To visit the honey gatherers we travelled to Chembakolli, a small village in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary – a 321-square-kilometre park that also happens to be one of the best tiger reserves in Asia. The park is at the junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka states on the northeastern slopes of the Western Ghats.
Chembakolli is a beautiful, magical place familiar to generations of British schoolchildren – for more than 15 years, eight- and nine-year-old students have had a geography lesson based on Chembakolli village. Teachers from Britain have visited the village and there is an interactive blog between English schoolchildren and Chembakolli kids (see www.chembakolli.com).
