Trek Tamil Nadu adds two destinations this season

Chennai: Trekking enthusiasts have two new locations to explore as Trek Tamil Nadu has added Vellore and Trichy to its destination list this season. The team has identified two routes in Pachamalai near Trichy, and two trails have been mapped surrounding Amirthi Zoo in Vellore. Both locations are popular among tourists and locals alike. The trekking season kicked off a month ago.Vismiju Viswanathan, managing director of Tamil Nadu Wilderness Experience Corporation, said the two trails in Pachamalai are the Senbagam Trail and the Mamarathu Solai Trail. The Senbagam Trail begins on the outskirts of Trichy, winding through millet fields and plantations before entering a bamboo thicket that opens into forest. Drongos, paradise flycatchers, bee-eaters and the white-throated ground thrush are among the birds one can spot along the way, while trees draped in lianas signal a healthy, undisturbed canopy. The forest is equally rewarding for butterfly enthusiasts, with sightings of the blue Mormon, blue bottle, common crow and various moths drifting through the understorey. Trekkers say the 3km trail suitable for beginners.The 6km long Mamarathu Solai Trail, also on the outskirts of the Rock Fort city, begins with a diversion off the main road into a landscape that shifts from scrub and thorny bush into the deeper forest, with dry deciduous cover giving way to moist, shaded canopy, broken only where sunlight filters through. A mostly downhill trek, the trail crosses streams and passes terraced fields where locals cultivate millet. Paradise flycatchers, drongos, munias, owlets and occasional migratory birds move through the trees, while frogs and toads can be heard near the water.The Trek Tamil Nadu team is set to open one of the Vellore trails to participants soon, Viswanathan added.