Munnar <>Kodaikkanal - Short cut.....

When my friend Justine told me about the Klavarai route to kodaikkanal, which was the first time I was hearing about that place. Even though I had heard about the old Munnar- kodaikkanal forest road (Escape road; which is closed now) I haven’t had any information about the road going through Klavarai village. Justine is a regular reader of “Mathrubhumi Yathra” from which he got the tip about this route. The results of some preliminary searches in the internet were encouraging. After reading the blogs of Shinu sir and Mr.Aditya Krishna I became so impressed and was eagerly waiting for the trip. Due to the difficulty in getting leave for both of us together, we planned it as a one day trip. After a long wait the day for the trip has come. To make the maximum use of the day we started our journey at 3.00 AM from Ernakulam. Ignoring the cold and without taking any breaks we ride and reached Munnar by 6:00 AM. Even though body was freeze due to cold my mind was thrilled with excitement. The view of mist shining in sunrays was awesome. The journey to top station, enjoying the cool breeze was unforgettable.The road from top station to Koviloor was almost vacant. The road is going through the Eucalyptus plantations and ends at the Koviloor village. Koviloor is a border village in Kerala, but seems like a Tamilnadu village as majority of its people speaks Tamil. Justine knows Tamil well and there was no difficulty in enquiring the route to Kodaikkanal. Every one we asked were advising us to go through the Marayoor route and because of that we decided to ask the route till Klavarai village.

                                    After a few kilometres we reached a village named Kadaverykara. While having a tea  at Kadaverykara we enquired about the roads condition and the shop keeper informed us that the road is almost wiped off in the recent monsoon rain. Before the trip itself Shinu sir reminded us about the roads condition and we haven’t had many expectations.  We were already prepared for the worst; hence the shop keeper’s words didn’t de-motivate us much. We decided to go as far as we can and went ahead. The tar road ends at Koviloor and the steep climb starts from there. The road was filled with broken pieces of rock and it was not possible to ride the bike through that road with both of us on it. So I decided to walk and Justine ridded the bike.

But going further the road was in a very bad shape and bike was not able to climb. We put the bike in first gear and both of us pushed it and somehow crossed that area. We felt that we are repaying the bike for carrying us from Ernakulam to Koviloor. For every hundred meters ride we had to push the bike for at least two hundred meters. In fact that road was not meant for vehicles, it was a horse track used by the villagers for carrying their agricultural products to the market.

Moving upwards the view of Kadaverykara village became clearer. The view of tile roofed houses covered with fog was marvellous. The terrace farming made the place so picturesque. The road was continuing through the Eucalyptus plantations and we were the only travellers on that route. The view from each hill top was sufficient to remove the tiredness of steep climb. The mist was cleared and visibility was better.

On the way we saw the name board of a Chennai company which owns the plantations. After crossing the Eucalyptus plantation area we saw a village woman on the way side. She was going to pluck potatoes in a nearby farm and we had a chat with her. Here also Justin’s Tamil knowledge helped us and in the short time she described about their struggles in the village and shared her worries about her youngest son who dropped his studies and taking care of the horses now. In that village horses are inevitable and each house has at least one horse. The lady warned us about the pathetic condition of the road in front. She was as sad as she couldn’t offer some food for us. We can see such innocent people only in this kind of villages. Thanking for her kindness we moved ahead and soon realised that her warning about the road was correct. There was a river crossing the road and I couldn’t find an option to cross it. After seeing the water level and big stones in the other side I fixed my mind that it is the end of our trip and it is better to go back. But Justine was determined and he ridded the bike into the river and the real struggle started from there. The other end of the road was steep and filled with large stones. We two along with the bike in first gear used our full strength and after a half an hour struggle we reached the other end.

