The drive up the hill was spectacular with 20 hairpin bends and a beautiful view of valleys and the city of Salem beneath. The play of the sunlight and shadows of the hills on the valleys was breathtaking.
Our driver made the climb uphill look dangerous — no horns on hairpin bends and always on the wrong lane until we almost had a few head-ons with trucks and other cars driving down. The weather didn't help, since it was very misty and visibility was less than 5 m. Later we learned that this is the usual scenario every day; it becomes misty and you are surrounded by clouds in the afternoon.
By the time we finished lunch around 3 pm, the weather had cleared and the sun was peeking out again from behind the clouds. The estate has its own private dam and waterfall. We set out after lunch with a young guide (the son of a staffer) to explore the estate.
The path around the estate was studded with beautiful wildflowers. The path was almost carpeted with oranges and mosambi, which had dropped off the trees. I collected over a dozen of each.
The coffee plants were laden with berries at different stages of their life cycle. We were also met on our way by various other natural inhabitants of the estate on whose habitation we'd taken the liberty of intruding. To name a few, they included families of spiders and a snail.
After hiking to the dam and the waterfalls, we spent some time frolicking in the pool of the dam. The water was refreshingly cool and the surrounding forests only added to the charm. I had to exercise my self-control really hard in order not to jump onto a tree and give out Tarzan's wild call.
By the time we returned to our tent, it was dusk and the estate staff didn't recommend any further outdoor activities. We lay back on hammocks and enjoyed the sight of the city lights coming on 4,500 ft below us.
I was glad to be here, and not in the honking city below.
Words can hardly do justice to the place that we reached at the end of the hike. The view from there made me feel like paying homage by falling on my knees and kissing nature for just being what it is, so naturally beautiful.
It reminded me of what Emily Dickinson had once written:
Who has not found the heaven below
Will fail of it above.
God's residence is next to mine,
His furniture is love.
To me, a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass was more welcoming than the a luxurious Persian rug. We were standing on the top of our hill, surrounded by many rocky faces while at our feet, thousands of feet below, lay the sleeping cities.
I could hear the wind whisper and echo off the surrounding hills, and my breath mingle with nature. For once, I could stop and listen to my heartbeat. To sit in the shade and look upon the verdant green hills was invigorating.
Discovering that idyllic place, we found ourselves filled with a yearning to linger there, where time stood still and beauty overwhelmed us with a deep sense of gratitude and profound love. We were delighted by the beauty that surrounded us, as our softest footsteps echoed off the hills around us.
John Schindler said, "How easy and simple it is to live enjoyably when the simple, interminable blue of the sky, with its long wisps of white clouds, become a pleasant thing to behold, a thing of beauty that thrills you every time you care to look skyward."
I lost myself in nature and found peace in my love for the green earth.
After filling our lungs with fresh air and refreshing our senses with beauty, we hiked back to our tent. I bought some farm fresh pepper (Rs 300 per kg) and cardamom (Rs 500 per kg) and was gifted two baseball-sized papayas by the extremely generous estate staff.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
While cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
- John Muir
The journey from 