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Encounters in Windermere Munnar (Idukki - Kerala)

My trip to Windermere Estate in Munnar was by road after reaching Coimbatore. The way is actually a nature's cradle by itself. It crosses 2 wildlife sanctuaries - Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Well, the whole of Western Ghats is a Biological Hotspot as described by UNESCO!

There are boards of forest department every where that keeps reminding that we're inside a forest and wildlife encounters are very much possible. My onward journey was during the day time and I spotted several monkeys, ofcourse the regular Rhesus Monkeys. 
The driver who came to pick us up did inform that he spotted an elephant on his way to Kovai. Unfortunately we weren't blessed with spotting one! It is actually depressing that till date, I haven't seen an elephant in wild!!!
Just before we reached the resort, it was almost dark and in that darkness there was the majestic Anamudi, the highest peak here! 
Later in the evening of the first day, we went on the plantation walk in the property with the present owner Mr.John Simon, (btw, yeah, that's the first time I saw the cardamom plant up and close). That walk was an amazing experience. To hear to chirps of birds and flutter of leaves so loud that it negates the sound of the tea plantation vehicles, is a weird experience. In city, the noise of vehicles is so loud that it negates the chirps of birds and it was vice versa there!!!!
Looking for birds, I spotted a ant's nest or rather I'm assuming it to be. Am I right?
In the midst of the plantation are a couple of interesting spots - a shallow cave like structure with 2 boulders, a rocky terrain perfect to have a 360° view from within the plantation, a couple of streams & rivulets etc!!!

Almost towards the end of the walk, something magical happened! I spotted a couple of Malabar Giant Squirrels! The magic of spotting the Anaimudi Bush Frog or Anamalai Gliding Frog, sadly did not happen on my walk! On the morning of 2nd day, we visited Eravikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, where also I got some interesting flora & fauna encounters about which another post is coming up. With all that, I was rather happy and started my return journey. 


This time it was almost sunset by the time we started from Munnar. Guess what, I did manage to spot a family of Grey Langurs and Nilgiri Langurs on the way! It was dark by the time we entered the reserved forest area and surprisingly we managed to spot 4-5 bisons. They were indeed majestic with their humongous size and fiery eyes! 

I was in the front seat, beside the driver, coz I don't have great relationship with cars & ghat roads combo. Our driver who was a regular on that route was sharing his experiences with elephants and all of a sudden, even before I could grab the camera - a LEOPARD crossed the road!!!!!!!

 To get there:
Refer to my earlier post.

 Dedicated to Venkat

 P.S: I was invited by Windermere Estate & Resort, Munnar to stay and experience the hotel for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

21 comments:

  1. வெà®™்கட் நாகராஜ்December 23, 2016 at 7:10 AM

    Nice.....

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  2. FilipaDecember 24, 2016 at 8:53 PM

    This place looks gorgeous! And your photos are lovely too :) I would love to visit it someday. I'm glad you had fun!

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  3. Katalin @Our Life, Our TravelDecember 25, 2016 at 11:16 PM

    Are you sure that is ant's nest not a bee hive on the tree?
    So cool you've seen a leopard from close! And many other animals!
    Reminds me to my first bear encounters...they happened so fast that no chance to take pictures.

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  4. Elisabeth - Pages of My PassportDecember 26, 2016 at 1:52 AM

    Wow, this place looks beautiful! You have had some amazing encounters with animals; thank you for sharing. I would love to visit someday.

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  5. IndraniDecember 26, 2016 at 7:09 AM

    I can imagine the disappointment of not spotting the elephant your driver spotted. These journeys through the forests scares me and excites me at the same time. Good one of the Malabar squirrel. :)

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  6. UnknownDecember 26, 2016 at 8:52 AM

    Looks like an amazing journey! One day Ill make it there - And hopefully spot a Leopard myself...With the camera ready!

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  7. Fred SaidDecember 27, 2016 at 1:09 AM

    Having wild monkeys around during a hike can be unsettling. I like hiking, but if possible, no encounters with wild animals. :-)

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  8. NehaDecember 27, 2016 at 3:50 PM

    You are right - that is an ant hill. We also spotted one on way to Munnar, in a spice garden. We did the cochin-munnar route and it was equally exciting. Looks like all the routes that lead to Munnar are as stunning..feeling nostalgic reading your post

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  9. FrancDecember 27, 2016 at 10:52 PM

    That's a really wild adventure with all the animals. This would really be a great way to bond with nature.

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  10. ShubDecember 28, 2016 at 8:21 AM

    This looks like THE experience!!! Beautiful locales, animals and so much of natural beauty...refreshing!

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  11. FS PageDecember 29, 2016 at 10:14 AM

    Munnar is amazing. Not just for wildlife encounters but the landscapes and laid back feel of the place too. I was particularly fascinated by your ant nest! wonder how and why did ants chose to built their hill on a tree...

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  12. UnknownJanuary 1, 2017 at 7:08 PM

    What a great place with all that nature and animals. Looks like adventure journey!

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  13. UnknownJanuary 1, 2017 at 10:35 PM

    Nice little experience... The photos didn't do justice to your adventures! I thought if you had a video it might do better than just pictures (because some of them are blurred~)

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  14. ROBERT LEE | Amazing Life DailyJanuary 3, 2017 at 11:02 PM

    Sometimes, I wonder if it is better to leave the camera at home. Because when we are on the road traveling, we tend to focus on capturing the scenes rather than simply soaking it in, don't we? So, imagine, a leopard crossing the road... ummm, aren't leopards suppose to have spots? Anyway, it is the new year, so let's have more adventures this year than the last.

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  15. ZwitsyJanuary 4, 2017 at 7:02 AM

    Whoah, I have never been in a wild place yet. Sad to say it isn't available in our country. But anyhow, I would love to experience such too. About your encounter seeing a leopard, if I am with you, I'll surely won't get calmed. hahaha

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  16. Alberto C.January 4, 2017 at 5:01 PM

    What an incredible journey, I'd love to go deep into nature and enjoy the wild life like that! I just can't imagine what it must be to drive along and find a leopard on the middle of the road! :) thanks for the great post

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  17. StargazerJanuary 5, 2017 at 7:40 AM

    I love this trip. I really love nature and you are lucky to be able to experience this. One of the pictures does look like an ants' nest. However, it could also be a bee-like hive. I don't know. It's too far for me to tell.

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  18. Kathy BalmoresJanuary 5, 2017 at 6:16 PM

    I'll take a leopard over the elephant anytime. That must have been so amazing. I mean, a leopard. You can't get wilder than that.

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  19. sophiaJanuary 23, 2017 at 3:16 PM

    Hello Guys..
    Nice blog.. Good job.. Interesting post. Kerala is a lovely place to plan your next vacation. Thank you so much for the information. It’s a great post…I love travelling and want to travel all over the world. Explore new places, adventurous things and many more. And photographs are just amazing. Keep writing !!!

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  20. Veronica P.June 30, 2017 at 7:40 PM

    This is the place that I really want to explore. I think they have tree house hotels and the foggy jungles are amazing!

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  21. AnilFebruary 9, 2019 at 3:09 PM

    very nice article....Good photography and awesome place..

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