But by that time my dress was become so dirty. The path was slippery and bike was throwing mud to my dress while I pushed it from the back. By that time I was so tired and hungry too. I felt sad for ignoring all the advices and starting the trip without something to eat. But a five minutes rest in the cool and fresh air weather along with the chilled water from the river was enough to recharge me. The panoramic view of vegetable gardens refreshed me and I was excited to move ahead.

But the road was the worse and our bike fell into a huge pit and we were almost struck there. Luckily some village people came to our help and we passed the area with their help.







After that horrible area the roads condition became better, and we could see many villagers and horses on the road. They were carrying carrots to Klaverai town which has road access to kodaikkanal. We were sad to realise that we are going to miss the scenic beauty of Klavarai soon. The journey to Klaverai offers you to enjoy the charming view of the mountains and to experience the calmness of the local villages. The lushly mountains along with the forests, grasslands and the snow mists make it a dream spot. beautiful hill station is a scenic view and it also has natural springs that help keeping the valley lush green.

There were a lot of pine trees in the last stretch of the road and the villagers told that they had seen bison, elephants and leopards in the area. We became excited after hearing this, but we couldn’t see anything other than a wild cat and some wild cocks.
 
Going further we were able to see Klavarai town. The last two hundred meters of the road was too bad and steep. We decided to take some rest before going down and made a quick visit to the nearby farm were a family was plucking carrot. They offered some carrot to us. They told that the yield is very low and the price is also very less this year. However those innocent people were not ready to take money from us and compelled us to take as much as we want, at free of cost.

While we were trying to manage the last and the worst stretch of the road one village boy, who wanted to blow the bike’s horn came and disturbed us. Instead of horn he pressed the starting switch. Some lorry drivers were standing in the main road watching our struggles and somehow we reached Klavarai. We took around four hours to travel the 15 KMs from Koviloor to Klavarai. From Klavarai we had some snacks and to our surprise the shop keeper enquired us about the roads condition. From the conversations with him we understood that people other than the farmers those who come to sell carrots have no contact with the external world. The road from Klaverai to Poondi was quite good. Poondi is a small village and we can see many carrot farms there also. After Poondi we crossed Poomparai and reached Kavunji. Immediately after crossing Kavunji we saw a huge bison on the road. After seeing us he moved in to the forest. It was the first time we saw such a huge one and due to fear I couldn’t take a good picture.

By 2:30 PM we reached Kodaikkanal and had lunch from there. From there we followed Palani,Pollachi,Vadakkancheri, Thrissur route and reached Ernakulam by 11:50 PM after riding around 520 KMs in 21 hours.

Route: Munnar->Koviloor->Klaverai->Poondi->Kavunji->Kodaikkanal.

Ramakkalmedu -The cradle of the wind

Ramakkalmedu is a beautiful hill station located near Nedumkandam in idukki district. The place is easily accessible from Thekkady - Munnar state highway and very suitable for spending an evening. The peculiarity of Ramakkalmedu is the strong wind and the beautiful view of distant Tamilnadu villages from the top. The huge ‘Kuravan and Kurathi’ statue in the hill top and the wind mills in the neighbouring hills increase the attraction of Ramakkalmedu. Ramakkalmedu is the best place to enjoy the wind effect and it is not possible to describe that awesome experience in words. ‘The cradle of the wind’ the name given to Ramakkalmedu by the local authorities is quite suitable.

 For adventure seekers Ramakkalmedu offers many opportunities like trekking, mountaineering, paragliding, rock climbing etc.   Ramakkalmedu is an excellent trekking spot and comprises two small hills. The hill with the ‘Kuruva’ statue has a good road and vehicles can reach till its top. Apart from the statue we can also see the wind mills and the beautiful Tamilnadu villages and its mangroves from the top. The view of farm lands and roads in Tamilnadu is marvellous. Farms look so clean and tidy with perfect looks of beautifulness.

