Walk with me through the nature beacon, Vattakanal. #Lockdown

Towards the end of October last year, just like any other evening we were up to nothing productive until one of us decided we needed a vacation from ‘wasting time’. A riveting thought isn’t it? I agreed and so did the others. Now where do we go? That is always the hard part, especially being a group of 8 members, we each had our preferences. Amidst all the chaos over who’s got the best idea, Vamshi sheepishly said Vattakanal. Doesn’t ring many bells, does it? None of us ever heard of it too. He himself had no knowledge of the place and has heard it from his cousin. If I said I’d consider it, I’d be lying, but I said it anyway. High on the spirits of contempt we looked it up and we were baffled. It was unlike anything you would expect. We all soon agreed on it and then to take a detour to Bangalore on our way home.

This village, or rather the hamlet that is Vattakanal, the little Israel as some like to call it is an absolute whisper of peace. The Western Ghats stretching across the western coast of the Indian peninsula house this humble place in the Tamil Nadu state close to the borders of Kerala. It is at a 7- kilometre drive, downhill from the kodaikanal, the popular of the twins. This place solely runs on tourism. Many tourists come here to stay for longer periods, weeks or even months. The months from October to the early march receives a flood of Israeli tourists and hence the name. The culture and the cuisine here parade the strong Israeli influence.

29th October (the start of the journey)

How to reach:               
                                                      
We boarded the train from Warangal to the kodai railway station (the nearest railway station to kodaikanal) that is about one and half hour long from the town of kodaikanal. From the railway station you can reach the town either by the public bus transport or opt for a taxi. The buses though are spaced by long hours and are overly crowded. The taxis are definitely better. It cost us about 300/- per head for the taxi.

Other routes:
a flight or a train to Coimbatore or Chennai. From there by road to the kodai town. A taxi or bus to Vattakanal.

We reached the town of kodaikanal pretty late and it was almost shut by that time. We were super hungry, but more importantly there are no wine shops down the hill in Vattakanal. So we broke into two parties, one in search of the place to eat and the other for booze. The desperate ones among us, which includes me and Vamshi, got off the car looking for booze (the rest unanimously decided food was more important). Shanmukh accompanied us anyway even so being the only sober soul among us. We found our way to booze asking the last of the open shops and drifting through the dark alleys and finally found some in what could be easily mistaken for a drug den that only ended up being a bar. It was exhausting, walking up the hill with the air heavy and cold, sending shivers down the spine. It filled us up with excitement and gave a sense of danger, the good sort. It sure beats easy and comfortable. After stocking up our bags we met with other party waiting for us at the restaurant.

After reaching the kodai town you can simply walk the entire distance to Vattakanal which is what you should prefer as it is insanely beautiful. We however reached the town late in the night and had to opt for the cab (500/-). Kingston babu, our cab driver and the owner of the Kingston travels was already waiting for us outside the restaurant. He took us down the hill to Vattakanal where we stayed at the Robert’s cottage. Robert received us outside the café. He led us up the stairs into the cottage, a lot of them and showed us around. As we settled in, he started fire in the fireplace (400/- per bundle of firewood, lasts for 3-4 hours). Soon after they left, we told ourselves the night is still young and took out the booze. Lucky for us they had enough glasses.

Day 2, 30th october
We woke up early in the morning ready to explore but it was pouring heavily and we resorted to staying home. Robert’s wife Mary sent us breakfast (puri with curry and magi). We spent some time in the open area around the house and being our high spirited selves went up to the terrace and got drenched. Meanwhile a herd of Bison showed up by the cottage. They were peacefully gazing around and we were wise to let them without disturbing. It was a beautiful scene to witness.

The rain turned down by the afternoon and we got out. Right beside the cottage there was a small place that served really good food (fish fry, chicken tikka, dal and couple varieties of flavoured rice). That was all they had but it was really good. From there we ended up in a shop right opposite to the cottage, nothing extravagant but you get what you need (smokes, snacks, gloves, etc). The guy from the shop was very helpful and advised us against trekking and going into caves that day. We changed our plans and decided to visit Mannavanur, about an hour from the cottage. The palani hills, the pine forest and few other attractions fall within the route.

The palani hills were mesmerising. Standing on the edge of road leading to Mannavanur, looking down through the translucent fabric of clouds, it is a small settlement with small houses stretching across the small valleys throughout the hills. The sun lingered into each valley, one at a time. The day started a little earlier in some valleys whereas in the others the cold breeze of the nights stayed a little longer. Separated by such minute physical space and yet each valley held its unique magic. Just a few minutes there and we witnessed the movement of nature. Simply beautiful, only this time the city of angels resided underneath the clouds .

The best attraction in Mannavanur is the sanctuary that houses the Mannavanur Lake. This lake, surrounded by animals and luxuriant green is as beautiful as it gets.
On our way back, we were greeted by the bison again. For its size they made a jump that nearly seemed impossible. They were very interesting to watch, while our cab driver was scared to death with us getting a tad excited and making noise. It was again late by the time we reached the cottage and almost all the restaurants were closed. Robert provided us with dinner that night (chapati and aalu).  

Later that night the dark skies took us places. From the living room to the portico, then the terrace and finally we ended up on the portico of the adjacent cottage. Luckily our neighbours vacated that morning and we spent the night on their sofas. They had a fancy ashtray on the table on the portico and that was hard to resist.   

31st October
We got out of the house by 10 in the morning and headed straight to the much anticipated altaf’s café. They served the best food on the entire trip. Just in the breakfast we ended up trying almost the entire menu. The schnitzel, tuna sandwich, their hummus, shakshuka and the baklava cake were my personal favourites. 
From there we headed for the trek to the dolphins nose. It is a downhill trek with a moderate difficulty level. The rocks can be slightly slippery. The rest is just fine. Own your way to the cliff (the dolphins nose), you need to cross a waterfall that is quiet beautiful. With water till the knee height and flowing relatively fast passing through it can be fun. Once on the other side, you can go straight to the dolphins nose and from there to the echo point, right beside each other. The trail from the top to the cliff takes about an hour and a half. There are small shops spread across the trail. There is a temple and couple other sites that take notice along the trail.

We went back to the cottage by 4 in the evening and started to kodaikanal. Kodaikanal too has some beautiful places to show around, the kodai lake, the croakers walk and few more. It is also famous for chocolates and spices. There were dozens of chocolate shops in line. The orange and strawberry filled chocolates were my favourite. Then we had our dinner by the street stalls which were great and then got on the bus to Bangalore.

That marked the end of this journey to Vattakanal. Be it a productive vacation from wasting time or to take a break from your busy schedule, it is a perfect place. For a group of friends or families or even for a solo trip, the place has enough to offer. For the explorer within you and also for the lazy ass. Vattakanal becomes what you want it to be except being the place you can miss.