Kalvarayan hills
The kalvarayan hills are the range of hills in the Eastern ghats in South India. The entire range is smooth and the hills are not very high and very low. They are wonderful for a motorcycle ride and the roads are well maintained. This not range is not a big tourist attraction which is wonderful to explore the hidden places around there. In this blog, I'm going to share my story about spending my whole night with my friends in terrific weather conditions.
Starting late
I and my friends have planned to explore and stay in kalvarayan hills while Kolli hills are our final destination. There is a hidden waterfall over there named Megam falls. To reach Megam falls, we have to do a 2 hours trek and before that, we have to pitch our tent somewhere safe. Unfortunately, we didn't plan like we start. We planned to start very early in the morning but it was a bit too late. Totally it was 3 of us, I and my friend was already waiting for our other friend. While he was arriving, we explored some local places near the way and finally when our other friend arrived, we started to our destination. Thankfully it was cloudy and it was better for us to cover 300 plus kilometers.
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| getting ready... |
We have covered half of our way but unfortunately, the sun started to show up with its full power. It slowed us a bit. We reached Ulundurpet at around 11 am and we spent some time over there getting a motorcycle for my friend who came with me as a pillion.
Witnessing the Beautiful Mountain range
We reached kallakurichi at 1 pm and we satisfied our tummy with a good lunch. Sometime later, the clouds started to show up again telling us that you are good to go now. For a long time, we are going on a single-lane road making me wonder when can I even see the mountains. Suddenly a big hill showed up from the distance with clouds covering its peak beautifully. It gave me some motive and we continued our ride all the way while I can still admire it. We reached the foothill of the hill range and we decided to visit a dam named Gomuki. We witnessed the entire reservoir with the foothills and took some pictures over there.
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| the kalvarayan hill range |
Time for the uphill ride
We guys reached the forest department check post at around 3.30 pm. Gladly we weren't stopped for interrogation. The road was narrow and some parts of the road are still under construction. Government buses and heavy vehicles also use this road for transportation. The roads gave me a feeling that the trees around them are not exploited. After 15 mins of the ride, we stopped by to see the dam which we were before and we relaxed a little bit, hearing the sound of the winds and the birds. These areas are not explored by many and are not major tourist spots. I'm happy about that. If you're a responsible traveler, you know what to do!. Once we reached the top we have seen many farmers harvesting flowers which were absolutely pleasing to the eye.
The proper off-road ride
Thanks to the guy who has geotagged the correct location we have to reach. You can also ask the locals over there, they will show you the way. Google may give you the wrong path. The path is somewhat difficult to identify. We asked the locals about the correct way and the perfect offroad started. The path with big stones and mud was very uneven. I found it difficult, but I think my friends managed it well. I'm really thankful for my Blue Knight(Motorcycle), for taking me to all places. Still, she runs great and is still in good condition. For about 2 km the offroad continues until we saw the tower which is the checkpoint. Since I was the lost one to reach, my friend went further without stopping. Then he stopped where couldn't go anywhere. I also stuck with him where it was so difficult to turn around the motorcycle, the slope was somewhat steep. I and my friend managed to turn around our motorcycles and we reached the checkpoint. We parked our motorcycles near the building safely and climbed up.
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| the checkpoint |
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| parked our motorcycles |
Let's camp
The tower or the two-storey house which I spoke about is very old and abandoned. It is on the edge of the cliff. There were cracks in some of the areas and on the second floor is the terrace which has an open edge from which we can see all the way down to the valley. The place was messy and we had to clean it before pitching the tent. It was 5 pm and we discussed pitching the tent on the top. I bought a tent for this and my other friend ( office colleague) also had a tent. We pitched two of our tents side by side and arranged our things inside. I admired the valley and the mountains around me. It was so pleasant and relaxing. I can hear the water flowing down the valley which is the Megam falls. I was disappointed that we reached late and we cannot trek, because it will be dusk when we reach the waterfalls.
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| the valley and the river |
In search of water
We guys bought everything to eat and we forgot about the water. It was 6.30 pm and we are in our tents discussing how we can find water. There is a small house 2 km away from where we came through and also a village after the house. You know it was so dark, I don't want to get out, but my friends insisted to go out and just try. There was also a festival going on in the village, which my friend is really interested in. We stepped out of your tent believing that it will be intact and safe. We decided to take a walk, three of us. It was kind of spooky and beautiful at the same time. We had some talks and helped each other on our path. After about 20 mins, we reached the small house. Two people were sitting outside of the house and we asked whether they can lend some drinking water. They were so nice and we told them where we are coming from what are we doing here. We had some little talks, we thanked them and we started to walk toward our checkpoint, the tents.
The windy night
Thank god and the weather, the tents were intact. We had some snacks for the dinner and we decided to sleep so that we can wake up early and start our trek toward the waterfalls. I and my friend were sleeping in my two-person tent. My office colleague slept in his 4-person tent. Everything was great until I found my tent started to flap itself. The wind started to get worse. We were on the top, not covered by any trees. We were exposed to the wind. I turned on my phone to look at the weather forecast. It was said that it drizzle. But when I came out of the tent, I saw clouds approaching with thunder. I decided not to take action, thinking that it would get over soon. My friends were sleeping peacefully. I got inside my tent and decided to close my eyes and sleep, but the wind is getting stronger. I couldn't sleep at all. It was around 12 am and it started to rain with heavy winds. I was so afraid that my tent would just fly off, and we would easily be thrown off the cliff. The floor is concrete and there is nothing to hold our tent firmly. I started to tie the ends of my tent to the helmets and big stones. My office colleague who was in the other tent got up and was also afraid. His tent is flat and has nothing to hold it firmly to the ground.
A birthday wish amidst the worse weather
He suggested that he would move to the 1st floor. When he came out of the tent, I wished him a belated "Happy birthday". He laughed amidst the situation we are in. My other friend is sleeping happily in my tent. I and my office colleague managed to fold the tent while the wind is strong. It is also showering and we managed to take his belongings to the first floor. The floor was also pretty messy and we cleaned it in order to pitch the tent. After everything is done, we were having fun talking and laughing about the current situation. It was 1 am and I decided to have some sleep. I went up and got into my tent. I couldn't still sleep since my tent is vigorously flapping itself while my friend is happily sleeping beside me. I still don't know I how slept that night.
A calm and beautiful morning
I woke up suddenly around 6 and it was absolute calm. I think I had the great sleep ever. It's still cloudy and cold. The sunlight showed up and I was hearing birds chirping all around and the sound of the Megam waterfall. I woke my friend up and we decided not to trek and to start to our next destination since it was too late. We took some pictures, packed our luggage and started to leave. I had a great regret and a beautiful memory. Memories like these last forever. We started to our next destination which is the Kolli hills, said to myself that I will once again come here again and visit Megam falls.
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| helmets tied to the tent |
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| the valley and waterfall |
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