Kerala Day 6: Water All Round with Kodenad’s Elephants and Munnar’s Waterfalls

This was truly a morning for the kids. We were slightly late in leaving for Kodanad and its Elephant Centre, but we made good time (although driver nearly killed a kamikaze cyclist en route). As luck would have it, our timing was perfect as we arrived to the sight of a huge elephant being slowly ushered down a narrow street. We duly followed them and reached a river where there were maybe half a dozen other tourists waiting with bated breath. One by one, as many as 5 elephants arrived, with maybe 6 or 7 attendants. It was amazing to see the elephants splash around before they lay down on their side, fully expecting to be bathed!

There were several large coconuts in the vicinity and we now discovered why. One of the attendants cracked several coconuts and the shell was neatly cut into small pieces, each of which became a perfect scrubbing brush for the elephants! Before long, Shobhita and Sarvesh were in the thick of things, splashing the elephants vigorously and rubbing them down like old pros. It was a simply scintillating morning with gentle sunshine and a razor clear landscape. Just as we thought they were going to be hired onto the staff of the Centre, bath-time ended and it was time to return to base.

The Elephant Centre itself was a sight in itself. At the time of the State of Travancore (a few centuries ago), the Centre had been the force behind capturing and training elephants in forestry work. There was a sinister looking "Kraal" composed of a jail-ike structure where elephants of the yesteryear were chained and kept while being trained. Now, the Kraal stands as a testament to the Centre's history. In its present incarnation, orphaned or injured elephants are rescued and brought here for sanctity. In contrast to the cells of yore, the Centre's current residents lived outside among leafy trees, somewhat akin to a mini-jungle. We drummed up the courage to take an Elephant ride, with the kids and Vijay mounting the saddle. The ride was fairly short, which was maybe just as well as Vijay was in danger of acute travel sickness as he gyrated to try and match the elephant's lateral sways. But it was certainly a unique experience and we did discover that the elephant's pristine looking skin is actually quite abrasive and hairy. Shobhita and Sarvesh of course had a whale of a time (if that's not a mixed metaphor!) and were raving about the morning for the next couple of hours. On such welcome distractions lies the foundation of happy parenthood!

Bidding farewell to our new-found elephant friends (Shobhita recognized her soft toy Trunkie among the baby elephants), we set off for Munnar. We initially had to backtrack to Kothamangalam, but once past that, the terrain rapidly shifted as we began to ascend into the hills. Gone were the dusty city roads, replaced by towering forestry flanking us imposingly on both sides of the road. The occasional break in the tree-lines would reveal glimpses of the background mountains, as yet fairly modest, but we knew this was just the appetizer.

As the gradient steepened, the lanky trees were replaced with shorter, but equally dense foliage. This route is renowned for its array of waterfalls and coming in late Monsoon season, we were agog with anticipation of a gushing extravaganza. And we were not disappointed! Within a 15km stretch, we encountered the Cherapayya, Vallara and Kallar Falls. The first two were elevated viewpoints with sheer rocks that only the most foolhardy would have attempted to traverse. But the last was closer to the roadside and an obliging side path beckoned. So we grabbed our lunch bag and clambored maybe 50-100 meters to a clutch of rocks tailor-made for a picnic with the afternoon sunshine refreshingly balanced by the sporadic spray from the thundering waters.

Our next stop after another half hour of snaking up the hills was a Spice Plantation, some 12km from Munnar. For the princely sum of Rs. 200, a middle-aged manager escorted around a beautifully laid out garden composed of peppercorn, cardamom, clove, cinnamon trees, not to mention green chillis (photo left), horse-radish, ginger, ginfer, coffee bushes, orchids and other exotic plants. The most interesting part was his exposition on the economics of running a plantation and how it can take upwards of 5 years to break-even. Hence, one develops a plantation in stages and with a diversified crop to avoid excessive sunk costs, and to prevent a boom-bust business cycle. At the end of the tour, Chitra beguiled the manager into allowing us to wander around the garden ourselves. No sooner had the kind man effaced himself than Vijay decided to explore down an unmarked path. Give those Sundarams an inch and they'll grab a yard! Inevitably, we were soon in the thick of dense foliage. At which point, the now-familiar afternoon ritual commenced, as bulbous clouds swooped in and dumped on us. The landscape was quite pristine and the foresty very reminiscent of the Cloud Forests we had traipsed through in Costa Rica in April 2008. We speedily backtracked up the path to the main garden. However, much to our chagrin, the Manager had noticed our disappearance and roundly scolded us for venturing outside the prescribed domain. But not, as you might think, our of concern for our well-being. Rather, the Plantation Owner would have been angered at our exploring parts of the Plantation that were actually covered by an additional charge!

Our final stop before descending on Munnar proper was Athakad Falls. We have seen a gazillion waterfalls in our travels, but set against the backdrop of rolling hills and lines of tea estates Athakad falls made for a quite unique picture. Not to forget a quite hair-raising series of hair-raising hairpin shifts down a sharply sheer road, laced for good measure in post-shower moisture. Our driver naturally was not in the least bit phased and nonchalantly swung the Tata Indica through the 270 degree bends and careered round bends with gay abandon!

There was quite a crowd on the rocks aside of the Falls, but we duly took our fill with the gushing rapids flanked by rollicking hills ethereally draped in early evening mist. Another unforgettable sight. Time was getting on, but the environment was irresistable so we decided to stroll down a winding road from the Falls to see what lay beyond. We were treated to more sumptuous views of the hills along with multi-hued wildflowers and a vantage point over the valley below. We passed by several vehicles taking tea-workers home after another day in the fields. One resembled a Chennai bus, crammed with men at the front and on top and women at the back. They all cheerfully waved to us and were predictably enchanted by Sarvesh, charismatic soul he is! We also chatted with some of the women who were walking home, even receiving an invite to tea by one of them!

After 45 minutes or so, we returned to the car. It was almost 6pm - maybe an hour max before dusk closed in. And not a moment too soon for the tortuous slalom back up the twisting road was spiced up by the abrupt descent of thick sheets of fog. We could barely see the road ahead of us. But our driver plowed on, weaving and wending his way up. Fortunately, there were no other vehicles on the road and we made it up in one piece. Quite an experience! Oh yes, our Munnar jaunt was well and truly underway!