The Unaccompanied Indian Explorer: Hiking Highlights: Vilpatti to Palani 19/10

Sore, dirty and tired

That pretty much sums up the hike.

It wasn’t the most difficult hike I’ve done, but it was the most annoying.

Lots of scrambling down hill, lanterna’s and thorns and water crossings made the hike feel like it kept going on forever.

The flip side of this is the amazing views of cliffs and many waterfalls.

The hike started at 7 after a 20 min bus ride from the town of Vilpatti. It was a great morning, not to warm and nice lighting for photos.

Breakfast was at 8 on some rocks next to a stream.

We would go up and then down again to another stream, gradually making our way further down.

We passed through a village on the way and bought some tea.

It got steeper and eventually we stopped for lunch by another river. It was a great spot for swimming, and there was a rock we used as a water slide into a deep pool. Myself and a friend Dhawan went upriver and explored a bit.

He then went down river and got some nice photos.

And so the hike passed by. We did multiple (at least 5) river crossings where we needed to take our shoes off and put them on again.

Then, we finally arrived in the plains as the ground flattened out. We had a tea break at a dam. The water was running really fast and reminded me of when I went white water floating (used a little air mattress and paddled to direct yourself) on grade 9 Wabonga camp.

A bit more walking and river crossings and we had reached the end of the hike.

Here's the description of the hike:

Initially road and farm trail past terraced fields, small farms and coffee plantations to Palar Waterfall, the route then moves into jungle and wilderness with steep cliff views, glimpses of the spectacular 2nd palar Water Fall and possibility of wild elephant sign, though the thick forest makes sightings rare. A detour up stream to a weir provides a swim option, then the trail out walks on an irrigation ditch wall through a stately teak plantation, emerging at the base of the Palani Ghat. (2 hour drive back)

Anyway, now let’s get into the photos!