Looking for an Adventure in the valley of Western Ghats

A Precarious Journey at Kannupulimettu (Kundaru Dam)

Kundaru Dam

My cousin and I were on a trip to a waterfall in Kannupulimettu, a place near my home town. The place is surrounded with lush green mountains, numerous waterfalls across the rivers and a dam (Kundaru Dam) that collects the water from the hills. We have been visiting this place for the past four years, and to make this trip extraordinary we set out to look for a new waterfall in the region.

Journey Through the Valley

We began to climb up the streaming valley. The journey was treacherous as the path was filled with huge rocks and skewed waterways.  After passing through a kilometre, we were stopped by the barbed wire, erected across the valley. It seemed to have built to keep the perpetrators away. We stood there for a moment and starred at each other whether to cross over or return to the falls which is easily accessible down below.

 

We spotted a passage beside the barbed wire which encouraged us to go forward. With renewed strength, we crossed the hurdles and continued walking. All of a sudden, my cousin cried in panic on seeing a skull in the bushes. I examined the skull closely, and it was an animal skull. We crossed several gigantic rocks and waded through stream of water, yet the sight of the falls was not appearing.

Waterfall owned by a Local Politician

After climbing on a huge rock, my heart soared high on seeing a beautiful waterfall in front of me. It was a calm and tranquil place where nature bestows its gift to mankind. We took off our shirts and threw ourselves into the cool and clean water.

After a few minutes, out of nowhere, a stranger came running towards us with a sickle. He was well built with a piercing eyes filled with anger.  We started trembling at the sight of the sudden stranger. He screamed at us in abusive words. He claimed that it is a private waterfall and strangers are not allowed to come here.  As he was in possession of a weapon, we could not argue and set out to leave the place.

After a while, another man came, who seemed to be the caretaker of the place. He inquired about us and how we entered here. I narrated the whole journey and apologized to him for breaching the border.  He seemed to be kind and allowed us to enjoy the shower for a while. We were overwhelmed by his kind gesture and spent some more time in the waterfall and left the place.

As we came down, I inquired to a local man about the waterfall. He said that it belongs to a local politician. I was wondering, how come rivers and mountains can be owned by someone, especially the ones we choose to serve us.