Discovery- Wild walkers near Ooty

Tucked away in the folds of the Ooty mountains, a small cottage lies in the middle of a plot of farm land. The approach road to the cottage itself isn't in best shape, and it is necessary to leave your car half way and use a jeep to cross the final stretch of road. One needs to turn off the Mudumalai-Ooty road, drive across the hill slopes, past a few villages until one essentially reaches the end of the road - thats where you park, and meet caretaker Nanjun, who will take you to the cottage itself. One needs to first walk a little stretch and then climb into a jeep for a rough ride to the cottage.

After driving through Bandipur and Mudumalai, the road to Wild Walkers starts to make you wonder whether there has been some mistake in selecting the destination. There are several villages along the way, each with concrete houses more colourful and kitschy than the other. Yes, the mountain air is delicious, but you do wonder if the cottage is going to give you the privacy, peace and isolation that you have been expecting. The walk from your car to the jeep takes you by surprise, because one is not normally packed in a manner to quickly pick up bags and begin a mini hike. Even my shoes were still packed away, so I had to lug my baggage across in slippers, along with the little bags of food and other utilities we had picked up along the way. Once you reach the jeep, things start looking up, for you drive through a small tea plantation interspersed with scrub jungle, and finally you can see the trees parting ahead , which is where Wild Walkers cottage is located. The immediate area around Wild Walkers is an extension of the reserve forest, and gaurs, elephants and even bears have been spotted here rather frequently. This means that access to the cottage normally requires the caretaker to escort you, and you cannot really head out on foot on your own.

The cottage itself is a 3 bed room cottage, with each room having a separate access of its own. The common areas are all open to nature, so whether you are sitting at the dining table for a meal, or getting warm next to the fireplace, you are always exposed to the outdoors. The cottage is powered by solar power, so you can only keep 2 bulbs on at a time, and charging points for phones, cameras, tablets and every other gadget you are carrying with you need to be used sparingly. Phone are a little redundant, for there isn't enough cell phone network coverage. I would recommend putting your phone off or into flight mode, so that you can still use it to take pictures, but not drain the battery looking for network continuously.

The food is vegetarian and local, but delicious and fresh. The flavours were comforting, and there was an unlimited flow of food, tea and evening pakodas the whole time we were there. Not having electricity also means there is no water heater, so you need to tell Nanjun when you'd like to get a bucket of hot water delivered to your room.

The cottage doesn't really give you much to do either - with limited electricity, lack of network, no facility for games or music, one can be rather bored spending too much time here. But then again, this was exactly what I was looking for. All the things that I have mentioned so far may be slightly putting off for most travellers - which is why I have spoken of all this up front. If you are still reading this article, then this is when you begin to discover all the reasons why I loved this destination.

To begin with, the cottage is done up and maintained beautifully. Each room is spacious, with a view of the outdoors; bathrooms are modern and well maintained; beds are comfortable and the room is filled with curios, antique pieces and little details that reflect the taste and the attention to detail that has gone into putting the place together. Not having electricity was no trouble at all - in fact we barely even used the lights that we could, and spent our evenings by candlelight. The solar lights were used sparingly, only to use the bathroom or while we ate - and we didn't really need it beyond that. The views from the cottage are spectacular - on one side you have high mountains, in front you can see smaller hill slopes covers with jungle patches, and beyond is the valley that has the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary. Considering the amount of land we could see from where we were perched, it was delightful to also notice that in all these spaces, we could see no signs of other habitation, no other human being, no electric pole, not even a single light bulb or torch!

We could spend days hanging out on the verandahs, gazing at the view, looking at the clouds roll in and out, and watch Nanjun maintain the farm and keep the birds away from his crop. But that isn't all that we did, within an hour of reaching the cottage, we went for a little walk with Nanjun, to a lake and then to a view point, where the view only got better compared to what we could see from the cottage. Along the way we saw some gaurs on the slopes nearby, and even crossed some bear scat, which told us that the bear sightings in the region was indeed true. The next day we went for a beautiful hike up the mountain and spent some time at the peak, soaking in the air, gazing at the view, jumping in the rain and taking innumerable pictures. Words do not do justice to the place, its location, and the experience of doing those hikes in complete isolation, tucked away from the maddening traffic, crowd and construction that is Ooty.

