Return to the Nature Village

It had been a long time since I had returned to the place which had the label, Prakrithi Gramam, or Nature Village. It was one of the first few places which I had visited with my friends on a motor-bike, and this time, with someone special, I had to return to the place. More about the same is on my Facebook profile, and I will share a few photos with you all on my third trip to the place overall, and the first trip after they built the bridge. The name of the place is Ezhattumugham, and I have already written about it related to my earlier visit, and it is close to the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, and the nearest town is Angamaly. If you are visiting the Athirappilly Waterfalls, you need to go here too.

***The photos used in this post were taken by me on my Asus Zenfone 5.

Also read about the latest, humorous realistic movie in the theatres right now, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

TeNy

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Remember the Waterfalls

Vampire Owl: Welcome, Squire Hamster. Are we ready for the great immortality test?

Vampire Hamster: Yes, Sir Vampire Owl. But we haven’t yet found the right waterfalls with the great scenic beauty which you had asked.

Vampire Bat: It is such a shame. A long time has passed since the search had begun – we might just be delayed this time, and Uncle Dracula won’t be too happy. He had called from the hospital yesterday.

Vampire Alligator: What are these guys talking about? This feels like a new thing for me.

So, the vampires need waterfalls – these rocks are near such a place 😀

Vampire Crocodile: Every five years, on this day, the vampire community comes up with an immortality test for the vampire apprentices which will make sure that they are immortal and ready for the next step of their training.

Vampire Alligator: What? You mean that they are going to test if we will die or not?

Vampire Crocodile: Somewhat like that. They will push us from the top the waterfalls.

Vampire Alligator: What? Holy alligator of the salt water! I am going to die. I thought immortality came naturally.

Vampire Crocodile: Okay, you can naturally jump from the top.

Vampire Alligator: What? Still, I am going to die! I haven’t even written a will yet.

Vampire Crocodile: Shut up! We are not going to die. We are immortal already. You should attend more classes; you are not understanding the whole point.

Here is the view from top of a particular waterfall around here 😉

Vampire Alligator: Even if I don’t die of falling, I will still die of fear. I am afraid of heights. I want to see my mummy; the one who is not inside the Pyramids.

Vampire Crocodile: Dude, that is also covered under the vampire immortality clause. If we die, Lady Death will bring our souls back according to the deal which has been signed between the two parties, the dead and the undead. Your life is insured. So, stay cool and wait for the vampire team to find the right waterfalls.

Vampire Alligator: It is okay then, I guess.

Vampire Crocodile: It will be a nice experience. We need to explore our immortality and get so much close to death and then understand that we don’t belong to the world of the dead.

Vampire Panda: I can even practice some Kungfu moves while falling through the air. This is going to be so cool. You will see that I can land on two legs.

Vampire Penguin: And I will do some dance steps in the air.

When waterfalls are around, rocks become more of a thing of beauty, right?

Vampire Owl: Come in, Squire Vampire Cat and Squire Vampire Crow.

Vampire Cat: Sir, the right place has been found. It is in Kerala. The location is very beautiful.

Vampire Crow: Half the credit for that should come to me too, as it was me who sent him for this search. I had noticed the signs long ago.

Vampire Bat: I see. I believe that I have been to these waterfalls which you are going to talk about. We can also have some fun walking around. This will also be the official vampire trip of the year. There will be no other journeys outside the realm.

Vampire Owl: So where exactly can we find these waterfalls?

[Vampire Cat takes a map out of the bag].

And a few very special people whom you will meet on the way there 🙂

Kerala has a number of waterfalls which have become interesting tourist destinations. There are lots of such names which come into our mind, but there is nothing like one place which has become another name for waterfalls in Kerala, and it is the most popular name among them all. Athirappilly Waterfalls in the Thrissur district in Kerala located about fifty kilometres from the Cochin International Airport and around eighty three kilometres from the City of Cochin, is also only about thirty one kilometres from the Chalakudy town; a fine location for everyone to have a visit.

All the waterfalls which you need can be found here along with the water 😀

An Athirappilly visit can also be combined with a journey to Ezhattumugham which is not that far away; if started early during the day, both can be covered in one day. Meanwhile, the Vazhachal Falls are just one around Athirappilly, even though it is not as steep as the big Falls. There is also another waterfall on the side of the road, and you can actually travel through Sholayar to reach the other side of Western Ghats, and the hill station of Valparai awaits you as you cross over to Tamil Nadu. This journey will be through the forests and allowed only duting day time.

And you shall witness the glory of Athirappilly Waterfalls 😀

The visiting time allowed at Athirappilly is between eight and six, and the tickets will be given only until five. Plastic as well as liquor and smoking are prohibited. People are adviced not to feed animals, but people were not that respectful to that advice when we last visited – may be things are better now. There is a some walk to be undertaken after entering the place. The number of tourists here is usually high, as there has been a lot of visitors every time we were there, not just on those big holidays. So, for peace, the journey should be for Ezhaattumugham.

Enjoy the waterfalls and keep the surroundings clean; be responsible 🙂

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC-W310.

TeNy

Seven Faces of Beauty

There are not many places which I have visited with friends in the first half of the 2000s. But I am sure that there was one such a place, and this destination was so lesser known at that time that if we had talked about this possible location for spending some time during the weekend, people would ask why – there was Ezhattumugham. Most of the people during that time wouldn’t have known the location, but things have changed now. This place has become more popular these days, even though it is not yet a destination which brings a lot of crowd.

Enter the world of rocks; do you feel like Super Mario around here?

