It’s a Special Trek of the mountains and nap on the beautiful beaches of Kerala. It is a Three Day event
The first part of the trip is Mesaapulimala Trek.
Meesapulimala is the second highest peak in the Western Ghats of Idukki district on the Indian subcontinent after Anamudi. Its peak is 2,640 meters (8,661 ft) above sea level.
The name derives from the fact that it is formed of eight hills which spread like a mustache which gave a name as “Meesapulimala”. It is considered to be most beautiful mountains to climb over in the south Western Ghats.
The Best part of the Meesapulimala Trek you could see lots of Rhododendrons flowers. The Valley is also called Rhodo Valley. It’s special because it only places you see these flowers in south India else it grows in abundance in Sikkim and nearby regions. Rhododendron trees are actually the state tree of Sikkim. Please do look at the picture of this beautiful flower tree.
The Campsite of this Messapulimala Trek in the Silent Valley of Munnar. It has the beautiful panoramic view of the below valley and waterfalls.
The Second part of the trip is Varkala Backpacking.
Wikipedia says “Varkala is the only place in southern Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian Sea.
These Cenozoic sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coast,
and is known among geologists as Varkala Formation and a geological monument as declared by the Geological Survey of India.
There are numerous water spouts and spas on the sides of these cliffs. In 2015, Ministry of Mines,
The government of India and Geological Survey of India (GSI) have declared Varkala Cliff as a geo-heritage site.”
For us, Varkala is a small island shore of heaven. truly you could never witness such culture mix of the world at a place beside coast in India. White sand, Green tall coconut trees. An evening walk of Varkala during season time is a thing to wish for, Nature Walkers brings you this chance to enjoy both the mountains and beaches of Kerala in one trip.
| DEPARTURE/RETURN LOCATION | Bangalore – Munnar – Varkala – Bangalore | |||||||||||
| DEPARTURE TIME | Thursday – 5.30pm | |||||||||||
| RETURN TIME | Sunday – 11.30pm | |||||||||||
| SHORT ITINERARY |
First Day
Day 2
Day 3
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| MANDATORY THING TO CARRY | • Two liters of water bottles • Raincoat (if in case it rains) • A torch • A cap |
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| WEAR | • Cargo/track pants -2 • T-shirt -2 • Shoes, Socks • Personal medication kit • Soap • Toothpaste • Toothbrush • Sunscreen • Rain Coat/Poncho |
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| INCLUDED |
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| NOT INCLUDED |
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Sumanth –
This might be a lengthy review. This review includes both the Meesapulimala trek and the Varkala Backpacking.
After picking everyone, there was an ice-breaking session, to get to know your travel companions, which included the usual introduction followed by something more interesting.
After reaching Munnar, and taking the permits from the forest department, we reached The Silent Valley Camp site, set up the tents and had breakfast. The trek begins soon after, and the first phase of the trek comes to a halt at Rhodo Valley Guesthouse. We took a quick 10 minute break and started the trek to the Meesapulimala peak. This took a bit of effort, as this was my first trek, but forgot all of it once the peak is reached. Spent about 30 minutes before descending. The route to the peak right from beginning is mesmerising. The difficulty of the trek is moderate.
After reaching the base camp (Silent Valley) dinner is served in the warmth of the camp fire. The temperature can get really cold (I visited in December end and it varied from 4-10 deg Celsius in the night).
The morning after the trek, we left for the beautiful coastal town of Varkala, and the travel to this place can test a bit, as the roads are narrow, and had some traffic. But all of this vanished the moment I reached the scenic coast of Varkala. Accommodations were provided at decent place and we were left for ourselves to explore the town. There are a lot of choices for Non-Vegetarians here, with a decent choice for Vegetarians also. We stayed the night and left for Bangalore the next afternoon.
The highlight of this tour was no doubt the destination, but the friendliness of the organisers over shadowed this. Right from making us feel comfortable to properly guiding and motivating throughout the trek, they did everything right. There was never a dull moment in this trek and Hemanth, the Outdoor Leader for the trek made sure of it with the witty jokes of his. Kudos to Nature Walkers, and I look forward to many more memorable treks with you.