For wildlife lovers and birders, Wild Walkers will surprise you. A pair of resident black eagles make regular rounds of the cottage, and you can watch it soar and circle and hunt and perch. Gaurs and barking deer are a regular feature from the cottage itself, it feels like you belong to the landscape for they graze and walk around without being affected by your presence. We were also lucky to have a bear digging around for termites very close to the property, and even spotted a wild cat (leopard cat) in broad daylight while we were enjoying a cup of tea. Once you realise the potential there is for a sighting right from the cottage itself, you spend the whole time keeping watch with a pair of handy binoculars.

If you are a nature lover and would give all that you've got for a few days in solitude, away from the rush and bustle of the city, then Wild Walkers is the place for you. I do not exaggerate when I say that it is remote and cut off, and that there really isn't much to do other than to enjoy the outdoors, but if this excites you, be sure to plan a trip and do not forget to take your binoculars along.

Unnatural Harmony

Over dinner with colleagues the other day, I got talking about wildlife and jungles back home. It scared them a little to know our jungles have tigers and leopards roaming freely, and wondered whether it was safe for people to be going there. The conversation led to the kind of animals one finds around these parts, and the only animal they considered dangerous here, is the wild boar. One colleague said – there are really too many of them and they are a serious problem, although fortunately they are good meat. This is the only way to control their population. I was pensive for the rest of the meal, my mind wandered off, and I was wondering how serious a problem should be that it becomes all right to eat the cause of the problem! I suppose in this case, the boars probably dug up a few roots from a garden, or made a bit of a mess – a mistake unforgivable – I don’t suppose they’d have the same reaction if their children did the same thing! So it’s not really the crime that matters, it’s the perpetuator who determines the kind of punishment deserved, and if the perpetuator is tasty – um well, there couldn’t be much argument, could there.

I always had this impression, that the developed world had more ethics when it comes to nature. They have much more compassion for pets and they like to spend their time with nature, they don’t litter – just as long as nature doesn’t inconvenience them. However, if nature turns out to be the rat in their backyard instead of a squirrel, or a wild boar instead of hedgehog, it becomes worrisome, and what is worrisome, must go. Maybe back home, we don’t care about anyone else other than ourselves, and we don’t pretend to either. Most people I know freeze at the sight of a pet, and wish all animals were always in cages or tied to a leash. Back home, a snake in the backyard is almost always killed, a person with a pet is ridiculed, and picking up trash is beneath dignity. However, there is no exception to the rule; it is like it is; no hypocrisy. So I wonder what the lesser evil is – I am sure if Europe had elephants, there would be wild elephant meat available in all traditional restaurants – unfortunately, here one has to be satisfied with only rabbit, deer and boars.

Domestic and wild together - buffaloes at a salt lick while elephants wait patiently in the darkness of the bamboo behind

I have seen a few and heard of innumerable encounters between animals that can leave one astonished. A documentary I saw, made by National Geographic, has heart rending scenes of the leopard Lakadema and the baby baboon she found after she killed the baboon mother in a hunt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpfvkeo0KBc). Equally amazing is the footage of the lioness and the baby Oryx (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svbm9Z7yoyA). I have heard of so many stories where prey and predator have been caught in the same camera frame, completely oblivious of one and another. Without human intervention, the animal world has a perfect sense of balance. A hunt is only driven by hunger, not greed. At all other times, the “lesser” creatures with “smaller” brains appear to have a perfect sense of balance in life, and can coexist with other species without rocking the boat.

Two of the most dangerous and unpredictable animals with their young ones - the bear crosses the path with her cub, while the elephant and the calf are nearby at the salt lick.

Spending a few hours, watching the jungle in complete silence, can bring one across the most amazing interactions. From the smallest to the largest, every animal appears to have its own set of things to do for the day. The birds play in the water, the deer graze, bears walk down to the stream while elephants have their mud bath. The jungle is alive and the amount of activity all around can well equal the hustle of a big city – except without any arguments and loud unpleasant noises. Not only is it difficult for people to coexist with another species, they even find a million petty reasons to fight amongst themselves, be it about language, territory, money, oil, and the list is endless. One must step back and wonder, which one really is the “intelligent” species here. It’s funny to answer the question whether people are safe venturing into a wild jungle where predators roam freely – we all know quite clearly which species is really more at risk in a man-animal encounter.