Dirt trails in the rear view- Burning the rubber in the back alleys of Kerala

Journey time -6 to 7hrs
Places to cover enroute from Bengaluru - Bandipur national park, Edakkal caves, arattupara view point

Places to stay (Hostel)

Adri chembra
Zostel homes- Meppadi wayanad
While you can choose to stay in some of the other major towns like Vythri, chundale, banasur or Kalpetta- we choose to stay at Meppadi considering our personal preference to stay at a Hostel and proximity to  the trek.

Off beat place to stay- The glamping village

Must visit places:

Soochipara falls ( ticket counter closes around 4pm)

Attamala view point

Must do activity:
There are lot of curated commercial activities like ziplinig, off road jeep rides, glass bridge walk (900 Kandi glass bridge) but we choose to trek....

Trek to the heart shaped lake of Chembra peak.
Some important details to keep in mind- only 200 tickets sold in a day and the ticket price is INR 1750 for 5 people.
Make sure to collect the token very early in the morning.
If traveling solo then gather your own team of "fantastic five" to avoid confusions at the ticket counter as the price is same irrespective of one person or five.

Token distribution starts at 5am at Chembra peak trekking start point.

ticket issued at 7am.
Trek starts at 8am
Trek duration is 5hrs to 6hrs
Difficulty level - easy to moderate
No guide required

Journey time - 6 to 7hrs
Places to cover enroute- Lakkidi view point,
Thusharagiri waterfalls, Pothundy dam

Places to stay-

Journey time - 5 to 6 hrs
Places to cover enroute- aravikuthu waterfalls, illikal kallu

Places to stay
Over the last few years tourism in vagamon has (unfortunately) skyrocketed with luxurious villas and homestays in every corner.
However if you are travelling on a limited budget then the best option would be to book a stay at Zostel - Vagamon well in advance
If you are travelling on a shoe string budget then vagamon new market road is bustling with lodging options for just INR 200 to 250 per night ( not very safe for female travellers).

Must visit places-

Every nook and corner of vagamon is waiting to be explored making it difficult to tie it all up in a bow.

So skip the overrated tourist places ( vagamon meadows, vagamon boating, pine forest) instead head to 👇 places
Marmala falls
Ellapally waterfalls
Lower pine valley
Ilaveezhapoonchira ( if you are ready to ride a little more)

Must do activity:

Ready to step out of your comfort zone!!!...

Then check out these places if you are looking for a small little haven all for yourself

The infinite pool behind the zostel property- if you are staying at zostel then as an added advantage you will get easy access to his beautiful waterfall. The trail is extremely steep,  prickly and infested with leeches. Nonetheless, the refreshing cool pool and gentle falls will surely tingle your senses.

The sunset view points along Kanjar-pullikanam road-
A little ahead of raiders caffe keep a look out for jeep tracks or walking trail amidst the silky grasslands on either side of the main road. The paths are definitely not suitable for any other vehicles apart from jeeps. Well that is... if you forget the option of venturing on foot. So we parked our vehicle and set the map to "thulas mount view point" and navigated on foot. Soak in the hues of sunset and make sure to return back to your vehicle before it gets dark.

The next destination from Vagamon was supposedly -Munnar. The flocks of tourists frightened us to steer clear of Munnar and head to Kolukumalai instead. After riding on the wonky sub roads of kerala the Munnar - kumily highway was definitely a welcoming break to our aching muscles.

Journey time - 3 to 4hours
Places enroute - kallipara neelakurunji view point ( seasonal), annayirankal dam and view point.

Places to stay-

Camp jaguar hide out
Our impromptu plan did end up costing us a little more than intended when we booked our stay at camp jaguar hide out. The total package cost us INR 2400 per person  inclusive of jeep pick up and drop to the basecamp, camping at the base breakfast, dinner and trek to Kolukumalai peak view point.
Camp jaguar hide out has a very rustic and bohemian vibe. It is nestled at the highest vantage point inside the majestic suryanelli tea estate spread over 638 hectare of tea estate.
The air here is filled with the sweet aromas of tender tea leaves, sounds of gurgling and chipping birds.

