Urumbikkara

Urumbikkara hills is one of the best destinations for people who love offroad trips. Urumbikkara hills has an altitude of about 3500ft above sea level. There are multiple routes to reach Urumbikkara. We chose the route through Wembly as we had the stay arranged in Gairah Resort, Urumbikkara. 

We started from Trivandrum at around 7 AM and reached Wembly by around 1PM as we had taken slight deviations to visit couple of other places in the way through as well. We have arranged an offroad jeep safari to take us to the hilltop. The Jeep guy asked us to wait at the first waterfall on one of the hairpins on the way to the resort. After seeing that waterfall, he then took us to Vellappara falls and then to Vadakkemala falls. One can take a bath in the pristine and cold water in any of these waterfalls. After visiting the falls we started going to the Urumbikkara Hilltop. As our resort was on the way, we took our vehicle and followed the jeep guy and after parking the vehicle in the resort headed for the offroad to Urumbikkara Hilltop. As the vehicle started climbing up, the road started to become tougher and tougher, but the view that we were getting became really beautiful. On the way you can spot an Old Tea Factory and one Bungalow. It took about one and a half hours for us to reach the top from our resort. Once you reach the top, the view you get is breathtaking. Also the climate here can change abruptly and from a clear weather it can become misty in no time.

Once you reach the Hilltop, one place you should not miss is the Madammakulam Waterfalls. You will have to walk a bit to reach the place(i guess around 1.5 to 2 kms), but it's worth it. We went to the waterfalls stayed there for a while and then started our downward journey.

If you are planning for overnight stay in Urumbikkara, it's better to book the stay in advance as there are only a very few resorts available here. The offroad jeep trip to the top will take around 4-5 hours covering all the waterfalls. Make sure you carry water or food, if required, as there are no shops on the way up, except for a tea shop.

Adding a few pictures of the waterfalls and hilltop.

Vellappara Falls

Vadakkemala Falls

Urumbikkara Hilltop. We were not able to capture the view of the town from the top as it became misty very quickly.

Madammakulam Waterfalls

Nalambalam

Nalambalam Tozhal or Nalamabala darshanam involves visiting the four temples dedicated to Rama,Bharatha, Lakshmana and Shatrughna in that order. It is said that it is best to do the Nalambalam tozhal during the month of Karkkidakam(Mid of July to Mid of August). It is widely believed that Nalambala darshanam done during the month of Karkkidakam (visiting all the four temples on the same day) in the proper order will wash away all the sins.

One of the stories associated with Nalambalam is that at the end of the Dwapara Yuga, Dwaraka was swallowed by the sea and four idols of Sreerama, Bharatha, Lakshmana and Shathrukhna which Lord Sree Krishna worshipped, were also washed into the sea. Some fishermen caught these four idols near Thriprayar and they were given to Naduvazhi Vakkay Kaimal. Vakkay Kaimal, had a dream one night in which some mysterious person appeared before him and told him that four idols have been washed ashore and that these idols are to be consecrated at such and such places. They were duly installed in four temples as directed in the dream. Rama at Thriprayar, Bharata at Irinjalakuda, Lakshmana at Moozhikkulam and Sathrughna at Payammal.

Thriprayar Ramaswamy temple

This is the first temple one should visit to start the Nalambalam pilgrimage. As the name suggests it is dedicated to Lord Rama. Menoottu(feeding the fish) is one of the main offerings here.

If coming from Eranakulam, one can take the Kodungalloor- Guruvayoor route to reach Thriprayar.

Koodalmanikyam Bharatha Temple

The next temple to visit is the Koodalmanikyam Bharatha Temple, its nearby and takes hardly around 30 minutes from Thriprayar Temple. Payammal Shatrukhna Temple which should be the last temple to visit is actually near to Koodalmanikyam, but as we had made up our mind to visit the temples in the proper order, we next went to Thirumoozhikulam Sree Lakshamana Perumal Temple.

ThiruMoozhikkulam Sree Lakshmana Perumal Temple

It takes more than an hour to travel from Koodalmanikyam to Thirumoozhikulam.

