GIS Developments at OSC in 2011
Sinharaja rainforest in the south west portion of Sri Lanka has been an ideal field study site for OSC’s DP Geography and Environmental Systems a& Societies classes for the last seven years. Increasingly, with changes in the syllabi, we have been looking at interactions between human communities and the different ecosystems that are a part of this World Heritage Site. Use of spatial data and mapping study sites using GIS have become integral to our studies.
The last year has seen continued growth go the GIS program at the Overseas School of Colombo. We continue to maintain a concurrent license of ESRI’s ArcMap 10, together with several extensions (3D, spatial analysis etc.) in a package designed for schools, universities and libraries. We have invested in spatial data from the Sri Lanka Survey Department and have obtained vector data for our study sites at Sri Pada/Peak Wilderness and Sinharaja rainforest. Equally important has been the contribution of data and guidance from several national and international organizations in Colombo. Dilip Hensman at the World Health Organization (WHO) has helped us with up-to-date data on health outbreaks, notably dengue at a district and DS (Divisional Secretary) level in Sri Lanka. Skylor Knoll utilized this in his world studies extended essay. He investigated spatial patterns of rainfall and dengue–related mortality over a two-year period. Tushara at the World Food Program (WFP) has been a helpful guide with understanding and using up-to-date SRTM data. In the previous year he presented a lecture on how the WFP uses GIS to better provide food to (flood and conflict) affected areas in Sri Lanka. Senior student Camie Raguin conducted a short environmental impact assessment as part of her extended essay in the northern areas. With the aid of the able skills of Alex Mylvaganam, she was able to utilize UNDP spatial data to produce her own basic locational maps of her study site. Salman Sidique and his team including Ad Ranjit and Sajid remain one of my best resources for tinkering help. IWMI’s GeoPortal is a great place for free vector data of Sri Lanka and the basin areas where they are working.
Sample student work (Satyanshu & Vera) from a study on demographic trends in contrasting countries using age-sex pyramids generated on ArcView by the Grade 11 DP Geography class in the Fall of 2011.
OSC students in Sinharaja negotiating moss covered boulders along a riparian patch of unlogged forest near the research station. Group shot with Martin at his lodge at the end of the study, a tradition started on our first study in 2005.
One result of our continued GIS development at OSC is that this year’s IBDP Geography classes produced far superior maps of the IA field study site at Sinharaja. This year almost many of the students looked at some aspect of land use in the area and all the students created their own original maps (see samples below). The 1:50,000 vector data from the Sri Lanka Survey Department may be slightly dated but it provides a good basis for ground truthing and observation. We have more GPS units and thus teams can go in different directions to gather data simultaneously. The field visit happened in May 2011 but it took several months to process the data and to finally write it up into their final reports that will be submitted for the DP Geography exams 2012.
Three different maps from the Sinharaja Geography IA showing land use data, GPS points and the ranges of colorful options that students have when putting together their individual study maps. The picture shows a transect traversing a stream in primary forest above the Sinharaja research center. Maps by Terunaga (above two) and Sascha (below).
Collecting different types of data: Harini interviewing a woman about social economic conditions and home garden crop choices, Sascha checking water quality (temperature, turbidity, DO etc.) below Sinharaja using a Vernier probe and students taking GPS point along a secondary forest transect in Sinharaja’s Core Zone.
Sample student work from the MYP Humanities course. Leila, Tomosso and Dylan’s presentations of their spatial studies of the monsoon and other factors (human population, crop choices, land forms etc.). The posters were generated on ArcMap 10 after doing individual analysis on each data frame.
The Grade 10 MYP Geography class, which is now integrated with the History course, spends its first term looking at aspects of the monsoon in South Asia. This is broad-based learning activity that looks at physical aspects of the monsoon, its affect on agriculture in the region and what impact it has on South Asian culture. Most of the time is spent exploring and extended a lesson on the South Asian monsoon that is a module in Anita Palmer et al. Mapping Our World Using GIS. The study coincides with the end of the South West monsoon and the onset of the North East here in Sri Lanka. An amusing aspect is capping the unit off with a showing of a condensed version of Lagaan, the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film. In the story a severe drought and the monsoon serve as important metaphorical backdrops to a lengthy cricket battle in a fictional location in western India during the late 19th Century. The students produced an annotated poster illustrating a geographical question and aspects of their investigation. They need to include 1-3 maps, graphs and annotations (samples above). This will be submitted as moderated samples for their Humanities course.
