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The trek to the Velliangiri would open only for four months from February to May. The main reasons are that the monsoon usually start in June and it would become extremely slippery and being a dense forest, animals would return to this natural habitat in the winter months,.During summer, the animals would go down to plains in search of water to beat the extreme heat prevailing during summer.
To reach the top, one needs to climb seven hills to see the SivaLinga..We discussed with the people who made it and everyone said that the first and seventh hill would be the toughest to climb and the rest would be more or less plains.But, the reality was different. From their view, it was better to start in the night to beat the sweltering heat and return early before the scorching sun drenches and drains us and also to plan the trek nearing full moon so that we may get some brightness in the pitch dark conditions of the eerie night.
So, I along with four of my friends planned to reach Poondi , the base or the starting point of the trek, by 10 PM and to start the trek by around 11 pm and reach the top by early morning to see the sun coming out of the majesty mountains and then starting early and reach before the noon sun breaks open the skull…
But executing a plan is difficult.. all the detailed preparations and plans were in doldrums as we started late in the evening and reached Poondi late in the night. The first frightening experience to the trek was when we saw only GenZ guys plying in their bikes on their way to Poondi and saw many youths casually strolling the roads on the way to Poondi . I was worried as I am the oldest in the gang with salt and pepper appearance and the whole lot of people we crossed were barely in their teens and were only skin and bones….the right age for these type of treks is “early teens...”not the late forties or early fifties...... Not only the people who walk and the youth who ply in the bikes, there were many mini vans and buses taking the pilgrims who must be at least half my age.
Just before 2 kms from the trek start site, we were stopped by police and asked to park the vehicle as there was already heavy traffic jam near the trek temple site.we had tea in the nearby shop and had a small chat with the people there,The owner gave few tips and lakhs of people have already started and asked us to start quickly.From the shop, we could see the crescent moon of adiyogi statue of Isha and also could see the mighty mountain which sent shivers right down the legs. It was tall, huge and at about 6000 feet,looked insurmountable for me.. it was rightly called as south Kailayam and could see the lights flashing from the pilgrims torches all over the mountain which looked like the twinkling stars in the dark night as flashes of the light lit the dark mighty mountains.
As many people started walking from the parking itself, we made a right decision in picking up an auto to the trek site to save that extra energy.
When we landed there, we could see thousands of people roaming all over the temple. Huge queue to get that customary and life guard bamboo stick and the routine checking of plastic bottle and plastic items and asked to remove those items from our bags.No snacks,, no paste no soap… anything other than water… The plastic bottles, if we take it with us, must be brought back to the counter. After bullying the people around with some influence, we got into the entry site and started our trek by around 12 midnight
Since there was huge crowd, climbing the first of the seven hills was difficult and in pitch dark conditions, we could climb the first hill with the torch flashing by the co-trekkers. The steps were of unequal height…all the steps were ground and crushed in the hard rock,..one small step, one large, one irregular and one rugged .. and with great difficulty …with positive vibes and fresh legs and heart , we climbed the first hill .. the most difficult of seven hills,, and with huge anticipation that after the first hill, we would reach plains..and it would be a cakewalk for up to seventh one which is another difficult hill to climb, as told by the people,,
But the nature had other ideas.. there was a small Vinayakar temple at the end of first hill and after that, it was again the same story.. the second hill was also tough with huge and uneven steps and there was no easy plains trek..
Equally tough and at times we felt like falling down due to the short rugged hard rocky uneven steps.. Already exhausted and with huge crowd” jostling for limited space in the hills,we felt exhausted and were pushed to the limits already.
But there were lot of shops selling everything like cool drinks, fruits chocolates and even Bhajji and bhondas except water.. we took two water bottles each and already we finished half of it.
Cursing everyone….for wrongly guiding us, we started to the third hill which was also very difficult . We got stuck up in the hills where ever there were shops for refreshing. People thronged the shops and blocked and clogged the already narrow rugged paths.
I felt the real picture of what the stampede would be …in the hills. A very harrowing experience. Hordes of people with bags may fall like a pack of cards in the steps if there is some misstep or other unruly incidents..and there were hardly any space to move. If anyone makes a wrong move ,it would be catastrophe for all of us as everyone would fall like packs of cards due to heavy congestion and limited space in the narrow hills…
Full of narrow steps, both the people who go up and who climb down have to constantly push and beg for space to give way to each other. Saturday is not the right time if one is averse to the crowd. Advantage is you will move with the crowd and somehow they will take you to the top if you are mentally strong.. the disadvantage being .. it is frightening if one slips, stampede like possibility and the chances of missing the gang is huge., we missed our gang members in the crowd and everyone was lonely in their pursuit to the top of the mountain …The same problem was prevailing in every group in the crowd ..I guess…as many others were also yelling their friends names in dismay …due to the huge crowd and also due to differing individual ability to keep up with the pace, agility and stamina of the rest of the gang members..It is really frightening at times.
