Our first stop was at Thiruvannamalai -The Gopuram of the Holy Arunachaleswar Temple at Thiruvannamalai
base of the gopuram
Parvadha Malai...here we come....
another long distant shot...
We were passing through this town called Kadaladi on route to parvadha malai. The preparation for Jalli Kattu was in full swing... but we cud'nt stay back to see the action as we were running short of time.
"Mr. Kadaladi"
all getting ready for the show.
Get hold of me and you can take all the colorful clothes on my head...that's the prize for the one who tames this bull....
Ready or not...Here I come..
Oram po! Oram Po!
"Anna! Engala Oru photo pudinga anna! "
woof! woof! ...cute lil pup!
Let's go ppl! that's our innova cruising all the way to parvadha malai...
At the base of parvadha malai....
hmmm...are we ready to climb the 3000ft and odd hill?
We are!! Our trek starts right frm here. The one in the red shirt is our guide. Did u notice the dog at the bottom that is also our guide. The dog( said to be the follower of Bhairavar) will accompany frm the bottom of the hill till the top on its own. In case if you get lost or losing your path , follow the dog and you will reach the top.
Here we go!
walking...walking...
still a long way to go....
Veerappan and his aides....most part of the path is covered by shrubs and herbal plants.
Hmm....we are getting closer.
Resting after a tiresome 1 1/2 hr walk...
Nature shots.....
another one...
walking n walking.....
contd......
scenic view......
everything looks beautiful from the top...
Can u see that building , It's an ashram run by a yogi called Mouna Yogi.
keep walking guys we have to reach top before it's get dark.
path side stall. These stalls comes up during the weekends. We rested here for a while. The shop keeper gave fresh lime soda.....we really needed that!! It was so refreshing!
Our guide stops here. From this point it lead us to the rock where our climbing skills are put to test.
The sign which shows they way to the hill top.
Dnt ask me wat i was doing...I askd my frnd (mani) to take the picture me and the bell...but he ended up cliking this :). Mani....naa unna "Mani (bell) oda eduda nu sonnen"
b/w shot of the shop
shop owner Mr.Pachaiappan a.k.a. Green Father
scenic view.....
it's a beautiful sight to see the sun setting down....
again another one.
hmm looks like we are nearing the top.....the mist and clouds start gathering ard the neighbouring hills.
zimbly.....
zimbly part 2......
wow!!
can u believe that we came through those road to reach here.....
remains of the fort wall at the top.
These guys were thinking "Is this how we have to climb the top?"
Yippee!! we have made it to the main place of this hill. This is the entrace through which we have to reach the top.
Can u see the crow bar and chains along the Trishulam and Vel? You have to climb the rock face by holding on to them. But how?
This is how we do it......
look ma!! This is how i climbed the rock! :p
it got more exciting as we kept climbing up.... crowbars and chains all the way up!
whoooo hooo!!
You can find step etched out on the parai(rock) at some places. But it's the gadapar (Crow bar) and the chain that gives you the hold all the way up.
and steel ladders at certain point.
we are nearing the ashram.
Mr. Bell a.k.a Mani
Arvind a.k.a Director :p fondly called by the bunch....as I had to interrupt them constantly for taking the snap.
can u see a tiny lil man sitting next to the Vel at the top?
This is one of the passage buit by the ruler. This comes at the landing on route to the top.
same again...
b/w effect
again b/w.....
Pillayar etched in one of the pillars inside the passage.
ppl climbing dwn frm the top
almost near the ashram!
Wow!! Look at the road this reminds me of seeing the map in google earth or wikimapia...
It was a really a sight to see the sun set amidst the hill top.
too gud!!! I'm enjoying this!!!
almost there....keep climbing...
that's srini....
hmm....
it's started getting cold up there....
ah....finally reaching the destination.....
Hi ppl!!
Bliss attained!
This is the first place where Lord Shiva stepped when he came to earth.
simply serene..........
wow!
keep coming guys...we are almost there!
see the backdrop...jst thrilling!
That's the temple!
This is the ashram which were seeing for quiet sometime frm the bottom. Now here is something i wud like to share with you ppl. This 2 storeyed building with each floor coming abt 1200 sft was built with cement,water,steel rods which were transported through the same route we came by!!!! The ashram pays the person who carries the load upto the top for one cement bag they give the person a coolie of 60-70 Rs. Similarly basic needs like water,food,gas cylinder is being transported by the same route. There is no provision for you to rope it to the top because of the uneven terrain!
The big Trishulam at the top.
Inside view of the ashram and that is the picture of the Mouna Yogi.
This where we slept in the night . The ashram provided us the food ,bed sheet and blanket for the night stay. The hospitality was very gud. We were lucky as the guy who took know the people in the ashram pretty well. Else we would have ended up in staying in the open for the whole night!
Next day morning 5.30 AM , we decided to start descending down, but whn i stepped all i cud see is just white wall around me there was no visibility after few meter and it was biting cold!! brrrrrrrrrr....
another shot...see the next one u will get an idea of what i was saying....
Ma!! Its all cloud around us!! I touched the cloud! :p
At 6 AM we got ourselve ready for descent....
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....
clouds/mist all around you and not to forget abt the cold winds!
all in "sleep" mode....
same here.....zzzzzzzzzz
and now that's better!
Mr. Bell again!
Mist....jst mist.........
mist again
Whoooo Hooo!! I'm the happiest man in the world!!! How romantic!! :p
Our first visitor while descending....
We had to carry the pori (rice puff) to the keep the monkey away from attacking us. The guide took care of them. These monkey will try snatch away the food we have.
monkeys feasting on the pori.....
circa 2007
Mr. Bell? What are you trying to do? :p Mr.Bell was trying the enact Jyothika in the song "O! Sona....I luv u luv u da" .... Not bad Mr. Bell!
These are steel bridges..we crossed this.....the route is just the same for climbing up and down...one man at a time in a single row.
Ah! now i can see everything clearly......
This is a steel ladder the girders looks like a railway track....
almost down......
Mr.Zambath a.k.a Sampath thanking god for returning down safely.
Mr. Bell trying to lift Mr. Willy....
Mr. Bell wants to dive down frm the top.....
This lil pup is too busy sleeping....
In deep thought.......
clicked while descending down....
Hmmmm...Did I go up there yesterday?
Panoramic shot.
This is the bunch who made it all they way there! Left - Right : Manikandan(Mr.Bell), Jayavel (Our Guide from Kadaladi), Stalin(Car Driver), Willaim, Sampath (Zambath) and Srini
This is the bunch who made it all they way there! Left - Right : Manikandan(Mr.Bell), Me, Stalin(Car Driver), Willaim, Sampath (Zambath) and Srini
This Pachaiamman Koil at Kadaladi at the base of the hill...
The colorful Ayyanars(Protector of the village)....Mr.Bell unakku arul vantha mathiri adrey?
Ayyanar again....
Ayyanara illa Maniya?
Only Ayyanars.....
Our faithful innova which made our travel trouble free......very relaxing ride...saw Anniyan and Sachin during our travel.... :)
