Yelagiri
Trip to Yelagiri
Between 24th and 26th August 2007, seven members from MNS visited the Yelagiri hills, near Jolarpet, about 4 hours from Madras.
It is a small hill station, consisting of a few villages, at an altitude of about 3000 feet. The area is serene and has rich birdlife.
Day one
=====
Five of us left Madras on 24th morning by train to Jolarpet, and hired a Tata Sumo from there to Yelagiri. Yelagiri is about an hours drive from Jolarpet. Accomodation was booked in the YMCA dormitory, which is a few kilometers away from Yelagiri town. We checked in by about noon. The YMCA campus is quite large and it seems to be a popular place; a lot of people came in during the weekend. The dormitory accomodation was quite basic, and the bathrooms were somewhat dingy. But it was cheap, at about Rs.200 per day, including food.
There was a lovely sight near the meadows near the dormitory: a colony of Baya weavers with about 30 nests. The birds were busily building the nests, and some of the nests had two 'storeys'. We kept coming back again and again to see the weavers throughout our stay.
After lunch, we climbed the hill behind the YMCA compound. There is a trail, and the scenery was good, but the rocks were steep in some places. Good shoes are essential! The sky was overcast when we started, and before we could reach the top, it started to rain. We were drenched, and the ground was slippery, but we made it back to the dorm, wet and dripping.
The birdlife was rich, and I really wish the experts were with us. I tried to identify as much as I could, but soon I was overwhelmed by the number of different species. The red-vented bulbul seemed to be the most common bird here.
In the night, we were joined by two other MNS members, who had driven down from Madras.
Day two
=====
We decided to trek to Swamimalai, which is about an hour's climb to the top. The scenery was wonderful, and there were lots of butterflies. Sadly, there were also lots of litter, including plastic bottles, biscuit wrappers and such. There is a temple at the top of the hill, and the view from the top overlooking the forest is nice. The locals we met said there are bears in the forest, but we didnt spot any.
It started to rain again as we were coming down the hill. We took shelter under a the rocks and a tree, but the rain soon stopped. We were back at the YMCA for lunch. In the evening, some of the members went to see the town. They visited the lake and a sericulture farm. Later, before dinner, we walked to the nearby Samaritan school, a residential school. We met two students from Nepal, one of whom was joining the school. We didnt meet any other students, as it was late.
Day three
======
This was the last day. After breakfast, we explored the places in and around YMCA campus. Some of the members had an engaging discussion on various matters, while I was mainly looking around at the birds. There was a nice looking trekking trail, but we didnt follow it much, because it was soon time for lunch. The people who drove in from Madras returned back in the morning.
We started to Jolarpet to catch our train back to Madras. In summary, the trip was interesting and fun. This was my first MNS trip. The birdlife was excellent, and I wished an experiened birder were with us. The list of birds identified is given below. Note that I am no expert, and there were many I could not identify.
Birds: Baya weaver, pied bushcat, kestrel, spotted muniya, brown shrike, Indian robin, red vented bulbul, tailorbird, jungle myna, Indian treepie, barn swallow, palm swift, ashly drongo, pied wagtail, purple rumped sunbird, nightjar, spotted owlet, common iora, hawk cuckoo, shikra, scarlett minivet, bluethroat, house sparrow, Jerdons leafbird.
Curiously, we never spotted the common crow.
Tips for future visitors:
=============
Outside Yelagiri town, even small shops are scarce. So keep stocks of bottled water, medicines, snacks etc. You can however, get them in the town.
Due to the rains, the nights are generally chilly, so do take blankets or sleeping bags.
Rain wear (during this time of the year ie early September) would be a good idea.
Wikitravel also mentions that there are no fuel stations in Yelagiri, so full your fuel tanks before driving up.
More detailed instructions can be found in Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Yelagiri
Pictures
======
You can see the pictures I clicked at: http://www.lantana.tenet.res.in/~padmanabhan/yelagiri/ (may not be permanent)
Baya weaver nests at Yelagiri
Between 24th and 26th August 2007, seven members from MNS visited the Yelagiri hills, near Jolarpet, about 4 hours from Madras.
