Nelliyampathy – amongst the clouds

While I went in search of mountains, mist and forests to different parts of the world, I was guilty of overlooking a tiny hillock nestled neatly into a corner just two hours away from my home.

Nelliyampathy - a destination long forgotten and never explored - we picked this destination amongst the restrictions of pandemic, rains and bad roads. So after what seemed like a lifetime, here I was planning, debating, researching and packing for a trip out in the open….

We loaded our cars with goodies, family members, very little expectations and lots of vacation joys and set off into the hills. And that was also the opportune moment for the rains to join our little family picnic. Since we got into the car till we reached uphill, the rains followed us  - sometimes tame, sometimes coy, sometimes throwing boulders of water at us and sometimes throwing a fit of fury. And the rains then brought in the mist into the mountains – holding hands with the rain sometimes, throwing its white carpet over the mountains another and adding to the charm and beauty to the drive up the hills.

Waterfalls greeted us at every bend and curve up the road –some tame, some wild, some silent and some loud and after a while, we lost count of how many we had witnessed till we reached the little junction of Nelliyampathy ‘town’. And the little hillock’s junction and its (lack) of bustling commercial activity was a surprising end to our drive - it was unlike any hill station 'town squares' that we were accustomed to..A tiny little junction dotted with few tea stalls, essential stores, a few ‘homestays’ and an array of jeeps – that summarizes the extent and end of Nelliyampathy town square! Here was a place so devoid of the commercial buzz of souvenir shops, tourist guides and restaurants and hang-out places! A few steps more and the entire place unfolded itself – a beautiful canvas of tea plantations, mountain peaks and sleepy homes!

The foggy evening slowly set into the hills and we enjoyed the cold, the joy-riding, the exploring and downed it with a cuppa that was served by a smiling local tea stall owner! By dusk, the locales had retreated, the dark fog took over and we hesitantly returned to our guest house – a dwelling with a fancy name but did not live upto it’s name with its ‘less-than-fancy’ facilities! But when you are blessed with the misty mountains outside; and a packed group of uncles, aunts, cousins, kids and loads of food inside, your spirits are elevated and the mood of the hills completely takes over!

While rains, news of flooding and landslides disrupted our morning trekking plans, we still put on our walking shoes to explore the winding roads of tea plantations, stunning views of mountains and waterfalls that the local guest house person kindly guided us through. As we took in the views of clouds and skies - painted in whites and blues that were never seen before, we also encountered tiny little leeches that creeped into our skirts, legs and shoes! As we were grappling with the horror, the locales offered an easy solution to the menace – spraying a few drops of sanitizer – little inventions of COVID-era..! A tiny detail that was overlooked in the planning was the abundance of leeches at Nelliyampathy - they creeped through from tea bushes, tagged along into the guest house and after a while every creepy, wet tingle on our skin led us to frantically search for leeches!

Another downpour and more news of flooding reached us as we hastily made our descent into the plains. The roads snaked through the Pothundi dam where we had a good laugh watching a monkey relishing a cone of ice-cream (perils of junk food impacting animal kingdom as well) and it was destination home in a few minutes..the clouds and the spirit of the Nelliyampathy hills coming home with us..not to forget the little fear of leeches that we encountered for the first time at Nelliyampathy!