lights in darkness. We have sighetd leopards on several occasions and your heart is in the mouth by every turn the road takes. Sighting Indian Gaur, Sambar Deers, Elephants are almost for sure. As the night approaches, these animals come to the road, for some reason, probably they feel safer by the road.

Unfortunately on the first day this September trip we didn't have much sightings on the night drive, except for a few  Indian Gaurs and sambar and spotted deers. The next day morning we got up to the singing of the birds, had a hot tea and got ready for the bird walk which was for an hour. We saw a lot of Drongos, but no Racket Tailed Drongo. We also saw beautiful Blue winged Parakeets and Alexandrine parakeets, Some Coucals and Snake Birds by the water. We came back from the bird walk and had a good breakfast. By the way food is very good here, I have seen people appreciating the food served, even though you don't have a big variety of it.

Blue Winged Prakeet

After some rest, we went for the trek in the forest. This was very thrilling, even though, we have done it several times in the last 6 years or so, each time we feel butterflies in the stomach. We went to Kariancholai range if im not wrong, which is behind the tents accommodation. We were just 2 of us and the guide in the front. We had trekked for about 2 kms of open space and over a few rocky places and  just entered the dense shola forest on a narrow track. We were trekking with a gap of about 15 feet between us. A few meters into it, all of a sudden, we saw  a lone Gaur on the right side, about 15 feet from the track. A huge male one. Initially the gaur had not noticed us. When he saw us he was taken aback and just gazed at us for about 10 secs and we too didn't know what to do and were gazing back at him. There was silence and he moved into the bush, turned and saw us again for about 5 secs. Then he made a big Whoofh sound and ran away making a lot of noise. We were still baffled and getting to senses and suddenly, very close to us we heard a low grumble. Again we three were frozen and took  a few secs to realise that it came from an Elephant that too from very near. The guide signalled us not to move and was trying to locate the elephant, but couldn't. We were getting a bit panicky as we were sure it was an elephant and that too very close. The guide signalled us to move back slowly without making any noise. One thing was clear, the elephant knew were we are but we couldn't see him and he was a bit upset with the gaur making so much noise while running away. It was like a warning grumble to say keep away. We stared retracing our steps as fast as we can but without panic, easily said than done. After a few steps back, we both turned around and started running as best as we can, into the open space. Well one cannot out run an elephant, if he is chasing you. The guide came a few feet behind and signalled us to go as he saw the elephant approaching us, atleast that's what he told us. As we ran down to the rocky place, we felt a bit safer and thanked god that the elephant didn't chase us further. After a while we felt it was thrilling to be in that situation.

Snake Bird by the Water

We kept talking about it over lunch. we were the only guest that day and had the privilege of driving our vehicle into the forest that evening.

We managed to get a trip into the forest in the evening and were very lucky to see an Elephant carcass. We were told that a Tiger had killed the elephant, which was an adolescent and not a fully grown one. But how the Tiger managed to bring it down was a surprise and we couldn't understand. Normally elephants are in groups and how did the tiger manage this!!!!

We could see tiger pugmarks all around the carcass. The belly was open and all intestines were out, typicall of a tiger kill, as they first remove the intestines before they gorge on the meat. A part of its trunk was bitten off. But surprisingly the entire carcass was in tact but for these, and the for some reason, the Tiger had eaten nothing. We have been to Parambikulam several times and never had such a sighting!!!!

Elephant Carcass with intestines out

Raft ride in the dam

On the way back from Parambikulam to the tents, we were little late and it was dark. It was thrilling to see animals in the car head lights. We saw a lot of Indian Gaurs, Sambar, Spotted Deers and a few elephants. There was



a couple of elephants in one of the turns and they were on the mound very close to the road. A male and a female. As we approached them, they watched us and the male was visibly upset and didn't want us there. He trumpeted and it was really threatening as it was very close to the road. Later we were told that the male was protecting the pregnant female and that's why he behaved so.


It was fantastic trip we had in October, considering the Tiger kill sighting and the encounter with the elephants. Fantastic Parabikulam!!!!!!!!.

White Bellied Drongo

Parambikulam, Valparai & Vazhachal November 2012

Wild Dogs once again.  WOW!!  Parambikulam is the place.  November end and December first week we travelled.  Good season, nice cool weather.  

This time we stayed only in the tent.  Accommodation inside the forest is restricted these days, only one place of accommodation open this year.  Traffic inside the forest was less since no vehicles were allowed into the forest until the previous day we landed there.