The second hill is around one kilometre away from the first one. There is no road and it will take a half an hour walk to reach the top. In the beginning the way is going through the bamboo forest and it is not difficult to climb.  While going up, the steep rocks and strong wind make it very difficult to move up. In the strong wind we will feel weightless and feel that the wind will push us down from the steep rocks. Sometimes wind will also support us to go up by pushing us from the back. It is not at all easy to reach the top of the highest rock, but the view from there is worth to compensate all the struggles to reach there. From this hill also we will get a panoramic view of Tamilnadu villages and wind energy farms.

Route: Kochi>Thodupuzha>Kattappana>Ramakkalmedu 

Elaveezhapoonchira

Idukki is a district famous for its beautiful valleys and hill stations. Elaveezhapoonchira, one of the most beautiful hill areas in Idukki district is an ideal place for trekking. Those who do not have a whole day to spare, the visit can be added with a Thekkadi or Wagamon trip. Elaveezhapoonchira is about 25 Kilometres away from Thodupuzha, which is the gateway of Idukki . The road to Elaveezhapoonchira is going through the banks of Malankara Dam’s catchment area and the sceneries on the road side are awesome. ‘Thookkupalam’ (the bridge hanging on iron ropes) near Muttom and Uravappara temple are other major attractions on the route.

 Bus service is available till Kanjar, from where the hilly area starts and a jeep can be hired from here to reach the hill top. Only four wheel drive vehicles can reach the top of the hill. There are no shops or hotels in the hill top, so do not forget to carry water and food. Around six kilometres out of the nine kilometres road is tarred and in good condition. The road is very steep and narrow. Ordinary vehicles can be taken up to the end of tar road and the last three kilometres have to be covered on foots. This stretch of the climb is both refreshing and scenic, with the panoramic view of the valleys.

  The area up to the hill top is privately owned farms and a few houses can be seen on the road side. The road is too steep after the tarred area and not even a four wheel drive vehicle can climb it in the monsoon season. There are no trees in the hill top and because of that the place got the name Eleveezhapoonchira, which means the place where leaves do not fall.

The only big plant in the grass covered hill top is a particular type of palm, the leaves of which are used by the local people for making broom. On the hill top we can see women collecting the palm leaves for making brooms, which is a cottage industry of the area and a source of income for the local women. The view of Malankara dam’s catchment area from the top is marvellous. On the other side we can see the mud road coming to the hill from Melukavu and the beautiful valleys of Kottayam district, the land of letters and latex.

Malankara dam, Nadukani view point and Moolamattom powerhouse are near to Elaveezha poonchira. Malankara dam is so beautiful and those who are interested can go on long leisurely walks along its banks. The area is famous for its scenic beauty and it is a regular film shooting location for many of the blockbuster movies and albums. This was the location for popular movies like Rasathanthram, Evidem swargamanu etc. A seasonal waterfall in the Elaveezhapoonchira is also visible from there.

Route: Thodupuzha->Muttom->Kanjar->Elaveezhapoonchira.

Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary

While hearing about bird sanctuaries the first picture coming in to our mind will be that of a thick forest with big trees, where we can go for trekking and observe birds and animals. But Ranganthittu is an exception for all these expectations. Ranganthittu is a very small sanctuary situated in the Mandya district of Karnataka state and comprises of six islets on the banks of the Kavery River.

 The birds usually arrive in the month of December to Ranganthittu every year. Majority of the birds spotted are migratory birds from other countries. Migratory birds lay their eggs on islets in the river.  The birds are making their nests even in the branches of small trees, as there is no one to disturb them except the crocodiles living in the river.  

The entire area is well maintained and watching the trees filled with birds from the boat is a nice experience. The bamboo plants decorated with bats hanging on them is another attraction of the sanctuary.

The government authorities are also dedicated to keep the place as a bird’s heaven. Motor boats are not allowed in the river as it may disturb the peaceful life of the birds. December to August is the right season for visiting the place.Ranganthittu is located near the historic town of Srirangapatana, the land of Tippu Sultan.

Route: Mysore->Srirangapatana->Ranganthittu