Meenmutty - Ponmudi trip

27/Jun/09 (Sat) - It was a fantastic day of thrill and enjoyment. Enjoying the lovely stream of water and feeling the drizzle on the peak of a mountain. Yes its a trip to Ponmudi via Meenmutty. Ponmudi is around 60 kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Its the most preferred hill station nearby Thiruvananthapuram. On the way to Ponmudi is Meenmutty.

We started the journey at 9:15 AM. We were a group of nine (Jamnas, Vijayakumar, Arun, Shibin, Lijin, Nijas, Anish, Shaiju). We stopped at Vithura for getting the lunch. Since there are a few restaurants available near by Meenmutty and Ponmudi we decided to pack the lunch. We reached Meenmutty at 11:35Am. The entry pass cost Rs210, which includes the parking fees.

For reaching the waterfalls we have to walk upto 1.5 kms inside the forest. If needed the authorities will allot a guide for us. We got a guide for the navigation. We started walking through the forest sharing jokes, taking snaps etc. After some half an hours of walking we reached the waterfalls. On the way we can see the stream of water flowing inside the forest.

Its a lovely location to take snaps, near the waterfall. The picture shows how the guys are keen to focus for the camera.

Its quite natural to play in the water. But make sure that you wont miss your sandals.

After spending some time near the waterfalls we returned back to the entry point, we had bath from the nearby water stream. Bathing is not allowed near the water fall as it is dangerous.After having bath we headed to Ponmudi. It took some half an hour to reach Ponmudi from Meenmutty.

We reached Ponmudi at 4:15 PM. There is an entry pass for Ponmudi. Its the lovely climate that attracts the tourists. The fog makes very hard to see anything beyond a small distance. And the drizzle makes the climate much more attractive. We spend few hours there on top of the peak.
We returned back at 7:00 PM. We were the last one to leave from Ponmudi. The driver had a tough time driving in the fog. Its was a lovely day of enjoyment.

Picture Gallery - Meenmutty



Picture Gallery - Ponmudi




How to reach Ponmudi?

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A short journey - Safari Park, Neyyar Dam

31 May Sun 09

The tour plan was initiated by Jamnas. After a few phone calls and SMS we decided to go to Neyyar Dam in the after noon. As usual Hisam is not coming bcoz he wants to go to his friend's home. Then who else is coming ? Jamnas, Nipin, Sathish, Deb Dutta and myself. Deb Dutta is in Trivandrum for some project work. He hopes he can return back in two weeks. We all met at Vazhuthacaud. We all went by bike. Its cheap and convenient, and everyone enjoys riding. Since we are of 5 people I don't have a partner this time around.

We started the journey at around 1:30 PM. The route was Vazhuthacaud -> Pangode -> Thirumala -> Malayinkeezhu -> Kattakada -> Neyyar Dam. Neyyar Dam can be reached from Nedumangadu, Balaramapuram or Neyyatinkara. We reached Neyyar Dam at around 3:30PM. Neyyar Dam is roughly 30 kms away from the city. Its one of the major tourist spot in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.


There is a small museum near the reception. Here are a few snaps of the moments at the museum.



We decided to visit the Safari Park, as the last boating to Safari Park is at 4:00PM. The ticket charge is Rs140 per head. This package includes boating to the Safari Park, Steve Irwin's Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre and the Deer park.



The boating started at 4:00PM. We reached Safari Park at 4:07PM. Its a 5 mins ride to Safari Park. On the way to the Safari Park, we can see a writing of the Safari Park in the forest (See the picture).


There was a bus waiting for us. This bus leads us to the heart of the Safari Park. We boarded in the bus. The bus stared to move and within minutes we were in the Safari Park and we started seeing the lions. As per the Guide's comments there are 7 lions. We managed to see 4 of them. And we saw it very closely (See the pictures). The lions seems to be get used to these tourists.



At 4:30PM we reached back from the Safari Park and boarded in the boat. Our next destination is the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre.


We reached Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at 4:50PM. There we saw a bunch of Crocodiles. We also then visited the Deer park. The Deer park is near to the Crocodile Rehabilitation centre. There nothing much to see in Deer park. There were only a very few deers. We saw two of them.



Now we need to return back, the boat was waiting for us. We returned back at 5:30PM. Its was a nice experience. I should say its worth spending Rs140 bugs. We had snacks and lime juice from a near by shop.

It was too late for us to visit the park. We returned from Neyyar Dam at around 6:30 PM. On the way back we had dinner from Kattakada. Altogether it was a nice journey. And we would like to have more trips in the coming days to come.

How to reach Neyyar Dam?

1) From Trivandrum bus stand, catch a bus to Katakada. Then from Katatakada buses are frequently available to Neyyar Dam. (Bus Stand -> Bakery Jn -> Pangode -> Thirumala -> Malayinkezhu -> Katakada -> Neyyar Dam).

2) From Vizhinjam bus stand, catch a bus to Katakada. Then from Katatakada buses are frequently available to Neyyar Dam. (Bus Stand -> Mukkola -> Balaramapuram -> Ooruttambalam -> Katakada -> Neyyar Dam).

3) From Poovar bus stand, catch a bus to Katakada. Then from Katatakada buses are frequently available to Neyyar Dam. (Bus Stand -> Neyyatinkara -> Ooruttambalam -> Katakada -> Neyyar Dam).