Puliyarai View Point: Scenic Pit Stop on the Tenkasi - Kerala Highway

It is the last village of the Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu before you enter Kerala. It is a beautiful village that has been blessed by nature’s bounty. It is full of exotic fruit orchards like mangosteen, rambutan, star fruit, pomelo, passion fruit, longan, custard apple, guava and many more. It is also home to gorgeously green paddy fields. And all of this greenery is surrounded by the tall mountains of the Western Ghats. I am talking about the village of Puliyarai and its two view points.



The first view point presents itself just before you enter the village of Puliyarai. Here, you can see vast swathes of paddy fluttering in the breeze and shining in the sun and in the background, you can see the massive contiguous mountain ranges of the Western Ghats. This is a massive stretch and the paddy stretches on both sides. The road is kind of like a curve and it appears after kilometres of regular highway with regular trees on both sides. Hence, the view becomes extra special. You can stop here to take a few pictures of the incredible views while you sip on some fresh tender coconut water and chomp on some locally grown delicious star gooseberries.



After this first view point, you will come to the Puliyarai village with its exotic tropical fruit stalls and once you cross these fruit stalls, you will come to the other view point of towering mountains and winding hairpin roads. From here, the actual climb begins and in a few kilometres, you will cross the Kerala forest check up, thus officially entering the state of Kerala. Both the view points before and after are sublime, but the first view point of the paddyfields, the mountains and the highway is striking owing to its panoramic nature. Don’t miss to stop at these view points if you happen to be heading from Shenkottai or Tenkasi to Kerala anytime soon. My favourite past time here is to feast on locally grown exotic tropical fruits while soaking in the lush views.



Other nearby tourist attractions:

1) Courtallam: The herbal bath holiday destination of Tamil Nadu

2) Sunderapandiapuram: A gorgeous village surrounded by sunflower fields, wind mills and the Western Ghats

3) Sivasailam Temple: 1000 year old temple surrounded by the lush mountains of the Western Ghats

4) Sivasailam: One of the wettest places during the North East Monsoon in India

5) 13th century Kasi Visvanathar temple at Tenkasi

6) Mekkarai: The lush village where paddy fields, fruit orchards and mountains merge into one

7) Shenkottai to Achankovil forest route: The lesser known scenic jungle route

8) Manalar Falls: The gorgeous forest waterfall perfect for a family getaway

9) Kambhavurutty Falls: Pristine Jungle Waterfall in the middle of dense forest

10) Thenmala forest: Offbeat nature and wildlife getaway

11) Vintage Pathimoonu Kannara Bridge: Colonial charm of the Indian Railways

12) Punalur Suspension Bridge: Historical gem of Kerala

13) Lesser known Kerala Mountain Railways: Treat for Nature Lovers

14) Aryankavu Saastha Temple: Ancient temple located in the sacred forests of the Western Ghats

15) Palaruvi Falls:Kerala’s herbal waterfall that drops like milk from the sky

16) Thenmala Dam: A monsoon pit stop view

17) Rosemala: Spectacular view point of the Thenmala reservoir

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A Jungle Safari inside Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve: A Wild Photo Story

As you know, two months back, I was exploring the gorgeous tiger reserves of Central India. In my last post about this trip, I wrote about Pench Tiger reserve, the land of Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, Sher Khan and Kaa through a wild photo story. This time, I bring to you a wild photo story from Tadoba, one of the best places to see the Royal Bengal tiger. Not only are their numbers very healthy here, the tigers are actually thriving. Hence, you can regularly see tigers and their cubs here. My previous trips to Tadoba Tiger reserve were full of wild riches as I had stayed for a good 8 to 10 jungle safaris. This time around, I got to experience the jungle only through two jeep safaris and 2 jungle treks in the core zone, but the experience was equally special. This photo series aims to share this rich and wild experience with you. Hope you like them and do stay tuned for more photos and videos from my wildlife holiday to Central India, including reviews of the awesome properties where I stayed.

Above photo: Sambar deer happen to be the tiger’s favourite prey and these sambar deer exist in healthy numbers inside Tadoba tiger reserve. No wonder, the tiger population is thriving here. These sambar deer was busy grazing in the gentle rains, when they looked up to see the people disturbing their grazing session.



