It is a paradise for trekkers?.. Vinod Hari

Exchanging his thoughts with ‘Talk the walk’ after the trek experience at Parambikulam, Mr. Vinod Hari at the outset itself described the experience in just one word. Wonderful!

“Honestly, my friends and I were not prepared for all that we actually saw and experienced at Parambikulam,” says Mr. Vinod. An avid trekker himself, Mr. Vinod has done treks in the four southern states of India as well as in the Himalayas. But after the experience at Parambikulam, Vinod feels it as a unique experience in so many ways with few parallels.

And one of the reasons Mr.Vinod attributed to his memorable trek experience at Parambikulam was the encouraging attitude of the staff at the sanctuary. And he says that he and his four friends are really grateful to the Divisional Forest Officer in charge of Parambikulam Mr. Sanjayan Kumar and also to the Secretary for Tourism, Dr. Venu V. for helping them to realize a fascinating trek in Kerala.

After the experience at Parambikulam, Vinod feels that the kind of facilities and the very settings of the sanctuary can be compared with the best in the world and perhaps even more so. And he cites the official website on Parambikulam, which he found very useful while planning the trek.

Narrating some of the highlights of his trek at Parambikulam, Vinod recalled how they were greeted by the sanctuary staff with a pleasant smile. He further cited the efficiency and the manner in which things were made ready in minimum time to start the first leg of their trek and the guide, who literally stunned them by exhibiting his knowledge of the wildlife and the forest.

But, according to Vinod, the best of surprises was the opportunity that he and his friends got, when they managed to spot the highest number of wildlife. And in that regard, Vinod reckons the trek at Parambikulam as the best he has done till date. While further expressing his delight about the trek, Vinod went on to say, “The trek routes were enjoyable by themselves for the beauty of the forest and viewpoints at the top of the peak. The huge number of wildlife including fascinating bird life all made the trek absolutely fabulous.”

Recalling his encounter with the wild, Vinod said, “This was the only place where we got to see elephant herds, gaur herds, Malabar squirrels (several of them), wild boar, sambhar, spotted and barking deer, Nilgiri langur, two snakes (including a king cobra), hornbills and several other species of birds; all while just walking through the jungle during the three-day trek.”

In retrospect, Vinod feels Parambikulam as a paradise, which has been extremely well maintained. This particular thought of his is backed especially by his experience with the guides, who he reckons as very friendly. “They were committed to preserving the place,” said Vinod. He cited one incident during the course of the trek to substantiate the kind of commitment displayed by the staff. It was while sharing a packet of biscuit, the guides carefully placed the waste wrappers in their bags and made sure that we also did the same thing.

Summing up his intimate thoughts on the recent trek at the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Vinod said, “The sanctuary is taken care of by a leadership, which is a clear case of above and beyond the call of duty. Combining regular tourist friendliness, adventure trekking and nature conservation and to come out a winner on all three fronts is indeed a challenging task. We sincerely hope that this model can be replicated across the country, or at least in ‘Gods own Country’, where there seems to be a will, vision and right strategy among the top leadership, in this area.”