An Onion to Adventure Drive. Exploring Idukki.

This friday ( 3rd Dec), after our maid's heavy thrashing we thought of buying few Onions and necessary groceries in the night after coming from ofiz.

Post purchase from Reliance fresh Kadvantra, Me n Gokul( alias Kuttu), decided for a movie Rakhta Charitra, ( second show). Dinner at Pai Dosa after film, on our way back to room , just an idea struck us to head towards Munnar and feel the chilling climate,and there we were...the Dzire was steered to the muvattupuzha stretch to Munnar around 12.30pm

This drive to buy Onions turned to a fabulous trip exploring the two extremes of Idukki Dist., Munnar and Idukki, covering around 300km terrain stretch.

After a fantastic night drive through the spiraling and misty ghat road we reached Munnar by 2pm, slept in the Car itself which was parked besides a tea estate.

Early morning drive back to Cochin, was the plan, but green grass mountains and the river running parallel were really calling us. Stopped in one such location took a bath in the chillin water at 7am and that was refreshing and energizing.

With extra energy, Dzire was now doing 100km in the terrain, stopped neat to two water falls Vaalara and Cheeyapra.

Driving forward, at Neriamangalam we found a direction board with an U turn to idukki. the Dzire expressed its desire by automatically steering the U turn to that mountain road.

This is a 90 km stretch inside the forest and hilly region of Idukki.. nature and mountains and rivers at its best... waterfalls are just another common things.

Stopped in a small junction to have the desi breakfast with Tea n Dosa with savouring Idukki delicacy EDI erachi- (beef roast which is crushed n dried).

The road after 90km drive through the terrain took us to Cheruthoni.

Cheruthoni is where the world famous arch dam, powering entire Kerala ( The great Idukki arch Dam). Cheruthoni and Idukki dam have certain places and thing which really ignites the adventure enthusiast.

One such is MOUNT CALVRY ( pl don miss this). Unfortunately our Phones were charged out to take snaps from here onwards....we dint carry chargers ( since we have come to buy onions last day)

MOUNT CALVRY is 10 km terrain drive frm the arch dam. After a 2 km trekk to the mount, u can witness the splendid feast nature has kept for you. An awesome site of the water catchment of the dam with a touch of sky blue and surrounded by dense green forest. There are island bodies filled with trees in the water, which really gives an ambience of the world map. U will never feel like coming from there, nature will seduce you with her romantic scenic beauty...

Trekkin down we met wit a localite who told us about a TUNNEL, which is 1.5km long cutting cross a mountain to the Dam. This tunnel is to channelize water to the dam in the early days.. We were thrilled and excited. This is around 6km down hill.., after a lot of enquiries , to and fro off road drives, we finally reached a place which was stranded and filled with trees. It was just another location besides a small check dam. We found a big stream flowing down to a small grilled tunnel below. We got down and peeped inside through the grill….my god tat was huge dark tunnel and a kind of glowing Bulket in the end. The scene was terriying

We came up , enquired to a boy who came there. He said we can go inside the tunnel with some light source and there are lot of Bats. This has struck me the last Man v/s wild Program where he was going inside through a cave in Turkey, we were excited, took my torch part of the accessory kit in my Car.

Got down to the tunnel mouth , it was indeed horrifying like those found in Movies. We pushed ourselves through the concrete grill, the tunnel was around 8ft round rocky and the water was till our knees. Our hearts started beating fast when we moved ahead.., torch lite was very feeble in tat dense dark. The light glow in the other end was our target and it looked at far distance from inside along though the small bends of the tunnel. We could here only the sound of water stream inside the tunnel.

I was scared of any poisonous creatures in the water and the oxygen level in the tunnel, when we further go deep inside. 100 meter away, I suddenly lost my balance, the floor was un even and the water stream increased. We went further 500meter, I just moved the torch light to the roof, my heart just came in my mouth, the roof was full of Bats hanging down. I just saw about vampire Bats in Animal Planet 3 days back. Bats started flying to us when the light hit them., two bats hit my head. Bats always have a terror connect. in films, but it din’t do any harm to us.

