Another long cherished desire - Lion Tailed Macaque

I had a family function in Coimbatore and since I had to anyway travel there, I decided to extend my trip and visit The Silent Valley National Park at Mannarkkad in Palakkad district, Kerala.

Why the Silent Valley National Park? Because it is famous for the Lion Tailed Macaque - a macaque species that is endemic to the Western Ghats and almost exclusively found here. Considered endangered and extremely vulnerable at one point of time, it was always something that I wanted to see - again a desire nurtured from my college days or even before. 

Not only is it endangered, it is also threatened with the destruction of its natural habitat and human-animal conflicts like so many of our wildlife species.

Although my initial plan was to go directly to Palakkad from Coimbatore, I instead went to Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady for a 2 night - 3 day Tiger Trail trek and then went to Palakkad. 

Coming back to Silent Valley National Park, my sister joined me and we took a train from Kochi to Palakkad - a short 2.5hr train journey. 

At Olavakkode Junction, Palakkad, we had an amazing lunch of local dishes. Except for Elai adai, the rest of the dishes were vegan. 

Puttu - Kadala

Appam - Stew

Elai - Adai

Pazham - Nirachathu

Transportation to Silent Valley National Park is tedious, so plan in advance. There are buses from Palakkad station to Mannarkkad and then you can change to go to Mukkali, the place closest to the Reception of Silent Valley National Park. We had a car to drop us off (thanks to a relative) so it was convenient.

I opted for Keerippara camping & trekking option that the forest department had, but that was unavailable due to some water issues and so we had to check into the River Hut Cottage, which was a serene setup on the banks of the River Bhavani - a tributary of River Kaveri.

Since we reached late afternoon / early evening, it was not possible for us to go trekking in the Keerippara area and we decided to do some bird watching over an area of about 4-5kms in the buffer zone itself with the help of a forest guide.

Some of the birds we saw included - 

Racket tailed drongo

Flameback woodpecker

Vernal hanging parrot

Rose ringed parakeet

Black hooded oriole

Common kingfisher

The next morning, we decided to take it easy and do a jeep safari in Sairandhri, the main safari area which takes you to a small part of the core. Most of the 3hr safari is through the buffer zone.

My sole purpose of doing this trip was to hopefully see the Lion Tailed Macaque and I had indicated as much to our driver and guide. The Silent Valley National Park is one of the areas where they are most concentrated due to the presence of their favourite fruit tree - Cullenia exarillata.

As we drove through the buffer zone, except for the initial 6-7kms where the road work has not been done, for the rest of the 17km stretch, concrete road has been laid. It is unfortunate that so much construction activity is being done within the main forest - obviously at the cost of vegetation & flora & fauna destruction.

The drive to the main gate of Silent Valley National Park, takes you through teak, & coffee plantations followed by semi-tropical and tropical rainforest.

Driving through, we kept checking for signs of different wildlife and came across the Malabar Giant Squirrel, happily munching on some food. Pics below - 

As we were nearing the main watch tower inside the Silent Valley National Park, our driver pointed out to a group of Lion Tailed Macaques crossing over from the left of the road to the right. A couple of them were coming down the tower in front of us.

The excitement of seeing them got the better of me and it took me a while to reset my camera to start clicking pictures.

Since it was not the fruiting season of their favourite food, they were constantly on the move which made it very difficult to photograph them properly. 

The amazing thing was that we were the only people (my sister and I) who spotted them, because the group ahead of us had already gone to the watch tower and the group behind us had not yet reached.

Feeling privileged and blessed, I went about clicking a few pics.

I could not get a decent picture of an entire Lion Tailed Macaque with it's tail. This was the best of all that I could find :( Hope it helps you understand.

What an exciting and exhilarating experience. It was a dream come true and such exclusive sighting!

I could not stop smiling and feeling grateful. We went back and had a simple lunch of rice, sambar, vegetable and papad which was locally made. We decided to take it easy that evening and did not do anything much except shopping for some local produce.

Early evening before departure, I went around the property trying to shoot some more birds but could only find the Leaf bird in different poses. 

Looking at you!

Probing for nectar

We had a late night train to Chennai from Palakkad, so after a cup of Kattan Kaapi (Kerala style black coffee), we took a taxi-rickshaw to Palakkad Railway station.

A long cherished dream come true - Valley of Flowers

 

An UNESCO World Heritage site - part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve - the Valley of Flowers National Park situated in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand has been on my bucket list of things to do for the longest time.

I can't remember when the desire to go to this place came into being, but every travel conversation I've had with my friends and family esp when it comes to being close to nature, this place has been spoken about. 

This was an experience I did not want my partner TJ to miss and so signed him up also for the trek. Indiahikes is my go to trek organisation as their philosophy and values strongly resonate with me.

