Trekking from Munnar to Kodai

Trekking from Munnar to Kodai With clouds for companions, hit the inter-state Sholai trail from Top station to Kodai There are several routes to Kodaikkanal from Munnar for trekking. The most scenic route is through Top station, Koviloor, Bandaravu Mala, Kilavara (32 km). It's an adventures route, for about 18 kms through thick forests. Top station, 34 km from Munnar town is the highest point in the old Munnar-Kodai route (1700m to 2300 m above sea level) The top station situates near the Pampadum Shola national park in Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. It is the foreign tourists who mostly opt for trekking though the 32 km forest route from Top station to Kodaikkanal. When someone inquires about the trekking information, guide Manoharan use to say 'only for adventurous people'. Those who love adventures should at least once opt for the trekking here. If you are fortunate enough, wild animals including bison, elephants and even leopards may say 'hello' to you. The early morning journey begins from Top station and from there to Koviloor village in jeep. It's a picturesque village in Kerala-Tamilnadu border. It's not a tourist hub as majority of the tourists return after making a visit of Munnar. The village is famous for its carrot and cabbage plantation, a real vegetable village. From there Kolukkumala tea plantations can be seen. Here the tourists will get the service of horses to carry the luggage while trekking. From Koviloor village, we began our trekking to Bandharavu hill. It's a steep up hill. Only jeeps and horses will show the courage to travel. On the other side of the path situates Vattavada village. Our journey was through the forest famous for ganja plantations. Now instead of ganja, carrot is being farmed here. Trekking became harder with the time pass by. We saw footmarks of bison and leopards. Then we suddenly saw a pond in the middle of pine trees and numerous bison were standing in the shores that were drinking water from the pond. When we reached on top of the hills, we began to get glimpses of Kodai villages. The rest of the path was filled with cinnamon trees and eucalyptus trees. Finally we reached Kilavara village. When we were alighting from forest, some students from Cochin University were having their adventurous journey on bikes. After covering Poondi , Mannavannur and Poompari, it was already night when we boarded our bus to Kodaikkanal. Trekking route Top station-Koviloor- Bandaravu Mala- Kilavara (32 km) How to reach By air: Madurai (140km), Kochi (190km) By rail: Theni (60km,), Changancherry (93km) By road: Kochi to Munnar (145 km, NH 49). There is regular bus service from Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand to Munnar. (Fare Rs 75.)