PONMUDI-KALLAR - An escape to the wilderness

Thiruvananthapuram, the land of Padmanabhaswamy, has a class of its own with its vivid range of attractions that suits all kind of tourists. As one of my British friend said, “You are lucky to be in Trivandrum, as you can find wildlife if you travel 20km south, you could enjoy backwaters and heritage sites if you travel towards north, beautiful beaches if you travel towards west and if you move towards east you find some gorgeous hill stations and apart from all these if you dig and go downwards you may find treasure also”.

Ponmudi is a small hill station which is about 70KM from Trivandrum via Nedumangad Vithura region. It’s a hill station of difference as apart from enjoying the climate of the region; one can also experience the wilderness of the region by going for soft trek and enjoying the chillness of the streams in Kallar.

As the sun was in an outrageous mood, I made up my mind to escape for a shelter in a comfortable place and the easy choice for me was ofcourse Ponmudi. The only choice of accommodation in Ponmudi is the KTDC cottages (Golden Peak- www.ktdc.com/golden-peak.php), the Government guest house in Ponmudi being in a pathetic stage. Before leaving called up KTDC to confirm our accommodation and a two hour drive took us to the top of the hill.

Enjoying the evenings at the top of the hill with mist covering all-round is the most enchanting thing for the visitors of Ponmudi. While climbing up the hill on foot, one has to be cautious as there is every risk of walking on broken glass pieces, beware that the Keralites contribute to 16% of the alcohol consumption in India. Even Punjab comes next to us. We are not ready to give up in this matter too as in the case of literacy rate.

The entry to the top of the hill is restricted till 6.30 PM. There is a forest check post from which tickets need to be taken for moving to the top. We spent time on top with kids enjoying the misty atmosphere. On the way back the kids pointed to a park and we had to stop -you can’t call it a park because no proper maintenance is there: the swing and slide are broken. We stayed there for sometime till it became dark. We had dinner from the KTDC restaurant, as there is no other option available; guests are exploited to the maximum in terms of food charges.

In the morning after the breakfast we drove down the hill and had a great time with kids entering the forest area in Kallar region going for the soft trek and enjoying the dip in the Kallar waterfalls stream. Vithura is a small town where options for lunch are available at reasonable rates and one and half drive from there via Nedumangad could take us to Trivandrum