Yet another year was coming to an end (2006), and this was the time that Suahs came up with an idea of welcoming the New Year by heading out to a place, which could boast of Absolute Wilderliness.

That’s when “ Mukurthi National Park “ came into picture. I had heard about this place for long and the photos that had seen on the net were too good to be true.

So as usual I collected some primary information about the forest dept to which it belongs and called up the Ranger Mr.Devaraj and requested him for the necessary permissions.

But Alas, he gave me the information that in this season i.e., DEC, there occurs a phenomenon called “ Ground Frost “ where in the temperatures goes below freezing point. He told that he could allow us only after DEC.

So that put an end to our plans to welcoming the New Year in absolute wilderliness.

So with lot of disappointment we decided to postpone the trip to the first week of Jan07 and the Ranger agreed to the same.

But as fate would have it, Suhas encountered some emergency work and told me that he would not be able to make it. At this point I thought of canceling the trek, but during a chat with Sandeep Unnimadhavan, he expressed his desire to do the trek.

I knew Sandeep, who is an expert as far as trekking goes, for sometime as I had contacted him thru mail for some information regarding the Chembra Trek. I had never met him and this was the right time to do a trek with and expert for a change!!

Sandeep suggested that we drive down to Ooty in this Versa along with 3 of this other friends. So on the 6^th of Jan 07 we (myself, Sandeep, Rajeev, Papan & Jamsheed) started from Sandeep’s place early morning and headed towards the Bangalore – Mysore Highway.

Very soon we were cruising along the highway in speeds in excess of 100Kmph. We reached Bandipur and then crossed on to the Tamilnadu side via Madumalai and headed to ooty via the Kallati Ghat.

So by afternoon we were at the forest dept office in ooty and met the Range Officer of the Mukurthi National Park, who was kind enough to give us the permission letter after collecting the prescribed fee. Then he told us to wait for sometime as he was expecting our guide Kishore to arrive.

In the meantime we finished our lunch at a hotel opposite to the forest office and also did some shopping for food that we need for the night and as well as for the next day.

Our plan for the trek was something like this. We would head towards Mukurthi National Park, which is some 40kms from ooty, on the same day and stay at the Fishing Hut by the side of the picturesque Mukurthi Lake for the night. Early next morning we could go for the Trek to the Mukurthi Peak and then come back to ooty by afternoon and reach Bangalore late night.

Our Guide kishore took some time to arrive and we were all ready to start by 3.00,

Kishore was little bit apprehensive about traveling all the way in the Versa, as the roads nearer to the Park were quite bumpy.

At this point the Range Officer came to our rescue and told us that earlier some other gang had traveled to the place in a similar vehicle and it was ok for us to go ahead.

He also joined us and asked us to drop him at Western Catchments Area where his vehicle was left the previous day.

So we started our journey to a place, which is in absolute wilderliness and was something that I wanted to do for a very long time.

The road was very narrow one and this being a protected area, no other vehicle is allowed here except the ones with permits. After a while we stopped to see the backwaters of the Kamraj Sagar Dam. Then we continued our journey till the Ranger asked us to stop and showed us the Nilgiri Langur . One small fellow had got struck to a creeper on  the tree and had hurt himself . Other fellow companions were making as sorts of noises and were rushing to save him . As we  approached closer they began to make more noise fearing that we may hurt the little one. The Ranger asked us to get back so that the fellow langurs could do what was needed they.

We were nearing the Catchement Area . This place is called so because during monsoons this place receives the maximum rainfall and is the main catchment area of the nilgiris and the water flows towards kerala .

The terrain changed dramatically as we moved forward , it was of Grassland type and there were miles and miles of grasslands in front of us . This place has to be seen to be believed . It is unspoilt as seldom anyone is allowed here . Just as we took a turn to the left we spotted a huge Sambar deer standing right in the middle of the road .

It had huge horns and it was so huge in built that I had never seen such a magnificent beast in my life . As soon as it saw our vehicle it just ran away into the woods even before

we could get our cameras ready !!!

We dropped the Ranger at this place and this vehicle was there and he wished us good luck . We turned back our vehicle and just as we saw to the left we saw what could be described as the Best Ever Sunset of my life till date .

The red-hot sun was just dipping into the pool of white clouds and the colors it created were spellbinding. Again before we could focus our cameras at the sight , the sun just immersed itself into the cloud pool , not giving us a chance to capture it !!

It was getting darker and we headed towards the Mukurthi National Park and we still had some 20 odd kms to cover . We came to a place where there were boulders placed across a stream , making it a makeshift bridge . We had to cross this to get to the other side and we already had doubts about this one . But Sandeep was cool as usual and he somehow maneuvered the Versa over the boulders and we reached the other side safely .

Then we traveled on a jeep track for another 8-10 kms before we reached the Fishing Hut.