Must do activity -

Star gazing from the base camp at midnight and listening to absolute silence

Sunrise trek to Kolukumalai peak

Choose to descend on foot instead of heading back from the base camp in jeep and walk through the fresh streams, falls and tea plantations of the estate.

Visit the tea factory in the upper suryanelli tea estate

Journey time - 3 to 4 hours

Places to cover enroute-
You can either take the route via Mattupetti dam or eervikulam national park.

We took the latter as it was shorter and ... Welll... "National park" trumps "man made dam".

In case of former route you can check out Mattupetti dam,  elephant crossing view point and munnar echo point.

Little bit about...
Ervikulam national park- easily located on the main highway road rhis national park is one of a kind national park sharing backdoors with kannan devan tea plantations. So you get best of both worlds. If you wish.
Ervikulam national park is home to many Nilgiri tahr deer which were once endangered. The only way to explore the national park is via buses that take upto 30 tourists at a time. Hence if you want to avoid wasting time looking for parking and waiting in long queue for the tickets and the bus is to get there as early as 7am. Unfortunately we didn't... But to our surprise upon driving ahead we found another entrance to Ervikulam national park for Lakkam waterfalls. The crystal clear water shimmering with reflections
Of the pebbles underneath was definitely a satisfying pacifier for missing out on the bus ride.

The kerala tourism also organise kurinji treks amongst others. Check out the link below for more details
https://www.keralatourism.org/ecotourism/trekking-programs/eravikulam-eco-tourism/12

Now... Coming to Marayoor

Marayoor is the only town in kerala having sandal wood reserve forest. Famous for its jaggery, lemon grass oil this quaint little town definitely caught me by surprise with its quirkiness.

Places to stay-
Deciding on a reasonable place to stay in Marayoor was the hardest compared to other places. Although the main town did have few options, it was not very convincing. That's when i stumbled upon Cure monestry in Kanthalloor about 11kms away from the main town for INR 2200 per night

Cure monestry is an ayurvedic centre inside St. Pius church. The place instantly resonates with your inner spirituality and houses a tiny pond and hillock inside the property.

The host Mr Nelson was very welcoming and the food at their ootapura was divine.

Must visit places-
Muniyara - anakottakara park
Irachilpara falls

Must do activity -
Chinnar wild life sanctuary- thoovanam waterfalls

Discovering  Thoovanam waterfalls trek  was a perfect ending for our Kerala exploration.

The trek is guided by forest department officials through the wilderness of chinnar wild life sanctuary. The tickets for the trek can be collected from Alempetty trek guide stand a little ahead of karimutty falls.

Timings - ticket counter opens at 9am
Trek charges- INR 320
Duration - 1hr to reach ( can stay near the falls for as long as you want)
Difficulty - easy

As a common rule it would be wiser to reach before the counter opens so you get to trek in the first batch and get the best seats in the laps of mother nature. The place could get pretty crowded around holidays even though its not well known.

Other activities you can enquire at the Alempetty trek stand are trekking to cultural sites of Marayoor for Dolemens and rock painting.

Marayoor was our last stop before in Kerala we left to Bengaluru via Valparai and Yercaud. But thats a tale for another day.

Here are some of the honorable mentions and alternatives to main stream places that will definitely deserves to be in the itinerary.

If you have a little bit more time then you can opt for meesapulimala trek organised by KFDC eco tourism with base camp stay at rhodo valley. Silent valley is another place that could be covered enroute

Also more commonly known as Thekkady, is a home to a largest tiger reserve - periyar national park. Delve in the dense wilderness of Gavi forest in periyar national park. The bookings can be make on KFDC eco tourism website for stay, forest treks and jeep safaris.

Idukki is the most untouched part of Kerala and definitely requires an itinerary of its own. Kalavari mount, Idukki dam were some of the places that got away.

IF YOU HAVE SCROLLED ALL THE WAY AND RESENT READING THE DANCING WORDS THEN CHECK OUT MY INSTAGRAM HANDLE justt_passing_theough FOR  VISUAL INFORMATION 😊

Burning the rubber on the streets of Kerala...