I was privileged enough to be selected to go along with the group based from Edinburgh who were now in Kerala, for The World Challenge Expedition organized by Kalypso Adventures.
If you haven't been reading our older posts, World Challenge organizes expeditions to different countries for students in the United Kingdom as an opportunity to develop skills that cannot be taught in the confines of a classroom. Kalypso Adventures is proud to be able to give these students a chance to see more of India (Kerala to be more specific) and challenge themselves as they trek through the terrain in Munnar.
Munnar is a town located in the Idduki district of India's Kerala state, situated in the Western Ghats of India. The region in and around Munnar varies in height from 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) to 2,600 meters (8,530 ft) above mean sea level. Munnar enjoys a salubrious climate. The temperature ranges between 10 °C (50 °F) and 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and 8 °C (46.4 °F) and 16 °C (60.8 °F) in summer. The tourist season in Munnar is from August to May. However, even the monsoons are lovely with many streams and rivulets in the area and post drizzle the dew drenched tea gardens looking majestic and heavenly enshrouded in light mist.
Early today, we started our trek in Munnar and were enthralled by the beauty and serenity the hills of the region had to offer. The sights and sounds and smells, the chatter of the group as they made their way along the trekking route with the guides - everything seemed surreal and peaceful as we took in the beautiful scenery around us. Even the occasional drizzle didn't dampen our spirits.
We had a few thrilling moments every now and then - the most interesting being the seemingly precarious crossing over the ricketiest bridge I'd ever seen! Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they watched their team-mates crossed over.
We trekked through a leech-infested land and a steep uphill climb along a barbed wire. The girls from Edinburgh seemed excited and chattered away as we trekked, not really bothered by the leeches or being tired.
Our day ended with a tent-pitching demonstration carried out by our very own Kalypso Adventures guides. A competition among the group would be held the next day, and the girls listened intently.
An eventful first day of the trip!!!!
Check out our progress tomorrow night, as we move on to discover more around Munnar!
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