Hiking to the temples of yore with 360 Inn

When we look back at the end of the current year there is a pall of gloom with all the recent terrorist attacks. As much as there is gloom there is hope!




A group of 5 friends from chennai decided to bid goodbye to the year 2008 with us @ 360 Inn. They wanted an unforgettable and memorable experience that would last a lifetime ! Last but not the least they wanted to be left alone and temporarily cut off from the outside world and venture into uncharted territory !



In the days of yore, people used to walk through miles and miles of forests to have a rendezvous with god since temples were situated far away from civilization deep in the woods ! This weekend, we set the stage for these 5 people to visit such a temple about 45 kms from Kodai city deep in the Kodaikanal jungles. Legend has it that deers and sambhars seek shelter in this temple to protect themselves from tigers and leopards !

The trek to the temple took us through dense shola forests after which we reached a clearing that led us to a mountain that we had to hike to reach our destination. We had packed our lunch since the trek was about 7 kms one way from the 360 Inn cabins and the group wanted to spend some time at the temple. On our way we came across some tiger excrement which had a nail within it which probably belonged to a deer or a sambhar. The dump being very fresh, the guide warned us we might have company if we didn't head back to our cabins before daylight!

As we reached the temple, we came across a herd of bisons grazing the vast landscape that unfolded in front of us oblivious of the stock market turmoil and the economic climate wrecking the world below! We looked at them with a sense of awe wondering how pathetic our life was compared to theirs!

The group had the opportunity to share a private moment with the almighty (that only the rich such as Amitabh Bachchan and Anil ambani seem to afford these days) admist the clouds at an altitude of 7000 ft with wild animals for company . Our guide offered us some 'Karpooram' (Camphor) and we bid goodbye to 2008 with a renewed hope for 2009 !

We just didn't look up to the gods but went up to them and got back to earth in time for the new year !