Travel StoriesAgasthyakoodam trip was a dream that came to my mind during my school days. The main reason behind that was my uncle, Anil. My uncle was the one who climbed Agasthyakoodam hills many years ago. The first pilgrimage was in 1987. Then in January 2002 (when I was in eighth grade) my uncle called to say that the season for that year would begin shortly. The ticket was taken by my uncle Sankara who was with me on the Meenmutty trip. As there were no online tickets then, tickets had to be taken directly from the Thiruvananthapuram office. Also, there were ten people in the group. My father, uncle, cousin (Jishnu), uncle Sankara, uncle Prashant, myself, and three other relatives and friends were there for the pilgrimage. After getting the ticket we all were waiting for the day of travel.
First Day
At last, the day arrived. I got up early in the morning and came to Nedumangad with my father. We went to Bonakad in K.S.R.T.C bus. The journey to Bonakad was a good experience with the cold of January and the horrifying mood of the forest. Uncle Sankara joined us from there. We took a bath in a nearby stream and ate at a canteen near the closed Bonakad Tea Factory. Lunch had to be parcelled from there. After that, we started walking to the office of the forest department. There was about one kilo meter to walk. My uncle, Jishnu and others reached Bonakad the previous day itself. At that time there was a bamboo house of the forest department. They slept there listening to the sound of the forest that night. When we reached the Forest Department office, they also reached there. It was not as busy as it is today. Only a few people were there other than us. We started walking after forest department finished the checking.
The initial path was easy to cover. After a short distance, a few idols were seen worshipping at a place called Kottavathukal. It was like a small temple of the locals. We continued our walk after praying there. After the Ponmudi trip, a forest trip became possible through this travel only. It was a lovely thick forest. There was complete silence except for the occasional bird calls and the sound of our little talks. Only very less sunlight made to reach the ground. The roughness of the walk seemed to diminish when accompanied by slight frost and shady paths. We crossed a couple of small streams. In the afternoon we saw a nice waterfall. Everyone was tired of walking. This was the first long walk for Jishnu and me. We had a bath well to relieve fatigue. We also had our lunch from there. Leaches were starting to love us. They were not much interested in kids. The others got more than enough bites. After resting for a while, we continued walking again. After passing a small stream and cliffs, we headed straight for the meadow.
Then came a terrible transformation of the forest. After walking without seeing the sun for the last few hours, it was now heading straight into the harsh sunlight. I had a wet towel in my hand because I had just taken a shower. I continued to walk after tying the towel around my head to reduce the heat. The grass was of almost our height. There were dense forests on the border. Elephant dungs were seen in many places. The only relief was those were a bit old. The whole place was covered with loose sand. There were paths in between the meadows. We slipped many times there because of the loose sand, but somehow escaped without falling. The scenes of Agasthyakoodam became more visible to us. The tip of Agasthyakoodam resembles Elephant’s head. But there was a long distance to cover to reach there. After the meadows, we entered back into the forest. There was a good climb. When it got up we noticed the road got split in two. An arrow was marked to the left with chalk. I realised that it was the way to Kottur when uncle told me. Someone had tried to close it with wooden pieces and sticks. After a short walk we reached our first day camp at Athirumala. A place with a concrete building in the middle and a trench around it. To the left of the entrance, Mount Agasthya was showing its fullness. Our stay was directly in the valley. On one side I saw a hut like building. It was our canteen in the woods.
Ten people got five mats. We took our place inside that concrete building. That’s where the night’s sleep was. It was only later that I realised the shocking truth. There were no bathrooms or toilets available. We had to do everything in open spaces only. We fell asleep very soon because of the tiredness. We woke up by evening and got some good black tea from the canteen we saw earlier. After having it, we booked dinner. Food would be available only if booked. Coupon must be collected. We went to a nearby stream and bathed before the sun set. The way to the stream was pretty dirty. Full human excrement could be seen in the grasses as there is no bathroom. There was no alternative. If we go to the forest, we must behave like animals. After taking a bath, everyone made chit chats in front of Agasthya hill. In the meanwhile the fog was covering Agasthya hill completely and partially several times. We heard uncle’s old trekking stories again. Dinner was served early. Good porridge and peas. I never had such a delicious dinner. The taste of the first time could not be felt later. We had the porridge and immediately went to bed. Everyone said it would be a tough road though not to walk that far tomorrow. I imagined about it and fell asleep quickly.
Second Day
My eyes opened when my father called me. Everyone said the night was nice and windy. I was in deep sleep and didn’t feel anything. I got up at six o’clock and brushed my teeth. The bath was skipped because the water in the stream was unbearably cold. I could still take a bath later… We drank a cup of tea and started walking with the packaged food. After a while, my uncle showed us a flat rock. The place where they stayed when they came in 1987 and 1988. We all got shocked. They put a little fire in the woods and stayed up all night. It should be a horrible experience. The route was entirely different compared to the one we covered last day. After a short distance, we started to walk through rock formations and thick bamboo forest. It felt like a cave made-up of bamboo. Elephant dung were all over the path and it looked like fresh and wet. The smell of elephant could be felt in all the area. No one could even sense if an elephant came and stood in the middle of that thick forest. Even we were not sure if it was already there. We then walked for about an hour and reached the next rest area. A large rock – Ponkalappaara. A small stream in the middle. It was the beginning of the Tamraparni river. I sat there and opened the package to eat. Puri wrapped in leaves and was bathed in its curry. The weather was nice and cold and because of that the food was frozen like it was in the refrigerator. I used to eat hot food at home and ate that puri as there is no other source of food. I don’t know if it was because I was too much hungry or so but the food was really tasty; my stomach and mind were full. It was really delicious food. After the meal, we rested for a while and continued walking.
On the next climb, we noticed a forest of very low-height trees. Trees have become dwarfed due to strong winds with low soil and manure. It was a very new experience for the beginners in us. We saw a few man-made holes on the rock. These were the places where the medicinal plants plucked from the forest were prepared for medicine. Although no longer in use, they remain there in memory of the past. We should appreciate the people who came all this way to collect the medicines. We went a little further and kept our shoes and bags in the gap of a rock. It was better to do so as we had to climb steep rocks in the upcoming path. We put all the weights down to improve our balance while climbing the rocks. At the end of three steep climbs we conquered it-the Agastyakoodam!!!
It was a very open rock top. I remember being very scared that the strong wind would blow me away. On the other side of the ascent was standing the shrine of Sage Agastya. Dwarf trees covered it from three sides. The amazing thing was that the wind was not blowing near the idol of Sage Agasthya. The trees made strong wind protection. The lamps that were lit there did not move at all. We sat on the rock enjoying the breeze for about half an hour. Then we started our return. Climbing down was harder than climbing up. We reached the bottom somehow and took the stored bags and shoes. The plan was to reach Bonakad the same day and there was a pretty good distance to cover. So the descent was a little faster. We reached Athirumala at one o’clock. We quickly had lunch of porridge and peas and started coming back. We walked a little faster. We didn’t rest except for a small break in one place. We reached Bonakad at 5 pm, boarded the next bus and reached home.
When returned home, I decided that I would not go to Agasthyakoodam again. Fatigue would have made me to take such a decision. But the next day that decision got changed. The mind and body were ready to climb the Agasthyakoodam again.
(To be continued…)
