Hunter's Indian Adventure: Sunday Funday

Hey there! I've gotten a bit behind on my blog posts after a busy couple of days, but I'll do my best to get caught up!
We had a great day on Sunday, when we traveled to Ponmudi to the Western Ghats Mountains. We left the hotel at 8:30 in the morning, drove two hours to Meenmutty Falls, and made the 2 kilometer hike to the waterfall. Along the way, we traversed rocky terrain through fairly dense forest, saw some interesting flora and fauna, crossed a stream, and finally arrived at the waterfall. It was a beautiful experience, the sight of the water cascading down the rocky landscape, the sound of the rushing water, the smell of fresh mountain air, and the slightly less humid Indian weather. The water was the clearest body of water I had ever seen, and I was surprised by how cold it was.
After hanging out at the base of the waterfall for a few minutes, we hiked back to the bus, and began our ascent up the mountain. We navigated through 22 hairpin turns on the way up, with only 3 foot concrete poles between us and the edge of cliffs, which was a bit unsettling, but we saw monkeys along the way, which made it worth it. We stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant very near the top of the mountain, and had a traditional Kerala meal, which I have to admit, I (and my digestive system) are getting pretty burnt out on at this point. Regardless, we continued our journey to the peak of the mountain, where we were able to climb the observation tower, hike more rocky terrain, and take artsy photos to our hearts' content. I had never been to a mountain range of this size before, although I've only ever been through the Appalachian mountains, but these were a sight to see nonetheless. This has been one of my favorite traveling days (aren't they all, though?) and I'm so glad to have had this opportunity. Hope you all had a good weekend, and thanks for reading!