Trek through virgin forests and rich tea estates, savour the picturesque landscapes of the countryside from the many viewpoints, enjoy a quite moment at the secluded dams and wash off your fatigue at the pristine waterfalls. Megamalai is the right place if you are a nature lover.

Located at a 2.5 hour drive from Theni, Megamalai comes close to the Periyar Tiger Reserve. This land is at its unexplored best as the government has made it open to public just three years ago. The treks through the forests and the tea estates promise to be thrilling what with the probability of sighting animals such as Indian Gaurs, wild boars, elephants, Leopards and even tigers.

Kurangani is 16 kms away from Bodinayakkanur. A less-explored tourism spot, this region has ridges and mountain peaks, surrounded by valleys and covered with dense forests.

Not only will you get to enjoy the waterfalls that are just a 30-minute trek away, you will also get to see coffee and cardamom plantations and processing. This place is known for its spices. A couple of hours of walking will take you to a remote tribal village that’s completely cut off from the world.

Yes, we have something for those of you who like to explore as you trek. One trek leads to Top Station through Central Station and the other leads to Kolukumalai Estate which is the world’s tallest standing tea estate.

SRIDHAR

At his alma mater IIM-A, they used to call him Whisper. But if you meet Sridhar Lakshmanan now, you will know that he has changed with the times. The founder of ecoLogin, he is our mentor, guide, philosopher and dear friend. Spend just two minutes with him and you will return with nuggets of wisdom. Sridhar is not just an avid traveler and a brilliant photographer, he also has a great appetite for books and Tamil poetry – both of which he devours with equal delight. There are many famous legends about sridhar but the most popular is the one about how he almost dropped out of IIM-A to start a fish farm in Tamil Nadu.

P.S. Lesser-known facts about Sridhar: He can play the violin, has a keen interest in bonsai, and a fondness for the word ‘actually’, which he liberally peppers his speech with.

ARUL SEKAR

The silent killer Arul Sekar, whose is extremely talented in exploring new trek routes in the jungle. With his extensive knowledge of Rock climbing got from “Himalayan Mountaineering Institute” he can be called as the “Spiderman of ecologin”. He is an Dual degree holder from Anna University, Chennai & currently pursuing M.S-Enterpreneurship in IIT- Madras. Arul is from Coimbatore, a typical techie worked for Cognizant for few years & started ecologin along with Sridhar.

P.S. Arul roamed for more than a year around all over India to look for new enterpreneural opportunities & he is well known among for his talent of travelling in the unreserved compartments in trains ALWAYS!!!!

ARUN

Arun is a Wildlife enthusiast who has experience of around 3yrs in Animal Ethology. This MBA-grad from Anna University worked in a pharmaceutical firm for six months and then decided that nature is the best medicine life has to offer. So ecoLogin was an obvious choice. Legend has it that one time, he trekked through some unexplored mountains in Coimbatore without any trekking gear – no maps, no equipment. Just a bottle of water. This Trichy lad has traveled so extensively that he refers to himself as the “Man from Everywhere”. Mokkai Master Arun Kumar V is famous not just for his mokkais (PJs) but also for his love for non-linear cinema. A self-confessed Tarantino and Nolan fan, Arun loves to go off on trips by himself – “Just me and my bike”. He loves birds, animals, snakes, frogs & insects more than humans.

P.S. Arun has a secret obsession that we at ecoLogin have observed – he loves to scribble on the white board.

SATHIESH KUMAR

Google of ecologin, who has wide variety of information in all the fields. He can also be called as the Debator, who loves to debate a lot of things. Sathiesh is from Kanyakumari & is a college mate of Arun. Sathiesh also is maintaining a blog called incrediblekumari.blogspot.com exclusively for the exotic places in his district.

P.S. Sathiesh loves Politics & related Gossips more than anything in the world. He used to read old newspapers and according to rumours, he used to read todays newspaper only a week later.

