It rains nine months of the year in Meghamalai
The May 29, 2010 issue of Tehelka was an unusual one. The magazine took a break -- a holiday, if you will -- from its hard-nosed coverage of grimmer happenings.
The enjoyable Summer Special compiled travel articles by well known writers (such as Amitava Kumar, Amit Chaudhuri, Mridula Koshy, etc.) along with relative unknowns (such as moi). My piece was on Meghamalai, that almost unheard-of hill station in the High Wavy Hills near Theni in south-eastern Tamil Nadu.
Excerpt:
Tamil for ‘cloud mountain’, Meghamalai is an isolated hill station in the southern Western Ghats. In the 1930s, the British planted tea here. The only way to get to the ‘High Wavys’ — as James Henry nelson described these hills in The Madura Country — is by a tortuous private road. There are no restaurants or fuel stops along the 39-km stretch from Chinnamanur. The two decent but expensive accommodations are owned by Wood Briar Estates. Only the most desperate tourists visit Meghamalai, as a side-trip from Thekkady in Kerala.
Link: Holiday at the High Wavys