the latest times passion trail takes you for a trek through deep forests tea plantations lowlying clouds and the wafting aroma of spices amidst the mighty western ghats how long has it been since you last woke up to the melody of a birdsong when was the last time you climbed a hill and i dont mean the inclined treadmill at the gym weve become too engrossed if unwittingly in our ninetofive routines in powerpoint presentations and selfappraisals in conferences and watercooler debates times passion trails gives you a break from the rut and its as green as it gets a trek amidst the verdant western ghats the weeklong trekking trail kicks off on december 11 from kochi with 20 participants led by trekker and photographer hashmat singh on day 1 the trekkers are driven to munnar where coffee and conversation take over the challenge begins on day 2 when you embark on a fullday trek to meesapulimala the second highest peak in the ghats at an elevation of 2640 metres the terrain en route is typical to the region part highaltitude rainforest and part grassland and brimming with a large variety of wildlife they say its about the journey not the destination but meesapulimala may just prove that adage wrong with a breathtaking sight of deep green forests and the kolukkumalai tea estate the highest in the world the night is spent in cottage tents of the anaerangal camp under a starry sky dawn is announced by the melodious songs of the malabar whistling thrush in the cloud forest next to the camp these are the same hills and forests chinese and arab traders and much later the europeans aspired for they came for profit and only ventured up to the coast where the treasures of these hills were brought down for them says trail architect hashmat singh now they lure travellers an early morning climb to the phantoms head the tallest feature nearby offers a spectacular view of the sunrise over the papathy shola or the butterfly forest so named for the mass migration of butterflies day 3 features a visit to the tribal village of the muduvans this tribes peculiar habit of carrying their children on their backs has earned them the name of muduvans or back people the village is located near the anaerangal lake where wild elephants come down for a drink many tribal colonies have sprouted around this water source to grow spices the next day a short drive takes you to bl ram village dam the starting point of a 14km trek to the shantapara camp on the route after negotiating the grasslands you arrive at the edge of the mathikettan shola national park home to a variety of flora and the fauna including the malabar giant squirrel gaur sambar and elephants the night is spent in dome tents day 5 includes a 12km trek to chaturangapara camp following jeep trails through cardamom and pepper plantations you get an insight into the regions