Venturing into Leech infested jungles of Kodaikanal with 360 Inn

There are times when so much frustration creeps into our everyday lives that we long to take off to a place where there are no signs or traces of human habitation.


Places where few or no human beings have ventured before and where even sunlight doesn't get through ! If at all there are living beings they are 'blood sucking Leeches' .


Kodaikanal is not exactly known for leeches ! On the fringes of the Indira Gandhi National Forest ( a bio-diversity nature reserve famous for tigers, bisons etc) lies a beautiful village nestled in the midst of ancient caves and the almost extinct shola forests. We are always on the lookout for village natives who have been to such places and who are very familiar with the environment since they are the ones who we have to rely upon during the trek. Last week we had a group of 4 people coming from Chennai ( 2 men and 2 women).

They were looking for a fairly adventurous trek . So we decided we will take them into a few areas that were unexplored.



On 12th of June , we were ready for our rendezvous with a guy who was known for his familiarity with trekking terrains that were not just adventurous but dangerous as well.

On that day, he was performing the wedding ceremonies for his niece whose marriage was to take place the next day. At 10:30 am we saw a short, 70 year old man walk towards us with a sickle in one hand and an umbrella on the other . We almost fell off when we got to know that he was our guide, the guy whom we had to rely on if any calamities befell us. All our apprehensions regarding his capabilities were dispelled when we saw him walk and the way he cut branches to make way for us through the forest ! Here was a guy who was creating a path, making his way through the forest using calculated guesses that only management consultants are known for ! I was amazed by his confidence and his quick pace that was difficult for us to keep up with. We were around the 30s and he around the 70s.

The initial part of our journey was fine and quite scenic and i found myself wondering if this trek was really adventurous as i had thought it would be, until we hit a road which we had to cross. Beyond the road was a forest with thick undergrowth of trees that didnt seem to have any kind of path within it. The man turned and warned us that from now on, we would have to be ready to face a steady but relentless onslaught of leeches and then smiled at us. We were not very sure if he was joking since we had shoes while he was walking with a bare bathroom chappal. When we mentioned this to him he remarked that the leeches would come on to us and not him ! Soon we headed into the thick undergrowth. With every step the forest got denser and denser and the man ahead of us was cutting his way through the trees to get us deeper. All of a sudden we could see tiny 'snail-like' creatures crawling on us . Every time we warded off one, 10 others would crawl up. Inspite of the man helping us, a few in the group were terrified.

After trekking about 7 kms the women in the group realized that the going would only get tougher since it was a 15 km trek one way and decided to head back to the cabin . Though the guys in the group were disappointed there was no choice.

We discussed our options at the campfire at night. We could either go for a regular trek the next day which was an option that the guys were not too happy with it. The second option was for the women to go on a short trek with one of our guides while us guys would get back to face the leeches with a well planned strategy. We decided on the latter.

So the next day we filled our backpacks with salt bags since they were the only way to counter leech attacks. Ofcourse none of us had really any experience with leeches. We just figured we can pull it off. Atleast if we could do it we would know how leeches would react to salt. We walked down to the village to meet our man who had a sarcastic smile on him. As usual, he had a sickle and an umbrella with him. He suggested that since the women weren't around we might as well go on another trek right into the Indira Gandhi national forest which would be much more adventurous than the previously day's trek. His philosophy was that risk didnt matter since god had already written everyone's place and time of death ! Having known this guy's skills we decided to go ahead with it come what may. Moreover, i own a beautiful plot on this route about 15 kms in the forest which has a beautiful waterfall. We decided to head there.

The site at the waterfall was amazing. Due to the rainy seasons the water was gushing in with full force and we were having a lot of fun! On our route back we decided to take a shorter route back to the cabin since we were getting late. Just as we started heading back we saw a stretch of sand next to the waterfall on which there were several leeches crawling around. We removed our salt bags and poured a little salt on one of them to see how the leeches would react. Leeches typically grow long as they suck blood . But when we dropped salt on them they started to curl up and after about 5- 10 minutes lay lifeless curled in a fetal position. As we headed back we saw several leeches under our foot which we ignored. Our man instructed us to walk fast so the leeches would not have enough time to crawl onto us. After a few miles having left the thick undergrowth we removed our shoes to check. I had 2 leech bites on my foot. Luckily the leech had fallen down and there was very less loss of blood.

As we were exhausted and tired i had a jeep pick us up and drop us back to the cabin. On the way we came face to face with a group of bisons grazing in the forests. We took a snap and headed back to our cabin.

Life does suck sometimes, leeches do always !