Kurangani-Kolukkumalai-Meesapulimala Trekking

About Kurangani:

Kurangani, a remote village nestled in sylvan surroundings on the Western Ghats at Kottakudi village, in Bodi near Madurai & Dindigul. This region remains an unexplored tourism spot and there are a few trek routes available in this area.

We reached Dindigul early in the morning (3:45 AM) from Chennai by Peal city express and reached the bus stand to catch the bus to Kurangani Village via Theni, Bodi. The connectivity to Kurangani in the early morning is a problem and the frequency of the bus service is limited and there is no proper information available at the inquiry point.

We reached Kurangani via Theni, Bodi at 9:30 AM in the morning and had a nice bath at a silver stream at the top of the village known as “Peria Samblai River”. We have finished the breakfast near the stream and started our trek to Kolukkumalai at 10:15 AM. Our team consists of 12 members including our guide. Since our journey to Kurangani was delayed by a couple of hours, we started to trek in the hot sun and had to consume a lot of water. Typically conserving water for the very end of the trek is the key to successful trekking experience.

There are four trekking routes in Kurangani. One, of course, to Top Station (12 km); and the second, a slight diversion to Mel Muttam (14 km). There's a rope car way which became defunct in 1972, but its abandoned pillars still stand majestically in the mountains. It is now an active site for film shooting.

The third route is Pulikuthi, a 20-km trek suitable for bird-watchers, and, the fourth is a precipitous ledge atop Kurangani called Kolukkumalai, considered one of the highest tea estates in the world at a height of 8,782 feet.

Whichever direction you choose, you are bound to walk through lush plantations of teak, eucalyptus, arecanut, silk cotton, jujube, acacia, bamboo, coffee, banana, mango, sapota, plum, orange, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, pomegranate, carrot, tapioca and cashew nut.

Out of these four routes, we have selected to trek to Kolukkumalai from Kurangani as our first trek in this area without knowing the difficult level of the trek. We have planned this trip two months in advance and booked tickets to Dindigul and back to Chennai. It may be a good idea to reach Madurai for more connectivity and availability of more quota of train tickets.

As we trek, we will be able to see Kurangani village below from the hill. The trek route is reasonable and some places are hard to climb. One should consider preserving water and retaining the same during the whole trek is a must as there is no way of getting water in the trek route. Few streams are dried up due to monsoon failure during this year. This trek is low to high level of difficulty having broader routes near the village and narrow routes at the end of the trek route. We reached the Single tree peak after three hours of trekking.

Although, Kurangani Hill is near Theni and Kolukkumalai Hills -- the highest hills for tea plantation in the world at an altitude close to 8,000 feet --- the place is still not known in the tourism circuit. However, several foreign tourists do come here and spend their time enjoying the nature. Some nature lovers within the state also frequently visit Kurangani Hills for trekking and other related activities.

Many film-makers too have been charmed by the nature here. Tamil films such as Alagar Samiyin Kuthurai, Myna and Kumki were shot on this Hills. The best months to explore the Hills are between August to December.

Frequently changing weather, low-hanging clouds, chilly atmosphere and strong winds coupled with wide range of flora and fauna are the things to enjoy in the hills. One can spot Indian guars, barking deer, langurs, wild cats and birds. However, the villagers warn about the presence of leopards and tigers. But we couldn't spot any wild animals except wild chicks, and birds.

How to Reach:

• From Chennai: Via train to Dindigul or Kodi Raod and take a bus to Bodi which is 16 km away from Theni, connected by frequent bus service
• 15 km road connecting Kurangani and Bodi
• Transport available from Bodinayakanur

Our Trekking Experience:

1.        Kurangani-Kolukkumalai:

Our plan was to reach Kurangani in the early morning and start trekking immediately after finishing bath and mild refreshments.

There are three major points and difficult level during this trial:

1.   Kurangani – Single Tree Peak (Low - Medium – High) – 2-3 Hrs

2.    Zig-Zag Trial  till Solai(Green Tree Area) – High – 1-2 Hour

This trek area consists of a Zig-Zag route without any tree cover towards Solai. One has to cross all these curves to reach the uphill. This area was very sunny during the day, we have crossed this area between 1-3 PM which was very tiresome and we consumed a lot of water. 

We have seen most of the green grass in this area was destroyed by wildfire reported here last month. One has to take all necessary steps to avoid using fire during the trek in the forest area to conserve forests and its vegetation. Forest fire is also known as wildfire. It may be caused by intentional, accidental or natural factors. It is defined as the result of both constant and variable fire-danger factors, which affect the inception, spread and damage extent of a fire.

Forest fires cause enormous damage during April-July every year in several parts of the country depleting precious forest cover and destroying a rich variety of flora and fauna including several species of rare plants and animals.

