Ezhattumugham

Quaint and serene, the river Chalakkudy at Ezhattumugham is a picture postcard coming to life – its flow punctuated by islets of greenery and boulders of all sizes and trees growing right in the middle of the gently moving water. A full-grown tree surrounded and nurtured by flowing water is a sight one cannot easily forget. And the mini waterfalls, which not only tickle your feet, but also remind you of the gentle force of water.

At one point, the Chalakkudy gets by the islets and boulders into seven flowing streams, and that is how Ezhattumugham (seven faces of a river) gets its name. Look around and there are so many shades of green, yellow and brown that you soon lose count — more shades than the computer can create for any paint company. Earthy colours must also include grey and black, you get convinced, looking at the boulders.

During the non-monsoon months, the river bares its beautiful depths and you can walk on these boulders and islets through shallow water, right to the other bank of the river. If you are not the kind who gets scared easily, that is. Ezhattumugham lies in Ayyampuzha panchayat in Ernakulam district. While one side of the river is the northernmost end of Ernakulam district, the other bank of the river is where Thrissur district begins. But the river belongs to Thrissur, villagers are quick to add. During the monsoon months, the river hides the smaller islets and the water sometimes reaches the road by the banks.

The river and the islets coexist in absolute harmony. The smaller islets are the kingdoms of wild shrubs, trees, birds and squirrels. On the bigger islets cash crops, like coconut and banana, grow. So who planted them? Murali, who runs a shop by the river, says industrious people have just used the land in a productive way. Nobody owns them. In fact, he adds nonchalantly, even his shop has no title deed.

A narrow pathway goes down from the road, by the side of his shop, to the point where the river gets split into seven. On the banks, there are about 20 sacks of sand piled up. The local people have collected it for their own use, not for selling, a passerby informs you. Tourists do come, in a small way, but only during weekends, when they want to chill out, he says with a mischievous smile.

Ezhattumugham is yet to enter the tourist's itinerary for one very good reason. About 13 km away, uphill, lies the majestic Athirappally Falls, which sashayed into celluloid history with Raavan, starring Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan. Film crews, both from the north and the south, often camp in its precincts to exploit its raw appeal. Therefore the quiet charm of Ezhattumugham, through which Chalakkudy flows leisurely, remains eclipsed by the glamour of Athirappally.

While Athirappally evokes awe, Ezhattumugham calms the soul. There are no signages to take you here and local people give you several directions including shortcuts, where crater-sized potholes pass off as roads. The oil palm estates of the Plantation Corporation form a big part of Ezhattumugham.

The state government's attempt to woo tourists began with Prakriti Gramam, a park on the side of a check-dam at Ezhattumugham. People walk along this check dam and cross over to the other side of the river. Poorly maintained, with little security, the park, built less than five years ago, is at best a glorified entrance to the check dam. An outlet selling biscuits and soft drinks is manned by Shinoj, who tells you the people who live there, like him, are mostly families of plantation workers. Acres of oil palm trees, with parasitic creepers all over them, line the road to Ezhattumugham. Women carry baskets of red oil-palm nut bunches to a lorry to be taken to Anchal, near Kollam, for processing.

According to a report of the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, Chalakudy could well be the richest river in fish diversity in India, with thick vegetation on both sides. The sleepy village and the shallow parts of the river at Ezhattumugham, where you can sit and do what you like, can be a writer's delight and a balm for frayed nerves.

Getting there

Ezhattumugham is around 80 km from Kochi. Though there are a few shortcuts via Angamaly, it is best to reach Chalakkudy and proceed from there. But Kochi or Chalakkudy have hotels that suit all budgets.

Kodanad elephant training center

Kodanad elephant training center is a peaceful spot among forest-like environs. From the Cochin International Airport you travel to Kalady and from there to Perumbavoor. Before you reach Perumbavoor, you turn left and travel about 5 kilometers to reach Kodanad, the elephant training center.

Before 1977, elephants were captured from the nearby Malayattoor forests and trained at Kodanad. Capture of elephants was banned in that year and Kodanad center does not engage in capturing elephants any more. The Kodanad center now focuses on training elephants. Young elephants (see pic left) are trained from early on.

Elephants are accommodated in the sturdy cage shown right. (It is much larger than what the wide-angle picture indicates.) The cage allows training in a more humane manner, instead of being torture-based. Elephant kids might get a wash inside the cage.

Interested tourists could also get an elephant-ride at the Kodanad center by paying a fee.

Training of Elephant Handlers

Elephant handlers, called mahouts, were often found to be inhumane in dealing with the elephants under their care. To sensitize them and to teach them more humane ways of managing the elephants, a proposal was made to make Kodanad a mahout training center also.

When you visit the center, you would notice the love the personnel have for the elephants under their care.

Wildlife Park

There is a small wildlife park at the center that accommodates deer and other wildlife. The main attraction, however, are the elephants, particularly the kids and the older, but still young, elephants.

Silent Valley National Park

Location: 40 km from Mannarkkad, Palakkad district, North Kerala

Attractions: Extremely fragile, a unique preserve of tropical evergreen rain forests which is a veritable nursery of flora and fauna, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

The Silent Valley National Park with an area of 90 sq km is located in the Northeastern corner of Palakkad district. It rises abruptly to the Nilgiri Plateau in the North and overlooks the plains of Mannarkkad in the South.

The core of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the Silent Valley National Park. Despite its name, the Silent Valley (the clamour of Cicadas is conspicuously absent here) is a rich storehouse of biodiversity. It is a true Garden of Eden for students of life sciences, professional scientists and field biologists.