Personal explorations with GIS Data from South Asia. The two larger scale maps were used for various assessments in MYP, while the Arugam Bay land use was an exercise in using different layers of data from Sri Lanka’s East Coast. The data on the above left map of South Asia is courtesy Natural Earth, which has a free global data set with elevations and bathymetric data.
GIS generated map showing OSC’s post-tsunami supported pre-schools near Hambantota.
On a personal level I made strides in developing my own cartographic skills using GIS when I had to design and produce several maps for my Sri Pada exhibition. “Necessity is the mother of invention” and I continue to get some of my best work done under such conditions. One of the maps below highlights the OSC service projects with Tsunami affected communities in the Hambantota area.
I have also started to explore a variety of other GIS applications, though because we have the license most of my efforts have been focused on ArcView skills. There are now several open-source GIS software packages, including Q-GIS. I have also started to build up a personal teaching Wiki for students to use as an online repository of links and references. I have a dedicated page of GIS Resources with special focus on Sri Lanka and South Asia. In this next year I hope to polish student skills for use in their course, continue to build up our database of spatial data and to further explore different GIS applications in education.
Winter Study and Pilgrimage to the Peak
Sri Pada East face in the bright light of a winter day as seen from Moray Estate on December 12th morning.
The pilgrimage season to Sri Pada begins with the poya in December. The weather is always a little unpredictable at this time with the North East monsoon still being active with gaps of cool, dry weather mixed in with violent thunderstorms. For the last several years I have been taking small groups of OSC IB Environmental Systems & Societies students up to the peak during the same time. My goals have been to give them a sense of ecosystems and the changes in structure, plant types etc. as you ascend. A trek up to the peak through the Peak Wilderness forests give one an excellent cross section of changes in vertical zonation. On the may there are numerous managed landscapes (plantations, hydroelectric schemes etc.) to observe and study. Perhaps most importantly the trip gives students a chance to be outside and to feel and breath what has previously been taught in the classroom.
Now that I have fairly decent spatial data of the area, we have been looking at the variety of land uses in the Central Highlands. Starting with rubber plantations and home gardens in the lower elevation and then moving up through patches of undisturbed forests through non-native eucalyptus and pine forests there is a good deal to observe and study. In the mid elevations we passed through the enormous and expansive tea plantations that are the most important feature of Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands. Finally as we pass through the Moray tea estate we encounter the undisturbed montane forest that represents the original vegetation of the hills. The walk up to the peak is mostly spent in these forests but near the summit (after 1,800-2,000 meters) vegetation typical of cloud forests is more prominent (Rhododendron sp. trees, Cyathea tree ferns etc.).
We had an energetic group of seven students that were able to do the walk with relatively minor difficulty. Last year several students had suffered from dehydration and altitude sickness-like symptoms that prevented us form making it to the summit. This year, under similar clear sky conditions, we went slowly. It got cloudy later and half way up to the summit a deluge came down. Tthankfully we had made it to a tea shack on the main path. It was quite wet by the time made it to the top where we spent the night. Leaches were a major distraction and the physical challenge of getting up the mountain through the wet forest made it challenging to facilitate learning on the pathway. At the top I shared my Paths to the Peak exhibition brochure with the temple monks, the first time that ‘ve brought it up. Thankfully we were able to get a room to stow gear while most of the group slept on the floor with other pilgrims. The next day’s dawn was beautiful though it lacked the first light and hence mountain shadow. We returned via the Hatton steps and we’re having brunch by 11:00. The 4,600+steps are a real nuisance on one knees and legs and few in the group weren’t limping through the rest of the week. I would prefer to take the decent more slowly but there were schedules to keep and we had the team safely back in Colombo by 3:30.
For further reading on the ecology, landscapes and culture of Sri Pada see my Serendib (2008), Outlook Traveller (2007), International Schools/IS (2007) and Frontline (2011) articles.
OSC students and teachers before climbing and on the way up to Sri Pada (December 2011).
Droppings, devotion and diversity on the path up to Sri Pada. The first image is of an unmistakable leopard stool specimen. The middle image is of a Hindu shrine on the way up through the little used Moray Estate path.
Starting the hike up to the peak through tea estates. Storm clouds to the east will soon bring on a deluge on our walk up through the montane forest.
North view over Maskeliya from Sri Pada in moonlight.
West view from Sri Pada in moonlight showing the two longer pilgrim paths through the Peak Wilderness forests to Kuruwita and Ratnapura.
South view towards Sinharaja from Sri Pada in the early morning.
North view over Maskeliya from Sri Pada in daylight.
Moon setting over the Peak. Two nights before had been the Poya night marking the onset of the Sri Pada pilgrimage season and we were fortunate to witness this scene in the early hours of December 12th.
