Meesapulimala, Trek to the Third highest peak of Western Ghats Day-2

Day 1

Munnar

Click for Day 1 story Ride from Coimbatore to Munnar

Day 2

I always love watching the sunrises. So I had planned to watch and record the Sunrise from Meesapulimala. Heard it has a stunning view. From Base Camp, we all reached Rhodo mansion by jeep which costed extra. Due to inflexibility in timings, we were taken to another sunrise view which was 600 meters steep climb. To be there before the sun pops out of the mountains, I literally ran up to the point. Though it was not the actual dawn of the day, the view offered eye-catching landscapes round the clock. There, the first song that my heart sang was Aanandha Yaazhai from Tamil movie 'Thangameenkal'. The dominance of gilt in every picture is the witness of summer. The view and climate in later months will definitely be easy on eyes.

Meeshappulimala View Point

There was a wooden bench set by KFDC people where one can sit and watch the sunrise. The relaxed view and the cool mountain wind makes it a dreamy couple place.

Note: Strictly no littering where ever you go. Be a responsible human.

Literally I was standing in the middle of mountains. Isolated, definitely not humiliated. The nature knows how to take care of it's kids.

I got that one perfect shot this time. Thanks to Aughu anna and my Nokia 6.1 Plus. Surely a favorite pic of the trip

And there was this girl...

Rhodo Valley

Any sight of wild animals is a added gift to the trek right. These mountains are home for the Nilgiri Tahrs, which happened to be the state animal of Tamilnadu. We were fortunate to see one very close. But expectation was to witness in tribe.

Meeshappulimala View Point

Where is the Peak? The trek route till the peak was clearly visible from here.

Rhodo Valley

After a little photo session with people from Chennai, we all started moving through to the ultimate peak, Meesapulimala.

Let's get going. Down the first hill was a stream. Drinking from the stream just felt how pure the life in mountains are. The government had built a check dam here in the valley to help the wild livings.

Meesapulimala Waterfalls

The guide said it's 9 mountains overall to complete the trek. I seriously don't know which mountain is what. I got completely carried away by the trail. Intensity of the sun for o8:00 AM was little high. And it happened. One foot in Kerala and the other in Tamilnadu.

It was 9:00 AM and we continued the trek without the bread and butter breakfast, as the other team had it with them. They moved very soon. May be they were afraid of sun tan. It is always advisable to have light breakfast before you start the trek. It is important to keep the energy up. Oh there, we saw one crazy Malabar Giant Squirrel.

Meesapulimala

And we were at the Peak in no time. Pure Bliss at 2,640 meters above the sea level.

Kolukkumalai Sunrise View Point

And the photo session started with Kolukumalai at view.

This is the place to witness sunrise by it's very Raw form.

It is the view where we can see Tamilnadu towards left and Kerala in the right.

The clouds covered the whole of mountains in a matter of seconds. No wonder why many of us call them the Magical clouds. Wow, how dramatic !! It is usual that clouds overlays the hills and the whole trail turns picturesque. Few photos here

Mount of Sleeping Lady

Do you see a lady face. No wonder, the peak is known by the name 'Mount of Sleeping Lady'.

Note: No camping allowed. Now please don't weep.

Photo of Mount of Sleeping Lady, Meesapulimala, Tamil Nadu, India by Jiiva

Silent Valley

And we walked back through the silent valley. Such a wonderful trail. Will make a come back post monsoon.

Coming back was the hard part. Not that we felt tired, but we were actually leaving the place. Proud that we didn't litter a bit.

Rhodo Mansion

At the completion, every one wondered how much distance that we had actually covered and Apple came to the rescue. It was 14.1 km. The both way jeep ride between the base camp and Rhodo Mansion skipped some 5 km of trekking distance. If you consider yourself fit, you can walk the distance which can also save you 1500 bucks.

KFDC Base Camp

Returned to base-camp in jeep and had our brunch and started to get back to the boring normal life. There was this drizzle's Hide and seek play. But nothing bothered much than leaving the mountains.

Expenses

KFDC Trek Pass Rs.2,158 (Rs.4316/2)

Jeep Rs.200 (1600 shared with 8 people)

Fuel Rs.500

Refreshment Rs.40