Direness in tramping un-trodden paths is essentially what required to make a trip memorable. By moving along highways you will find nothing. So try tuning yourself to nomadic ways at least for the time being. You might then start feeling the vibrancy and thrill in being a traveler. However, what really counts is your mental toughness and attitude to life.
Hey, don’t be in a hurry. Before setting up your backpack, try remembering one thing. Backwaters and houseboats are not the utmost things Kerala offers.Gods own country is also blessed with umpteen secrets. All you need to do is open up your eyes. There are spots on this paradise that are less familiar, but astonishingly beautiful and with potential to provide extreme sporting experience that one always dream about.
So don't let your heart compromise on any options, especially if you are a Cochite. Open up your eyes, and you find as many quality locations as you like, all inside a span of 50 kms.
‘THOMMANKUTHU’ is one such spot. Distant 60 km from Ernakulum railway station and 80 km from the airport Nedumbasseri, the place will give you both beauty and beast in a single package.
As the place is yet to find its ways to touring charts, Thommankuthu is at least for now a virgin, where one could enjoy green nature at close quarters.
Cascading down the hill in seven steps, with a pool at each step, falls at Thommankuthu is exotic. It offers a view that shies many others of its kind. It is such an eye candy sight that one would always treasure it in his heart for years to come.
If you like swimming, then move like a fish through those shallow pools, filled relentlessly at one end by those foamy and chilling mountain blood. When exhausted, rest yourself at the feet of those giant trees guarding the pool along its shores.
But remember, we are here not just to cool and rest, but to lock horns with the wild wilderness of virgin nature.
So, let us make our muscles stretch. You can now start scaling the treacherous mountain heights that give birth to the cascading falls. A fully fledged 12 km stretch of trekking path is there for you to tramp on.
The climb will provide you with the fun for a life time. You will find not only the mesmerizing beautiful virgin forest land, but also the intimidating flip side of Mother Nature.
There are giant trees dancing to the tune of winds, all the while painting blue skies with dark clouds. They murmur and swing their heads relentlessly and in tandem. Make your ears sharp and hearken to those strange, distant noises echoing around breaking rock silence.
The place will make your heart transformed to that lone traveler who told you once, Woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.
Above all, what makes Thommankuthu endearing is its cost effectiveness. One could explore all those scenic treasures at a price as low as 500, if you like riding a motorcycle. You may make it expensive as well, with your choice of transportation.
From Thodupuzha, it takes a 20 km drive to reach the foot steps of the Thommankuthu wild life sanctuary. You may also catch a bus from Thodupuzha to reach Thommankuthu directly. As there are so many restaurants and hotels available food and accommodation won’t be a problem.
Nearest airport is Nedumbassery, It is about 80 km distant, while the nearest railway station is equidistant (60 Km) both from Kottayam and Cochin.
Fishing and horse riding are the other pass times available for fun at Thommankuthu.
There are certain things in this world that need to be felt rather than said. On the top of the world feeling a motorcyclist gets while rolling along the streets come rightly under this category. Thirst for this one great feeling was the only thing that kept myself gyrating yet again for a motorcycle ride.
I insisted only one condition. This time I should choose a place easier to reach, so that I could send more time enjoying nature. Our search was for a place that could paint our imaginations with greenish meadows, milky water falls and rocky mountain slopes.
As always, it was Sandeep who started pumping in touring ideas. A little after, Pachan and Kuttu joined forces. In a short while, our strength reached four. yes, now we are a team of eight legs and four wheels.
We all started sifting through locations with in the 50 Km perimeter. It was kuttu who came up with the idea of 'Prakrithi Gramam.' Kuttu is very familiar with the place and likes to visit it yet again. Pachan has also been to the place once, but he barely remembers any thing. So in a way, Pachan is as fresh as us.
Kuttu gave an encouraging briefing of the place. 'Prakrithi Gramam' according to Kuttu is an well gifted place on the outskirts of Vazachal. Vazachal, as you all know, is a gushing waterfall on the Chalakudy River, Thrissur.
A trip plan was shaped up. we are to ride on two bikes, have food along the way and return by evening 6-PM.
We were particularly thrilled with one thought. At least the trip would get rid of us from the all hectic, dusty roads of Kochi. Ezhattumugham alias Prakrithi Gramam is a call for us to enjoy nature.
We started off by around 8.30 AM. I was riding with 'Pachan', while sandeep was paired with Kuttu. After filling the stomach our riding machines with enough petrol we began wading through the heavy traffic of Kochi. On NH-47 it is not easy to escape gutters. We felt as though we were doing some treacherous 'Viga Land Ride.' Remember NH-47 is one of our best highway that connects the Capital city,Thiruvananthapuram, with rest of Northern Kerala as well as with Karnataka. Despite its prominence, it still remains as one of the poorly maintained road system in Kerala.
Though we were getting tired, the thought of milky waterfalls was making us energetic. After suffering to an extent of 45 km, we finally diverted out, leaving highway for good.
However, the final 15 Kms was different. The road was smooth as glass and brand new. we began floating along impossible curves and sharp hair pin bends with ease. The road cut through forest, plantations and rocky mountain slops. The view was so refreshing that all our fatigue vanished in a flash. We also found several way side shops and restaurants to dine and rest.
But we made a small flaw. We were supposed to take a right turn at Black Thunder water theme part, but we missed and went on straight adding another 15 km. More than half-an-hour was lost. At last when the sign board of Ezhattumugham welcomed us in, it was almost midday.
We parked immediately and soon got lost in the refreshing sight of the plush green vegetation along the mountain slopes. It was so cool that we filmed it several times. The mountain stood like an ancient saint,meditating deeply and solemnly.
There was certainly an aura surrounding the place. what not was there. Cool breeze, endlessly flowing sparkling water all lay romantic. Along the shoulders, a garden was there gifted with many scenic settings.
There were small waterfalls and the water beds were shallow allowing up to swim around fearlessly. From there we could see green islands and smooth rocks keeping their heads out in neck deep water.
There was also scope for a little adventure. Since there were no beaten path to any of those lonely islands, it is not easy reaching there. but we may still do it with some cautious efforts. But, have to extra careful. After a little bit of exploration we too found a shady, watery spot to cool our selves.
It was fun staying under water poking our heads out of water. The water was ice cool and flowing with moderate power. We spent hours and felt totally lost in the mystic beauty surrounding us.
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