Agasthyamalai, A Mountain of Significance
Three part series showing the west face of Agasthyamalai from the pilgrimage rest area at Athirumalai. The images were originally shot with a 35mm point & shoot camera on print film (Fujicolor) and then scanned (rather poorly). (February 2002).
Before I came to Sri Lanka and got to know Sri Pada so intimately I was drawn to a surprisingly similar, yet little known, mountain of great significance in the southernmost Western Ghats. Agasthyamalai, as I have written in the past, is no ordinary mountain. It is a mountain with unique physical, biological and spiritual dimensions. Many other mountains in the Western Ghats dwarf its 1,868-meter peak. Yet Agasthyamalai has an aura that transcends simple height and size. It stands sentinel amongst the craggy ridge that makes up the Ashambu Hills that lie south of the Shenkottah Gap. The area around Agasthyamalai is well know for its high levels of biodiversity and multiple habitats that are spread over Tamil Nadu and Kerala’s border region in protected areas such as Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) and Neyaar and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Ten years ago I took a sabbatical year off from teaching to better explore and document the ecology, landscapes and culture of the Western Ghats, from Kanyakumari up to Mahbaleshwar. In particular I wanted to get to know the environs of Agasthyamalai better and realized that it would take patience and numerous trips to various state capitals and New Delhi to get the required letters. I may have lived in India for most of my life, be married to an Indian and speak bits and pieces of several Indian languages but my pale complexion always seems to raise suspicion in officials on the lookout for neo-colonial bio- thieves. Nevertheless, my efforts were rewarded and I ended up taking four or five different trips into the area during that year. An account of the most memorable trip was published in Sanctuary Asia and I later wrote an overview of the area for Frontline. However, I still have several images that have not made it into publications and that are worth sharing now. My motivation in revisiting those trips to Agasthyamalai came from ATREE, the Bangalore-based conservation research organization, that has used several of my images and writing in its recently published Agastyar newsletter on the area. This summer I met several member of the KMTR team, including Soubadra Devy, while visiting ATREE’s GIS lab and head office in Bangalore. Their focus in this issue is on the religious pilgrimage in the KMTR area, something that poses delicate conservation challenges given the emphasis on involving the community in conservation efforts.
Cover images from Agastya, ATEE's handsome newsletter on their conservation work in the KMTR area. The images shows pilgrims preparing a puja at dusk near the small Agasthya shrine on the summit of Agasthyamalai (April 2002).
Perhaps the most unique unpublished image that I have from the Agasthymalai summit trips is the mountain shadow taken on the summit of Agasthyamalai. These were my pre-digital days and it was taken with a cumbersome, awkward looking box (a Noblex panoramic camera) with a rotating lens to produce an uninterrupted 11 cm long negative or positive image. To this day it, along with many other medium format slide & color negative images, sits awaiting my attention. My initial focus has been to present our pilgrimage to the peak in black & white and I have hesitated to mix it with the color work.
I had actually witnessed the shadow that February on the lower slopes of the mountain as I ascended with pilgrims from the Kerala side. I was dumfounded to experience it having only read about Mountain Shadows in the context of Sri Pada and higher mountain ranges such as the Himalaya. But this image was taken after spending an unforgettable night with my companions from the Dhonavur Fellowship. We had been exposed to a violent storm with winds, lightening and heavy rain without any shelter other than a plastic tarp. Out of that experience emerged one of the most amazing and glorious mornings that I have experienced in the Western Ghats. Here is an extract from the Sanctuary Asia piece:
Dawn is a magnificent affair and makes the stormy night worth all its fear and discomfort. As the rays of the new day begin to fill the sky, they paint the cirrus clouds in fantastic hues of gold and scarlet. A kestrel is hovering over the precipice near the summit and Grey-breasted Laughing Thrushes are chattering in the trees by the Agasthya shrine. Looking north, we are blessed with a view of the dark evergreen forests of the Mundanthurai range. The azure mountains stretching beyond the Shencottah gap and up towards the Periyar Tiger Reserve are imposing.
Then something incredible happens. The sun, just a hair above the horizon, projects the conical shadow of Agasthyamalai into the light haze of the west, creating a surreal pyramid-shaped shadow that shifts as I walk along the summit. This is a phenomena often observed by mountaineers on high peaks at sunrise. It is well recorded on Sri Lanka’s Adam’s peak, but this is the first time I’ve seen it happening in the Western Ghats. The magical shadow doesn’t last longer than ten minutes and disappears when the sun slips behind a low cloud.