The package for tent stay is like this, afternoon check in at 12.00 then go for a heavy lunch (buffet system) once the lunch is done then at 3.30 you will be taken in a minibus for a safari called evening drive.    Come back by about 8.00pm or so then time for Dinner.  The next morning you will be taken on a small trek for bird watch.  The safari starts from Aanapaadi Office.  This is where the tent is located.  

First you will be taken to the Cannemara Theku, one of the oldest and tallest Teak tree and as we moved on looking for animals on both the side of the vehicles this is when we spotted a pack of Wild Dogs eating the kill, first picture above if you watch closely you will see them busy eating.  It was a Sambar Deer they killed.  The other Sambar Deer was watching the Wild Dogs eating one of his mates and looked very agitated.  

After Connemara Theku, next you will be taken to the Island for rafting and animal watching on the banks of the island in Parambikulam Dam.  The above picture is one side of the island where you board for rafting.  Rafting is for about an hour.  You are not taken too far.  Both the days we spotted a herd of elephant with babies.

While on the dam the second day we saw the elephants crossing the island with their babies.  This was the first time we spotted elephant swimming and crossing the river.

Once you come out of rafting the next thing you will see some traditional folk dance in tiger hall.  This will take atleast 1/2 hour and you are also given a break for tea/snacks.  Since the whole place was closed for vehicles not much of activity in any shops/hotels, they all opened the previous day and was still not fully functional.  We were disappointed since Lakshmi Mess did not have anything ready to eat. By the way, Lakshmi Mess food would be great, be it full course meal in the afternoon or tiffin like ghee roast. We had to come back with just a cup of Katta Chai (Black tea).  

On the way back to the tent from Parambikulam it was dark, so we had a feeling that we were on a night drive in the forest.  We spotted lot of Bison, Elephant, Spotted Deer and Sambar Deer.

The last we spotted was a Leopard.  The road leading to Thellikal IB, is where my nephew spotted the Leopard in the torch light that was thrown by the guide, Babu.  It was crossing that road and getting into the bush.  The second day as well we spotted another Leopard somewhere near our entry gate to the forest.  It was walking along the main road, as we reached near, it was sitting behind a small bush watching our bus and moved further down later.  This was pretty close and we were all thrilled.  All were talking about the same until the next day morning.  We could only catch the back of the Leopard as above. The light was not enough for the camera is what my husband claims.

Bison spotted during the evening safari

We also went for couple of trekking near by but did not spot any animals.  Third day after breakfast we checked out with good memories.  Our guide Babu as usual took care of us through out our stay.  Hopefully next time if they allow us to stay elsewhere inside the forest then we might spot a tiger as well.

Me, my nephew and Badri in the reservoir with the guide

The journey did not end here, we further travelled to Valparai, the famous place for Leopard and Lion Tailed Macaques (Called LTM in short).  We reached only by evening, on the way we spotted LTM above the tree amidst the plantations.  Our guide Job took us around in our Pajero inside in all the plantation areas where not much movement of people were there.  Nothing we spotted except LTM.  Then we came to the reservoir during sunset and what a view... so cool and great it was.

Sridhar & Me watching the sunset

Beautiful sunset

The next day we left for Vazhachal, which is foothills of Valparai, on the Chalakudi side. The place is famous for wildlife and also for Athirapilly falls (also known as Punnagai Mannan movie falls).

Beautiful sceneries on the way from Valparai to Vazhachal.  Lots of water falls small and big, and rivers flowing etc.,  the forest was dense on both the sides of the road and nothing we spotted on our way.  

Nothing you get to eat on the way not even a cup of chai.  Lucky our vehicle was loaded with snacks, otherwise we would have been hungry.

Me and Sridhar on the way to Vazhchal

We reached Vazhachal by noon, checked in the forest inspection bunglow there.  Went through the Athirapilly falls starting point, at the back of the Inspection Bunglow.  That evening we went for a safari in the main road where we spotted a herd of elephant trying to cross.  First we saw few of them standing on the left side of our vehicle, then we further moved up in the road my nephew spotted one elephant with the small baby on the road, that's it, he started reversing the vehicle fast, tried to turn around after few metres and rushed back to our place.  Since the elephant was with the baby its not safe to go close or to stand there since it was a big heard and some had already crossed the road.

Athirapilly Falls ( Famously called Punnagai Mannan Falls)

Me and my Nephew Aswin, at the background the start of falls

Once we finished visiting Athirapilly falls we left the next day morning drove via Chalakudi, Palghat, Coimbatore, Bangalore. It was a long drive way back.  But enjoyed chatting about spotting of Leopard, Wild Dog Kill, Elephant on the path way etc.,