Of monkeys and tea gardens

2 years in Trichy and Valparai and Top Slip had always been on my 'to do' list. Its been a while since I had been to either place. Some unforeseen events prevented the Top Slip trip, but Valparai for 2 days was a fun getaway. After a long drive from Salem to Trichy to Valparai, we got to a home-stay after dark. The slopes are beautiful and climbing them in the dark was not the plan but we knew we would come back down in more light. Incidentally the home-stay we got to was the same one I had stayed in the previous trip on the outskirts of the town.

The next day started well with a great view of the Sholaiyar dam. The sigma 8-16 came in handy. Bought it very recently and it does give a whole new perspective to landscape and architecture shots. Tea gardens of course are a dime a dozen there and anywhere you stop has a fantastic view. Tea of course is great at any of the local stalls; that includes green and black tea as well. With Valparai not being as popular as Ooty or Kodai, I prefer it for the lesser crowds. There maybe fewer choices to eat or stay but then there are plenty of places to see. A number of dams and viewpoints along with none or few other people makes for a very relaxing trip.

Birding overall was good especially since we also drove down to Athirapalli. That route through 60 kms of forest evergreen and deciduous was the highlight of the trip. Interesting spots throughout the trip were forest wagtails, paradise flycatchers, orange headed ground thrush on the way to Kerala and malabar whistling thrush, chestnut headed bee eaters, streak throated woodpecker and others in and around Valparai. Lion tailed Macaques were out in the herds and the conservation staff helped us find them on roadsides quite easily. Despite multiple tries, the hornbills were not around in Varthaparai but on the other hand we managed to spot Nilgiri Tahrs on the slope unexpectedly. Unlike in Eravikulam, these ones are a lot more timid. Other mammals were the expected nilgiri langurs and giant squirrels.

The landscape areas were of course all the dams we went to, a place called "seen god" and a dam beyond the old Valparai area. Sunrise and sunset spots for us were anywhere we stopped to see the sun rise or set. Most places there covered with tea gardens look like carpets laid out from a distance. The slopes also have some scenic points especially as the Aaliyar dam becomes visible. Would have liked to go to Top Slip from there as they are close but that will have to wait for another day.