Ulakkaiaruvi : A walk on the wild side

Ulakkaiaruvi: also a botany lesson, says SOMA BASU

THICK-SET FORESTS, rocky tracts, hidden pathways, an effusive waterfall, a three-km trek on an abandoned forest pathway. Ulakkaiaruvi is impossible to do alone. If it wasn't for the help of the Forest Department staff, this RLT wouldn't have seen the light of day.

Locals know the area but don't venture out much. But if you manage to find someone from the village or, better still, the Forest Department, the journey could become more than just a walk on the wild side — also an interesting lesson in botany.

Nestling in the deciduous Asambu forests in Kanyakumari district in the southernmost tip of the Western Ghats, Ulakkaiaruvi is about 30 minutes drive from Nagercoil. We walk our way up through a patchwork of lemon grass, under the shade of teak and rosewood and wild coconut and on a pathway along which keezhanelli and other medicinal plants abound, a live pharmacy with cures or palliatives for everything from jaundice and diabetes to chest pain.

I am shown a bilva tree. A medicinal plant whose oblong leaves form the stem too making a beautiful rangoli-like pattern. There's a mahabilva too, whose leaves are offered to Lord Siva. My companions, Sreevalsan and Ramdas, give me an interesting demonstration. They cut a branch of a tree called pullani ("vedanintholan" in Tamil meaning a hunter's friend). To my surprise, it oozes crystal clear water. We quickly fill our empty bottles and the replenishment is truly refreshing.

The area is an "active ecological habitat." More than 2,500 species of plants are estimated to grow here. The place, besides being a delight to botanists, is also an ornithologist's paradise with 150 types of listed birds found here. Plus: it is home to elephants, sambar, chital, Nilgiri tahr, langur, mouse deer and wild boar.

When we reached the base of the falls — which cascade from a height of 100 ft in a single long column of water resembling a pounder (and so the name olakkai) — my friends egg me on to climb up to the top.

The view from there is unforgettable. The shifting play of colour, the deep gurgle of water and a peppermint-like breeze contribute to the sylvan setting.

It is believed that the area may be declared a sanctuary. At the same time, the district administration has a project in the pipeline to make Ulakkaiaruvi more tourist friendly by laying paths, creating resting zones and perhaps introducing a winch to ferry people to the waterfall. But all this is still very much at the conceptual stage.

The way down is every bit as tough as the three-hour journey up and so this RLT is recommended only for the hardy.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/21/stories/2004082100290100.htm