After visiting the place in 2004, I had another journey there in 2012 and was surprised at the changes which had happened there. In 2004, it was like a place rarely explored, and nowadays, there is a good number of visitors there. Earlier, the cars were rare to find, and most of the visitors were the youth who came on motor-bikes. But in the last few years, the fame did spread and families did start visiting the place and the facilities also did increase making it an official tourist destination.

The grand tree-house idea keeps making things better, all the time.

Even though it is located in the border areas of Ernakulam and Trichur districts, the place is only about fifty kilometres from the city of Cochin, and a journey from the Cochin International Airport will take only about thirteen kilometres. The nearest city is Trichur which is less than fifty kilometres away. You can take a turn at Angamaly or at Karukutty while coming from Cochin as you go through Aluva by the National Highway 47. A turn at Chalakudy might be the best road even though longer.

You have the right and privilege to get transported to this world.

The Chalakudy route is mostly preferred for the people who come from the North while the South has their own shortcuts. There was also a hanging bridge coming up to join banks of the river. The popularity of Ezhattumugham also has its roots in the Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT) which is located about four kilometres from there. It is from the students of the reputed engineering college that I first came to know about Ezhattumugham and my first visit was also with one of them.

There is more beauty to nature than you will ever find in the known world.

Ezhattumugham is a place of serene beauty. There will be only less visitors during the morning times, and a walk through the place is nothing less than refreshing. With developments taking place as the potential has been realized, there are tree-houses and park facility for children along with small shops to have some nice tea on the entrance, with restroom facility also available on one side. You can walk quite some distance around there, looking at and capturing the beauty of nature.

You walk through this disconnected path, towards eternity.

You are free to walk on the rocks and water through nature as you witness trees fed by the water which surrounds them, and all those shapes which these rocks will take. As you walk on these rocks to reach the centre and the other sides of the river, you will feel the need to sit there and enjoy the beauty. You can also walk on the dam-like area to reach the other side. I haven’t seen where the new bridge actually begins and end; maybe it brings a better view of the beauty of the place.

It is the green side which pauses your journey each and every time.

Athirapally-Vazhachal waterfalls is also only about twenty four kilometres from here, and so you can combine both these destinations together to make it one nice package. The best places for food will still be Indian Coffee House which is present throughout the route from Cochin after Aluva. You can divide the day into two and cover both of them as long as you don’t slow down and start right when the places open for tourists. Ezhattumugham won’t be that safe during the rainy season though, and you have to be careful during the journey all the time if you are not used to this.

This tree welcomes you to Ezhattumugham as the official messenger of nature 😀

***The images used in this blog post were taken by me on my Sony Cybershot DSC W-310.

+Wishing you all, a Happy Deepavali/Diwali 🙂

TeNy

The Favourite Shots

I am sharing a few of the favourite shots taken on my camera through this post. I don’t claim that any of them is worthy of a special photography award, but as I have not shared them on this blog, I feel that I will share them anyway. The camera used is a Sony Cybershot DSC-W310 on each and every occasion, and they were all taken at different places. The first one is from Vagamon or somewhere near the place when we were on the way there. I loved this path! It was like the road less taken, and the journey was also very good towards the place of beauty!

We stayed at Coonoor during our journey to Ooty. Unlike most of the people who keep going on a trip to Ooty and Kodaikanal, I have only been the former once and I have never been to the latter, and that has come as a surprise to many people. I was more than happy to stay here though, as there was so much tea, and walking with tea all around, was always going to be a thing of joy. There are also some interesting place around this one, and Coonoor is not a lesser town.

Ilaveezhapoonjira remains that blessed tourist place which is so less explored. It will always be something of bliss to be there, and the view is always splendid. The fog actually provides an even better experience. It provides the feeling being somewhere beyond the world that we know, and it is during one of those days that I wish to be there again. I don’t think that I am that much of a traveller any more, but if I go into that more, may be I will be back there and witness the fog and rain.

The lovely model tourism village, Kumbalangy has been among my favourites for very long. It has a nice place to enjoy the beauty of nature in the form of backwaters. I have visited the place for a very long time, even before it developed. There are some nice shots which one can manage from here and it can be joined with a Fort Cochin-Mattanchery trip during the usual journey to Kochi, and the place also has some old churches around which adds to the beauty. The place gives the opportunity for more beautiful photos.

Athirappilly Falls might be the best known waterfalls in Kerala, and located well within reach from the Cochin International Airport, the place is visited a lot, and I have wandered around the place quite a number of times myself. With Vazhachal Falls also nearby, this is one shot which I always love. The shot actually reminds me of a number of computer games with waterfalls, and it is actually the place where parts of a lot of Indian movies were shot, including the most talked about flick of recent times, Baahubali and the upcoming Puli. There were also shots for movies like Dil Se, Pukar, Guru, Madras Cafe and many others.

I have always loved the sculptures of gargoyles on the church buildings, and that interest increased with the movie I, Frankenstein. When I climbed to the top of this church tower at Thrissur, and looked down, I felt like a gargoyle on the tower even though the churches here don’t have that. But looking down from there looks good, as it is known to be Asia’s tallest church, and there is some good view from the top. You do see this church in a lot of movies shot in the city, dominating the skyline – like in Pranchiyettan and the Saint and Thiruvambadi Thamban.

Munnar has inspired a lot of interesting photos for me, but nothing like a walk through the tea gardens. It has been a long time favourite hill station for me as I have visited the place multiple times. This shot was taken on a beautiful day when we stopped on the side of the road for taking some photos. After some great morning tea, wandering through the tea plantations was going to be an interesting thing to do. After all, tea is life and most of my life has been about it. I still wonder what I will do without tea – I will be without my strength and also without many other things. Then there are movies like Life of Josutty which reminds you of the beauty of Kerala highlands!

TeNy