The indigenous people however, understood how fire supported jhum cultivation [slash and burn agriculture], converting organic residues into fertilizer, maintaining woodlands and prairies as grass, assisted hunting, cleansed the soil of pathogens and supported foraging for flowers, bees, tubers, and herbs. Fire sustained metallurgy. Fire kept tigers and other wild animals away from villages.

3.     Solai to Kolukkumalai (Medium – High) – 2-3 Hrs

This area consists of 48 curves towards Kolukkumalai. One has to cross all these curves to reach the uphill. The weather is chill and the trek is moderate to heavy with narrow roads in some places.

After crossing Solai, we reached Kolukkumalai in the evening. We were welcomed by cool breeze and tea plantations. We had a taste of the Kolukkumalai tea at the tea outlet in the tea factory. We have also arranged the factory visit to know the tea processing method employed here.

Points to remember:

1.      This trek is not for fresher and persons having health issues
2.      This trek requires lot of efforts to climb uphill and keep your backpack light

3.      One need to keep plenty of waters and other energy boosters

4.      Avoid using plastics and don’t litter the trek route

5.      Avoid using fire, this may lead to wildfire

About Kolukkumalai:

Kolukkumalai plantation at an elevation 6675 to 7980 feet is said to be highest orthodox tea manufacturing plantation in the world. Orthodox or the traditional method of tea manufacture, used since the 1800s till around 1930s, results in a unique brew. The process is labour-intensive and so during the early 1900s, to meet the growing demand for tea, factories began to adopt the quicker and cost-effective crush-tear-curl (CTC) method of tea manufacture.

Orthodox tea refers to either hand-processed tea or tea that is rolled with machinery in a manner that mimics hand-rolling. Most specialty tea is made with orthodox production methods. The opposite of orthodox tea is CTC tea, which is machine-processed in a way that chops the leaves into uniformly-sized bits that are typically used for low-grade teabags. Orthodox tea is generally known for being more nuanced and complex than CTC tea. All whole-leaf tea is made with orthodox production methods.

Kolukkumalai estate has a small two-storied factory which was built in 1930 by the British still retains its original wooden panelling, staircases, flooring, rafters and machinery. But the process of orthodox tea making itself is fascinating. Withering, the first process, involves spreading cleaned tea leaves over a withering trough with a mesh bottom. Through this, hot air and cold air are alternatively blown using high velocity fans and the leaves end up losing over half of their moisture. A rolling machine then twists and crushes these withered leaves, and during this second process juices containing tannins, caffeine and other components are released, coating the entire tea particles.

Then the leaves are sent for fermentation, which exposes the rolled leaves to air resulting in oxidation. This step determines the color, flavor and aroma of the leaves. Next, the leaves are passed through a dryer machine and then dried leaves are sent to the fibre extractor which removes from them all fibre and waste and cleans the tea.

Finally the black tea leaves are sent to the grading machine, which separates the tea based on the size of the tea particles. The end products are tea leaves which fall under the four primary categories of leaf, broken, fanning, and dust; each with a different size and possessing a different flavour.

We learnt that while at its peak the factory employed over 350 workers, today its distant location worked as a disadvantage causing people from the local Kothagudi village to move to the city. As of then the factory employed only 20 workers and 80 people worked in the fields for cultivation.

Alternate way of reaching Kolukkumalai (By Jeep):

The best way to get to the estate, located 38km from Munnar, is to drive up to Chinnakanal from Munnar; it takes about an hour. From there, jeeps can be rented (Rs 800-1000) to make the steep two-hour drive up the plantation hills right upto the Kolukkumalai estate. The Tea Factory Visit includes a tour of the factory and tea. Open Mon-Sat 7am-6pm. Fee: Rs100 per adult, children free. Contact: Manager, Kolukkumalai Tea Estate (04546-283563).

After visiting the tea factory, we reached the camping site by jeep which above the hill and scenic place where all the arrangements like staying, refreshments, food etc. , were made for the team by Jogesh and his team. We stayed in the tents during the night which was very chill.

Next day morning, we reached the other side to see the sunrise at the view point area. After this nice view, we trekked to Meesapulimala.

2.        Kolukkumalai-Meesapulimala:

Meesapulimala is a peak in the High Ranges of Idukki district in Kerala. Standing at an elevation of 2640 m (8661 feet), it is the second highest peak in the Western Ghats. According to the local people there, the far view of this hill resembles the face of Tiger. Meesapulimala trekking is little bit a more tough task than the other hills. Meesapulimala- one of the most beautiful and adventurous place in southern Kerala. This beautiful hilly area, surrounded by the thick forest and thick shrubs is well-known for the adventurous trekking and its own wildlife.

The trek started at 7AM in the morning and only four people from our side reached the peak and returned at 1 PM. We have returned to Kurangani by Jeep via Suryanalli and reached Kurangani village in the night. We had a home stay arrangement at Kurangani and dinner and breakfast in the next morning was arranged by Yogesh.

For the trekking and home stay at Kurangani, please contact:

Mr. Yogesh [+91 9787019675; +91 9245963375]