The next day we planned on visiting the Meenmutty falls. We were told that this will involve a long trek through the forest and hence we prepared ourselves accordingly. Armed with a good pair of shoes and water and juices, we started for Meenmutty falls. The entrance to the falls is tucked away in a desolate spot between lots of over growth. The small kucha road which can become quite slushy during rains takes you to a dead end from where the trek begins again. The trek to the falls is through dense forests and you are accompanied by a guide from one of the tribal communities.

There is a eco tourism committee which manages this place. The tourist infrastructure is quite rudimentary here with no specific parking or any shops selling knick knacks like in other popular tourist destinations we had seen before. It seemed like the perfect trekking hideout, calm, very infrequently visited and packed with adventure. There is no parking space here and I think not more than two cars can be parked here at anytime. I am not sure why this place is so infrequently visited, but maybe the crowds pick up in peak season. Anyways, there was a single car shed made out of thatched roof (At least, that’s what we thought it was) and paid 20 rupees for it to some lady who emerged from a house nearby. 

The area was completely desolate and there a few houses nearby, a typical scene from any village in Kerala, but as soon as we had parked and approached the barricade, a man surfaced from somewhere and introduced him. He was apparently the keeper of the barricade and informed us that we would have to buy a ticket and a guide would be accompanying us to the falls. I am exactly not sure how much I paid, so please pardon me for my faint memory.

 

Our guide, a man named James was a man in his mid forties and was stocky. But in spite of his build he was quite fit and agile. So we started our journey to the falls.

The main falls is located way below and it involves a trek through coffee plantations initially followed by a trek through the jungles. The gradient is very steep and you are climbing down for most of your journey to the main falls. The path is narrow and slippery at places. On the way you will come across many small falls or rather streams.

As soon as you enter the forest, the roar of the falls greets your ears and you know that you are in the vicinity of a powerful force.

One of these small falls was in a very shaded and secluded location, so we decided to take a dip there. We asked James to wait and took a leisurely dip. The fall was actually a fast stream which was converted into a fall by using a wide bamboo, so the pressure of the water was good and it was an interesting use of basic physics. Anyways having spent some time there, we decided that it is time to now go towards the main falls. 

The main falls is a monster of a structure with the water falling from a height of few hundred feet. The noise and spray produced by the water falling from such height is a sight to experience. We had visited this place after the monsoons; hence James explained to us that the force of the water is not so much. According to him, the falls swells us to almost three to four times its size during monsoons.  

Even though it looked ferocious, I was still determined to wade into it, so made my way through slippery rock surfaces. The way to the fall was very rocky and slippery, but thanks to my guide I managed to reach the foot of the falls.

Even in its decimated state, the force of the water was simply too great and I thought it prudent not to venture further. So I just laid there for some time, enjoying the cold water flow through me, it was an experience worth its weight in gold.

After a time that seemed like eternity, we started our way back . Since the journey till now had been downhill, it was now time to pull up the socks and walk uphill. But the cold water and relaxing environment had made me very lazy.

My wife was somehow very agile and she managed to coax me up the steep climb. I was very tired and had to stop so frequently that I thought that I must do something about my fitness. But huffing and puffing we did reach the start point in a good time.

We were both very tired and thirsty and we were looking for something cold to drink. I should really appreciate the smartness of the people there, we were instantly provided with a cold bottle of water and a rejuvenating bottle of butter milk.

After the exhausting trek, the buttermilk was simply heavenly. It was of the right consistency, had the right amount of salt and was garnished with a really good mixture of ginger and green chillies. One of the best drinks I have had to date.