We reached the fourth hill and there was no respite as the ascent becomes tougher and tougher and the path becomes narrower and narrower and the crowd becomes denser and denser… Adding to it, the crowd returning from the top becoming larger and larger…
On reaching the fifth hill, we saw Sunai(pool of water)where people started taking bath and again there was hardly any space to climb…with people coming in the opposite direction,…,somehow crossed that place with lot of pushes and pulls and entered the next hill..,
This was a steep descent and there were some plains to cross. This too was treacherous and slippery..It was called as thiruneeru malai as white sand being drawn from the sides of the mountain..and people started burrowing the hill to have a pinch of white sand
At the end of sixth hill, we could see the beautiful mountains and varied landscapes.., the picture perfect of thick dense clouds dangling between the green mountains was a sight to behold, 
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I was shattered when I saw the seventh hill.. it was homongous and people saying that climbing the seventh is equal to the first four hills.. thought of retreating back for a while on seeing the mammoth seventh hill…but made up the mind to somehow try and make it to the top…it was already six AM and the dawn made us dumb looking at the might of the seventh hill.. that is why we were told to climb all the seven hills before the dawn.. if anyone who sees it for the first time, they would be frightened by the height and might of the mountains…
But, on starting the seventh hill, felt easy as the seventh was not that tough as the first hill… able to climb with ease as there were no uneven steps or hard rock.., was almost a smooth ride uphill and it was the quickest hill to cover and reach the top to see the suiyambu lingam
On reaching the top of the hill, there was a narrow entrance to the temple .. where people divulge from all the angles and there was again chaos and commotion to get into that narrow path leading to the main temple.. somehow managed to push through the gate and after half an hour of fights and twists… saw the suiyambulingam( self made one)
I even thought of going back on the track seeing the mad rush of huge people thronging to see the bliss of Siva… but made and saw the five lingas..coming around the huge rock like a girivalam… here there was no priest … only forest personnel manage the crowd and apply Vibuthi on the forehead.. no alms were allowed.. gently avoiding the alms and let us go smoothly..,
On reaching the top, I just want to be quickly away from the mad rush of people clinking the bells continuously and the deafening sound sickens a bit and blowing the conche to the terrible high … there was no enlightenment… no momentary loss of oneself .. but a sense of achievement and attainment on reaching the top of the temple
My next goal is to reach the base which would be twice as difficult as to reach the top..
The seventh hill which was easy to climb because there were no uneven steps of hard rock.. but being a smooth and gradual descent on red sand …has its pitfalls being slippery..
One moment of distraction or one hasty step would land you in trouble...fall would be disastrous as there would not be any medical help whatsoever... ,,should be very cautious...need to be slow and gradual ....
Actually there are only two hills.. first to sixth is actually one hill which we climb in a circular manner.. the first five hills are ascent only and the sixth is a deep descent. From where we can see.spectacular views of clouds and sun rise. .. after that there is another huge mountain which is the seventh hill..,
We crossed sixth hill in a hurry and with sun in its full shine and blazing directly almost took us to our limits already…we had to cross five more hills and it was getting tougher and tougher with the uneven rocky steps and sweltering heat…
We resigned for a break in the fifth when a local tribal lady showed a way through the forest to escape from the scorching sun and also claimed that this off track through the forest would take you straight into the first hill bypassing the tedious journey through the steps
And with bit of hesitation, we took a detour from the regular steps and entered the off route.. the start was pleasant as we were in the thick forest with no ray of sun anywhere and with the pleasant buzzing sounds of birds and the rumbling noise of the leaves, we slowly slithered… As we passed through the forest, encountered all sorts of adventures.., strictly not for a meek hearted fellow.., need to jump the hill, cross a deep gorge, need to bend like Beckham to go under the huge tree and encountered big insects….
But trekking for more than two hours, we were in no man’s land… didn’t. know where we were.? how long more to go ? whether we would reach the required spot… everyone was worried… but there was no way to climb back the off route… and we went on and on with bated breaths to join the mainstream . After another half an hour of trek in the dense forest , we saw regular route and the noise of the people and heaved a deep sigh of relief…
That relief did not last long as we were not in the first hill.. but somewhere between third and fourth hill and again our arduous trek in the uneven steps started with heavy trembling of the legs and the sagging mind ,,,
Heard a lot of stories about the off route in the forest,,, very dangerous trek that was… risk of animal attacks and history of tribal people taking the pilgrims as slaves after hypnotising and mesmerising them . Stories of lot of people disappeared from the forest and so on .., and we were happy that we were on track again.
With legs trembling, heart beats galloping , sweats drenching and energy sapping with no water for hydration in the most difficult first hills, we crawled on all fours literally to see the first step of the first hill. when we were literally crawling, heard a voice in the back shouting ....give way ..give way..and in a split seconds , he crossed us with a oxygen cylinder on his shoulder (probably an emergency)like’” a biker throttling at 200kms per hour when we just slowly and leisurely drive car.” we were dumb struck at his speeds , stamina and stability .
And finally after about five hours in the ghostly forest and scorching sun, we reached the base and I threw the Bamboo stick on the last step …
On reaching the base, had a sense of accomplishment and just laid bare under the tree for nearly four hours to meet the others in our gang who were one by one making it slowly and steadily ...Alighting on the first step of the first hill on the return journey was like breasting the tape or crossing the line in 42.195 km race… a sense of euphoria… and all the agony and tribulations gone …pure serene… at last , able to fight demons and pains within ... …
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