We reached Haridwar from Delhi by Shatabdi and took a cab to Rishikesh. Belgaum to Delhi was by flight. Live Free hostel is the pick up point for Indiahikes and so decided to stay there itself. This avoids the stress of having to reach the pick up point early in the morning.

Day 0 - We reached Govindghat  - the basecamp after a 10 to 11hr drive from Rishikesh - through winding roads, beautiful landscapes, stunning views, land slides and rains but thankfully safe and sound. The distance was about 280kms. We stopped enroute for breakfast & lunch & just before Joshimath at Jogi waterfalls.

Jogi waterfall near Joshimath

Day 1 - Govindghat to Ghangria - The next morning, while most of the trekkers chose to offload their backpacks, a few of us decided to carry it with us. We were checked for our BP and saturation levels before starting the journey.

The distance of 10kms was covered partly by car and majorly by foot. The 1st 4kms we were driven up to Pulna and then the actual trek of 6kms starts.

Enroute to Pulna - 

Trek to Ghangria - 

After struggling with carrying 10kgs on an uphill trail, we reached our hotel at Ghangria with severe shoulder pain. I realised this was, not so much because of the load, but because we did not have enough cushioning / padding. We were checked again for saturation levels and any discomfort in the evening. After a good night's rest, we were without any aches/pains the next day. 

Day 2 - Ghangria to Valley of Flowers

Morning view from the terrace during our stay at Ghangria

After an early breakfast, we left most of our luggage at Ghangria since we were coming back in the evening and carried only a day pack with water, some snacks and rain wear. 

Of course we were also given a packed lunch.

Enroute to Valley of Flowers - 

At Valley of Flowers - 

I will be creating a separate blog for the actual individual flowers at the valley. There are too many and they need to be showcased separately.

Words cannot describe my feelings / emotions at having reached this place. I was missing my best friend with whom I was supposed to have done this many years back, but I was happy that I was able to do this with my best partner. Truly an awesome, cherished feeling. Greatful!

Day 3 - Ghangria to Hemkund Sahib

Part of a glacier

 The crystal lake at Hemkund Sahib

Hemkund Sahib

About a km before we reached the shrine, TJ developed acute mountain sickness (AMS) due to sudden increase in altitude. While first aid was immediately administered, it took him more than an hour to completely recover. The last 1km of the trek uphill was very slow. At one point he was not even sure if he would be able to reach the top, but, he did not give up and finally we reached, managed to get into the Gurudwara and also ate hot khichdi from the langar (kitchen) which was vegan. It was truly overwhelming - the whole experience. The emotions I experienced were relief, gratitude and joy!

Day 4 - Ghangria to Govindghat

Due to the earlier episode of AMS, TJ was not sure if he could carry back the load we carried up and so he decided to offload. I chose to carry mine, but reduced the weight a little bit.

Our descent to Pulna was uneventful, although it was raining for a while and so we had to go fully covered.

Afterthought - We were fortunate that while we went up to both the Valley of Flowers & Hemkund Sahib, the weather was clear. It had rained the previous nights, but stopped in the morning before our trek. 

Day 4 - Govdinghat to Badrinath & Mana

We came back to basecamp around 2:00PM, had a quick lunch and took a vehicle to go to Badrinath & Mana. Mana is the last village on the Indian side of the Indo-China border (Tibet side).

This quaint, pretty village is a must visit - not just for its picteresque views, but also for the history that it carries. It's said to be the path followed by the Pandavas after their death. The Bheem pul (Bheema's bridge) was a stone dropped across the Saraswati river when Draupadi was scared to cross the river.

Ved vyas is supposed to have written a lot of his books and there is a Vyas gufa (Vyas's cave). Ganpati gufa (Ganpati's cave) is where Lord Ganesha is supposed to have listened to Ved Vyas's narration & written the Mahabharata.

Saraswati River

Bheem Pul

Ved Vyas Cave

Badrinath Shrine

Day 5 - Govindghat to Rishikesh

After a satisfying, successful trip, we headed back to Rishikesh. The drive back always seems longer and more tiring - maybe because we are already exhausted or maybe because we just don't want to go back:)

Pic credits - Supraja & TJ

Travel Tips - 

1) The window to visit Valley of Flowers is small and gets booked fast. So it's better to sign up as early as possible. I signed up for this in the month of January itself. Of course, this also indicates a commitment to your plan and you will start to work towards it.

2) It is difficult to predict the period of best blooms, due to various factors, but historically between end July to mid August has been considered a good period.

3) The blooms keep changing on a regular basis, so you might not necessarily get all flowers in full bloom during your visit. Some could be drying, while some could be in bud stage.

4) Apparently, the flowers also keep changing on a regular basis, so while you might see some over a longer period of time, there could be some which you might not be able to see.

5) Fitness cannot be ignored. Faith can move mountains, but being fit will ensure your faith is not tested:)

6) Better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. 

Note: - If you need more information, please feel free to reach out to me in the comments section.