Trek to velliangiri hills,a wonderfull experience

Wow what a experience!!!!

My memorable trek to velliangiri hills!!!!
 
       Hi SITC members ,I’m very eager to  share my trekking experience to VELLIANGIRI  HILLS with you all.

Hai I’m parthi an active member of SITC .A gang of nine members started our journey to coimbatore from erode.It was 5.45 pm on a moody whether day and we all with our trek bags and shoes started travelling to coimbatore and reached gandhipuram bus stand at 8.30pm.We went a hotel to have dinner, a gentle man sat infront to me.we get introduced each other and I came to know that he was a LOYAR. I told him that we are a gang of 9 pupil(parthiban,prasanna,vinoth,lal prasath,sabari,shiva kumar,sampath,vasanth,thendral) from KSR COLL OF TECH,came for a trek to velliangiri hill. It was around 9.30pm suddenly he called to his friend whose is working in ISHA YOGA (a yoga center at the base of velliangiri hill)  to ask about the weather condition. He insisted that the climate was too bad and its over night so its dangerous to trek. We thanked him and started climbing.

. I reached Poondi temple, popularly known as the 'Arulmigu Velliangiri Andavar Temple' around  11.30 pm, mist covered the base village and the hills around...Finally, around 11.50pm we were  ready to begin the trek... the trek  was thrilling primarily due the following reasons - Raining atop the hills, chances of landslide, movements of wild elephants, chances of bear attack, slippery due to rains etc etc...

The Vellingiri Hills, a part of the Western Ghats, is about 30 kms from Coimbatore city. There are a lot of public transport facilities available to Vellingiri foothills. The prime deity is Lord Shiva in the name, Velliangiri Andavar, meaning Lord of the Silver mountains. The Vellingiri hills is a serene and a beautiful place where nature could be seen at its best. Along withe beauty a lot of legends are associated with the Vellingiri hills, one such is from the Mahabharatha.

The pilgrimage starts during the full moon in the months of April/May, that is, the Chitra Pournami - full moon in the Tamil month of Chithirai. Chithirai being the first month of the Tamil year and the full moon in this month is exceptionally bright, people start on a pilgrimage trip abode the Vellingiri hills to worship Lord Shiva. It comprises of seven hills, and the seventh hill being the place where Lord Shiva is adobe.

The first 3 hills is full of rock steps and its difficult to move up , any way we managed to reach the 4^th hill and we took a rest for 20 mins, and again started to trekk!!. After 4th hill the path is sandy and as the day was rainy the path was too slippy and then we reached the 5^th hill and it was around 3.30am. we all decided to  took rest as we all get too tired.

Crossing the 4th,5th hill we steadily climbed the 6th one and descended the same into the forest. Here there's a small pond, supposedly sacred...A dip in the water was much needed however there was just ankle deep water so we decided to wet our feet and let out the tiresome, haggard feeling and prepare for the final climb. After spending about 10mins there, we moved on, crossing a small thicket and started the final climb.suddendly we were shocked to see the dangerious wildbull eating grass.we stopped there for more than 10min.u can see in the photo. Enroute we got to see huge boulders / rocks precariously jutting out of the ground. There are a few abandon huts here. Umapathy told me that the huts turn into busy shops during Jan-Mar when devotees come here for their annual pilgrimage. As we moved on, we found two very small temples and a couple of trishuls placed by devotees... Now the peak was so close, yet we were finding it daunting and tiresome to reach the top. We took a few more stops and finally reached the top at around 8.10.am.

     Wow!!!!!!!! what a view..The surrounding atmosphere is so serene and tranquil. Only peaceand silence prevails. ..I could call it by different names - 'Heaven on Earth', 'A Place in the Clouds', 'God's Home'. The view - mesmerizing, breathtaking, fabulous and what not...Only if I had an English dictionary with me.... There are huge rocks/boulders on top. How these boulders manage to stay there is a miracle.

HERE COMES MY PHOTOGRAPHY!!

  The photos took at night was not so clear,i posted only few photos took at night. The major photos is of return journey.  and here we go!!!

 ABOUT VELLIANGIRI!!!                                                                                                         The Vellingiri Hills is full of serenity and divinity spread across the seven hills. One can feel the finesse of the tranquility of the Vellingiri Hills, only by being there. The hills host a lot of springs that are freezing chill even on the hot summers day. There are springs with names that are quite intriguing and interesting. The Kai Thatti Sunai (The Clapping Spring) has an interesting belief behind it, the force of the water increases if one claps near it, though I have not felt personally when I tried. And there is the Aandi Sunai at the end of the sixth hill which is a bigger one.
Velliangiri Hills count amongst the lesser-known hill stations of Tamilnadu. Of all the mountain shrines in Kongunadu, the Siva temple of Velliangiri in the western boundary is considered to be the most famous. Known as Rajathagiri, Velliangiri, Dakshin Kailash or Bhoolok Kailash, this sacred spot, according to legend, is where Siva performed his cosmic dance on the request of his consort Umadevi. The five faces of Lord Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheshwara and Sadasiva, are seen as Panchagiri and as Panchalingas pertaining to the panchabhutas, in Velliangiri. The hill ranges have abundant natural resources, which include rare herbs. Lord Panchalingesa and his Consort Manonmani Amman alias Parvathi, bestow their grace on the devotees who throng here annually between February and May.

Festivals:
A unique feature of Dakshina Kailash is the annadhanam organised by the Arya Vaisya jewellers for the past two centuries, for four days during Mahasivaratri. It is now carried out with all earnestness and enthusiasm, by the jeweller community and the Lala group.

Also another one big function on Mahasivarathri @ Isha Yoga Center. It's big musical night.

_Tips

1.Walking Stick is necessary

2.Torch light is compulsory for Midnight trekkers.

3.Knife is necessary.

3.Trekking bag with following tools

·         Route map

·         Tent

·         Ropes

·         First aid kit

·         Water bottles

·         Necessary foods

·         Sweaters

HAPPY TREKKING!!!!