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View at the TOP
THE REST house at Topslip was spacious but disconcerting. The teakwood cabin with its high ceiling and attached bath gave us the feeling that we were constantly being watched. Some of the windowpanes were mysteriously devoid of tints and the wooden wall separating the room with its adjacent suite had a couple of suspicious peepholes. Barring this minor flaw, the trip to this mist-laden 958 sq km sanctuary that nestles in the Anamalai hills of the Western Ghats was close to perfect.
The road that leads to Topslip begins at a forest checkpost at Sethumadai, the entry point, and snakes its way along the backbone of Anamalai. We reached the checkpost at the crack of dawn and drove up to the summit amidst thick deciduous forests and bamboo thickets with birds chirping in the air.
The place is home to more than 300 species of avifauna, including the great pied hornbill, the flagship bird of Anamalai. It is one of the largest of the nine-hornbill species found in the Indian sub-continent. True to its name, the great pied hornbill can have a wingspan of nearly five feet with tails that can measure up to three feet. Some of the other birds found in this region are the frogmouth, red winged crested cuckoo, thrushes, parakeets and bay owl.
The summit consists of a reception, an information centre, a canteen, forest rest houses, a school, a ration shop and a dispensary to cater for the needs of the 175-odd tribal families. There is also a small museum adjoining the reception containing tidbits about the hill station, decorated with posters on wildlife, orchids, medicinal plants and a stuffed tiger and leopard.
The forest here is of two types: wet evergreen rain forest (of which the nearby Karian Shola is a good example) and deciduous comprising mainly of teak plantation.
Teak was introduced during the British Raj. Since then, it has been harvested in a planned manner every year. During the colonial days, the harvested timber used to be `slipped' to the plains from the hilltops, which is how the area got the name `Topslip'. The jungle around Topslip is one of the richest treasure houses of wildlife in the Western Ghats.
From the ferocious tiger and panther to the sluggish sloth bear and toddy cat, from the intimidating wild elephants and bison to the unobtrusive pythons and green vine snakes, the list of animals and reptiles native to this region is exhaustive.
Not to mention myriad other mammals and arboreal creatures.
Taking the advice of the forest guard, we undertook an elephant safari hoping to experience the biodiversity from a closer range.
But a near two-hour plod through the forests left us with nothing much, save the ever-obliging wild boars that loafed around, a pair of Malabar squirrels in their red and golden coat scampering overhead and a lion-tailed macaque that refused to oblige for the camera. Somehow, the teeming wildlife in the area escaped us. A forester attempted to explain this away by saying it was off-season.
Famished we sauntered into the modest `Forest Canteen', the lone source of refreshment for tourists.
The cook, Palanisamy, referred to as `master,' is a sprightly 55-year-old tribal. He was in good spirits despite the fact that his dog, kept to frighten away bears, had been eaten the previous night by a leopard.
His food was good too.
Our second day's exploration was confined to a drive through the surrounding areas of Topslip.
The Karian Shola, known for its medicinal plant diversity, is situated within a radius of 5 km from the summit.
It is one of the last few vestiges of evergreen forest in South India.
This time, we spotted a herd of sambhar grazing on the lawns and a pair of bison chewing the cud.
But unfortunately both were too far for us to bother whipping out the camera.
Topslip can grow on you quickly; by the time, we had to pack our bags, we realised we were already somewhat in love with it.
Pic and Text by SANGEETH KURIEN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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