Mountain shadow on Agasthyamalai in the Ashambu hills of the southern Western Ghats. The image was taken on Fuji Velvia 120 film using a Noblex panoramic camera mounted on a tripod. To the right of the shadow is the slope of Agasthyamalai and then the ranges to the north. Visible in the center and below are the lower forests of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary.
Another view of the vertical western face of Agasthyamalai seen from Athirumalai. Shot on 35mm color film with an SLR (February 2002).
Snapshots from three summit attempts to Agasthyamalai in 2002. Clockwise from upper left: Getting to Kanakati, at a puja ceremony with other pilgrims, with the modest Aastyar statue, sheltering with the Daniel brothers and Dr. Abraham under a tarp held up by a tripod and umbrellas, Agstyar statue close up. With Dhonavur friends after reaching the summit in April 2002.
Leaving to return...Agasthyamalai and its western face, seen through spring foliage from the north west of the peak in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary.
Walking on Lower Shola Road…
Sunlight in the shola (composition#1)
Bombay Shola, the small path of indigenous high altitude tropical evergreen forest, is a naturalist’s delight located near the bustling center of the hill station of Kodaikanal. It provides a habitat for endemic birds, a dazzling variety of plants and large creatures such as Indian gaur (Bos gaurus) and Malabar Giant Squirrels (Ratufa indica). For residents and visitors alike it is a place of solace, a place that takes one back to a time before the lake, the buildings and crowds of humans. These are some of my reflections on the forest from walks over April and our summer in Kodai. For further reading on the forest see my November 2010 article in Frontline.
Large scaled pit viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis), from Pambar Shola photographed at Bombay Shola.Palani Hills, Western Ghats
Study of a shola tree (west and east views) on Lower Shola Road.
Creation light on Lower Shola Road near the Bryant Park (eastern) side of Bombay Shola.
Odonata in the marshes below Bombay Shola and by the lake: (Clockwise from upper right): Orthetrum triangulare (male), Orthetrum luzonicum, Archibasis oscillans (possibly), Orthetrum luzonicum again.
Gaur and vehicle on Lower Shola Road, Kodaikanal, Palani Hills.
White Bellied Shortwing (Brachypteryx major) and Grey Breasted Laughing Thrush (Garrulax jerdoni), two endemic shola birds, photographed on Lower Shola Road.
Shola crown at the bottom of Violet Lane in Bombay Shola.
The Road Home…revisiting the Mushroom Ridge
Mushroom ridge as seen from the Fire Tower on the Kodai-Berijam road. In the distance are mango orchards near Theni, 1500 or so meters lower than the ridge.
The road home from the Marion Shola cliffs passed by the Mushroom Ridge, one of those places closely associated with happy memories of adventure during our high school years. The name is derived from a granite ridge’s peculiar shape. It runs parallel to the larger escarpment near to Berijam lake and Madigatan Shola. Most people glimpse it from the fire tower on the road to Berijam lake. It also sits amidst significant shola patches.
Scrambling on the knife-edge of the Mushroom Ridge; a color-negative view from 1986 now stained by fungal attacks.
Back in our school days several of us Loch End hikers observed the ridge on forays out into the hills. The ridge offered a tantalizing opportunity for adventure. Having somehow obtained permission from our dorm parents and hitched a ride on a logging truck we decided to explore it one Saturday in early 1986. We returned for a 2nd trip in 1987 and later I came back in 1993. On all the trips I never got a view of the drop without mist. Perhaps it was for the better since the ridge falls a thousand meters or so to the lower forests. In fact, on one of the early trips I dislodged a boulder while making a composition and nearly decapitated my friend Matthew as the rock tumbled downwards. In 1996 the ridge was covered in kurinji growth (Strobilanthes kunthiana). We all survived and I still marvel at the liberated times that allowed us such interaction with the natural world that we were blessed with in the Palanis. In 1996 the ridge was covered in kurinji growth (Strobilanthes kunthiana). There are many tourists visiting Berijam these days but the Mushroom ridge happily remains out of reach and much the same from our school days.
Mushroom ridge (horizontal view) as seen from the Fire Tower on the Kodai-Berijam road.
Rhododendron arbroreum nilagiricum tree and mist from the same escarpment, but closer to Ibex Peak.
On the Southern Rim of the Palanis (Part II)
Panoramic view east from Pass Peak, a promontory and favorite Nilgiri tahr perch, near the Marion Shola forest bungalow. The peak looks out over a chasm and then the vertical cliffs of the escarpment to the Agamalai range of hills.
