Nestling under the Seshachalam hills, the Tirumala-Tirupati region offers not only spiritual bliss, but also scope of nature tourism and adventure sports, the potential of which is yet to be fully tapped.
While adventure is a healthy pastime, it clearly becomes a misadventure in the absence of proper route planning, structured execution and safety measures in place. The major mishap in the recent times was the death of eight youth in September 2015, who had trekked up the Kapila Theertham hillock and got drowned in the pond above the waterfall. It was clearly a casual trek with a ‘hit or miss’ attitude that led to their drowning in the water body, the depth of which still remains a mystery. The TTD later fenced the entire area.
Major risk factors
Seshachalam hills are known for their rocky and slippery terrain as well as the presence of wild animals like elephants, leopards, sloth bears, wild boars and poisonous snakes, considered the major risk factors that an adventure seeker is faced with.
Generally, the elephants tend to move from Siddalagandi water body towards the Talakona head and get down the highly dense forest towards Mamanduru and Balapalle, abutting the Tirupati-Kadapa highway. However, they are not known to cross the road to the other side, but retrace the same route later. This seasonal pattern behind the movement of elephant herds is a point worth a note, lest the tuskers could catch the trekkers unawares.
Nature enthusiasts from Chennai and Bengaluru are a regular to this hilly terrain. Treks are arranged by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) and Mosaic Adventure Commune (MAC) to Tirumala.
“We take Yanadi tribesmen as guides and hold a recce ahead of our schedule. We also carry medical kit and technical equipment, right from a compass to a GPS locator,” says MAC founder B.V. Ramana, who has trekked the hills over a hundred times in the last 25 years. The visitors are constantly cautioned to maintain discipline while moving in groups and exhibit leadership skills when faced with crisis.
More than the elephants, what has been termed by many a trekker as ‘dreaded’ is the huge presence of female anopheles mosquitoes causing falciparum malaria, the deadliest form of malaria. There have been occasions of the trekkers falling sick instantly.
Mr. Ramana also finds the recent trend of taking ‘selfies’ as having aggravated manifold the risk factor, as a little jerk from a cliff due to loss of attention and negligent approach could land them in the abyss.
On the other side, the devout visiting water bodies such as Chakra Theertham, Papavinasanam, Akasaganga, etc, in groups are in the safe zone, thanks to road connectivity and availability of public transportation.