The myth behind the name of this place is Hareetha Maharshi did penance and meditation on the banks of river Poorna(Periyar). Lord Mahavishnu got impressed by the dedication of the Maharshi and appeared before him on the beginning of the Kali yuga. Lord Vishnu gave some advices to Hareetha Maharshi to overcome the difficulties in Kali yuga. These advices are called "thiru mozhi" meaning sacred words. And there after this place got its name as "thirumozhi kalam" – kalam means place. Later Thirumozhikkalam became Thirumoozhikkulam.

Payammal Sree Shathrukhna swaami Temple

This is the last temple to visit as part of the Nalambala Darshanam. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shatrughna, the youngest brother of Lord Rama. This temple is also the smallest of the four temples. It is considered best if we can complete the nalambala darshanam by worshipping the deeparadhana here in the evening. 

Vazhvanthol Waterfalls

Vazhvanthol waterfalls is one of the most beautiful and relatively less explored area in Trivandrum. It's located around 45 Km's from Trivandrum city. One have to take the Nedumangadu - Vithura route and then turn right into the Bonacaud route just after Vithura and then continue along until you reach the kanithadam forest checkpost. There you will have to take entry pass(thousand rupees for a group of 10) and one guide will be allotted to you. You can go another 1kms or so in your vehicle to reach the parking ground and from there the trekk to the waterfall starts. The trekk to the waterfalls from the parking ground is around 2.1 Km's.

We reached the kanithadam check post around 11 AM. We paid the entry fee and we were assigned a guide and then they let our vehicle in. The guides are not from the forest department, but they are chosen from people who live in the nearby tribal settlement. Since these guys are born and brought up there, they know in and out of the forest. From the check post we traveled around 1KM in our vehicle and then we were asked to park our vehicles as the trekking trail starts from there.

In the initial part, it's an easy path and then once you start entering the forest it becomes a bit more difficult, there are some places where you have to climb through rocks. We trekked around 1 hour and reached the waterfalls.

Sri Kalahasti

This ancient temple dedicated to Shiva is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams, representing one of the five major elements - Air. The vast west facing Kalahastiswara temple is built adjoining a hill, and on the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. SriKalahasti got its name because in days of yore a spider (sri), serpent (kala) and elephant (hasti) elephant worshipped Shiva with great devotion.

Sri Kalahasti temple is one place you should visit atleast once in your life time. Approximately 110 KMS away from Chennai, Sri Kalahasti is known as the temple city. It is a very famous temple and people come from far off places to do Rahu - Kethu pooja here mainly on saturdays. Its easily accessible by road.

From Chennai central - Board 15B or 15F bus to reach Koyambedu.

Chennai Egmore - 27B

From the Koyambedu main stand there are buses operating every 30 mins to Sri Kalahasti. You can either board a bus to Sri Kalahasti or the bus which goes to Tirupathi via Kalahasti.

If you are going by rail, you can getdown at renigunta station which is approx. 25KM away from SriKalahasti, all the trains plying between chennai and mumbai stops here.

One can find quite a few hotels near the temple which makes it convenient for the devotees to stay there and visit the temple.

Memories

Today I was having a conversation with one of my friends on whatsapp. Now a days most of our conversations happen online only and as you all know, gone are the days when we had face to face conversations, during the conversation the topic diverted to memories and college life and how people change. It has been a few years since I stopped publishing the posts and thought of starting it again with this topic "Memories".

For each of us, there will be some moments that we treasure and which holds a prominent position in our hearts. Also there will be certain incidents which we don't want to look back at and also some embarrassing incidents that might have happened during our child hood or teen age.

When we look back at these incidents or the so called memories, the effect it has on our mind may be entirely different from what it was during that incident. We might laugh at incidents which was embarrassing to us when it actually happened. Also the incidents which made us laugh to floor may bring tears to us when we remember it after a few years.

Years passes by, people change, every one gets busy with their work, they may not get time to contact or they even forget those guys without whom they once thought their life will be meaningless. But it so happens that at some time there may be an incident or something that we see which takes us back to those golden era, may be an old photograph with the friends or an autograph.

