Western Ghats, India: Hiking thru Leopard-rich forests to a divine spot, Stumbling upon a cave with strange symbols, Experiencing a Miracle & Filming a snake hunting fish

I've travelled in India extensively during my teens but these trips are a distant memory now. I couldn't recollect all the details to convert them  into a blog. But this one was truly special and will always remain in my memory forever. It deserved a separate blog entry.

This happened around 2016 when I was 17 or 18 years old. My dad & I were in Courtallam, a small town nestled in the Pothigai hills of Tamil Nadu. The nearest city was Tenkasi around 10 km away. These hills, located in the southern part of the Western Ghats, are deeply connected to Sage Agasthiyar who was sent by Lord Shiva to balance the earth when all the sages gathered in the north for Shiva's wedding. The mountain is considered a powerful spiritual center, where saints and sages from the Himalayas are said to visit, particularly on full moon days. This range is also home to at least 2,000 species of medicinal plants, with at least 50 of them being rare and endangered.

Western Ghats (Pothigai Range) near Courtallam , Southern India

I think this was the first father-son duo trip we had done. My dad's spiritual guru had an ashram (lodge) there and the plan was to just roam around and relax for a few days. But me being me even back then, I wanted some raw adventure. So, I asked him to investigate through his contacts if there were any trails in the nearby hills that we could explore. After some discussions with our contact, we heard of a path through dense forests leading to Agasthiyar's temple atop the mountain. This is exactly what I came for and I wasted no time in putting the plan in motion despite my father being a bit hesitant.

We needed a special permit from the forest department and more importantly, a guide who knew the place well. No matter what, we had to return back before sunset as it was extremely dangerous to spend the night there alone. There was high activity of wildlife, including panthers and elephants, that roam these forests.

Our guide was a tribal guy going by the name of " Gaanja" Seenu - he used to be a local cannabis dealer and hence the forename. He was a skinny and had a rather stoic personality. He spoke only when he had to.

On the morning of the trek, disaster struck. My dad had a high fever and wasn't looking in shape. But he still gave the thumbs up to proceed as planned. We had to leave asap before he changed his mind. Maybe he thought hiking through thick forests on high fever was much better than dealing with my tantrums if the plan got cancelled. I would never know why he accepted but I was glad to say the least. Back then, my curiosity for exploration overshadowed my empathy for others.

We met with Seenu just before the forest entry check point. There was a slight delay in convincing the forest guards but we let Seenu do his magic. We got the permit finally and headed into the forest.

Me and my dad had no clue what we were getting ourselves into. The forest was much denser than we expected and the trail much harder than anticipated. About 1 hour into the hike , one of my sandals tore off and I was barefoot all of a sudden. We are talking about a trail with sharp rocks and pebbles. My dad scolded me for being overconfident and not wearing proper boots on such a trek. Now, the whole plan was in jeopardy. If we turned back to get another pair of slippers, we would never make it before sunset. So, a quick decision had to be made. I was so determined that I finally made the call to do the trail barefoot. I didn't care and all I wanted was to reach the top.

Beginning of our hike

Initial part of our hike

Hiking through very dense forest (My dad in the photo)

Initially, it was a big struggle but after a while, my feet got used to the sharp rocks and we started to gain momentum gradually.

Later, Seenu suddenly pointed towards something on the ground. To our shock, it was a leopard pugmark that was hardly a few hours old. The seriousness of the ordeal sunk in that very moment. We later spotted an animal carcass nearby, probably a deer killed by a leopard or a bear. Massive spiders and cobwebs made it clear that there was no human activity in this area since a long time.

Fresh pugmark of a big leopard on our trail

Animal carcass

A massive spider and it's cobweb blocking our trail

About halfway through our journey, we came across a strange cave. We were told that it was used by the "yogis" and "siddhars" for deep meditation. The striking element of this cave was the symbolic language written on it. I had not seen such kind of symbols ever . It looked totally alien and out of place. Seenu didn't seem to have a clue either . All I can say was that it was vividly ancient.

The cave's exterior that we found with strange symbols

The strange symbols

A tree growing on another tree

After an arduous hike, we finally made it to the top and reached the old temple dedicated to Agasthiyar. It is strongly believed that he meditated here thousands of years ago. There was a ‘’dhanda’’ which locals believe belonged to him. “Dhanda” , a T-shaped wooden stick, was used by ancient yogis to rest their hands during their long meditation in the forests.

We made some offerings to thank him for making us reach safely. I realised that it was quite a feat considering I did it barefoot and my dad with his high fever. On top of this, Seenu had multiple stitches on his knee . He was recovering from a recent accident and I still don't understand how he did the hike with such a physical constraint.

Agasthiyar's dhanda

Our guide '' Gaanja'' Seenu

We unpacked our lunch to have a quick meal. We were sitting on a stone near a flowing stream , when Seenu suddenly spotted a snake next to us. It had a big fish in its mouth that it just caught. I didn't know snakes hunted fish. In addition, I still do not understand how a snake this size caught such a big fish .

Me & Seenu during our descent

The Great Sage Agasthiyar

The snake hunting a fish

We couldn't stay there for long as sunset was fast approaching. Especially, with me barefoot, our pace would be much more slower. During descent, I was finding it more difficult to pass through the sharp rocks as my legs was already bruised with a few cuts. I had no choice but to endure it and keep pushing . After about 30 minutes or so, Seenu and my dad who were ahead of me, spotted a pair of slippers flowing through the river stream and coming towards us. They caught it and to our shock, it looked relatively new and was my size. I don't know how one can explain this phenomenon. Certain things do not need explanations , they just happen.

Our speed picked up after this and we made it down only a few minutes before it got pitch dark. We thanked Seenu for everything without whom it wouldn't have been possible. A big kudos to my dad as well for having the courage to go ahead despite the fever. I felt bad ofcourse for putting him through this ordeal but all of us had a smile on our faces. That's all that mattered.

We spent the rest of the day processing what just happened – a lot of things happened in just one day and it took a while to digest all of it.