Detour #287: Seeking Kerala’s Greatest Climber, India

Photo Paranjay Dutt

In search of a four-legged rock climber, Paranjay Dutt finds himself caught between endless tea gardens and hairpin bends.

Zero. That's how many days I would survive as a tea cultivator if I tried, mainly due to how much tea I would siphon for personal consumption. Is it in the blood or have societal norms made me a fan of wasting endless hours for what could only be defined as the most selfish recreational activity man has come up with: away with the fairies, sipping away a cuppa?

It’s an arduous task, picking leaves on the hillside plantations, getting them back to the factory, navigating through difficult terrain and weather, and most importantly resisting the desire to sit back and have some chai instead. Anyway, one thing leads to another, and metaphorically flicking through the pages online, cup in hand, I come across a marvellous image of what looks like a goat precariously perched atop the edge of a rock a few hundred feet off the ground, high above a tea garden.

It’s intriguing enough to trigger a drive down to witness the exciting (and endangered) lives of the mountain goat known as Nilgiri Tahr, hopefully, while treating myself to the aroma and taste of some fine chai.

That brings me to Valparai, a town surrounded by breathtaking views, only a handful of tourists, and the tangible sense that you are never too far from tea. It's roughly 60 miles from Coimbatore, so driving down is pretty much a no-brainer. One can also take the local bus, but with 40 hairpin bends waiting to be enjoyed, being in the driver's seat definitely sounds more exciting.

The drive from Coimbatore is pretty straight-forward: you head towards the town of Pollachi to take a tiny detour from the motorway and experience the scenery turn remarkably prettier — the road is lined with trees, there isn't as much traffic and, despite the blazing sun, it's quite manageable, this trip.

While it takes about an hour or so to reach the final, 40th hairpin, the climb itself isn't too steep. The road isn't too narrow, either, with the majority of spots allowing two opposing lanes of traffic simultaneously. En route, there are spots for sight-seeing, which offer impressive views of the road that you've just traversed, a 360-degree expanse of the nearby Aliyar water reservoir, and a wide variety of flora and fauna. It's said that between the hairpins numbered 5 and 10 Nilgiri Tahrs are usually spotted. They can be, quite understandably, irked by the unending clatter of conventionally powered motor cars and the enthused tourists, so spotting them is still a tiny bit difficult. Unless of course, you are at the right place at the right time, which sadly I’m not.

What I do manage to catch are the brilliantly lit evening sky and some piping hot tea, made with leaves plucked not too long ago, in an estate not too far. Undeterred, I continue my journey back to the plains to continue my search for this endangered species of a go-anywhere animal. A larger percentage of the Tahr population is said to reside in the neighbouring Kerala's Erivakulam National Park region, and it's less than 100 miles away, so that’s exactly where I go next.

The drive to Erivakulam involves heading downhill towards Pollachi, following the route through the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Right before the popular hill station town of Munnar is the entry point to Erivakulam National Park. Only the park officials are actually allowed to drive in the national park, so I take a bus for the last leg of my quest. The phone network is thankfully non-existent, and the views get better as you're driven further into Erivakulam.

The medium-dark coat of the Tahr makes it hard to spot from a distance especially with the overhead sun trying its best to blind me. But a herd of goats has just come out of nowhere, trying their best to stay clear of the tourists and mind their single-point agenda for the day, which is to graze as much grass as goately  possible. It's a spellbinding creature, especially when it almost callously finds its way to the tallest piece of rock and stands there, balancing its heft on its relatively tiny hooves.

The Nilgiri Tahr was subject to extensive hunting in the past; when that stopped, it came under heavy loss of habitat; and now, as an endangered species, it balances its existence between the hundred-feet drop on one side and the path to extinction on the other. But it does it so beautifully and heading to the hills to track it down proves well worth the effort.

As I sit and enjoy a final hot cup of chaaya (that's what tea is called in Kerala) in the hills I imagine that the view from the top of the hill where the Tahr stands proudly justifies its gravity-defying antics.

Words & Photography Paranjay Dutt Twitter

---

ROADBOOK

CLASS: Mountain pass

NAME: GEt the GOat

ROUTE: VALPARAI to Eravikulam National Park

COUNTRY: INDIA

Distance: 90 Miles

---