Hideaway in the hills

Few are aware of its existence. Deep inside the core area of Munnar’s famed Eravikulam National Park, and far away from its noisy and o...

Few are aware of its existence. Deep inside the core area of Munnar’s famed Eravikulam National Park, and far away from its noisy and overcrowded tourist zone, is a simple, spartan lodge encircled by an elephant trench and shaded by a small copse. Nearby a perennial stream gurgles lazily, its crystal-clear water alive with rainbow trout. The water here, incidentally, is said to be the purest found anywhere in India.

I was privileged to stay in this charming hideaway on two memorable occasions in 1981 and 1988 when I had some of my closest brushes with wildlife. For the area was — and still is — a well protected haven for fauna, free of human and cattle trespass thanks to its remoteness. It’s a nature-lover’s delight, enabling one to savour nature at its pristine best.

On the first occasion while stalking a couple of sambar to get a close-up, I all but crept over a large rat snake sunning itself on a rock. My alarmed scream sent the reptile and the herbivores fleeing!

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On my second visit I disturbed a big cat apparently snoozing on a bough camouflaged by foliage. On seeing me it plunged downwards and landed with an audible thump and crashed through the undergrowth, sending shivers down my spine. Fresh pug-marks confirmed it was a panther. And the next morning I stumbled upon a grisly sight I’ll never forget: a sambar being literally torn apart by a pack of ravenous wild dogs hell-bent on feasting after a gruelling hunt. Hunger can be a ruthless killer.

Over the years several eminent conservationists have stayed at the lodge, among them Belinda Wright of the IUCN and George Schaller of the New York Zoological Society. Indeed, the visitor’s book, dating back to 1939, is an insightful record of each visitor’s sentiments and experiences in the sanctuary. An entry in 1954 mentions the shooting of a tiger by A.K. Greenshields — the last to be shot there. Today, thankfully, the tiger is still around — there were five at the last census.

Besides being rich in wildlife, the sanctuary is spectacularly scenic. Undulating grasslands and mist-capped hills are picturesquely interspersed with virgin forests and silvery cascades. Ideal trekking country, many a hardy hiker has crossed over through the sanctuary from the tea town of Munnar in Kerala to its counterpart, Valparai, in Tamil Nadu — an arduous 8-hour trek that tests the limits of one’s endurance.

Today, with the threat of poaching looming large, access to the core area of the park has been drastically curtailed by the forest department — and rightly so. For it is too precious a heritage to be opened up to uncaring tourists.

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