Wayanad Govt.: Under the auspices of Nature Club (“Bhumitra Sena”) of Engineering College, a group of 103 children (25 girls and 78 boys) and five teachers participated in a 15 km mountain climb. The walk started from the Velamunda Forest Section office at 10 am on May 22, 2022 till it reached back to Velamunda town at 7 pm. Monsoon tourism has turned the Wayanad travel experience into a different travel experience. Chirapul trek in Banasura Hills is one of the unforgettable memory to keep in our hearts. Banasura mountain (2073 meters high – 6700 feet – above sea level) is the second highest mountain in Wayanad after Chembra Peak. One of its recognized trekking routes is the Velamunda – Chirapulla trek. 5 km to one side. 7 hours round trip.
15 km was said to be 5 km. Additional travel is added. Due to road construction, buses will not ply from Vellamunda to Forest Office (cars, autorickshaws and bikes will go). One and a half km from there. must walk And vice versa. Then on the way back, we took a 2 km diversion and saw the Meenmutti waterfall (there are many waterfalls in Wayanad with that name) and the extra distance came. It is not as crowded here as in Chembra. That will give you good privacy. There are less steep climbs and hence the routes are walkable even for women and school children. The journey through diverse terrains like undergrowths, plantations, paddy fields, grasslands, flat land, steep ridges, hill top reservoirs – will give us a sense of exhilaration.
This trail is perfect for beginners as well as families before going on a big trek. No camera can capture the incredible beauty of the snow falling on the green land and meadows as we look down the steep hills – except our minds.
If you write down your name in the forest section and pay 40 rupees for students and 150 rupees for adults, they will give you a guide. The figure is one guide for 6 people. 109 of us left in four batches. The guides are local and well informed. We should carry food and water on this trip.
It is a good place to go as part of rain tourism. We went when there was a yellow alert for rain. I took the rain coat, along with sweater, shawl and shoes. An umbrella is not of much use. Those who did not take raincoats were able to buy plastic raincoats for Rs 35 from a shop in Velamunda. He came after eating in the morning. Had a light meal and started the journey at 10 am.
After one kilometer it is a two and a half kilometer with lots of leeches. He said there is a way. Sanitizer spray and salt were taken. I heard that it is also good to grind and apply Chandrika soap. It was raining for the first hour and a half. The walk was in a raincoat. Then everything that was soaked in water washed away. At first, no leeches were seen. After a while, when we came to a level place and traveled through damp, muddy and grassy areas, the procession of leeches began.
The leeches started jumping from the stones to the branches of the plants and up to the neck. The end result of the journey is that the fear of leeches is gone. The leeches that were biting on the outside of the shoes and the pants were removed by beating them with a sanitizer and poking them with a stick. When you feel pain from inside, the leech has climbed up to the knee. After walking for a long distance, the leeches will be removed. Will happen again. The practical wisdom that the leech will leave itself after drinking blood has been successful.
After walking half a km from the forest station, it became a forest. The name of that place is Pulinjar. There is a resort there – Banasura Hill Resort. There are tourist cottages and a 3 star hotel next to it. When we started walking from there, we saw fruit tree afforestation planted and grown by the forest department. After walking a short distance through the meadow, we reached a place called Patekar Kulam. A nice pond in the middle of the forest. The road there is full of stones, mud and ropes. There is a reason why Pathekar Pond got its name. The ten acres surrounded by forest belonged to a man from Kozhikode (Mancheri?). The surrounding forest also went up to Patekkar where there was no traffic. Finally, when the forest department attached the land to the forest, it was too late for the owner. But the name of that area is still Pathekar.
After ten acres, the climb begins. The ascent is through the grass. Full of greenery. There is also wild gooseberry. Saw butterflies too. The guide said that there are fox, bear, elephant, tiger and deer. In summer they may have gone elsewhere in search of water. Come back when it rains.
From there one km. After the journey, everyone should sit down and rest. The guide said that the flat area will come soon. Found a convenient place there. Each and every one of them sat and rested and ate the snacks in hand. Another two and a half km to Chirapul Peak. must climb Now it’s a good climb – through the meadow. But the most beautiful views are here.
After climbing a km, the rain stopped. Then put the raincoat in the bag. Walking with sticks. A stick is a good help when climbing. The landscape also changes. When viewed from the top of the hill, the land below, the bordering mountains, the snow that stays below, the grasslands and the ups and downs are all said to be an indescribable beauty. The camera has a limit in capturing it. It is there to be experienced.
When we reached the top of a hill, ten and forty people from our group were sitting there. If you see the view below, you will forget yourself and sit there. It was half past twelve in the afternoon. The guide said – Don’t you see the top three mountains on the way up, not this mountain? Chirapul Peak is the top of the third mountain. ‘If we go up now, we can reach there at half past one, sit there for an hour and continue our journey down at three o’clock
The last lap was a steep one and a half km. It’s an uphill climb. Looking down, the head swells. But you have to sit while climbing. The rain has stopped and the view is good. The view below is incredible. The towns of Velamunda and Tharuvana and the view towards Kalpetta spread out ahead. On reaching the top of the hill, the Korom hills are on one side. Banasura Dam & Township on the other side. Another side is Makiyadu, Chembanoda and Kutyadi parts. Snow spreading beyond the horizon. Beautiful view.
At the very top there is quite a place to sit on the bare rock and some water in the rock. You can soak your feet in the water and lie down. But very cold. As soon as he reached there, Koda came down and covered the whole place. The snow came down. After a while it started raining. The rain lasted for half an hour. After that, when the sky cleared, everyone started to descend the mountain.
A few quickly went down the hill. Children should see Meenmutti Falls below. It has to cover a distance of two km. We teachers walked with the last ones. In between, the small-ripe fruits of wild yam were plucked and eaten. Low-slung mangroves of monstrous size. While walking along the other side of Pathekar and throwing the leeches from his feet, the guide said, he heard that a rattlesnake had laid eggs in a nearby place. He said that he did not see the spot, but let’s see. A little later, two mirrors down the road, I saw something like a football bladder on the ground. It’s eggs. The snake curls and closes over it. He said he would see it somewhere nearby.
After walking for a while, I heard the sound of the waterfall. Banasura is a stream flowing from Mt. Meenmutti (There are three Meenmutti falls here). There is good water. Because it rained. Everyone went under it and got wet. Then came back. After walking for another hour, we reached Velamunda junction.
good luck
