Staircase to the Sky
You know, if you are a keralite, you should not travel in Kerala to see new places. It’s pointless. Every nook and corner can beat the best tourist spots of many other parts of the country. Often the enroute is more beautiful than the destination. There are no deserts to drive through to reach an oasis. It’s oasis everywhere. It’s discouraging sometime. You tend to question the necessity of driving all the way to a destination when your backyard is as good as that. Hence on that sultry Sunday morning I decided to sit at home. I have pronounced this to Shanti who as usual was skeptical about me staying at home on a holiday but then she hastily reminded me that I had to leave Vismaya for her violin class.
Once a violin student myself, could not sustain the hard work it demands and conveniently delegated that task to my little daughter Vismaya. Anyway she is doing a better job at it.
“Bring vegetable when you come back or wait I will also come”. Shanti shouted from inside. Driving through the congested Peroorkada area I missed the turn that goes to the market. I had to drive a little ahead to take a U turn and comeback. Chugging along in the second gear, all of a sudden a big green board came to my attention. “Thenmala – Eco Tourism, 65 KMs ahead.” I looked at Shanti, she smiled. One more resolution to be a homebound was broken.
Couple of weeks back I took this route to Kutralam on a Royal Enfield. Looking at the world from a car and motorcycle is not so similar. One is virtual and the other is real. No prizes for guessing what is what.
Roughly two hours of drive from Trivandrum will take you to Thenmala. Its popularity is strikingly visible from the number of vehicles parked around the place. Tourists float around like pieces of clouds, chatting loudly in Tamil or Malayalam. Their digital cameras or camera phones were working overtime sucking up the splendor of the topography.
Thenmala has all the ingredients of a tourist place. It has greenery, water reservoirs, hanging bridges, boat cruise, adventure activities like rock climbing, musical fountain, and a KTDC restaurant that serves really repulsive food. But out of all I really found the staircase that winding through the woods was the most unique. Probably this is the one you should not give a miss. The climb is not very arduous and you feel that you are walking on the treetops along with monkeys, squirrels, birds and all those stay on top of the trees. When you look at the sky through the thick leaves it looks like a perforated blue cloth. The staircase ends at an unpaved trail which is, according to the information board placed, the old Shenkottai road. The path is abandoned now and is used by mountain bikers for practice. There is a wooden bench on this trail where you can spend hours listening to cuckoos. You can’t help but thinking why do people take the pain of owning farm houses for weekend leisure when one can own an entire forest for a 5 rupees entrance ticket.
KTDC has absolved itself from the responsibility of promoting eco tourism by placing some boards, here and there, which caution the use of plastic bags. And you bet there are plastics bags used by all retailers here. Now don’t tell me you are surprised.
Thenmala houses a deer rehabilitation center too. There are not many deer here though. Visit the place if you must. The grumpy young lady who was keeping the gate was a big turnoff and I found her more suitable for keeping a bear den. She was sitting in a small dark attic and her tiny eyes shined in the darkness like a wild cat. Turn left from the Thenmala junction to Punaloor road and drive two kilometers further you will reach the center. On the way you will cross some pleasant spots. It’s a good idea to stop and soak in those views. There is a concrete structure built to climb up to get an aerial view of the water flow. The view from this is more than good but the structure itself is filthy and quite an eyesore in this lovely place.
Overall, Thenmala is another touristy place in Kerala. It’s beautiful but so are every nooks of Kerala. Then should you give a miss to Thenmala? I advise you not. At least for that staircase.
Once a violin student myself, could not sustain the hard work it demands and conveniently delegated that task to my little daughter Vismaya. Anyway she is doing a better job at it.
“Bring vegetable when you come back or wait I will also come”. Shanti shouted from inside. Driving through the congested Peroorkada area I missed the turn that goes to the market. I had to drive a little ahead to take a U turn and comeback. Chugging along in the second gear, all of a sudden a big green board came to my attention. “Thenmala – Eco Tourism, 65 KMs ahead.” I looked at Shanti, she smiled. One more resolution to be a homebound was broken.
Couple of weeks back I took this route to Kutralam on a Royal Enfield. Looking at the world from a car and motorcycle is not so similar. One is virtual and the other is real. No prizes for guessing what is what.
Roughly two hours of drive from Trivandrum will take you to Thenmala. Its popularity is strikingly visible from the number of vehicles parked around the place. Tourists float around like pieces of clouds, chatting loudly in Tamil or Malayalam. Their digital cameras or camera phones were working overtime sucking up the splendor of the topography.
Thenmala has all the ingredients of a tourist place. It has greenery, water reservoirs, hanging bridges, boat cruise, adventure activities like rock climbing, musical fountain, and a KTDC restaurant that serves really repulsive food. But out of all I really found the staircase that winding through the woods was the most unique. Probably this is the one you should not give a miss. The climb is not very arduous and you feel that you are walking on the treetops along with monkeys, squirrels, birds and all those stay on top of the trees. When you look at the sky through the thick leaves it looks like a perforated blue cloth. The staircase ends at an unpaved trail which is, according to the information board placed, the old Shenkottai road. The path is abandoned now and is used by mountain bikers for practice. There is a wooden bench on this trail where you can spend hours listening to cuckoos. You can’t help but thinking why do people take the pain of owning farm houses for weekend leisure when one can own an entire forest for a 5 rupees entrance ticket.
KTDC has absolved itself from the responsibility of promoting eco tourism by placing some boards, here and there, which caution the use of plastic bags. And you bet there are plastics bags used by all retailers here. Now don’t tell me you are surprised.
Thenmala houses a deer rehabilitation center too. There are not many deer here though. Visit the place if you must. The grumpy young lady who was keeping the gate was a big turnoff and I found her more suitable for keeping a bear den. She was sitting in a small dark attic and her tiny eyes shined in the darkness like a wild cat. Turn left from the Thenmala junction to Punaloor road and drive two kilometers further you will reach the center. On the way you will cross some pleasant spots. It’s a good idea to stop and soak in those views. There is a concrete structure built to climb up to get an aerial view of the water flow. The view from this is more than good but the structure itself is filthy and quite an eyesore in this lovely place.
Overall, Thenmala is another touristy place in Kerala. It’s beautiful but so are every nooks of Kerala. Then should you give a miss to Thenmala? I advise you not. At least for that staircase.
posted by Santosh at
9:32 PM
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2 Comments:
Santosh,
Amazing!puthiya pottakkadinu swagatham!
Thanks Bijoy
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