MANIKANDA SUBBU

Our resident philosopher Manikandan Subbu has a funny habit of repeating his ayes and nays. He is a “built-in echo” of ecologin. He always says either “Yes, yes”, “No, No” or “OK, OK” – be it to his colleagues or to clients at the other end of the phone. Subbu completed his BE from Coimbatore and then, while doing his MBA, participated in an ecoLogin programme. So it was natural for him to join the team after graduating. This Kanyakumari lad with a boyish charm loved conducting science experiments until he had to start studying physics and chemistry as subjects in school. Offbeat Hollywood movies are his cup of coffee, “With subtitles though,” he adds.

P.S. His reading has steadily graduated from Tamil pulp to English non-fiction, favourites being Freakanomics and Outliers.

NISHA

Her friends have an interesting nick name for Nisha Roseline Luiz – Tarzan. Technologically-challenged Nisha quit her job as a techie in Cognizant to join ecoLogin after she realized that life in the cubicle was not for her. This dusky beauty from Mallu land grew up in Chennai and went to college in Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering. Nisha loves to trek and travel (but obvious). She is a junk art junkie and makes personalized gifts for all her friends on their birthdays. She is also famous for having jumped off a 30ft high waterfall near Talakona. And one day, just for kicks, she shaved off her head. But now her hair is growing back to her earlier Tarzan-ish length.

P. S. Nisha has the cutest, most personalized corner in the office

MAHBOOB ALI

Mahboob Ali, is a big man with a big heart. Mahboob is an one-man army for ecoLogin. Mahboob loves children. Mahboob loves sports. And most importantly, Mahboob loves to cook. He claims that he was the one who taught both his sister-in-law and wife to cook. And we must say, Mahboob makes a mean chicken curry. This Tirunelveli boy grew up in Tirupur where, after working for a few years in a garment factory, he set up a fancy store. At office, Mahboob is the man we call out to whenever we are in trouble – he is our right hand and our left hand.

P.S. Mahboob’s many varieties of egg dishes are famous in his circle of family and friends.

B.C.KIRAN

An avid wild life enthusiast and a travel freak. He has a MBA from University of Western Sydney. He has worked in companies like ITC Welcomgroup and Mahindra Holidays and has ab 10 years of rich experience and understating of the tourism sector.

VINUTHA VENKANNA

B.E graduate passed out of Bangalore University in the year 2000. By profession was into IT, used to render services as Project Manager with HCL Technologies Ltd,. till Aug 2010. Her hobbies are pottery, designing, learning eco-friendly art and music. Also indulge in reading related to Spirituality. Living her childhood dream of working closely with nature by educating children about environmental issues. Has a good understanding of the End-to-End workflow of a project process.

Marayoor claims a rich history dating back to the Stone Age. The climate is characterised by mild wet winters and hot dry summers.The trek through the shrub forests of Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary will take you to the Thoovanam Waterfalls on the Pambar River.

Out of the 44 rivers in Kerala, only three flow eastwards and Pambar is one of them. Pambar eventually joins the Amaravati, a tributary of Kaveri. The multipurpose dam Amaravati Reservoir Project (for irrigation, flood control and Hydro-electric power station) is built on this river. Marayoor is the only place in Kerala that has a natural growth of sandalwood trees.

The climate in Marayoor characterised by low rainfall is suitable for the growth of sandalwood trees from which oil can be extracted.It is also an important pre-historic site in Kerala, and has unique dolmens, caves, rock edicts and engravings dating back to the Stone Age. Apart from over-ground dolmens, underground burial chambers built with dressed stone slabs have also been discovered in Marayoor. All these dolmens are made from heavy granite slabs, mined using primitive technology.

So, if you are in Marayoor, you will be enthralled to see the wide variety of places like “Dolmen Caves”, “Thoovanam Waterfalls”, “Anaimudi Shola Forest”, “Sandalwood Forest”, “Strawberry farms”, “Apple Farms”, “Wild life & Bird Watching” and so on…

Want to have a good time but not trek too much?

Kunjapannai is just the place for you. Ideal for families and mild trekkers, this virgin canopied land with tea and coffee estates on either side is a virtual paradise, especially for bird and animal watchers.

We arrange for treks to picturesque viewpoints and idyll water streams.

Kunjapannai is situated on the way to Kotagiri, around 15kms from Metupalayam. The accommodation is arranged for at a beautiful home stay.

So pack your bags and get into the open, for what better way to spend your holiday than under the blue skies?