When we are all teenagers, we all dream of growing up quickly and getting a job so that we can get out of the burden of studies and the questioning of our parents. Once we grow old, get a job of our wish, get 5 digit salaries, own a car, then only we realize that life was much better and easier when we had nothing in our pockets. The only thing we had to worry about was the exam results and scolding of our parents and nothing else. We will cherish the moments we had at tea stalls with friends, the small quarrels we had over silly things, making fun of each other, looking at each other in exam hall when we see the question paper. Waiting outside the exam hall for friends and thinking what the hell is he writing till now...is he gonna pass ? We cherish all these moments with our friends and these memories are priceless. We won't get the memories by working hard or earning too much. While working hard we have to find some time that we can spent with our family and friends which when we look back at an old age will give us some happiness. We will be working hard for our company wasting more hours of our youth inside the office than with family or friends, but once our health deteriorates the company won't be bothered about us. They can hire another young person giving him much lesser salary and he may be able to offer more productive hours as well.

Always find time for your family and friends in your busy schedule, they will be the only ones who will be there for you when you are in trouble or need any help.

As Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam quoted "Sometimes its better to bunk a class and enjoy with friends, because today when I look back, marks never make me laugh but memories do !!"

Kolukkumala - Meesapulimala

We have been planning to explore the beauty of Meesapulimala for sometime but had to postpone the trip several times due to one reason or the other. We had read so many articles about the scenic beauty of sunrise at Kolukkumalai but somehow the trip was not happening. Then one day we heard from one of our friends that there are packages in place to visit Kolukkumalai and from there we can go to Meesapulimala. So we decided to visit both the places.We contacted the person who is arranging the trip to Kolukkumalai, and booked it.

We started the trip early morning. We were asked to reach Bodinaykannur by around 4PM. We reached there by around 3.30 and waited for the person to come and pick us up. He came there and took us to a tented stay which was in the middle of an estate. We spent some time exploring the viewpoints near by. There was nice cool breeze flowing which was refreshing. The view from the hill top was good. We could see a large extent of the Bodinaykannur village and also see vehicles coming in through the hairpin curves in the size of a matchbox. we spent sometime there and then went back to our tents. Our host came with the dinner for us. The dinner was homemade made and was tasty.

He asked us to be ready by 4.30 AM next day so that we will be able to reach Kolukkumalai to see the sunrise. We got up by 3'O clock in the morning and was ready by around 4.30, the jeep came on time and soon we started our trip to Kolukkumalai.

Kolukkumalai tea estate is the highest tea plantation in the world. We reached the gate of the tea estate and there we had to pay some fees for entry and after that the journey became tough and thrilling. There is a road to reach the top of Kolukkumalai, but we cannot really call that a road.It's a muddy terrain, with rocks on the entire pathway. While the jeep driver was maneuvering the vehicle over the rocks we were having a hard time holding on to our seats in the jeep. We reached the top by around 6AM. There was strong wind blowing and it was freezing cold. We were eagerly waiting to see the sunrise and then slowly we started to see the Red light in the horizon and sun started coming up and that was an astonishing view.

After seeing the sunrise at Kolukkumalai, we headed to Meesapulimala. standing tall at a height of 2,640 m (8,660 ft) it is the second highest peak in the Western Ghats and is the highest peak where trekking is allowed. The uphill journey was a bit difficult, and strong wind made it even difficult. We had a few bottles of water and glucose which gave us the energy to climb up, on the way up we saw quite a few people stopping at half way and going back. We were determined to climb up and since we have been longing to see that astonishing view which everyone has been talking about from atop of the mountain. We had to take a couple of breaks in between to gather our breath and finally once we made it to the top we realized that it was worth the effort.

We spent some time at the top of the mountains, took some photos and started the downhill journey. 

We reached the bottom at around 10'o clock and then headed to Munnar after having lunch. We brought Kolukkumalai Tea Packets as well on the way back.

Ponmudi

Ponmudi is a hillstation located in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala. Its around 62 kilometres from the Trivandrum city. The location is easily accessible by road, and it will take only around 2hours drive to reach the hillstation. Most preferrably you should visit the location early morning or in the evening. But one shouldnt stay too late as mist will cover the hill and it will be difficult to drive once it gets dark. Besides the scenic beauty of the mountains it is very good experience for those who loves to drive. There are 22 hairpin curves from the base of the hills and its a very good experience to drive through those.

Route - Thiruvananthapuram --> Nedumangad --> Chullimanoor --> Vidhura --> Ponmudi

There are buses operating from Trivandrum and Nedumangadu to Ponmudi.