Trekking in Chinnar - Pambar Log House

Trekking in Chinnar part I : Churlipatti Log House

Riverine Trekking

To reach Pambar Log house there were couple of routes. As it was hot we chose to walk along chinnar river. One has to walk 2 kms along chinnar and come to the confluence of Pambar and Chinnar (called the Kootar),  then walk a km along Pambar to reach the log house. Hardly few meters into the path we realised we had made the right choice.

Chinnar Riverine Trekking

This riverine ecosystem with its thick vegetation and excellent bird life is in total contrast with the scrub forests and adds to the diversity of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Riverine path to Pambar Lodge

My knowledge of birds is extremely limited and it was almost non existent then. Above that I made the blunder of not noting down whatever species my guide (who was pretty good) was identifying for me. I can only recollect Paradise Flycatcher, the big brown fish owl, serpent eagle apart from drongos, ioras and orioles.

Spot the Paradise Flycatcher

It took us almost an hour to cover the 2 kms to Kootar , with us taking our sweet time spotting the birds and catching a few frames. There were some 50 school childern, who had taken the free nature camp offered by Chinnar Wildlife Sanctury, having a splendid time . But none ventured into ankle deep waters thanks to to the dozen odd buffalos (belonging to the tribals????) sitting in the water not flustered by the ruckus created by the students.

The Kootar Tree House is a very basic accommodation at a great location. To stay there, you either have to be a braveheart or you should have an iron bladder (you have to climb down to attend nature calls).

 After a short walk along pambar river and we arrived at the Pambar Log House , a luxury accomodation compared to the tree house, costing 1000 rs more and offering an attached bath :)

Pambar Log House

Our guide prepared tea for us and we rested our tired legs. Meantime our caretaker also reached there with our dinner, by a shorter route. On the way he had spotted some Indian gaurs and promised to take us there. Our guide's kid was unwell and had to be taken to a hospital 30 kms away, so he left us in the "safe hands" of the caretaker, promising to be back for the morning trek. Post refreshments(Tiger Biscuit) energized we left for our evening walk. 

Sunset from the place we were waiting for the bisons

He took us to the place from where the gaurs had been spotted  and we were disappointed not to find any. Our caretaker told us that he saw gaurs on the hill that was in front of us and mostly they should be there hidden under the trees and should come out anytime and asked us to wait. After 20 mins  a herd of 5-6 gaurs slowly started walking out of the tress, not close enough for the camera but could be easily spotted with naked eyes. 

Pambar River

Happy with the first sighting of the trip (if we can ignore the spotted deer we saw in the morning) we proceeded to our hut. There were many convenient spots to take a good bath in front of our log house and  it was very tempting. The water was not cold like chinnar's but dirty and that made us hesitate. But our caretaker convinced us to take the plunge.  After a good bath  we settled for the night. Dinner was again roti and peas masala accompanied by Tea. It was surprisingly, a very chilly night and we had a good sleep( even shiyas did :) ). Next morning we started early, our guide had not come and we had to go with the caretaker only.

A nice view from our Morning Trek

A Close Encounter (or Escape?) with the Indian Gaurs

Some 30 minutes into the trek there was a sudden disturbance and some hustling noise just a short distance from where we were standing. Even our caretaker didn't have any clue as to what it was. Deciding not to stand there we quickly moved on. When we  reached the next hill we were shocked to see a herd of gaur standing, exactly where we were when we heard the sound. We had completely missed spotting such huge creatures at so short a distance.  Being  close to the gaur is not so dangerous, as they(not the bulls) are shy  and scoot as soon as they are close to humans. But if we had wandered too close to them without us being spotted, then it could have been dangerous. Only the previous night our caretaker told us his father's story. He too was a guide/caretaker and one day while taking dinner for the guests in pambar log house around seven in the night, he walked straight onto a big bull gaur, which broke his ribs. He was completely bedridden after that accident.

Pambar river View from a hill

We spotted many more gaur on the way (all at a safe distance though :), herds moving towards pambar river.  We didn't need as many breaks as the previous day and proceeded at a decent pace. 

Another Splendid view with the inspection Bungalow on the right corner

When we were some 30 mins away from Chinnar check post our caretaker suddenly sensed there could be an elephant around. He pointed to a few broken twigs and said it must have passed recently. We fully trusted what he said as he himself was really concerned and we made haste to reach the nearest point of safety, Chinnar Watch Tower

Chinnar Watch Tower

Chinnar Watch Tower 

The watch tower offered a good view that covered a reasonably wide area, is located close to a check dam and a small pond. The check dam was dry but the pond had some water and both of them could be easily monitored from the watch tower.  Even in that time of the day we could see sambhar deer, spotted deer and a few gaurs close to the pond from the watch tower. An early morning or an evening trip to the watch tower will surely offer better sighting opportunities. 

A view from the watch tower (Check dam can be seen on the left)

After a few more shots we resumed our trek and covered the remaining 0.5 kms in quick time. We finished breakfast ,took the mobile number of our caretaker/guide and said our good byes. After two splendid days with no electricity, no connectivity, simple food, good workout and great wildlife it was time to bid farewell to chinnar. We also vowed to come back to Vasyapara hut(our original destination) during the wet season. Our trip was not over though as we had Thoovanam falls to cover. But Thoovanam merits a separate post (hopefully soon).