Trekking and Camping at Brahmagiri Hills

Experience the tranquility of Thirunelli temple situated on the foot of Brahmagiri hills and a walk through a land blessed by untouched nature and enjoy the monsoon season in the lush green forest of Wayanad and Western Ghats.

The camp was conducted on July 27 and 28 at Thirunelli, Wayanad district in the Indian Sate of Kerala. There were 40 participants in the camp. We, a gang of 20, from Ernakulam started at 6.30 am in a 20 seater Force Van. Participants  boarded from different locations. We had  a stop at Akshya hotel near Pookunnam for breakfast. After that our route was Ponnani -Kozhikode- Thamarassery- Mananthavadi-Thirunelli. 

Had lunch from a hotel at Kozhikode Bypass. And further uphill most of the way, the most picturesque being the hairpin curves at Thamarassery Ghat Pass also known as Thararassery Churam. This is the first time am travelling in this route. I craned my neck out of the Van while passing through hairpin curves, which I had seen in movies. I could see visitors taking photos from the view point, but we did not stop with a promise from the coordinators  that we will stop at this place during our return journey.

We passed Kuttettan's Unniyappamkada at Thetta road, on the way to Thirunelli.  Travellers on a trip to Thirunelli Temple and tourists  are  fans of this Unniyappam.  The secret of this Unniyappam is that it is made  of pure coconut oil from Kuttiyadi and it is larger than the normal Unniyappam.

Further ride is through deep forest with bamboo groves on both sides. Spotted bunch of deer on the way. We were lucky to spot one barking deer . When I took my camera, it ran away. 

The forest department has come up with instructions to comply with the forest rules. Do not get out of the vehicle, be careful not to blow the horn, drive carefully, don't intentionally harm animals, most importantly, don't throw away plastic debris etc.

We saw one elephant passing through the forest.

Our Van sopped in front of the Appappara Forest Office for reporting. It was a 11 hour journey and all of us were tired.  Most of us got out of the vehicle to watch the surroundings. Spotted one Malabar giant squirel passing through tree branches.

Our stay was arranged in a homestay run by Mr. Prasad, which is near to the  Agraharam Resort. Then a short walk to Thirunelli temple which is dedicated to Lord Maha Vishnu, which is situated on the side of Brahmagiri hills. As per records, it was an important pilgrimage centre at time of Tamil Chera King Bhaskara Ravi Varma.

Thirunelli Temple

It was around 8 pm. After pooja, we had a wonderful dharsan of the  Lord. Had prasadam as Uppuma with Pickle and Chukku Kapi. It was good especially in the rainy season.

Soon we were back to the camp site. Since there was a possibility of elephants on the way, we took vehicle on back to the camp. We tried to find the path through as darkness overtook us.

There was a session about dos and donts for the next day trekking. Our dinner was waiting for us. Had fabulous hot Kanji Payar, Vegetables, Leaf curry and Pappad.

We retired to bed.

DAY 2

After break fast,  we assembled at Thirunelli Inspection Bunglaw. All of us collected Tomato rice packet for lunch. After a few instructions from the coordinators, we started our trek. Two of the forest officials  also accompanied us.  We crossed few small streams on the way.

A few kilometres of trekking,  we crossed a stream with water so crystal clear, cool and pure that we drank it straight. I spotted pug marks of giant tigers in a tree which has a height of about 15 feet.

And all of us encountered many leech bites on the forest trekking path. We already had salt with us to remove leeches from our body.

After forest treking path, we reached grassland area. From there, we got wonderful view of Thirunelli Temple and surroundings.

Ariel view of Thirunelli temple and surroundings

Soon we reached near to the watch tower. From the watch tower, you can see the way to Pakshi Pathalam. Trekking to this place is now banned. Then we started to climb the hills .

When we are going up, we could see the view of  the watch tower below.

Soon we reached the top of the final hill after crossing three small hills. From there you can see a village in  Karnataka state. We descended back to the watch tower. We dined on the grass, in the open air, surrounded by this scenery. 

We returned down the hills and sometimes took shotcuts through the forest and arrived  at our camp by 3.30 pm.

Me and Mr.Biju decided to visit Papanasini. We gladly hired an auto and reached the temple. Then few steps down to the place. we decided to take bath under the waterfalls that are coming through Papanasini.

Papanasini is a wild stream that originates from the Brahmagiri hills which later joins River Kalindi. It is believed that River Ganga and River Saraswathi join in Papanasini and is known as the Southern Kashi.

It is a majestic stream falling under a bridge, sweeping between mountainous banks, which is  peace and enjoyment; and after a quick bath , we  returned to the resort.

When we reached  the resort, the rest of the team had already arrived. By that time Kappa  and black tea was ready. 

It was around 5'o  clock, we started back to Ernakulam.