The Fishing Hut was built by some British General very long ago but it was in good shape. The weather outside was very very chilly and we all hurried inside the cozy comforts of the hut . Kishore realized our plight and was quick to light up the fireplace and it started to get better inside. There was no electricity and no mobile connectivity and it was how an absolute wildreliness should be .

There was a kitchen which had a Gas stove and we all took out the Noodle packs and boiled some water . The water took too long to boil as it was freezing cold and as soon as it was hot we all poured it into the Noodle Packs and sat in front of the fireplace .

It was time to sleep , but no matter what amount of  sheets you pull on  , we were not able to get any respite from the cold . Somehow I was able to catch some sleep in spite of  the numbing cold .

Myself and Sandeep got up at 4.00 Am in the morning and made all others to wake up .

All my efforts to brush my teeth went in vain as I was not able to open my jaws due to the cold and the water was even more freezing .

We started our trek to the Mukurthi Peak with our guide Kishore leading the way .

It was so cold out there that we could not speak to each other and I was feeling as if my nose had been chopped off !! .

As the sun started to rise we were able to see the exotic landscape around . It was full of Grasslands and Shola forest . The Grass was frozen and all the dew on the grass blades was frozen . I tried to pluck a grass blade and it was as if I was holding a stick of ice in my hand . Now I learnt what “ Ground Frost “ actually was . This was the first time that I saw such a phenomenon in my life .

You can get a feel of what I am saying just by looking the pics at http://anilsuhas.fotopic.net

As the sun began to rise , the place was all lit up and the thin layer of ice that had been formed on the surface of the Mukurthi Lake started to melt . We caught a glimpse of the Mukurthi Peak at a distance , and  the tip of the peak was so sharp that it appeared as the nose of an old man lying down .

Soon we were to cross a stream and thank god the water lever was very low and we could hop on the boulders and was not needed to wade thru the freezing water. We climbed a small hill after the stream and then entered a thick shola . This is when our guide told us to take out our breakfast . I gulped in some bread and jam and had some milk . The trek did not seem tiring , may be because of the cold or the grassland terrain .

Again started to climb up hill and we were almost at the bottom of the nose shape peak.

Had to cross another hill and go round about the base of the peak. Just as we climbed up the view to the right was so mind blowing that we just stood there seeing that sight for nearly 10mins . After I came into my senses I too out my camera and started clicking away as many shots as possible .

The view that we had cannot be described in words , just go to http://anilsuhas.fotopic.net and be mesmerized.

At this point our guide told us that there are two ways to climb the “nose “. One was going round about the base and spiraling upwards and the other was straight up which was very steep indeed. Sandeep opted for the steep climb and I also joined him .

In about 20mins we were at the top of the Mukurthi Peak !!

There was a sense of achievement in me and standing at the top of the peak made me feel that I  was one among the nature . This is the precise reason that made me to take up Trekking seriously .

One could see the colossal Nilgiri Peak on the other side of the peak . It was a few feet shorter than the Mukurthi , but was really a tough one to climb as it was more of Rocky in nature and needed some ropes and other equipment to get to the top of that one .

Myself and Sandeep were just looking at a distant peak and somehow felt that we knew that one . Our guide kishore told us that are the Chembra Peak in Wayanad . It was really heartening to hear that , as we both had already “conquered “ the Chembra Peak .

Further to the other side of the Mukurthi was the Nilambur forest, which belonged to the Kerala state . There was a small deity atop the peak, which is known as the “ Mukurthi Amman “ , worshiped by the local tribal community .

After about 30mins at the top , we decided to head back to the Fishing hut . The climb down was a cakewalk and in another 2hrs we all made it to the fishing hut .

Finished the remaining Bread , jam and other items and packed our things in the Versa and headed back to civilization after filling the guest book at the hut with our sweet memories.

We crossed the ” boulder bridge “ this time with ease as this was the second time and reached ooty by noon . There was a fuel concern in between though . The Fuel gauge was showing that very less fuel was left and Sandeep was worried if it would get exhausted before we reached civilization . But nothing of such sort happened and we were reached the fuel pump at ooty safely. Wished goodbye to our guide Kishore and went to the same hotel for lunch . I was not feeling hungry so myself and Rajeev decided against having lunch and headed for a Cuppa at the Coffee Day outlet.

So by late afternoon we started back to Bangalore and enroute were able to spot some wildlife at bandipur like , Peacock , wild hen , wild boar , deer etc.

Reached Bangalore late in the night , collected my two-wheeler that I had parked at Sandeep’s place and headed home .

Had a good sleep that night , dreaming  about the mesmerizing beauty of Mukurthi National Park and wondering that the trip would have been even more memorable had my best friend Suhas joined me …..

For pics visit http://anilsuhas.fotopic.net