After an across-the-board road
trip to Rajasthan, we wanted to scale down a bit this time, with less time on the road and more in rest. Two things were clear – mountains and woolies (tea gardens would be a bonus if we get by one on the way). Out of three
options thrown at us by the Internet – Munnar, Ooty and Coonoor, we picked none
– we rather decided to see coonoor and drive up to Kotagiri, a lesser known hilly town for our two days stay. It was the end of April and Kotagiri looked like
the safest bet bar the traffic, tourists, early summer humidity and over-populated resorts. But here
we were, never contented with just one place on our itinerary, Mysore and
Wayanad were added under the wire. These two
places were already on our been-there-done-that list but look, how much we love
them – we were certain to explore more!
We took an early morning flight
to Bangalore and rented a car. The same day we reached Mysore
where we spent a couple of days relaxing, hogging on Mysore Pak, the ultimate sweet of the south and exploring the swarming markets around Maharaja Palace in search of the best nilgiri oil.
From Mysore we headed off to Kotagiri. As we
gradually approached the reserve area, the summer heat became bearable. All
thanks to the thick foliage of the Bandipur reserve that we were spiraling through. The
deer made its customary appearance every once in a while – the signpost “drive
slow - give way to animals” kept us fixated to looking out and looking for more. We entered the Karnataka-Tamilnadu border checkpost just when Bandipur ended and Mudumalai forest reserve roads began - on this side the forest was greener, the road bumpier and the day darker. Happy
and hungry both at the same time, we badly needed a pit stop. Finally after a
few minutes’ break (only inside the car) munching on dry fruits and managing a handful
of shots, we started off. Another hour of swirling right and swirling
left through the forested road, we left behind the quaint surroundings and were in to the hill-station zone – overfull
Ooty. We thanked our intuition and decision not to stay here – it was more of a
Lonavala or a Mahabaleshwar with enormous traffic to combat. Kotagiri was hardly
40 kms from Ooty but it almost took 2 hours to reach there panting, disconcerted
and drained – we just crossed 35 hair-pin bends and avoided a fatal accident
with an overtaking truck and still breathing.
Our small homestay – Green Nest – was nestled prettily amidst a private tea garden. The day was overcast and absent the glimmering
of the sun. I quickly took off my shoes and ran to the deck, and boy! it
started sheeting down heavily – rains in a tea garden – I pinched myself, I
wasn’t dreaming, it was real, all real. The cold crisp air brushing through my open hair raced against my heartbeat which was faster than usual. Time to take our pullovers out and order tea, I exclaimed in joy!
After two cups of tea each and snacks, we crashed out on the
bed instantly and when we woke up, it was dinner time. We wore two layers of woolens
as that’s all we had, and still trembling! The dinner spread here was limited but
mouthwatering. Our mandatory after-dinner walk was long overdue since Kumbhalgarh. It was full moon and the expansive tea garden with giant trees every few meters away casting a monstrous shadow over the narrow moon-lit trail ahead of us looked surreal, almost eerie – straight out
of some Ruskin Bond story. We walked two kilometers approximately down the road through
shola forest on one side and cliff on the other with only few meters of torch-light
visibility. Following a faint sound of beating of drums, we ended up on a muddy road from where a half-barrel shaped mud homestead was seen with a
small number of people, including women (supposedly tribal and almost
certainly drunk) who were singing and dancing around a fire. An infant incessantly cried just next to the fire but could not get attention from a single soul. Not sure how long we hid behind the bushes to watch them, but realizing it might be unsafe if they saw us, we dimmed our torchlight and cleared out.
Later when asked, the homestay manager grimaced and said we saw kota tribe there and
they were probably performing some full moon ritual and it seemed we should not have
been there so close to their place and watched them performing – good God! Another
time and still breathing!
The next morning we had the weather to our side – clear blue
sky, lushings of the tea gardens as far as we could see and the sun rising just in
front of our eyes over the emerald mountains. We were standing at a height of
about 6500 feet - the Kodanad view point, precisely. The mountain town of
Kotagiri is surrounded by hauntingly beautiful wilderness, misty meadows and
several waterfalls. And you do get to soak it all in just right here. We are
never a sightseer in a tourist dictionary. We are dreamers and we love to keep
staring at all things beautiful from a distance, knowing the calmness of the
nature, finding happiness in the most unassuming spaces, like this one. We took
pictures, very few though, we just didn’t want to let go of this strange
dreamlike moment, a feeling so simple yet so hypnotic! In city life we don't get lost – neither in thoughts, nor in
imagination, we only observe our own species, and our behaviour. Boring! Here we had company of a chameleon for a change and observing it while changing color was so much more interesting.
It was time again! The invigorating scent of the tea garden was
irresistible! We went back to our homestay to have lunch and then take a leisurely stroll through the
sprawling tea estate, laced with jacaranda trees in blossom and dewy grass
sprinkled with wildflowers - an experience we were going to remember for a
long, long time.
These two days at Kotagiri seemed like a lifetime to us – we
could not have asked for more. The place, the well-appointed cottage with maple
flooring, the tea garden from the french windows and the wooden deck! But all said and done, it would have been rather a fleeting hillstation holiday had there not been the splash of untimely rains
getting us both drowned in love and bliss. I adore you Kotagiri, you have been
the most spectacular find in our history of travels, stay real like you are!
