Night trek in the forest

this may also be called, thekkady, part 2!

i had the opportunity to take a night trek in the thekkady forest. it was a 3 hour trek in the jungle at night, with escorts.

with two escorts, one as the guide and the other with a rifle, it felt quite secure.
till we were deeper into the forest and almost cut off from the road and human sounds.

 

you can hear our footsteps also, if you listen closely.

we were asked to sign some declarations that we are doing this with full awareness of the dangers of the jungle and that we are solely responsible for anything that might happen to us etc etc etc - that increased the excitement.
While we were probably never too far from the roads, but the fact that the guards did not carry any radios made me feel a little insecure.
when asked,the guide said that they can always use the cell phone!
that was reassuring that were were not really out in the wilderness, but a region with cell tower visibility!

anyway, we saw mouse deer, barking deer, sambar deer, a fruit bat that was comfortable inside a hollow, a porcupine in a hurry etc.

the overall experience was very good, as every member of the trekking party - that was limited to 5 -  also had very powerful torches, with a warning that we shoudl be very careful and watch out for snakes etc.

the kerala tourism department with the foirest departmetn has set up many eco-tourism initiatives.
if you are interested in the activities in and around thekkady, you can visit their site.