We got off the bus in Munnar and headed straight to the Forest Department Office to inquire about trekking. They only organise things in the wildlife sanctuaries further from Munnar and nothing locally, so they referred us to the KFDC Office.

We went there and they gave us pretty much only one option: Trek from base camp to the top of Meesapulimala (South India’s second highest peak) for 2000 rupees per person. That includes 1 night at the base camp, dinner-breakfast-lunch and a guide. A jeep to get us to the base camp would be another 1000 rupees each way, so 2000. As it’s only 20km to the base camp we decided to cut the cost in half and have fun, so we hired a scooter for 500 RMB a day. There was a strike planned for the next day and everything was supposed to be closed so we got the scooter the same night wo paying extra.

Through the Silent Valley to base camp

The next morning we scootered to the office through what seemed to be an abandoned town. EVERYTHING was closed. Read more about the strike here. Only one street vendor selling some food for locals and the KFDC office were working. A guy at the office said Kerala had 97 strikes last year, so this is pretty common. We paid money and got our permits and instructions how to get to the base camp.

The way there through the Silent Valley was stunning. This is probably the most beautiful place we have been to in India. Green tea fields all around, a calm and good road, a clean and well-kept area. Couldn’t stop taking pictures and videos.

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We drove slowly as this was too good to just quickly pass by. It took us 1h20 to get to the final off-road bit, and 30 minutes to get the scooter up the 2km of off-road. The finale was tough. I hiked up with my bag and V was brave to ride it. Engine almost over-heated a couple of times. But we made it!

The base camp was very nice – loved the colorful tents and the view! They even gave us lunch for free as due to the strike we only had some snacks with us but no proper food since yesterday.

Spontaneous hiking turned into highlight

After a bit of sunbathing and a short nap we went for a walk. We kept following a small path and hoping it magically leads to the waterfall we saw in the beginning. And it did!

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It seemed like the perfect opportunity for a skinny dip. There was some possibility that some people would see it from the forest, but as I didn’t see them it was fine. The water was freeeeezing!

I first had a dip and after had to get naked again as there was a better pool for picture taking. Refreshing! Even though the showers looked ok at the base camp, this is definitely much better and more fun.

I freaked out that the sun will set soon and we would have to walk in the dark. So we didn’t stay longer than 45 minutes admiring the view and enjoying the life. It took us 45 minutes to go there and 30 minutes back.

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There was a big group of British people on a tour of Kerala that sat around the fire with us in the evening. They had a different dinner menu and got it earlier than us. I felt the feeling that most trekking guides have as everyday life: You are starving, but have to watch other people eat before you can start. The food we finally got was very tasty and decently spicy.

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We sat around the fire for longer, discussed world matters and chatted with some others. One of the british guys had full filming gear with him so he was showing his drone videos. From a local I found out that they stopped the treks to the highest peak of S-I 2 years ago as there is a lot of animal life there and Indian tourists were throwing lots of trash around.

When the eyes couldn’t take the smoke any longer we went to bed, at ca 9pm.

Reaching the top

The next morning breakfast was at 8am and we left straight after. All the Indian tourists at dinner last night apparently took the jeep for an additional 1500 RMB in the morning and went to see the sunrise on the mountain. We were offered that but didn’t see much point in it, we would prefer to hike longer. We have seen the sunrise on Everest this year, so likely this will not be more spectacular.

The hike itself was pretty easy, with ca 5 steep climbs up, which probably adds the medium to the easy-medium. The first bit our guide was almost running. V was following him, and I tried to keep up, breathing heavily and thinking we never had such a pace in Nepal. At the shooting point V asked the guy why is he rushing, as we would prefer to enjoy the mountains and stay a bit longer. So the pace decreased slightly after that.

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It was so amazing to have the landscape alternate during the trek: from pine forest to rododonrons to flat land. We heard and saw the elephants close to us, but unfortunately (or fortunately) they were on the other side of the river so we couldn’t go to them. How cool that they are hiding in the bushes all around you?

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Reaching a peak always brings such a strong feeling of accomplishment. We did it! We made it! Even though the peak is only 2640m above sea-level, so a hill in Nepalese standards, making it to the top is more exciting than going over a pass. The views were stunning on the border with Tamil Nadu on one side and Kerala on the other.

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We had a tasty lemon rice with egg for lunch before heading back down.

There was a different path down from the top that later joined the same path we took. We had a small break sitting on a waterfall, as somehow that one corner had reception and even 4G (only on Vodaphone, nothing on Airtel). Quickly caught up with the messages and social media.

The trek was quick: We left base camp at 8:40 and reached the peak a couple of minutes before 11. Had a 50 minute lunch break at the top and made it back to the base camp by 13:45. Clearly the worries if we manage to return the scooter by 6pm were all gone.

Touristing the way back to the city

We drove back a bit longer route. Visited the echo point that was super touristy and nothing spectacular (definitely not worth a drive if going just for that).

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But then we saw lots on Indians stopping by the road side and being excited. We suspected some elephants might be nibbling there, and they were! So we finally got a proper sighting of the wild elephants that kept hiding in the bushes during our hike. So adorable they are! Just doing their own thing, not bothered about the herds of humans taking selfies with them. Noone was going down the hill, and we are not familiar enough with elephant behavior, so didn’t want to be the first ones either.

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Overall I think it was a brilliant trek. The guide showed us the eucalyptus trees and lemongrass bushes, explained about the sholas etc. The tents were spacious and sleeping bags new and decently thick so kept us nicely warm. And going with own transport was great as we could explore the area the way we wanted and come and go as we pleased.