Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary

Chimmini – A Treasure Trove of Kerala

It had been a hectic week at my office in Bangalore. Weekend was approaching and I was searching for the weekend travel options in the Sanchari Travel Forum and other online travel groups.

I was leisurely going through Facebook, and this post from a guy from Angamaly struck me. Trek to Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary and one day camp starting from a hotel near Cochin International Airport! What can a techie sitting in Bangalore, having just 2 days’ time for a rejuvenation in the weekend before getting back to office on ask for! I quickly took the guys phone number – his name was Rijo.

I dialled his number and got a hello from him. On my conversation, I got to know that he was the tour coordinator and caretaker of Bluebell Airport Hotel in Cochin. He said that the hotel was a perfectly laid budget, yet luxury hotel hardly 500 metres from the Cochin International Airport.

I arrived at Cochin Airport in the morning by 10:00 a.m. from Bengaluru and Checked-in at the hotel by 11:30 a.m. after a delicious Kerala Breakfast with Puttu and Kadala Curry.

To cater for the rejuvenation and sightseeing requests of their guests, the hotel management has been organizing trips like the one to Chimmini and elsewhere for the past one year.

I freshened up and had a short nap before setting out to explore the life of Cochin. Ajith had arranged special attention from the hotel for me. Ajith was well connected with the owner-manager of the hotel, Mr. Jose. I had ringed up Mr. Jose and informed him about my arrival at the hotel. He was out somewhere are promised to get to the property before I woke back from my nap.

I was pretty convinced by the words of Rijo. He also shared me the photographs of previous trekking via WhatsApp. The photographs just awed me and momentarily confirmed my trip. I booked my accommodation at the Bluebell Airport hotel for 2 nights for Friday and Saturday. By Sunday evening, I shall head back to Bangalore. Rijo also promised me to make all the necessary arrangements for the trekking. He mentioned that I will be joined by 3 other guests at the hotel as well who have already booked for trekking on the same date.

So on Friday, after office I left office straight to the Airport, boarded my flight to Cochin and checked-in at Bluebell. Rijo waited for me at the reception. He informed that we will be leaving for the place by 6:30 a.m. tomorrow.

I went to my room, a beautifully made one – I kept aside my bags and took a refreshing bath and lied on my bed. I kept reading about Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary on my phone.

The Wikipedia facts will definitely arouse your curiosity. I kept surfing through the internet on all the data I could afford to read. The photographs were all fantastic.

Chimmini Wildlife sanctuary is a protected area located along the Western Ghats in Chalakudy Taluk of Thrissur District of Kerala state in India.

The Sanctuary was established in 1984, with an area of about 85.067 km2 is on the Western slopes of the Nelliyampathi Hills. It also lies just west of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, providing some habitat connectivity with the forests of that relatively large protected area. The sanctuary consists of the watershed areas of Kurumali River and Mupliam rivers. Nestled in the sanctuary is Chimmini Dam which is built across the Chimmini River.

The sanctuary is an important bird area with 192 recorded avian species. Five Western Ghats endemic bird species occur here, including the grey-headed bulbul, Indian Rufus babbler and white-bellied blue-flycatcher. Other interesting species found here include- Ceylon frogmouth, Indian edible-nest swift let, Malabar trogon, Malabar whistling-thrush and Loten's sunbird. A recent survey recorded the presence of the lesser fish eagle, which until recently was only known from the foothills of the Himalayas.

Surprisingly, there are 39 species of mammals, 160 species of birds, 25 species of reptiles, 14 species of amphibians, and 31 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary. This was a matter of ultimate for a wildlife lover like me!

I don’t know when I slept while reading the articles. It was the loud alarm I had set for morning 5 a.m. that woke me up. We were to leave for the place by 6 a.m. I was asked by Rijo to report in the lobby by that time. I got freshened up and had my clothes on and got all set to start the trip. I also had a Go-pro Hero 6 camera intact.

I had already kept my bag prepared and packed for the trekking. I made some additions to it, mainly a medical kit, and a roll of tissue paper, in case of emergency, and then a tiffin set, which was quite essential for carrying food etc.

I arrived at the lobby to meet with Rijo. He wished me good morning to which I wished him back. I met Mr.Abhilash, Mr.Varun and Mr. Xavier at the lobby, who were my co-trekkers for the trip. We started our journey in an Innova Taxi arranged by the hotel. We headed along the Angamaly National Highway to Chalakudy direction.

From the place called Amballur, we took the right to Chimmini dam. And the good and green farms and the powerful wind easily wiped off the tiredness from my body. And the decent road condition, and the twisty nature of the road, 20 k.m was much really beautiful.

The best time to visit Chimmini is between October and March. Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary is about 100 km from Bluebell Hotel. We decided to drive down and took the Ambalur - Varandarapilly - Palapilly road to reach Chimmini. It took us 3 hours with detours to take photos, and drink tea. We arrived at the forest check post and after completing the formalities and paying the fees, they sent the designated guides to join us. The forest department arranges for trekking programmes. To trek the outskirts of the forest, only half a day is required. But if your trek route falls within the forest, then a full day is required.

We started our trek with the sanctuary as the base camp. We could barely see the magnificent Chimmini Lake which was tucked behind hills and shrubs. We trekked in complete silence, to save a chirp from the birds or chatter from the crickets. We were told not to talk too loudly and disturb the forest ecosphere. The guides informed us that we can watch birds in full flutter if we visit Chimmini in November/December.

We marched in the marshy forest and the guides made sure to educate us about the presence of wild animals and how to identify them at each point. We saw dung that was still fresh and the guide informed that an elephant herd must have just crossed the way. It was freaky to think about, but the guide assured that it was not that dangerous. We also saw a few pug marks, which was the footprint of a leopard. We also saw a captivating, large butterfly with hues of blue and wondered what the species was called. "Blue Mormon" came the answer from Mr. Xavier who turns out is a butterfly enthusiast. He also told us that it is the second largest butterfly found in the Western Ghats.

We proceeded to a rocky area and in front of us opened a beautiful waterfall. We decided to break here a little and played around in the water like little kids. We had almost trekked for two hours and this was a much needed break. The water was an excellent pain reliever for the muscles that were tired from the trek. We managed to see Malabar Hornbill, Malabar Parakeet, Brahminy Kite, Orange Thrush, Jungle Crow, and White-breasted Kingfisher. All these were identified by our guides, of course.

We could not spot any animals and were disappointed. Our guide chided us saying that this is their habitat and we must not have any expectation that they should give us an appearance. We couldn't agree more with him.

Our descent meandered through the forest and circumscribed the Chimmini Lake. We reached our car at 6.30 pm and headed back home. I heard great things about the Moonlight Sonata, which involves rafting on full moon nights. This sounds super romantic and I cannot wait to try it the next time I visit with Rijo – who was a fantastic host and the best traveller partner I had in this side of Kerala.

We drove back and reached the hotel by 10 p.m. in the night. I bid good bye to my co-travellers and Rijo for the wonderful day.

I was all tired of moving my body and soon after a shower, I fell on the bed to deep sleep. I was all rejuvenated by the freshness of the forest.

Next day morning, I woke up all fresh and enthusiastic. It was 7:30 a.m. I had my flight at 10:15 a.m. I went to the preparations for my journey back. Only with the plans to come back soon!