Gudiyam Caves
Gudiyam Caves
(A journey to the centre of the evolution.)
Prologue:
It all began with the moment when ‘matter’ combined with ‘spirit’ to give birth to the most complex species in the world both anatomically & psychologically... the humans.
Then started the ever going process of evolution, the other name for the phrase ‘Survival of the toughest ’.
One such link in this process was the ‘homo erectus’ and we, a bunch of nine
‘homo sapiens sapienses’ resolved upon going back in to the history of our existence to find out
how simple & basic lives our remote ancestors had.
(Another purpose was to get a break from our boring monotonous
lives & most importantly,utilize the weekend ;-))
Gudiyam ??? what’s that !
Gudiyam Caves, known by the village name situated @ the
foothills comprises of 16 natural
stone shelters which were used for dwelling nearly 100000 years
ago. It’s actually very surprising that in this age of
information technology,
very less information about this place is available. Reason…?
‘Actually very less information is available’! but as
they say ‘Himmat-e-marda to madad-e-Google ’ So after a
weeklong digging on the internet and courtesy people like
Mr. Chandra from R.E.A.C.H. foundation who gave us some
useful tips ,
we finalized Sunday ,the 5th of Oct.’08 for this adventure.And as the old saying goes... fortune favors the brave. The day started beautifully without any rain and remained cool till we reached the Gudiyam village.
foothills comprises of 16 natural
stone shelters which were used for dwelling nearly 100000 years
ago. It’s actually very surprising that in this age of
information technology,
very less information about this place is available. Reason…?
‘Actually very less information is available’! but as
they say ‘Himmat-e-marda to madad-e-Google ’ So after a
weeklong digging on the internet and courtesy people like
Mr. Chandra from R.E.A.C.H. foundation who gave us some
useful tips ,
we finalized Sunday ,the 5th of Oct.’08 for this adventure.And as the old saying goes... fortune favors the brave. The day started beautifully without any rain and remained cool till we reached the Gudiyam village.
After a lot of mails, messages & phone calls the count was finalized to be NINE! Eight Indians & a very jolly Chilean guest who works in the same company as I do. And the composition was 5 members in car & 4 on bikes. (It’s actually safe to go on bikes as well as cars and also advisable as you can enjoy the lush green terrain with sun playing hide n seek behind clouds, parking in the village which is at the foothills of the caves is also safe except for if you can excuse the mud wash by the curious village kids who are happy on some biscuits & junk stuff to keep a watch on your vehicles.)
Chale chalo…
So we kicked off our journey from IIT madras at 5.30 a.m. where we (myself Suyog & Vivek on bike) joined Prasad & Santosh in Santro(thanks to Prasad’s PR’s) later joined by Rohan-Jitendra @ kattipara Jn. On pulser & Abhimanyu & Patil at porur. Meanwhile we picked up raul our Chilean friend who awaited us @ office entrance patiently.
After the breakfast @ porur we halted again @ poondi for a break and some re-planning.
As none of us had been there before we went slow & steady to reach our destination still well in time to be able to explore the place.
After some basic enquiries with villagers who helplessly tried to give us directions... we decided to trust our gut feelings (some arrow markings on stones are also helpful).one good thing about having less information is you don’t miss out on surprises.
With Some beautiful patterns & colorings on stones and the terrain fully rich of greenery, the place looked virgin. The sun was blazing but the trek was pleasant thanks to the breeze which brought a faint scent of eucalyptus.
As none of us had been there before we went slow & steady to reach our destination still well in time to be able to explore the place.
After some basic enquiries with villagers who helplessly tried to give us directions... we decided to trust our gut feelings (some arrow markings on stones are also helpful).one good thing about having less information is you don’t miss out on surprises.
With Some beautiful patterns & colorings on stones and the terrain fully rich of greenery, the place looked virgin. The sun was blazing but the trek was pleasant thanks to the breeze which brought a faint scent of eucalyptus.After an hour long walking on rough & stony route we reached the first cave formed of porous stone.