On the first trip we had spent four days on the cliff area between Ibex Peak (the 2nd highest peak in the Palanis at 2,516 meters) and Vandaravu (the highest peak in the Palanis at 2,535 meters). In the second trip we made our way to Marion Shola via Berijam and then surveyed its cliff and marsh areas for three days. Marion Shola is an old favorite haunt and camping spot for people familiar with the Palanis. In days past its bungalow was an important stopping off point on the 80 Mile Round and has been the destination of many happy camping trips for generations of hikers. It once commanded a panoramic view southwards over rolling grasslands to the dramatic cliffs of the escarpment. Plantations of various non-indigenous trees now block this view.
My parents brought us here on one of our first camping trips in 1980. The inimitable rascal and con artist Perumal was supposed to help us organize packhorses from Berijam, but he failed to show having taken a chunk of money as a down payment. That story joins the legions of famous Perumal tales and it provided an interesting anecdote as I brought my own family on our very first camping trip together. The road from Berijam Lake to Marion Shola is badly pot-holed and virtually abandoned. Trees have fallen over parts of it and several times we had to saw and hack our way through thickets. Elephants seem to like using it and I was astonished to see more than 20-30 piles of their droppings on the way (in days past elephants were extremely rare in the upper Palanis). Granite milestones still mark what was once the road between Kodai and Munnar (built as an evacuation route in the 1940s in anticipation of a Japanese invasion). We based ourselves at the Marion Shola bungalow, which though dilapidated is still standing and provides shelter during heavy showers.
Milestone from the 1940s on the now derelict Kodai-Munnar road.
Once again Bob & Tanya from the Vattakanal Conservation Trust played a key role in organizing this trip, securing permissions and ensuring that any findings would find their way to the Forest Department. Their range officers and other officials in the area are indeed very interested in the potential for restoration in the area. Two officers visited us during the trip to talk about specific grasslands restoration ideas.
The issue of grasslands invasion by non-native species was once again brought to our attention. Near to the bungalow the grasslands parallel to the cliff are being overtaken by eucalyptus and wattle. At Prayer Point a place (see images) where we have traditionally come to see the cliffs, wattle trees have grown out over the edge of the cliff. We had a sighting of the herd of Nilgiri tahr that is regularly seen here. We had last seen and photographed them on our Kurinji trip in 2006. This year’s Tahr census reported some of the healthiest populations from here and the nearby Pass Peak.
On the 2nd day we explored westwards to a promontory labeled on survey maps as “rocky knob.” The 80 Mile round hike takes a short cut that cuts off this fascinating section of cliff and, thus, most people are unfamiliar with it. In May 1990 I had camped here with my schoolmate Matthew and we had explored the cliff area and pockets of shola. At one edge of cliff dense shola tumbles over the edge down to the lower plains near Bodi. The “secret shola” is still very healthy and on this trip we found what looks like a path at the top. The survey map has a marked trail descending to the plains through the valley. We will leave this task to the able talents and explorations of Bruce Dejong who was searching for the path on our earlier expedition to Ibex Peak. Unfortunately the grassy cliff path has been almost consumed by wattle and pinus trees. We returned to Kodai convinced that this area is in urgent need of restoring action.
Jay, from the Vattakanal Conservation Trust, looking for Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) at Prayer Point near Marion Shola. A herd of 6-14 animals was immediately below us.
Collage showing individuals from the herd of Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) at Prayer Point. A saddleback (adult male) is prominent in all of the images. Note the abundant grasslands and near-vertical cliffs. In July 2006 I photographed tahr amongst Kurinji plants in the same location.
This image of the hillside near Prayer Point illustrates the alarming invasion of native grasslands by seedlings of eucalyptus trees. Compared to the acacia (wattle) species on the upper Palani Hills plateau, eucalyptus is generally not considered a danger to grasslands. What we saw on the survey was a reminder of the urgent need for ecological restoration of critical grasslands habitats such as these.
Agamalai range from Pass Peak, a prominent point west of Prayer Point. This is ideal Nilgiri tahr habitat and virtually inaccessible to most survey teams, trekkers, and poachers.
Secret Shola revisited. A beautiful shola sits on the edge of the escarpment. The amphitheater cover with nettles may have been caused by sustained grazing by herbivores. There is also evidence of an ancient path connecting the upper Palanis to the plains town of Bodinakanur.
Yet to be identified bush or shrub frogs from the upper Palani’s plateau near Marion Shola. The center picture is of Osbekia sp. in flower on a precarious perch below Ibex Peak.
Grasslands just blow Ibex Peak. This small area had one of the richest marsh areas that Bob & Tanya have observed in the Palanis.
