A Long walk, Monsoon, Leeches, Wildlife & Railway History.
Parambikulam Tramway Trek…All along the trail, you will come across some remnants of the tramway. Saw these rusting wheels just a little into the trail…
The long walk…
Crossing a rusty old bridge…
A giant Malabar squirrel…
Another bridge…
More relics from the tramway…
A ‘Machan’ on a tree…
This time a bamboo bridge across a stream…
An anti-poaching camp and watch-tower, with a trench around it to keep any unfriendly animals at a distance…
A good place for a leech check!
A surviving bridge near the tribal village which would be our lunch stop for the day…
Remnants of an older tramway bridge that has collapsed into the river…
This one too is rotting away at places, but is still good enough to support the weight of a jeep…
A leech, having had its fill of someone’s blood…
The Orukomban range starts from near the tribal village…
Huddled into the hut to stretch out while we waited for lunch to be prepared…
Lunch!
Dessert anyone?
Quickly dispatched by the hungry trekkers!
Had to cover another 12kms before nightfall, so we moved on…
It was raining or drizzling for almost 75% of the trek. I could take out my camera only when it stopped raining…
Suddenly the forest guard stopped us and pointed out at something on the road ahead. A sloth bear was slowly ambling along the path. These bears can be quite dangerous if provoked, so we stopped for around 15-20 minutes till the bear walked down to the river and disappeared from sight…
In some places, the tramway path cuts through small mounds / hills…
A quick stop for a leech check and a water break!
Continued… Contd…
