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Name: Chokramudi
Height: 7200ft above sea level






Location: Near Lockhart gap, Devikulam, Munnar
Distance: Around 16km from Munnar
Wildlife: Nigiri Tahr herds


Chokramudi - covered with clouds. An old photo.

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This trek requires about 2 to 3 hours to reach the top of Chokramudi peak.



Views are amazing all the way up during the trek. The terrain is challenging. Initially, it starts with a small slope of grassy area which progresses on to steep rocks. At times, challenging to climb up through rocks, if you are not having prior experience with such terrain.


I was thinking of climbing the Chokramudi for a long time. Every time I got a glimpse of it on the way to Munnar, it would rekindle the urge to climb to the top.

View from an earlier day.

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This December, I got a chance to explore. There was not enough planning, and we started from Pooppara side in the morning at 11.

Initial views of the peak.


Getting closer.




The gap road from Pooppara to Munnar is closed due to multiple land-slide during last monsoon. This is the after-effect of road-widening efforts by National Highway team.


Current condition of the Gap road.


View of gap road


A closer look at Chokramudi. This is from Khajanappara - Bison Valley route.

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We took the route through Pooppara -> Khajanappara -> BisonValley -> Gap Road.




Directions to reach the starting point of trek from the location in above picture.



The road is excellent all the way till Bison Valley post office. Google map was not showing the next turn correctly. Hence, had to look for Bison valley post office on the left before taking the turn to right from there.



At the post office, take a right to a small road that connects you to BisonValley-Gap Road stretch.


From here, the climb starts and it is mostly steep for about 5 kms. No confusions on the road once you start the climb towards Lockhart gap. Where ever there is confusion and if the fork on the road confuses you, keep left.

This stretch of road is in very bad condition now. Will need some experience to drive without getting underbody hits, if you drive a car with low ground clearance. Mostly, you will have to reverse to give side for other vehicles.

Do not expect courtesy from people coming down. They will not reverse mostly as many are new to this road and tourists getting diverted to this road accidentally to avoid the longer route from Munnar to Pooppara through Rajakkad.

Once you reach the Gap road, the entrance station for the trek is around 500 meters ahead towards Devikulam - exactly at the top of the joining between two mountains (Lockhart gap).

The trek is managed by Chokramudi Samrakhsana Samiti - approved by forest department. You have to register by paying Rs. 400/- per person for the trip. Give address, phone number etc and you will get a 500ml water bottle and a small pack of biscuit (very much needed).

Since I was not prepared (no exercises in the recent past and starts panting even after a climb of two floors through steps),I asked the guides in the ground station about the terrain and the path. According to the staff, the path is clear and mostly fine to climb. Warned that it is not possible to climb between 10 to 3.

Guides also informed that two people who attempted climb earlier on that day (they started around 10:00am) abandoned the climb half-way as it was sunny, and they could not climb.

The staff recommended climbing at around 3:00pm to minimize the effect of sun.

We were there at around 12:30 and decided to go down to Devikulam to have lunch and come back by 2:30.

Drive down to Devikulam was great. Newly widened roads. Construction is still going on.






Not many options for food at Devikulam. Many people were around, and one of the hotels ran out of food by the time we reached there! Finally, managed to have lunch from another hotel.

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Returned to the starting point of trek by 2:30pm. Completed the formalities and started the walk by 2:45pm. The guides informed that we should be able to complete the trek by 6:00pm.


There will be one guide who will walk with us.



Initially, the path was through grassy land. We climbed for 15 minutes. At this time, I could feel my heart pounding hard. Had to find a shade under a rock and sat down for 5 minutes before starting again. Taking short intervals of rest became the norm all the way to top .










The terrain changed slowly to rocks and no shades visible.




The caps that we carried became very handy as the sun was coming out occasionally from the clouds.



Steep climb on the rocks. Had to remove the shoes and carry them in my hand. Realized that we did a mistake of not taking a backpack. Trekking gear and apparel are recommended.



The climb was very tiring (thanks to the sun). Started seeing marks on the rock that read roman numerals “V”, “VI”, etc. Asked the guide and he said there is a “Kurisumala” on the way, and devotees climb this path on certain days. As per the guide, the number will become “XIV” by the time we reach the top of Kurisumala.

Okay, that gave me some idea to assess the length of the trek. But, by the time we reached the number “VII”, the climb felt never ending and the final destination didn't seem to be anywhere in the near vicinity. Had to lie down on the rock for 10 mins before proceeding.

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The climb became steeper again. Had to use both hands, both legs and even knees at times to climb up! More than the difficulty of terrain, it was the fear of height that was affecting the movement of legs. If you look down, it is very steep, and it almost felt like I was going to roll down the slope.

If you are attempting the climb, be prepared! I found it very tough to pull up 85+ kgs of bodyweight.

Somehow, with lots of huffing and puffing, we reached Kurisumala by 4:10pm. The scenery there is excellent with a good amount of cold breeze that will keep you cool.

View towards Idukki. Never ending line of mountains in the background. Photos cannot justify the views.




View towards Devikulam


View of the road towards Devikulam.

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Took rest fo 30 mins. We discussed to stop the climb there. But, the guide suggested that there is a forest walk after that point. Asked him when we would have to stop the trek up in order to reach back at starting point before dark. He said we could climb up till 5:10, and would have enough time to return safely.

So, we decided to walk further up. It was a small downward slope for 5 mins, and then we reached the forest area. The expedition through the forest reminded us of the “Temple Run” game, owing to the tree trunks which we had to duck underneath and jump over along the path. Part of the path was covered by thick tall plants on both sides which was taller than us. It was fun.



Then, we attempted to climb closer to the top again. But, the climb was again very steep and I had to call it off at 5:10pm. There was around 20 mins walk left to the very top as per the guide, however, he mentioned that the climb was going to be steep. We decided to complete that stretch next time, when we would come in the morning. The trek starts at 5:00am in the morning.

Walked back and reached Kurisumala. The golden sun about to set presented us one of the best views that we had in recent times. Though fog was covering the view of Idukki dam, the view around was worth the efforts taken for the climb.








Before the sunset, we started walking down. Saw one Nilgiri Tahr sprinting in front of us. We were excited to see one, and then a herd of 6 followed! They were there with us for half of our climb down. We didn’t realize that we reached half-way down as we had the company of the Tahrs.








Nilgiri Tahrs.


Climbing down was much easier and could reach the bottom by 6:15pm.

Overall, it was a good experience. The fees charged per head is on the higher side and the staff member's behavior is not professional at times.

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The climb’s after effect started next day. All the muscles from knee to hip were paining and could not walk properly for three days. Hence, advice is to exercise well and warm-up before starting the climb.

Key positions during the trek.


End.

[Aditya]

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