View from Prayer Point looking east and down southwards over the Agamalai Range and plains area near Theni and Bodi. Pass Peak is on the far right.
A large Vaccinieum leschenaultii tree being engulfed by afternoon mist in the Secret Shola.
On the Southern Rim of the Palanis (Part I)
Looking east as mist flows up over the bluffs between Ibex Peak and Ibex Cliff. The shola/grasslands mosaic is quite intact though there are invasions of Pinus sp. on the grasslands.
To anyone who knows the southern Western Ghats it is incredulous that they are frequently referred to as “hills” rather than mountain ranges. All of the large ranges in the Nilgiri, Palani, Anaimalai, Highwavy and Ashumba ranges have cliff faces, peaks and escarpments that make them anything but “hills.” I was reminded of this over the summer when I had a chance to revisit the southern escarpment of the Palani Hills on a series of treks and camping trips. The treks involved revisiting areas that I had hiked to, both as a student at KIS and wondering soul in subsequent years. On the 2011 trips I teamed up with friends from school and the Vatakanal Conservation Trust to try to provide a brief assessment on the state of native grasslands. What we found was both illuminating and alarming. The cliff area between Kodaikanal and the Kerala border remains one of the most outstanding scenic landscapes in the Western Ghats. However, the invasion of native grasslands by self-seeding non-native tree species is happening at a faster-than-expected pace. As a result the area’s sublime ecology is in danger from disturbance that will be too great to reverse if some sort of restoring action is not taken.
To date, much of the Palani Hills is under “reserve forest” which affords the range with basic protection but not the kind of glamour, finances and support from state agencies and non-governmental organizations that nearby wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and project tiger reserves get. Complicating factors like the booming tourist industry in Kodaikanal, the presence of large-scale non-native plantations and significant anthropocentric impacts in some areas have made notification difficult. Efforts to get the Palanis notified continue at the state and national level and have been a subject of online documentation. Some of these points were highlighted in my 2003 Frontline article “on the danger list.” Now nearly 10 years later I am interested in exploring issues that would contribute to better conservation of this area’s landscapes and biodiversity.
Morning light on the cliffs by Ibex Peak, looking westwards and down to Bodinakyakunur. The monsoon is active over Bodimetu and the Cardamom Hills. Agamalai is in the far left (east) of the panorama.
Two views of the ramparts of Ibex Peak, at 2516 meters, the 2nd highest mountain in the Palani Hills. True to the misnamed origin of the peak it appears to be an ideal refuge for Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius). We found plenty of pellet evidence and then observed from a distance two herds of 7-14 animals in the vicinity.
Abstract formations at Ibex Cliff shelter a herd of Nilgiri tahr (not visible in this image).
Wild flowers in the grasslands and cliffs near Ibex Peak. (yet to be itendified and Asyneuma fulgaris)
First light on Twin Peaks seen from the escarpment between Ibex Peak and Cliff.
Maps highlighting the southern escarpment of the Palani Hills. The maps above shows the cliff area and is modified from Google Maps while the one below shows the Nilgiri, Palani and Anaimalai ranges (created on Arcmap 10 and Globalmapper).
Bruce watching the last light of the day on a grassy ridge overlooking Bodi.
Waterfalls in the Rain Shadow of the Ashambu Hills
Five Falls, one of the popular pilgrimage and bathing sites to the west of the south Indian spa of Courtallam. The falls, located in riparian forest in the relatively dry Tamil Nadu plains, are fed by the South West monsoon as it becomes active on the western coast of India.
In June when the South West monsoon moves up the western coast of India, the rugged spinal ridge of the Western Ghats intercepts the rain- laden clouds. The eastern plains remain relatively dry, bathed in warm sunlight with spectacular views of cumulus clouds over the neighboring state of Kerala. In the Ashambu Hills around the sacred peak of Agastyamalai the South West waters the evergreen forests that make this one of the most important biodiverse areas in the country. The monsoon feeds numerous streams and rivers. They cascade down from the evergreen forests though dry deciduous scrub forests into the arid plains that stretch from Kanyakumari northwards through Papanasam and to Srivillaputur and beyond. Several falls have attracted pilgrims and visitors for hundreds of years, something in evidence through the Jain and Hindu inscriptions on the rock sides. Today a visit during the monsoon season is both a pilgrimages as well as a visit to a bustling water theme park where identities of caste and creed are temporarily washed away.
Scenes from Courtallam’s Lower Falls: Crowd control on the men’s side and bathers in the stream.
• Courtallam’s Five Falls, men’s side.
