Trekking in Chinnar - Churlipatti Log House

The Original Plan

Shiyas (my friend and managing director Esteem Holidays) and I wanted to do a followup on our BR hills(hope to write on it shortly) trip. After establishing Esteem Holidays he had done a full tour of Munnar and surrounding areas and recommended Kolukkumalai Estate and Thoovanam falls. So we finalised on a trekking trip to Chinnar-Thoovanam-Munnar-Kolukkumalai.

On Feb 5th we decided to meet in Chinnar. I landed there by 11 a.m and shiyas was there on his KTM duke by 1. We were informed that there was no water in Vasyapara hut. We had to opt for an alternate accomodation or pay  for porters to carry water to the hut that was 7kms inside the jungle. We decided on taking another acco and were allocated Churlipatti Log House.

Churlipatti Log House

Churlipatti log house is 3 kms from the chinnar checkpost on the banks of Chinnar. We started walking on the forest track at around 3 p.m. towards the log house with high spirits. The spirits were immediately dampened when we saw an auto coming towards us from the opposite direction ferrying people. We looked questioningly at our guide, he reassured us that we were indeed inside the forest and that the track led to the the tribal settlement of churlipatti.

Road to Churlipatti

On our way we crossed a dilapidated building, we were told that this was a settlement earlier and the government had reclaimed the forest land.

Ruins of a church 

Shortly we reached the Log house. It was very pretty, and right on the banks of chinnar. The other side of the bank belonged to tamil nadu and there was a temple that attracted quite a lot of visitors. The log house was very basic with two cots and a few chairs and a bathroom that was just ok.

Churlipatti Log House

After a long walk in hot conditions we just sat down to relax before we started trekking. Our guides made us Katta Chaya (Black Tea) and after enough rest we went for an evening trek. As we had spent too much time resting we had just an hour before it got dark.

The time was just right for birding and we were really taken by surprise by the number of species. It was a pleasant trek with some good views of the riverine forest and the mountains beyond.

A standard photo op on this trek?

Riverine Forest contrasting with the bushes beyond

Beautiful Mountain view on the TN side

Even with the short trek testing our stamina severely, we returned back to the hut with our spirits high and had a quick dip in the chilling waters of Chinnar. The river originates from the sholas in the higher reaches hence very cold and flows with hardly any human contact (so very clean). Dinner menu was simple but tasty. Rotis and peas masala accompanied with a pot full of hot tea. We chatted for a couple of hours and then turned in for a peaceful night (atleast for me). Poor shiyas though was in for a frightful night with my snoring reaching unprecedented levels ;)

Day 2

I woke up at 6.30 but poor shiyas was still sleeping, with the rough night he had it was understandable. After taking one last look at the river and the log house, we started at around 7.30 and took a long route back to the Chinnar check post.

Chinnar view from our Log house

Saying Goodbye to Churlipatti Log House

The bird life was fantastic and the trek route was also reasonably taxing. The sun was beating down very hard and we huffed and puffed along, never missing an opportunity to stop for a breather in the name of enjoying the view.

Chinnar gave us lot of those breather oppurtunities and we were generous to ourselves and used most of them. By the time we reached the midway point we had taken close to two hours and we were at a serious risk of missing the breakfast.

Chinnar Inspection Bungalow

We decided to speed up things a bit. With the terrain all downhill and breakfast as motivation we covered the remaining stretch in 45 minutes. Just stopping on the way to see a group of spotted deer, our only wildlife sighting so far on the trip.

Change in Plan

Over breakfast i told shiyas that i wouldn't mind spending another day trekking in Chinnar instead of munnar. He also gamely agreed. Though rooms were vacant the booking has to be done through the munnar office only. As there was no signal we had to travel to amaravathy (approx 20 kms) to call Esteem Holidays. The back office guys quickly called up munnar and confirmed our bookings for Pambar Log house. We reached Chinnar, even before the munnar office could call the checkpost and confirm our bookings. We had to wait till 1 p.m. to get confirmation. We finished our lunch and were ready for Pambar.

Trekking in Chinnar part II: Pambar Log House