Perhaps, nowhere else can one find such a representative collection of Western Ghats biodiversity - more than 1000 species of flowering plants which include about 110 species of orchids, more than 34 species of mammals, about 200 species of butterflies, 400 species of moths, 128 species of beetles of which 10 are new to science, about 150 species of birds including almost all the 16 endemic birds of southern India.

The River Kunthi descends from the Nilgiri hills, from an altitude of 2000 m above sea level, and traverses the entire length of the valley and rushes down to the plains through the deep forest. The River Kunthi never turns brown and is always crystal clear, perennial and wild.

The evapo-transpiration from these forests is much higher than from any other surface. This cools the atmosphere, helps easy condensation of water vapour, causing summer rains in the plains.

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Palakkad, about 80 km.
Nearest airport: Coimbatore (in neighbouring Tamilnadu State), about 120 km.

Chembra Peak

Chembra Peak (Malayalam: ചെമ്പ്ര കൊടുമുടി) is the highest peak in Wayanad, at 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above sea level. Chembra is located near the town of Meppady and is 8 km south of Kalpetta. It is part of the Wayanad hill ranges in Western Ghats, adjoining the Nilgiri Hills in Tamilnadu and Vellarimala inKozhikode district in Kerala. Chembra Peak is accessible by foot from Meppady. District Tourism Promotion Council provides guides and trekking equipments on hire charges to tourists.Permission from the forest office in Meppady is required for trekking up to Chembra Peak. A heart shaped lake on the way to the top of the peak is a major tourist attraction. The lake is believed to have never dried up. You can find the lake half way to the peak, after getting to the lake you need to trek another half way which is through the dense trees of about one to two km. A 5 km journey from Meppadi town through tea estates to Erumakkolli.

One can reach the forest office, from where a pass has to be acquired to trek the mountain. Also services of guide can be availed which might be very useful. The trek to the top takes 3 hours, and one can see almost the whole of Wayanad and parts of Malappuram, Kozhikkode and Nilgiri districts.

Chembra is located in Meppadi (Meppady) Panchayath, 11 km off NH212 (Kollegal - Mysore - Kozhikode). For people who prefer public transport, KSRTC (both Kerala & Karnataka) and a lot of private companies operate overnight deluxe buses between Kozhikode (aka Calicut) and Bengaluru. People taking buses can get down at Kalpetta and catch another bus to Meppadi. Meppadi is 11 km from Chundale, in the SH29, connecting Chundale to Ooty.

Veli Tourist Village ,Thiruvananthapuram

Located 8 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, the Veli Tourist Village is bordered by the Veli lagoon and the Arabian sea. The lagoon here is separated from the sea by a narrow sand bar.

The Veli Tourist Village on the outskirts of Trivandrum is a delightful waterfront park which has become extremely popular with Keralites. It is a nice place for tourists with young children to spend an afternoon. There are lots for the kids to do, and they will meet many of their young Keralite counterparts, all of whom will be eager to make new friends and try out their English

The main attraction at Veli is water - a large inland lake, separated from the ocean by only a narrow sandbar. For a few rupees, rides can be had in motor-driven safari launches and power boats, or a family can drift about in a pedal-boat or a row boat. There are kayaks, and even hovercraft, for the more intrepid. While skimming over the lake, visitors will see the local fishermen readying their boats, working on their nets, or poling sand-laden barges. 

There is a floating bridge and a floating restaurant too. Open every day; boat rides available until 6.00p.m., after which the lake reverts to the sole use of fishermen. For very small children, there is a tiny lake within the park, with sturdy, round "tub boats", equipped with miniature paddles. A small cafeteria serves ice-cream, cold-drinks and snacks, and the grounds are dotted with interesting climbing sculptures designed by the well-known sculptor Kanai Kunjiraman

Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary

Location: About 58 km from Kochi city and 13 km northeast of Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district; Thattekkad is in Devikulam taluk, Idukki district, central Kerala.

Thattekkad is made up of dense tropical evergreen and deciduous forest and grassland patches, housing a population of over 500 species of exotic birds. This globally acclaimed bird sanctuary owes much of its fame to Dr. Salim Ali, the internationally renowned ornithologist. It is the exotic microcosm of India's bird population that brought Dr. Salim Ali to this place. His efforts were instrumental in the formation of this sanctuary to a large extent.

Spread across 25 sq. km. the sanctuary lies between the tributaries of the river Periyar like a peninsula. Rare birds like the Crimson-throated Barbet, Bee eater, Sunbird, Shrike, Black Winged Kite, Night Heron, Falcon, Grey Jungle Fowl, White-Breasted Water Hen, Hornbill, Ceylon Frogmoth, Rose-billed Roller and Blue-winged Parakeet live here.

Thattekkad also has extensive plantations of teak, rosewood, mahagony, etc. The dense forest is also the home of nearly 28 varieties of animals and nine varieties of reptiles.

Getting there:
Nearest railway station : Aluva, about 48 km away.
Nearest airport : Cochin International Airport, about 44 km.

Echo point

Echo point (15 km from Munnar) This scenic place gets its name from the natural echo phenomenon here. Echo Point is on the way to Top Station from Munnar.

Lock Heart Gap
(13 km from Munnar) This is an ideal place for adventure tourism and trekking. The fresh mountain air, the mist-clad hills and panoramic view make it worth a visit.

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Theni in Tamil Nadu, about 60 km, Changanacherry, about 93 km.
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, about 115 km, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, about 140 km.