Agasthyarkoodam was remaining as a dream till the 1st
of February 2004. It was during our internship. It was usually very difficult
to get entry tickets. I stood in the long queue in PTP Nagar Forest Office to
get the tickets days before.
Together with Jibu, Jujju and in Aby’s Maruthi Zen, four of
us set out for the trip. We started walking from Bonaucaud Check post at around
9.45am with packed lunch. We deviated from the path after 2 km and headed towards Bona falls. It was a
massive falls. We had a good bath in the
pool. Later we joined the trek path through a short cut. It was one of the
steepest climb and Aby threw up in the first 5 km. We continued the journey and
reached Athirumala at around 6.30 pm. As the name says it’s the border between
Neyyar and Peppara wild life sanctuaries. We could see the massive mountain
staring at us and literally it was the base camp with the vertical cliff right
above. The Canteen was made of bamboo and it was looking so close to nature. We
stayed in a large hall. Outside the hall it was clearly written not to enter
the hall due to the dilapidated condition.
Next day early morning we started the climb. The climate
and terrain was so different than previous day. Geographically we crossed
Tamilnadu border and then came back to kerala. The scenary from Pongalappara to
the summit was so beautiful. We felt like walking along the wonderland of
Alice. It was a heavenly place so close to Trivandrum.
The final climb to the summit was quite exciting. The place
was so windy. We conquered the 1868m tall giant. Surprisingly the place where
Sage Agasthya’s statue was kept was very calm. They even lit candles in front
of the statue. Actually there were thick
bushes all around preventing heavy winds. The 2 feet high statue according to
the people was life size. The legend says Sage Agasthya was a great physician.
Anyway the whole place was full of high altitude dwarf flora most of them with
high medicinal value. We walked back collecting the lunch from athirumala and
reached bonacaud check post by around 4 pm.
The second trip
was from February 28 to March 1st 2005. The dates were according to
the Malayalam calendar. The pilgrimage period was from Sabarimala makara
vilakku to Sivarathri. So luckily people were allowed to enter the sanctuary
only for around 2 months in a year.
This time I was joined by Jibu, Anish, Lakshmanan, Sarin,
Basanth, Harisankar and Joy. We parked our bikes at our classmate Rakhi’s home
in Nedumangadu. We had bath in Bona falls. The scortching sun really hit us
this time also in the meadows. I got cramps in hamstrings and quads of both
legs.
On the way to Ponkalappara we saw few wild Gaurs from far.
At the summit we met our class mate Niranjan’s brother. It was yet another
unforgettable trip.
My third trip to Agasthyarkoodam was with Papa and Jibu. It
was 23rd and 24th January of 2007. As always, we enjoyed every bit of the trip
taking photos, cherished those breath taking views. Papa had a very hard test
of his endurance. We could only reach some distance short of the summit as we
were getting late. We reached the check post at around 8 pm
When it come to endurance, Agasthyarkoodam trip was always
the hardest trek ever done, ~55 km in 2 days. gone thrice. Even the thought of
one more trip is so thrilling. Cherish those passing moments of
EXCITEMENT( at check post)-
TIREDNESS (attayar)-
DEAD MAN WALKING (grassland walk)-
HELPLESSNESS(the 7bend hills)-
RELAXATION(athirumala)-
REJUVENATION(the canteen food)-
THRILL(the final climb)-
ECSTASY(the summit) and finally
CONTENTMENT(u feel it all the way back).
U feel lonely, yet fulfilled; tired yet satisfied. I tell
you anybody would become philosophical. AGASTHYARKOODAM IS A MUST SEE IN EVERY
ADVENTURER'S LIFE
it is really exciting while reading.................please tell me how can I get the tickets and where is the place..............I really want to go........
ReplyDeletein Trivandrum, around 60 km
ReplyDeletedeviation on the way to ponmudy
Pilgrimage entry only between makaravilakku and sivarathri time.
dates will come in news papers in december/ jan usually. tickets from forest office in PTP nagar, Tvm. most often tickets will be finished in the morning of the starting date of issue of tickets. so have to stand in the long queue from early morning itself.