I recently returned to the city after a 5 day photography workshop and expedition in the Anamalais range of the Western Ghats. From the very first minute into the trip, I’ve been making mental notes on how to describe this trip to friends and family and also how to draft a write up for my blog. However, the entire experience of the trip has left me completely out of words. Yet, here I am, making an attempt to describe my experience, fully aware that I will not be able to do enough justice. This is a detailed account of the expedition and I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed re-living the trip by writing this.

I started planning this trip a few months ago when I came across a mention of this expedition on Kalyan Varma’s website. I have been an avid follower of Kalyan’s photography, his LJ and his sites. I knew that I would never be able to forgive myself if I let go of an opportunity to travel in the jungles of the Western Ghats and also learn the art of photography from Kalyan himself. Having nominated myself for the trip, Kalyan’s email on the finalized dates came as an alert to me as I was yet to purchase an SLR for the trip. Based on Kalyan’s suggestion, I landed at Jayesh Mehta’s store and purchased my Nikon D90. This is also the only time ever that blowing up my bank balance brought me so much happiness

I left for Coimbatore on the night of 18th with my camera equipment and all my rain gear packed up. Since this trip was going to be with a group of people I had never met before, I had received ample amount of warnings and suggestions from family and friends on how to be safe and how to judge people (my failure rate is quite high with this judging part!). I know their intentions were in my best interest, but once I got back, I ensured to tell each one of them about the people I met there and how they got worried unnecessarily. One of the participants in the expedition, Sumeet, traveled in the same bus as me. Kalyan picked us up personally from Coimbatore. After a quick stopover for breakfast at Pollachi, where we met Dilan Mandanna (Mandy) and the rest of the group, we were headed to our destination – Valparai in the Anamalais range.

Day — 1
Driving through the well-laid TN state highways, Kalyan mentioned that he has made a list of 12 Hotshots which are the most special species from the Anamalai hills. Our job was to spot and photograph each one of them. We were around the 4th hairpin bend when we spotted a hunting party (mixed flock) and a mighty Crested Hawk Eagle in the dry bushes. The Scarlet Minivet was the first Hotshot we spotted there. Up on the 9th hairpin bend, we got off the vehicles to look for the endangered Nilgiri Tahr which has made these grassy peaks its home. We were lucky to spot two adults and a calf high up on the hill, however, the distance didn’t let us photograph them. But luck got luckier when we spotted two adult Tahrs engaged in a mock fight bang in the middle of the road. They gave us some lovely poses and the happy group clicked away. We also managed to provide some entertainment to the locals sitting by the roadside who must have thought we were crazy to photograph animals they see on a daily basis. How I wish they knew they were really lucky to see these endangered endemic species in their habitat every single day.
Other Hotshots we spotted on the way up were the Indian Giant Squirrel, the Nilgiri Langur and the critically endangered endemic primates – Lion Tailed Macaque (LTMs as they are lovingly called). The fact that we could spot 5 Hotshots even before we reached Valparai gave us an idea of how rich the biodiversity of this land is. We also spotted a group of female Gaur on the way up. A couple of road kills on the way were stark reminders of the human invasion of their habitat. One of the road kills was a Pit Viper and was a part of the Hotshots list.
The beautifully laid out tea estates covered with mist and clouds add to the beauty of these hills. They are also the reason why the forests have been cut short in these parts. As much as these tea estates add to the beauty of the valley and bring in revenue, they have destroyed the forests here. Forest patches have also been replaced by Eucalyptus plantations, which again bring in money. They do not suit any animals or birds. Animals are forced to interact with humans in such habitats and human-animal conflicts almost always result in some kind of loss for both parties.

40 hairpin bends up, and we were in Valparai. The group was put up in rustic English bungalows in the middle of the beautiful Parry Agro tea estate. The bungalows were over 70 years old and well managed. They also had the best cooks and care-takers. In the days to come, we realized how rich the estate was in terms of the bird population there. The birds we spotted in the estate during the length of the trip were – Malabar Whistling Thrush, White Cheeked Barbet, Lesser Coucal, Oriental Magpie Robin, Red Whiskered Bulbul, Common Myna, Common Hill Myna, Plum Headed Parakeet, Flame Backed Woodpecker and the Streak Throated Woodpecker.

After a yummy lunch and a much needed nap, we headed out to visit a rain forest restoration plot created and managed by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). NCF has invested a lot of time and effort in restoring forest plots to assist animal movement in these hills. We met Divya, Sridhar and Anand who shared with us a world of knowledge about rain forest plants and their relationship with the animals there. We spotted some birds that evening – Malabar Grey Hornbill, Rufous Babbler and Malabar Parakeets. We also saw a Barking Deer in the distance.

My first day in Valparai also brought in my first ever encounter with the infamous Leeches which are widely prevalent in these rain forests. My first reaction to a leech trying to climb up my ankle was total panic and fear. Someone from the group gallantly pulled it off and then I turned into an over-cautious leech inspector. We were armed with leech socks for the next two days and eventually I just stopped worrying about them. I am proud (and not so proud) to say that I didn’t get a single leech bite throughout the trip. Though I suspect they didn’t like my blood, I should also give myself enough credit for always brushing them off at the right time.

