Visit to Kovai Kutralam Waterfalls in Siruvani , Coimbatore
We visited Kovai Kutralam in dry season. Even at that time, the falls looked very beautiful. I would love to see this falls during rainy season if the forest department keeps it open.
In Tamilnadu everyone loves to take bath in waterfalls, so when I heard Kovai Kutralam I thought this is just another tourist spot in Tamilnadu. Vinod who had been to Kovai Kutralam in his college days told me that the waterfalls is situated amidst dense forest in Siruvani. He also told that the Waterfalls is under Forest Department Control, so this place is not dumped by shops and other tourist stuffs. When we were in Coimbatore our first destination was to visit Kovai Kutralam. It was a rainy day and we reached in a two wheeler completely drenched but with a big smile on our face. The Forest Guard looked us up and down and then told there was too much water in the falls, so the place was closed. We were disappointed but glad that the wild beings were not disturbed in this season. After few months we went back and the forest guard told, there was no water so the place was closed. We cursed our bad luck but then went to Poondi temple where we had a good time with birds and butterflies.
Birds and Butterflies in Siruvani
Blue-bearded bee eater can be easily spotted in Poondi temple. Unlike the other bee-eaters this one is usually spotted alone and prefers thick forest habitat.
To make our third time charm work, we checked with many localites before going to the Kovai Kutralam. We cautiously checked any Closed board sign and enquired the Forest Guard whether we can enter. He told only at 10’o Clock the Gates will be opened. We were happy that the tourists were allowed inside and decided to wait near the stream running parallel to the entry gate. Usually these type of streams would be filled with rubbish in India but surprisingly this little stream looked clean. The local people were washing their clothes in the stream and a foreigner standing over there was surprised to see people washing clothes in this manner. Few Salix trees on the stream sides were in full bloom and glowing in that morning light. When we went closer to the trees, all we could hear was buzzing sound of bees.
Full bloom trees and blue skies is a perfect combination and can refresh anyone. Especially wildflower lover like me can sit under these trees for a whole day and admire these blossoms
Asian brown flycatcher was having a feast as there was good insect activities. Looking at the tree with full blooms I wondered , what a beautiful little world. Sharp at 10’o Clock we were infront of the Forest Gate and there was another foreign couple already waiting for the gates to open. When the forest booking office opened at 10.05 , there was a long queue formed behind me very quickly. We paid our entry fee and we drove past the entry gate till the parking area. After parking the car we went to the van which will drop us near the falls. Few ladies were checking all the bags for plastics and food items. We had packed delicious lunch but we had to keep it back in car with some regret. The drive in van was bumpy and we reached the dropping spot in 15 minutes. The crowd rushed to reach the falls , so within few minutes we were just alone in that old- growth forest with huge trees.
The pathway to the falls is surprisingly clean from plastic garbage, thanks to the forest department for not allowing any food items or plastics to the waterfalls. Even when the Sun was high , the walk was pleasant as we were surrounded by tall trees.
Even at that time there was good bird activities , soon we saw Black-naped monarch , Malabar Trogan , Verditer flycatcher, Rusty tailed flycatcher and many other colorful birds. It was just a 1 km walk to the Kovai Courtallam falls but we stopped at every step to see something in wild like the wide buttress of a tree or a dried up moss on a rock or a sound of the eagle at a distance or a chestnut angle butterfly basking on a leaf.
Rocks look more beautiful when they are covered with moss. While I appreciated the cleanliness of the trail which is a rare concept in India, I was annoyed to see this scribbling.
There was a watch tower on the way and we climbed up to see the top view of siruvani forest. The “great lovers” who come to this place had scribbled their names all over the building. We Indians have no respect to public property and are always first in spoiling anything public . I climbed up grumbling about the status of the building. We went in the dry season but the trees looked green. We heard a eagle call continuously and Vinod spotted the Crested Serpent Eagle sitting on a dead tree. The eagle was calling its parents who were circling above his head. When we climbed down the tower , the foreigners we met earlier were already returning back. They were confused to see us still not reaching the falls and asked what we were doing. When we listed our sightings they were amazed and they shared their joy of seeing the Kovai Courtallam falls.
Greater flameback woodpecker was meticulously drilling hole on a tree without minding us. We stood there silently and happily watched the way the whole body of the woodpecker moved while making the hole on the tree.
We then started hearing the sound of waterfalls and soon we saw a beautiful waterfalls. There is always good chance for butterfly sightings near a waterbody and as expected we saw Many-tailed oakblue , Water snowflat , Red helen and many other butterflies. By this time the tourists were increased in number and most of them came there just to take a dip in the falls. We went to the waterpool area where everyone was taking a bath and we were not impressed with that place. So we just watched the mudpuddling of few Common albatrosses and decided to return back.
Indian Wanderer female butterfly is not commonly seen while the male pale blue colored one is commonly seen in open shrub lands. So when I saw the female Wanderer butterfly I was confused. Then Vinod saw the patterns and confirmed the id of this butterfly. The butterfly feeding on bright Ganges primrose flower was quite beautiful.
As the food was not allowed inside , people were returning back quickly as they were all very hungry after the dip in the falls. It was very hot when we returned back. So we didn’t stop much on our way back and quickly reached the van. Everyone in the van was talking about food especially biriyani and they were all treated with hot bajji, bonda near the parking area. We rushed back to the car and had our home packed lunch sitting under a large fig tree while watching the big crowd of tourists. It looked like the tourist activity picked up only in noon as many came for bathing. For general tourists the Kovai Courtallam is a place to take bath and enjoy the waterfalls. For nature lovers like us this place is a paradise and a good spot to see birds , butterflies near Coimbatore. After a long wait we finally made it to Kovai Courtallam and had a wonderful time.