If you climb a bit more you can spot the other caves from there.
It requires another 2-3 km’s of walking to reach there through the thick veil of branches you will think twice before touching them to make your way through fearing your touch will spoil their purity & the wonderful envelope. Thus we reach the destination,
If you climb a bit more you can spot the other caves from there.
It requires another 2-3 km’s of walking to reach there through the thick veil of branches you will think twice before touching them to make your way through fearing your touch will spoil their purity & the wonderful envelope. Thus we reach the destination,
The Amman Temple which has got nothing to do with the band of civilization of our interest (the hominids). Just take step back & look up @ ceiling I bet you will be awed at the sight of massive beehives clinging to the porous & damp roof of the cave.
Excuse the foul smell & take a stroll but don’t go too far & be over adventurous as there is not much room to escape if queen bee decides to send the forces after you.
Some ruined clay statues attract your attention but that’s it... There’s no info about what they are doing there and we shouldn’t bother coz the beauty of the place demands more attention & deservedly so. Try to inhale as much fresh air as you can but be careful you metro adapted lungs may not be able to process it ;-).
Excuse the foul smell & take a stroll but don’t go too far & be over adventurous as there is not much room to escape if queen bee decides to send the forces after you.
Some ruined clay statues attract your attention but that’s it... There’s no info about what they are doing there and we shouldn’t bother coz the beauty of the place demands more attention & deservedly so. Try to inhale as much fresh air as you can but be careful you metro adapted lungs may not be able to process it ;-).
Returning to modern civilization:
Very slowly we started our return journey back (for a rather late lunch near one of fields which treated us with beautiful scenery & sweet water, escorted by a faithful dog who accompanied us from the first cave who was later rewarded by a pack of goodday butter biscuits) mainly because of fatigue and pondering over what we actually got to see in the caves but many a times “It’s not the result, it’s the journey that matters”.
While descending the only thought that revolved in my mind was
“The Earth has not anything to show more fair,
Dull woody be of soul, who could pass by,
A sight so touching,
In its majesty”
That’s not the end:
The icing on the cake was the humble museum
maintained by the government about 10 km’s from the cave site which gave us the confirmation that the unusual stones we simply dodged en route the caves to be weapons were actually the tools used by the pre-historic man and a beautiful dam built on poondi reservoir.
The shining water and beautiful scenery concluded the day as we drained the remaining charge of the camera battery.
maintained by the government about 10 km’s from the cave site which gave us the confirmation that the unusual stones we simply dodged en route the caves to be weapons were actually the tools used by the pre-historic man and a beautiful dam built on poondi reservoir.
The shining water and beautiful scenery concluded the day as we drained the remaining charge of the camera battery.The day was destined to be beautiful as the orange-yellow torch of sinking sun shone the trails of the path we left behind.
Some useful info & Tips:
Route : (Approx. distance from Adyar – 80 kms. (Max.))
To reach Poondi (about 65-70 kms.):
drive down the Poonamallee Road -> then take the Tirutani Road ->head to Thiruvallur -> turn off to Poondi reservoir
Poondi-Gudiyam (15 kms. Max.):
Palayam -> Seettancheri -> Pennalurpettai ->Right diversion(Gudiyam)
Note: Athirambakkam is another place of interest to visit.
Tips:
· Carry ample water & sufficient food
· Also carry some biscuits to feed yourself & dogs...lol.
· Also keep some basic first-aid & glucon-D if some feels tired.
· Cap, full sleeve T-shirts, cargo/jeans, sports shoes, backpack advisable
· Start early in order to start the trek before afternoon.
· I am sure you would take few carry bags along unless you bent of turning the place into a dumping ground.
Avoid having food in the caves as the smell is rather unpleasant and it takes lot more to clear up the mess...than to create one.
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