November 2013
Still have a continued hangover after
committing the crime of registering for a desperate word
’Easy/Moderate’ trek and also being an ardent lover of waterfalls I made
up my mind for a place called Nagalapuram, though CAN I? words were
echoing within me.
Also,
mails were floating for non-swimmers that they would be placed safely in a cave,
while others capable of tough treks would move ahead, one should carry
sufficient food for Saturday and Sunday afternoon, we may not be able to cook
if it rains’ were building up stress as the day approached.
Bangalore-Puttur-Pichatur-Nagalapuram was our way to reach the trek places..
A
few minutes’ walk took us to a pleasant ’Kone’ reservoir full of water with a
cool breeze sweeping us. It was a picturesque landscape and further we also
came across a beautiful view of a rocky with a mix of thick green mountains
of Eastern Ghats covered with mist.
I was desperately trying to trek faster to catch up with others but was often left way too behind.
It
was a challenge to walk mostly on stones, crossing the streams unable to make
out the ones which were slippery and with the huge backpack mostly filled with
snacks, as my top priority is usually the food that I might or would miss for 2
days! However, someone there said one could manage for 12 days with so much of snacks
I had carried!
We
were pleasantly surprised as we entered the mountains to see
an unique design of Mother Nature. We were surrounded by deep red to light and
dark brown with greyish combinations of rocky terrain. Underneath were the colorful
soft stones letting the crystal clear cool water covering and flowing over them
like a bed-cover.
The
water was green and had varieties of green and turquoise colors; also the colorful rocks blended
themselves into a camouflage of small waterfalls around and had made a perfect
dream picture which was a feast to all our souls. It is told that the water
turns turquoise in color as there would be high concentration of lime around lime
rocks.
As we reached one of the pools our project leaders started planning and transporting bags and non-swimmers like me to reach the other side of the pool as the water level was quite high.
We
then trekked to reach a waterfalls; wherein the water was amazingly gushing out
from within huge rocks and a creating a heavenly pool below. No wonder it
is called a magical pool as the scenery reflected so and hence probably the
name.
Within minutes almost all of us were found inside the pool. It seemed to be a
perfect place to forget the world!
With
a great difficulty we dragged ourselves out of water and continued to trek to
find a stop and spend the night. It was quite a challenging trek for me with a
nice reward, as this paradise involved plenty of hiking, wading, climbing,
slipping while crossing the streams. I fell couple of times in and out of
water and also learnt some lessons that I started distributing snacks
generously to reduce the weight of my bag to walk faster. With some good sense
of humor around, I was feeling better and lighter.
We
walked fast and decided to camp before it got completely dark and soon that
small place became a kitchen, vegetables were cut, fire was put on to cook and
our Great Chefs cooked Rice bath all with the support of torch lights. We
started relishing the tasty dinner under the tarpaulin with the torch on as it
started raining heavily.
I was cursing myself for being a bad cook back home and secretly wished if
someone could prepare food often like this! Our experts then made a beautiful
tent, after which I lied down like a pampered child and was excited to watch
the little fireflies twinkling in the sky. Listening to raindrops falling on
the tent and soothing sounds of flowing stream besides, induced a good sleep.
Next morning was yet another astonishing scenic view as we had no opportunity
to see the place before the dusk of the previous evening. Numerous trees with
varied colorful leaves stood along each side of the stream making it a
beautiful pathway for the stream. I could recollect such pictures in imaginary posters or read such descriptions only in the books.
We
then started to trek towards a different pool after quite a climb, I noticed
from far off as if there was a man-made setup of trees, waterfalls and a pool
made for a shooting of a movie! This was
one of the best waterfalls I had ever seen and spellbound.
Again without waiting and not wanting to waste time, most of
them climbing towards the waterfalls,started diving number
of times like children forbidden from getting into the water for years. Such
place can be considered as surely a boon for divers and experts making it a
great 'paradise' to swim and dive. Here ’Pooja’s dive’ was invented and many tried to follow Pooja's style of diving. She is now planning
to start a diving and a swimming school shortly for people like me who knows no
swimming or diving!
Drenching in the rains and getting into the water is my favorite and through this trek I selfishly fulfilled my dreams of doing so.
Sometimes we have so much express, trying to find more than a word thanks, but can’t find enough to express these beautiful human feelings and all I can say is
'This was one life’s unforgettable joyous moments'. I felt so blessed to have visited such an amazing piece of Heaven on Earth.
I have
taken every person's help during the trek in one way or the other and owe all
my friends Arun Karthik, Srivatsa, Narasimha, Nandhini, Pooja, Vinay,
Ranga, Selvi, Devansh, Praveen, Chakravarty, Manohar, Girish N and Rajesh P tons
of Thanks.