Courtallam is the most important spa in the area. It is a place I have visited over the last 20 years and that provided inspiration for photographs that attempted to bridge the ecology and human interaction of the area. There are several falls here and it is awash with tourists from Tamil Nadu and some of the neighboring states. It still remains off the radar screens of most Lonely Planet wielding tourists and thus offers an intriguing glimpse into southern traditions. Unfortunately the pressure of the masses is hard to miss and one must put up with serious rubbish and trashy streams in these areas. Bonnet macaques terrorize anyone with food. There is a permanent police presence helping to sort people out (males in one set of falls women in another) and keep giddy young men in line.
Agastyar Falls above Papanasam as painted by Thomas and William Daniel in the late 18th Century juxtaposed with how it looks today. This was one of the images that was part of their Oriental Scenery collection. Today the falls has been dammed above for a hydroelectric plant. The place was visited by photographer Antonio Martinelli in his efforts in the late 1990s to document the places where the Daniells had been. (picture sourced from http://www.english.wisc.edu/tkelley/NASSR/images/12Waterfallprint.jpg)
Relief carving of Hanuman, Rama, Laxman and Sita near Agastyar Falls.
Pilgrims and bathers at Nambi Kovil (left), and the Agastyar Falls area (center and right).
Further south near Papanasam, where the sacred Tambraparani river meets the plains from the Kalakad Mundanthruai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), there are a series of falls. Notable is the Agastyar Falls, named for the peak that gives birth to its waters on the high and remote border with Kerala. This was once a roaring falls that has now been harnessed in a hydroelectric plant and thus reduced to a trickle. Thomas and William Daniel painted the falls in the late 18th Century. There dramatic aquatint of the falls was part of the Oriental Scenery collection. It is now an ideal location to take children rock hoping and exploring, which is exactly what Lenny, Amy and I did on our visit in June. We clambered over boulders and across dried rock faces to the base of the falls and looked for evidence of rock carvings that are visible in the Daniells’ painting. Sure enough they are there at the base of a small Vishnavite temple. Nearby a stunning panel of Rama carves Hanuman, Lakshman and Sita is carved into the granite side of the slope.
Karaiyar reservoir with boats making their way across to Banerthetum falls. The surrounding catchment area is carpeted under impressive stands of evergreen forests that are part of KMTR’s core zone. Balancing the growing numbers of pilgrims with the need to protect this incredible area remains an ongoing challenge for the Forest Department and conservationists.
Following the stream upwards once eventually get to the enormous Karaiyar reservoir, a man made lake that is surrounded by some of the most stunning scenery in the Western Ghats. Here motorized launches take pilgrims and bathers across the lake to Banerthetum Falls. It’s a bit of a circus as one clambers out of the boat on to the sandy shores, crossing a deep stream to makes one’s way up to the falls. The pilgrims are friendly and are curious about what I am doing there on my own with two kids and a backpack full of camera gear. A sign reminds visitors that they are in a Project Tiger area. At the top of the first falls and below the higher falls we join a throng under the pounding water of the Tambraparani.
Pilgrims negotiating a minor river before clambering up to Banerthetum Falls.
Banerthetum Falls with the sacred Tambraparani River gushing with the waters of the South West monsoon.
Further south we spent several restful days with our friends at the Dhonavur Fellowship. I appreciate the efforts of ATREE to document the area in their very useful guide Treasures on Tiger Tracks. Their field staff were preparing for the festival at the Sormuthaian Kovil, an annual event that puts a great deal of anthropocentric pressure in the heart of the Mundanthurai plateau. It is a good time to explore the surrounding area, take in the breathtaking scenery of the Mahendragiri range and explore the Nambi Kovil temple. Like other pilgrims the kids and I enjoy bathing in a variety of cool streams and rock pools. Our visit is fleeting and we soon turn northwards to follow the monsoon back up to the Palanis.
Nambi Kovil set in the Mahendragiri range of hills just north of Kanyakumari. This is a rare Vaishnavite temple with close connections to the temple at Thirukurungudi set amongst a largely Shivite population. The temple is surrounded by KMTR and located by a beautiful stretch of riparian forest at 400 meters above sea level. The impact of significant numbers of visitors to the temple illustrates the difficult task of managing religious pilgrimages in protected areas. Because the access is physically difficult the numbers of visitors are relatively low for the moment.
Postcards from the Palanis
Looking east from the Kodaikanal-Beijam plateau and escarpment edge in the Palani Hills.
Evening light over the growing agricultural settlement of Kavunji with the Anaimalai Hills dominating the western edge of the Palani Hills.