It is a small hill station, consisting of a few villages, at an altitude of about 3000 feet. The area is serene and has rich birdlife.
Day one
=====
Five of us left Madras on 24th morning by train to Jolarpet, and hired a Tata Sumo from there to Yelagiri. Yelagiri is about an hours drive from Jolarpet. Accomodation was booked in the YMCA dormitory, which is a few kilometers away from Yelagiri town. We checked in by about noon. The YMCA campus is quite large and it seems to be a popular place; a lot of people came in during the weekend. The dormitory accomodation was quite basic, and the bathrooms were somewhat dingy. But it was cheap, at about Rs.200 per day, including food.
There was a lovely sight near the meadows near the dormitory: a colony of Baya weavers with about 30 nests. The birds were busily building the nests, and some of the nests had two 'storeys'. We kept coming back again and again to see the weavers throughout our stay.
After lunch, we climbed the hill behind the YMCA compound. There is a trail, and the scenery was good, but the rocks were steep in some places. Good shoes are essential! The sky was overcast when we started, and before we could reach the top, it started to rain. We were drenched, and the ground was slippery, but we made it back to the dorm, wet and dripping.
The birdlife was rich, and I really wish the experts were with us. I tried to identify as much as I could, but soon I was overwhelmed by the number of different species. The red-vented bulbul seemed to be the most common bird here.
In the night, we were joined by two other MNS members, who had driven down from Madras.
Day two
=====
We decided to trek to Swamimalai, which is about an hour's climb to the top. The scenery was wonderful, and there were lots of butterflies. Sadly, there were also lots of litter, including plastic bottles, biscuit wrappers and such. There is a temple at the top of the hill, and the view from the top overlooking the forest is nice. The locals we met said there are bears in the forest, but we didnt spot any.
It started to rain again as we were coming down the hill. We took shelter under a the rocks and a tree, but the rain soon stopped. We were back at the YMCA for lunch. In the evening, some of the members went to see the town. They visited the lake and a sericulture farm. Later, before dinner, we walked to the nearby Samaritan school, a residential school. We met two students from Nepal, one of whom was joining the school. We didnt meet any other students, as it was late.
Day three
======
This was the last day. After breakfast, we explored the places in and around YMCA campus. Some of the members had an engaging discussion on various matters, while I was mainly looking around at the birds. There was a nice looking trekking trail, but we didnt follow it much, because it was soon time for lunch. The people who drove in from Madras returned back in the morning.
We started to Jolarpet to catch our train back to Madras. In summary, the trip was interesting and fun. This was my first MNS trip. The birdlife was excellent, and I wished an experiened birder were with us. The list of birds identified is given below. Note that I am no expert, and there were many I could not identify.
Birds: Baya weaver, pied bushcat, kestrel, spotted muniya, brown shrike, Indian robin, red vented bulbul, tailorbird, jungle myna, Indian treepie, barn swallow, palm swift, ashly drongo, pied wagtail, purple rumped sunbird, nightjar, spotted owlet, common iora, hawk cuckoo, shikra, scarlett minivet, bluethroat, house sparrow, Jerdons leafbird.
Curiously, we never spotted the common crow.
Tips for future visitors:
=============
Outside Yelagiri town, even small shops are scarce. So keep stocks of bottled water, medicines, snacks etc. You can however, get them in the town.
Due to the rains, the nights are generally chilly, so do take blankets or sleeping bags.
Rain wear (during this time of the year ie early September) would be a good idea.
Wikitravel also mentions that there are no fuel stations in Yelagiri, so full your fuel tanks before driving up.
More detailed instructions can be found in Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Yelagiri
Pictures
======
You can see the pictures I clicked at: http://www.lantana.tenet.res.in/~padmanabhan/yelagiri/ (may not be permanent)
Baya weaver nests at Yelagiri
posted by pappu at 8:44 AM
3 Comments:
Hi Padmanabhan
Nice summary of the yelagiri trip! Thanks.
Ambika
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