Nagari - Feb 2018

It was the most magnificent gorge I had ever seen, and I hadn't even trekked in a long time; artistically carved by the stream, enough space for water to flow right through the middle; deep, dark with cool breeze blowing through. It looked more like it was conjured up by a wizards spell rather than formed by tectonic shifts. We were more than half a day into the second day of our trek and were exiting the forest through a dry stream running in a stratigraphic ridge valley. Downstream boulder running is pure nirvana as one is totally concentrated and fixated on the rocks. Use only 99% concentration on this route and run the risk of injuring yourself. Concentrate on it a 100% percent and experience an unmatched trekkers high.

photo of our exit route in the plains below

Photo from the plains of the peak above (in the first pic)

Resting in the breezy gorge

Texture of the rock

Group picture in the gorge

The boulders here were as big as houses, SUV's, and everything in between. One has to get on all fours to get through them. This is where carrying a light and compact backpack comes like a mighty savior in a fiery battleground. Boulder running requires an insane amount of concentration if it is to be enjoyed. Sleep deprivation is not an option here; neither is being abstracted. A song here, a thought about your mid-week dinner plans there, and you will very well miss your next step and fall right into the space between two massive boulders, or if you're lucky, plunge into the water.

Day 1

Nagari is a mountain range in Andhra Pradesh a few kilometers before the temple town of Tirupati. Andhra Pradesh is blessed with mountains on all sides making it irresistible to trekkers and zoologists alike. We started from Chennai at 6 in the morning, reached the village at around 8 where we had our breakfast. The usual idli-dosa combo with Sambar/Kaaram (red spicy chutney) was delectable and satisfying. We quickly finished up with payment, food distribution and got off the highway to join the village trail. The frigid weather that had us stiff earlier in the morning had relented and the sun was shining nice and bright. It was neither too hot nor too cold; it was perfect trekking weather.

The path to the temple pool was fairly straightforward with a few ascents and descents here and there. The temple pool is a thin fount of water emerging from the stream above which then cascades on a rock face for a few meters into a circular pool, with a temple constructed adjacent to it. We couldn't wait for another second once we got here and the majority of us got into the water immediately. I propped myself under the waterfall in such a way that I got massaged on the back, neck, and shoulder alternatingly. Hydrotherapy does have some amazing benefits indeed. The pool was frigid. Many from the group felt the need to have a second breakfast once we got here. It wasn't noon but since we wouldn't get to rest for the remainder of the day, we stuffed ourselves with fresh homemade food along with processed food and self-made preserved stuff.

Temple pool

We started in an hour and it was just forty minutes of upstream bouldering until we reached the flat surface of the hill where the sun shone brightly on our faces. Some were exhausted from all the bouldering and decided to take a short break here. This was to be the last water point for the rest of the day so everyone used their reserves wisely.

The stream that flows into the Temple pool

After resting for few minutes, we located the trail and followed it all the way to the campsite, by the time which it was 5 in the evening. Most of us were still brimming with energy due to the straightforward and uncomplicated path that was followed through the second half of the day and so decided to leave our bags at the campsite and visit a viewpoint nearby. Three trekkers stayed back to set up the campsite and prepare food. 16 of us marched ahead with great eagerness to check out the vast view of the range in the backdrop of the setting sun from the viewpoint (second picture in this write-up). Here one could also get an idea about the trail for the next day as our exit route was clearly visible down below.

Here are some pictures of the descent on Sunday:

Heading to the valley through which we would descend and exit

Jagged rock formations during the descent

One of the many rappelling sections of the dry stream

Lunch point for Sunday on the dry stream

On the village trail right at the bottom of the valley

It was around 8 by the time we were nearing the campsite after spending some time on the viewpoint, and some of us quickened our pace after sensing the smell of food from almost a kilometer away. Sights, smells, and sounds are incredibly magnified in the jungle. We returned to a torchlit and warm campsite where sambar rice was cooking in a woodfired pot. The temperature had dropped considerably and we only wondered how much further it was going to drop through the night. None of us had those 10-degree sleeping bags; heck! some of us didn't even have sleeping bags. So we all huddled around the cooking campfire for some warmth while anxiously waiting for the rice and sambar to be done.

Day 2

I woke up the next morning to see part of the tarpaulin sheet that we had slept on wrapped over those who hadn't any sleeping bags (which made me chuckle 😋); over their bedsheets, but still terribly insufficient for the frigid night that went by. Most of us surmised that it had definitely gotten down to the very last of the double digits somewhere at around 2 in the morning. With the morning ablutions and breakfast done within an hour, we started for the hill on the opposite side through which we would descend into the valley. The descent was steep, but the weather was so good that we barely broke into a sweat or required water. Two hours of trekking and another three of downhill bouldering and we were on a flat muddy trail that lead to the village. Once we were out of the bushes, we noticed that we were surrounded by mountains on all sides, being right in the middle of the valley. We still had to walk for 2 hours on this flat trail though. On the way out, we found a man-made pool and decided to take a dip in it before exiting the village.