The area around the south Indian hill station of Kodaikanal is well known for its natural beauty, salubrious climate and views over the arid plains to its south and north. In the previous post I explored some of the negative impacts of the new wave of vehicle-based tourism in places like Devil’s Kitchen. Here I share several vignettes from the hills that celebrate aspects of the landscape and ecology. These images were taken over the summer of 2011 and are composed of composite (stitched) multiple digital images. Future posts will look at conservation efforts and plans to restore some of the ecologically damaged areas.
Kodai Lake and clouds clearing over Perumal from Swedish Hill.
Plantation of non-native species near Nettle Shola and the golf course. Much of the upper plateau of the Palanis has been converted to similar plantations of eucalyptus, pinus and acacia species. This strand of grand trees has been in the same place since my earliest hiking experiences in the late 1970s. There is some evidence of shola regeneration under its canopy.
Southern escarpment of the Palani Hills and Agamalai area viewed from the ever-popular Pillar Rocks viewpoint. Pillar Rocks is on the right.
Rosneath Cottage, one of the oldest bungalows in the settlement of Kodaikanal. It was built in the mid-19th Century.
Wind turbines in the Cumbum Valley with the Highwavy Hills in the background, as seen from the southern edge of the Palani Hills on a very clear, monsoon-washed morning.
Times Change…Devil’s Kitchen Then and Now
Photinia integrefolia ssp. Sublanceolata, in Devil’s Kitchen (a.k.a Guna Caves) in the Palani Hills. The picture on the left was taken in 1998 with a panoramic camera on TMX 100 120 format film. The picture on the right, actually a composite image, was taken in June using a digital camera. The iron fencing was erected after the spot became a popular destination and was an attempt to keep tourists from venturing near to the edge.
For many visitors Palani hills and Kodaikanal have long evoked ideas of deep mysticism and mystery. A place that often conveys these emotions are the cavern’s in Pillar Rocks known as Devil’s Kitchen or more recently Guna Caves. The area is located on the southern escarpment of the Palani Hills where weathered charnockite pillars protrude out of the cliff face. Historically these cliffs were covered in a mix of native grasses and shola (montane evergreen) forest. Because of the unique topography and climatic conditions on the edge of the escarpment the area hosts what was once one of the most unique and finest shola examples near Kodaikanal. When the Palanis were settled by Americans and Europeans fast growing, non-native tree species were introduced to the area changing the views that were sketchedby early visitors such as Douglas Hamilton. The shola at Pillar Rocks, like many in the outer hills, was largely left intact.
Prior to 1990s the caverns and gnarled shola of Devil’s Kitchen were a favorite, yet little known, hiking spot for Kodai school students and the few hippies and others who resided year around in Kodai. The area was dangerous with numerous caverns enclosed by dense vegetation. In fact there is a memorial at the entrance to the shola remembering an unfortunate trader from Madurai who fell to his death in one of the crevices in the 1950s. A highlight of the trip was to descend into the deepest cave, actually the split between the third pillar and the main cliff face, into the “kitchen.” The hike involved some serious scrambling and a short rope descent before you traversed a dank, pitch-black tunnel and emerged in a forest-enclosed outlet (popularly known as the chimney).
In 1992 a Tamil film named Guna was shot within the caverns. In making the film the producers damaged several once-pristine areas but the worst was yet to come. Once the movie was released people wanted to see the site and it quickly became a favorite spot for tourists making the rounds from the Golf Course to Moyer’s Point. The Forest Department now reluctantly manages this flow but the numbers on a busy weekend are astounding. A minor bazaar with shops selling corn, candy and what not marks the entrance to the caves. There is rubbish strewn all over, vegetation has been trampled and areas have been blocked off with massive steel frames and grates. Pesty bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) scavenge for food while the calls of the Malabar Whistling Thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii) are drowned out by the shouting and hooting of visitors. The Devil’s Kitchen area and its vandalized habitat by chaotic mass tourism underline the challenges of managing sensitive habitats in a hill-station with growing numbers of visitors. For old Kodai residents like me, it is a very personal and sad development that illustrates the worst side of the tourist boom in the hills.
Rubbish from tourists dumped into a natural cavity in the shola at Devil’s Kitchen.
Main entrance to Devil’s Kitchen with memorial vandalized and turned over by visitors. This was taken on a quiet weekday and is usually filled with large crowds of boisterous tourists.
Gnarled roots and branches of the shola edge at Devil’s Kitchen.
Vegetation above the deep cavern that is the “kitchen” of Devil’s Kitchen. This area, because of its dangerous chasms is off bounds tourists and still retains the feel of the undisturbed caverns.
