| Kookal: a scenic conjunction of verdant hills, wooden slopes and water, writes SOMA BASU |
AS I set out on this week's RLT, I wasn't sure whether I would make it to my destination. It turned out to be an assignment where, but for my attire, I donned the role of a forester. With paraphernalia such as ropes, hooks, torch and sticks, not to mention the usual pen and notebook, I sat inside the jeep cruising at a painfully slow 20 km an hour on something that hardly resembled a road.
The vehicle forced its way through endless puddles of water and manoeuvred around fallen trees as the tyres jerked in and out of potholes. Heavy rain and thick fog made things only worse. As if this was not enough, the stench of an animal kill added strength to the rumours that a female panther was on the prowl. I cursed myself for choosing Kookal in the Poombarai forest range of Kodaikanal division, particularly during the rainy season.
But then assurances about beautiful, unheard and unexplored places emerge only after terrifying travel. And this is perhaps what sends the team on difficult RLTs. But I hadn't bargained for this when setting out for Kookal (also spelt Kukkal); after all, it is on the route to one of the State's most popular tourist destinations, Kodaikanal.
The zero visibility 46-km journey from the hill station, thanks to a thick blanket of mist, seemed to take ages. To break the silence, my companions — the (real) forester Mr. Hanifa and the scientist Dr. Kandhavel — exchanged information about the Kookal sholas.
Disappearing wildlife
Apparently, the sholas are shrinking and the wildlife population reportedly disappearing due to the monoculture of imported pine, eucalyptus and wattle. Along with the encroaching trees, the ground ferns are also eating into the grasslands, affecting both the flora and the fauna of the area which holds four types of ecosystems — swamp, grassland, freshwater and shola.
However, this Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forest has some unique features too. An 800-year-old tree with an enormous girth, and which bears fruit, said to be useful for patients suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, is found here. Now under the care of the Forest Department, it is all fenced up. Very rare single fern trees, jamun and rudraksha trees, 26 species of cinnamon and the shenbagam flower tree constitute the plant biodiversity. The Kookal sholas are also famous for its 165 species of butterflies, and a number of relatively uncommon birds such as the wood pigeon, Nilgiri pipit, 15 types of dabchicks besides the commonly sighted bison, Indian gaur, mouse and barking deer.
Great camping site
Suddenly, we reached a scenic conjunction of verdant hills, wooded slopes and water. The Kookal lake runs through the middle of the sholas and boasts a healthy otter population. The surrounding grasslands indeed make a wonderful camping site for adventurous holidayers.
There are two trekking routes. One, a 13-km stretch to the Kudiraiyar Dam with pleasing waterfalls and deciduous forests. The other is an eight-km route to the Kookal natural rock cave formations on a hill top. These caves are made up of different types of metamorphic rocks called charconite and granulite and believed to be home to the descendants of the leaf-clad Paliyan tribes. Till the mid-Eighties, 30-odd families resided on the hill top, where a small temple is located. This stretch is, however, leech-infested and best avoided during the monsoon. I was forced to give up after a kilometre.
In brighter, drier months, Kookal would be a trekker's delight. Day picnickers too can have a good time in this peaceful locale. Permission of the Forest Department, good boots, camera and binoculars are a must if you plan to include Kookal in the itinerary during one of the trips to Kodaikanal.
Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/10/02/stories/2004100200590100.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment