It was a beautiful sunny day in Vattakanal and there was nothing on my mind, it was absolute Shanti. I just sat there looking at the log and the beautiful hills behind it. In a distance I could see Kodai. I remembered how picturesque the lights from the town looked last night. Like all my other trips I was lost again, happily in the freshness of the forest. The hills looked amazing, right out of an ancient tale. Just a couple of minutes later, however, I could not see them anymore.

Out of nowhere, I was engulfed in clouds. I could barely see the log, which was probably 10 meters away. I just sat there feeling the cool wind hit my face. It made me smile. The grass and the wild flowers were now alive and all I could hear was the chirping of the birds, the sounds of the leaves, and some powerful music playing at a distance. Things changed so fast in Vattakanal, it felt like you were in a magic show without a hint of whats going to happen next. Although, over the last 100 seconds, my environment changed drastically, there was something that did not change a bit: I still had nothing on my mind, it was still absolute Shanti. Such is the beauty of Vattakanal.

Why you should visit: Vattakanal is a village right out of fantasies and fairy tales. You will feel the presence of things that you cannot see and understand energies like never before. Its like a spiritual forest and probably now is a good time to visit because it is likely to become a very commercial tourist destination over the next few years.

Things to do: See nature do some active magic, sunrise over the hills, explore dolphins nose and the number of hidden waterfalls around the area, have wonderful Israeli food at Altaf Bhai’s place, cant be very explicit but there is some other magic here too.

Best time to visit: Anytime of the year, but the winters here are just to special. Accessible from: Kodaikanal is a 40 minutes walk from Vattakanal. Its easy to reach Kodai and the Kodai-Vatta walk is refreshing. Something extra: Muscaria is risky. And carry a torch at night, lots of Gaurs in this village.