After half an hour walk we were about to reach the other end, the tunnel has a bit of visibility now. Standing in the end of the tunnel, the water flows down to the dam. It’s a wonderful site, either side were deep forest. We tired looking the top of the tunnel from outside, and that was a big, huge tall mountain. This tunnel of 1.5km was drilled through this mountain to the dam.

We had good massage in the water falls from the tunnel, then I noticed something the sky is turning black, it gonna rain, which will increase water level in tunnel. I shouted,” Kuttu.. rush, we need to go back quickly”, if the water level and flow increases, it would be very difficult to walk up-stream and fatal too.

We quickly started walking back..and tat was difficult to walk Up-stream. We managed to reach back in 45 minutes, Bats were of course there to push us fast.

Indeed a great drive back to Cochin from Cheruthoni, with fantastic road inside the forest crawling though the mountains.

Fantastic Trip, Thanks to the Onions…..

An awesome drive through my valluvanad.....

This stretch is one of my favourite drives to my home at Palakkad, thanks to the pot holed filled road of Trichur -Palakkad NH47. This is fanastic experience drive, crossing Vadakkaanchery, bridging shornour above the Bharathapuzha( NILA to we valluvanad people) through ottapalam to Palakkad.

Once you are through the trichur township out skirts, its a hard gre

enery filled landscape and country side with small towns like Kolady etc in between.The Bharthan film fame Othralikavu is a wonderful panoramic view from this road side. Othralikavu is sourrounded by mountains form three sides. Its an awesome site of the temple in between paddy fields.

There are wonderful stretches of paddy fields either side of the road, which will thrill you while you cruise. Take a small snooze and peep in to naadan( desi) tea shop in between and enjoy being the guest of these people here, you can also taste the nice desi tea snacks in these tea shops.

One such is the Chakka( jack fruti) Pappadum. its a yummy bite with tea.

If you drive through nite you could experience the cold misty drive through the Chalakudy forest reserve, which is the extension Neliayampathy and parambikulam forest reserve. Then comes the river or rather mother to the valluvanda people, its their Nila( bharath puzha). This river banks have contirbuted many eminent perosnalities to Kerala's literature and cultural spher

e.

Kerala Kalamandalum,( now an university) is situtated in the trichur side of Bharatha puzha, known as cheruthuruthy. Valluvanad people has go a lot of regard to this great river, and one sad thing about her is that she turns to sand dune post monsoon, since the highest capsacity dam in kerala is built across her, the malampuzha dam,( which has helped the irrigation revolution in Palakkad).

Enter shornour( Palakkad dist) its r

eally nice to hear the Malayalam slang of people here, with a very pleasant dialect. Enter valluvanad limit which extends till Manjeri, Malappuram. Shornaur is the one of the hotspot for Mollywood shootings. Varikaseery Mana and other famous houses portrayed in malayalam movies are from the shornaur -ottapalam stretch. The road from shornaur to Palakkad can be best compared to run away, done by the Pathibell company this road can vroom your machine to not less than 100km/hr.

Then comes Ottapalam ( the nair bastion of Kerala), famous for its Nair thravadu and families, that has contirbuted eminent personalities to Indian Civil serivces and through the power corridor of the Parliment. Ottapalam has a great representation of bureaucrast in all most all the congress ministries in central governemnt. The famous NSS college is situated here, where most of the above personalities had their graduation. Chinakkathur temple is situated in ottapalam, by the same road side. Chinakkathur puraam( festival) has a speciality of, enjoying the festival as per once own wish( Chinakathurpuram, Thanikottha pole). So our cops have a tough time during this occassion.

After a scenic and smooth drive in this highway, with paddy field and palm trees in between, gaurded by the western ghats inthe left, reaches a very small village town, Edathara. A small time tea shop run by a old man here, is famous in this route for its tradtional Palakkad tiffins, since years( my father used to have food from here during his school days). You can enjoy the nadan dosa with mouth savouring coconut chutney and spicy onion chuntney. All the delicacies like puri masala, Idli etc served in plantain leaf, has a different taste and with Aakashvani playing in the background, it will take you to the old time. I never used to miss this shop before I end my journey at Palakkad.

Take a early morning drive in this route am sure you gonna enjoy it