The group was usually split into two and both groups took turns traveling with Kalyan and Mandy. The night was spent driving around the hills with Mandy looking for the Large Brown Flying Squirrel. It is a nocturnal animal that sits camouflaged high up in fruit-bearing trees. The only way to spot it is by looking for its shining eyes which light up when torches are flashed up in the trees. We found several squirrels but were not able to photograph them as Kalyan was far away with the other group and none of us could figure out the right camera settings. Two Sambar Deer grazing by the side of the road gave us company for a while. Kalyan and group also spotted a lone tusker. After a short bout of rain, we went around looking for frogs when Kalyan heard a Leopard call. We waited around for a long time but the elusive cat didn’t make an appearance. Following frog calls led us to an Anamalai Gliding Frog sitting in the bushes. This frog hasn’t been photographed much and is endemic to the Anamalais range. After taking record shots of the frog, we decided to retire for the night. Driving back to the estate, we spotted a majestic Brown Fish Owl sitting on a culvert.

Day — 2
Though Kalyan had described the melodious tunes of the Malabar Whistling Thrush, also called the whistling schoolboy, none of us were prepared for the actual experience. We woke up in the morning to a magical whistling tune and all of us assumed that its a very happy estate worker whistling away during his chores. When we realised the music was created by a tiny bird that resembles a crow, we were dumbstruck. We spent the next 4 days trying to listen to its call, enjoying it thoroughly and photographing the bird of course. One of the best memories I have of this bird is when Shiva, a fellow participant and me headed out one evening to photograph birds in the estate. We kept following a Thrush and realized that the bird had company somewhere in the distance. Standing right in the middle of two birds, we were treated to a musical concert while both the Thrushes kept whistling to each other. I wonder if they were telling each other how their day went! On this day, we headed out to the Manamboly forest range, which is one of the best protected rainforest spots there and is excellent for bird sightings. Passing through the Puduthottam estate, we were greeted by dozens of LTMs which live in the jack fruit trees by the side of the road. This is also the only place in the world where these primates can be observed and photographed at such a close range, simply because they are used to us humans staring at them. Of course, they also attract a lot of noisy, insensitive morons (gay virgins – as Kalyan likes to address these types) who like to tease them.

To handle these so-called ‘tourists’ and to track the LTM movements, NCF has appointed full-time guards. Other species spotted on the way were – Black Eagle, Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater, White Cheeked Barbet, Stripe Necked Mongoose (endemic to the Anamalais), Lesser Coucal and the White Throated Kingfisher.

Driving and walking in the Manamboly forest stretch was one of the best day trips of this expedition. It gave us a golden chance to understand and experience evergreen rain forests, first hand. This forest is a work of art. It is so beautiful that every view has a photographic quality that cannot be ignored. A dry log which housed hundreds of pretty mushrooms, colourful leaves, tall evergreen trees, rare bird species, butterflies and dragonflies – these were the things that greeted us at every step. We also photographed another Hotshot – Impatiens Flowers – some of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. With constant guidance from Divya, we were able to identify and understand hordes of plant, insect and animal species. This is also where we spotted a Hotshot – the Great Hornbill.
I will never forget the whoosh-whoosh sound made by the colourful, giant bird when it flies. I have to agree with Kalyan when he says that the beauty of this bird is when it flies and not when it sits up in a tree. We stopped for lunch at the electricity board’s scenic guest house where we spotted the Lesser Fish Eagle. All the bird books claimed that it is only found in the North-East, but we were amazed to spot the magnificent bird here. Other birds spotted in the day – Dollar Bird, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Emerald Dove, Black Drongo, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo and Oriental Honey Buzzard. A couple of us spotted a Hotshot – Malabar Trogon, but were not able to photograph the beauty.

The find of the day was when Divya heard the call of the rare Wynaad Laughing Thrush. The bird is extremely shy and very tough to photograph. While we all stood on a culvert and watched the bird hop around inside a bush, Mandy decided to get a record shot. His never-give-up attempts only lead him to a Rufous Babbler hiding in the same bush but we came back with some lovely memories of the incident.
That night we headed out again to photograph a Hotshot – Brown Palm Civet – but the shy animal eluded us completely. We didn’t know yet that we were going to see one of the most memorable sights of the trip. Walking down the road, we saw a horde of Flying Squirrels sitting quite low down in the trees. All of us took turns using the external flashes to get proper shots of these squirrels as it is crucial to get ample amount of lighting. Also, we could not flash more than 2-3 times to ensure that the animal doesn’t get blinded or stunned. Kalyan pointed out that one of the squirrels was sitting on a fruit-less tree so it would have to glide over to another tree for food. True to his words, with a bunch of LED lights lighting up the sky, the squirrel made a mesmerizing glide from a tree at one end of the road to the other. There was absolutely no sound in the squirrel’s glide. As my eyes followed the glide, I couldn’t help but admire what a great creation that animal is. Once it landed, I realized that all of us had unanimously decided to drop the cameras and just devour the beautiful sight instead. Nothing in the world could have stopped our exuberant babbling after a sight like that.The merry crowd returned to the bungalow, thrilled to bits.

(To be continued)