Chembra peak trekking experience

The first thing comes to my mind when we plan for Wayanad trip is trekking. I surfed on almost every website and found one common name in most. It was "Chembra peak" one of the MVP (Most Visited Place) in Wayanad.

The official timing for trekking is from 7.00 AM to 2.00 PM where they won't allow to trek after 2. We planned to start the trip by 8.00 but lazily we started at 9.30 AM. We need to complete some formalities with the forest office before entering the peak. The permit come for a price. Trekking charges for a group of 10 members cost 500 rupees. Still Camera permits cost 25 rupees per camera.  Some of  my friends start drinking water even before the trekking. It was important to conserve water and also maintain body temp. We are a bunch of 20, we carry around 6 bottles of water and snacks enough for breakfast; by the time we have reached the top, we used almost every water bottles.

It starts with a narrow lane of some 300 meters; both sides covered with green tea estates. Some little flowers have grown on either side. I pluck some of it, wondered what to do; held them in my ears. Then it leads to the slope which is where the hard part starts. The trail is little unpredictable covered with wet mud, rocks, grass and lots of leeches. I got bitten by one, so did some of my friends. The good thing about leeches is that won't hurt that much but the bad thing is it sucks our blood. Fortunately, we bring a first aid kit box along with us. We stopped to catch our breath a couple of times during our climb. It was also important not to look down. Once I did and feel butterflies in the stomach.

Climbers often believe that talking takes much energy as it was not a preferable during climbing but we strictly not followed that. We were simply hanging around, making fun of each others, snap some pictures. It was pretty cool. I read some trekkers have seen elephants, gaur and deer. The guide says he has seen tigers too on this trail. Though, I would not believe any of them till I see the wild animals with my own eyes.


In around 45 min we found a narrow area. There are 2 lakes at the top.  First one is a small puddle on our right side. The other is heart shaped and looks beautiful from the top. It was one of nature's wonders. They called it as hridayasarasu. We felt like that we have reached the Himalayas. The lake accounts for some breath taking views. On a clear day, one can see the towns of Kalpetta and Vythiri from the top. The entire trip is 3km and it was one of the greatest experience. The entire trail is a treat to the eye with soothing colors of green everywhere.