Chinnakallar – Chirapunjee of South India

The Unforgettable Experiences in Rain

The human tendency is to always complain about the weather, whether its a very hot summer or heavy continuous rainfall. But always one enjoys the rain in summer or a hot sun in a freezing weather. So when the summer rain failed in Chennai, we decided to go to a place where it was raining. The first place that came to our mind is the Chirapunjee of South India – ChinnaKallar. Chinnakallar is 13 kms from Valpaarai. Valpaarai is located above 3500feet from the sea level on the Anaimalai Hills Range. The place is known for the tea plantations and is surrounded by evergreen forest. As we wished, Chinnakallar welcomed us with heavy rain.

Ranked as one of the wettest places in the country, Chinna Kallar receives rainfall all through the year. Even during summer months it gets wet spells.

On the way to the forest bungalow there was a small hotel where we had our lunch. As the road was very rugged from the hotel to the forest bungalow, it took more than 30 minutes to cover just 5 kms. The place was surrounded by tea plantation and forest area giving it a very “green” feel. Once the rain receded, we roamed around to see the misty effect . The birds which were soaking in the rain a little while earlier ,were now exuberantly singing.

With so much rainfall all the life seemed to have adapted their life around it. The heavy downpour looked like a drizzle for thisMalabar whistling thrush

The workers staying in the bungalow helped us to light the firewoods and then we cooked our dinner. Since we were warned not to go out in the night as wild animals will be roaming around , we decided to sit outside the bungalow chatting. After dinner we just sat around 50 feet away from the bungalow. We were deeply in discussion about the birds that we would love to see in this trip and in our lifetime , that we forgot our surroundings. Suddenly we heard the leaf rustling sound, Immediately we ran towards the bungalow.

We checked with the night vision binocular to see who made the leaf rustling and found a group of Indian Gaurs were grazing. In a jungle with big mammals, we have to be always extra cautious. Then we settled down in the room with no power as a tree had fallen on the powerline. But that did not dampen our spirits and we decided to engage in some night photography.  

Early morning we planned for some birding action and roamed around the place. But first we had to wait for our friends from the night to move out as they were roaming nearby. A majestic bull of Indian Gaur was too close for comfort, so decided to kill some time taking pics of him and ourselves.

The tea estates around Chinnakallar is a major draw for all sorts of wild animals and the Indian Gaur is a regular visitor here.

We just enjoyed the canopies in that place and searched for forest birds. After doing some birding we returned back and ate breakfast and left for the falls. We decided to descend down the stairs as it was supposed to be shortcut to chinnakallar waterfalls.

The guesthouse where we stayed had a long pathway of stairs. It was a nice place to sit and relax.

After breakfast we hiked to Chinnakallar falls. The villagers advised us not to take bath in the falls as there was heavy rain in the forest, there was a chance for flash flood. Anyway we had no plans to take a dip in water as we were wet most of the time when we were in Chinnakallar. Chinnakallar falls is really a hidden beauty amidst the jungle. We just listened to the sound of the water and few birds. The sky started to  darken and before we reached the hanging bridge, it started raining. So we waited sometime hiding under an arch.

The footbridge to the chinnakallar falls was nice place to hide from the rains.

We roamed around the place for some time soaking our feet in the water , when the skies decided to open again . We dashed back to a small hotel and had a delicious but simple meal watching the pouring rain. We all felt so cozy in the rain, but the rain was unstoppable. So I just started walking in the rain to really feel it. When the rain touches my face the happiness I felt was really from the heart.

This was my unforgettable experience in this trip.

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
― Roger Miller

The unforgettable experience for Vinod in this trip is during birding. To know more about Chinnakallar birding click here.

Once all set and done it was time to move. With a sad heart we left the place only to find more birds on the way.

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