Anaimalais Rainforest Expedition – Valparai

At 5:30 a.m, we depart from the city of Bangalore, on our much awaited tour of the Anaimalais.  After passing through the towns of Salem, Coimbatore and Pollachi we  soon find ourselves ascending the hills. The view gets more and more stunning by the second and there are several opportunities en route to stop and capture some amazing vistas. Chances of sighting and photographing the endangered Nilgiri tahr, too, are very high.

Following an invigorating ride, we arrive at The Puduthotham Bungalow, a quaint British bungalow situated in the middle of a coffee estate and close to fantastic shola forest. We check-in and while enjoying a scrumptious lunch, camp leaders Phillip Ross and Samantha Ross will introduce the participants to the Anaimalais with a brief on the wildlife found in the area, the afternoon’s plan and also a presentation on the ideal settings for their cameras.

Later that evening, we proceed to a private forest patch that is home to two troops of lion-tailed macaques. We keep our eyes peeled and hope that the macaques reveal themselves without much difficulty. This area is also known for its amazing birdlife too and gives us a good chance to spot the great Indian hornbill.

After an exhilarating experience with the macaques, we return to the bungalow and learn how to set up and deploy a camera trap in order for us to capture some of the Anaimalais nocturnal wonders.

We soon gather around a campfire for a presentation on composition, review photographs and discuss animal behaviour and the plan for the next day.

We end the night with a session of entertainment followed by a delicious dinner.

DAY 2:

We awake to the sweet call of ‘the whistling schoolboy’ the Malabar whistling thrush and after a quick breakfast, we embark on a walk around the property and do some birding. The Anaimalais are one of the best places in the Western Ghats for birding and the area has over 250 species of avian wonders, most of which are endemic to the region. We end the walk at a beautiful waterfall at the edge of the property and participants will be taught how to use filters and learn to take slow-shutter images and capture the ‘milky effect’ of a waterfall.

We return to the property for some refreshing beverages and snacks before Phillip introduces the wonderful world of macro photography to the participants.

We then prepare to set out for the much awaited late evening walk where Phillip will lead all participants to a brook and begin exploring for various macro subjects. We have a great chance to come across various bush frogs, gliding frogs, lizards, spiders, caecilians, beetles, centipedes and an array of insect life. With regards to mammals, we hope to come across some rare nocturnal inhabitants of the rainforest like porcupines, brown palm civets and Indian flying squirrels.

DAY 3:

We wake early and return to the lion-tailed macaque forest patch for another rendezvous. We spend most of the morning observing and photographing these magnificent animals before driving to an absolutely stunning view point. Here each participant can get a panoramic view of the Anaimalais and take home some breathtaking landscape images.

After lunch, we depart to a patch of evergreen shola forest known for its rich birdlife. We concentrate on looking for the great Indian hornbill and hope to see and photograph hornbills flying over the canopy of rainforest.

It is likely to be dark by the time we return, which is a great time for frog encounters and hope to come across some more cool endemic species.

We end the night with some games and a celebratory dinner.

DAY 4:

After an early rise, we bid adieu to the Anaimalais and descend the hills looking for wildlife as the morning-light fills the surrounding hills and valleys.

We halt for breakfast and lunch stops along the way before driving back to Bangalore, where we are sure, your child will be waiting to tell you some fascinating tales.