Above photo: This is a fairly large monitor lizard that we spotted on the floor of the jungle at Tadoba. Usually, monitor lizards are tough to spot due to the dense grasses and thick bamboo thickets, but I guess we got lucky here.    
   
    
    
Above photo: During my stay at Tadoba, I stayed at the rustic looking, yet uber luxurious property called Waghoba Eco Lodge that is managed by Pugdundee Safaris. One of the best perks of staying here is the close proximity to the core zone of the tiger reserve. And it gets even better. You can actually trek inside this core zone in the company of a trained naturalist and track the tiger on foot. How cool and adventurous is that. This is a few hours old pugmark that I spotted during one of my such jungle treks. My naturalist told me that it belonged to a tigress and recommended that I measure its size against a standard measure and that is how I landed up clicking this picture of the pugmark against the 100 rupee note.
   
    
    
Above photo: It was raining hard and close to fifty jeeps were in the vicinity. And all of them were searching for the tigress ‘Choti Tara’ and her young cubs. Suddenly, some jeeps spotted a tiger in the bushes nearby and there was a mad rush to see the tiger. While all the jeeps were scrambling to see the tiger, news came to the guides that Choti tara and her cubs were spotted in a nearby turn and they had come out onto the jeep track. Thus, began another scramble to see the tigress and her cubs and by then the rains had begun to pick up speed again. I was holding onto the roof of the jeep with one hand and my camera in the other when the tigress and her cubs came into my view. It was a surreal sight to see the cubs moving playfully while their mother walked on the jeep track. We saw Choti Tara and her cubs for a good ten minutes before we had to make our way for the other jeeps who were waiting behind us. Such is the raw joy of a tiger safari in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.    
   
    
    
Above photo: The rains usually reduce the quality of sightings in the jungle, but sometimes they can bring out different colours in the frame. In this case, you can see the clean coats of these spotted deer against the lush green vegetation, thus offering a beautiful contrast.    
   
    
    
Above photo: This is another photo of Choti Tara, the tigress walking on the jeep track. Her cubs were playing nearby, but they are not in the frame. The safari jeep in front of the tigress had the best seat in the house and I was so jealous of them.   
   
    
    
Above photo: The paradise flycatcher bird is one of the prettiest birds in the Western Ghats of India. The female has a more ruddy look, while the male is a gorgeous white with a long white tail that looks like it floats in the air behind the bird.    
   
    
    
Above photo: This is a male peninsular rock agama in breeding colours. This shy reptile was found a few inches above the jungle floor and apparently, they are spotted often during the rainy months.    
   
    
    
Above photo: Another pretty bird of Tadoba, the Indian Pitta is made up of nine colours and hence it is locally referred to as ‘navrangi’. Despite its small size, it packs a serious punch with its vibrant colours. They usually stick to the shade of the trees, but whenever the rays of the sun fall on them, you can see their rich colours.    
   
    
    
Above photo: This is a male grey jungle fowl, that was seen crossing the jeep track. It is a brave bird and it lives in good numbers at Tadoba. Along with the deer and langurs, it gives very good alarm calls when it spots a predator.    
   
    
    
Above photo: This pretty bird called the ‘Red Wattled Lapwing’ is usually found on the floor of the jungle and close to a water body. It is known for its sharp call that sounds like ‘Did we do it?’     
   
    
    
Above photo: This photo looks like a painting. Huge numbers of spotted deer could be seen next to the lake chomping on the fresh green grass. This also happens to be the mating season for the spotted deer and you can see the dark breeding colours on the coat of the males along with their huge antlers.     
   
    
    
Above photo: This is a greater coucal bird (male) located in the high branches of a tree that is devoid of any leaves. Also, known as the crow pheasant, it is famous for its cou-cou-cou sound that is very common to hear in India during the rainy season. 
   
    
   
Above photo: This is a common garden lizard in its breeding colours. The monsoons are usually their breeding season and you can notice them by their puffed neck and the orangish head and neck. I saw them near the swimming pool area inside Waghoba Eco Lodge, a stunning property located by the core zone of the tiger reserve and one of the top resorts in Tadoba.

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