As per our travel plan, after spending 2 nights in Cherai we started for Periyar National Park. The total distance from Cherai to Periyar National Park is 164 km and Google maps suggested that it would take around 5 hours for us to cover the distance.
The route that we had decided to take was:
Cherai -> Nellappara -> Vellikulam -> Vagamon -> Periyar
Since it was raining incessantly since morning, we decided to leave late at around 12 noon in the hopes that the rain might stop. Well the rains did not stop but definitely lessened for sometime.
For one last time for this trip, we saw the backwaters and the boats as we were leaving Vypin Island. As we moved ahead, slowly the landscape started changing.From backwaters and beaches we were now approaching the mountains.
Because of the rains, visibility was really low, but everywhere we could see, there was lush greenery. Along the way, there were some places that had little waterfalls that had formed because of the last few days rainfall.
The air was the freshest that it could be, and for a long long time we had missed this kind of crisp fresh mountain air. Travelling in monsoon is not a cake walk, but monsoons in Kerala is magical for sure! The drizzle,the song of frogs,the green beckoning mountains,the teeny tiny waterfalls and the endless moving blanket of clouds, all conspire to create magic.
At some place we saw huge acres of land on which there are rubber plantations.A very interesting spiral incision are made on the lower part of the plant's stem and a small container is hung which would collect the sap.
In many other places we saw cardamon plantations.At this time of the year the plants were having an abundance of both flowers and cardamon.
In some stretches of the road, we saw some really huge palatial buildings, so beautiful that anyone has to wonder who would be staying there and why all the buildings looked so vacant from outside.Almost all the buildings have huge premises, big gates, very modern designs, gardens and some have driveways that can put some 5 star hotels to shame.Yet all of the houses look so empty, as if no one lives inside.
When we were casually telling our observations to a local tea stall owner, he told that all the houses belongs to expats who are working in the Gulf.Its like every family where someone works overseas, builds such houses.Its a matter of prestige whose house looks the grandest in the locality.
Enroute, we saw the Karikadu View Point.Because of rain and low visibility we did not stop, but saw quite a few tourist cars and few shops at the point.There was also a statue of jaguar( I guess), which is hard to miss because it adds to the visual pollution of the place.
Karikadu is adjacent to a less popular tourist spot known as Vagamon.We took a small detour to see the place.In our opinion, there is nothing much to see here, except the Vagamon meadows and Vagamon Lake which looks very beautiful from a distance.
However the greenery surrounding Vagamon is amazing.The meadows, plantations,rich flora and hamlet vibes, makes the places unique.
We halted at some place in Vagamon for some quick refreshment and snacking and started again.
We had our accomodation booked at Periyar House, which is a government hotel situated right inside Periyar National Park.Since the park gate closes at 6 pm for visitors, we were asked to confirm our arrival time by the hotel authority. By the time we reached the entry gate we were just on time.On telling the park authority that we have bookings for Periyar House, we were allowed to get in after paying a vehicle charge of Rs 15 for National Park entry fee.
Periyar House is a Government property located inside Periyar National Park.The property is situated in prime location but rooms are not well maintained.Also rooms are a bit small.They have restaurant service and the restaurant staff are extremely polite and helpful.They even customised our dinner on request because we preferred very less spicy food for our children. There is a garden and children play area at the front of the hotel which is maintained well, but there is plentiful of leeches in the play area.
One very big benefit of staying with the Government property is that you will get confirmed boat tickets for the next day's morning boat safari. Last time when we visited Periyar National Park, almost 9 years back, we had quite a struggle to get tickets as early morning boat tickets are insanely in demand during the peak season, for hopes of seeing wildlife. You can read our old blog on Periyar here.
Since our last visit, a lot of things have changed in Periyar, but some things are still the same.This old tree and this canteen centre was also then, and still now.
The famous trekking which we did last time was suspended because of severe rainfall alert in the Periyar region. However we did spot a good number of Malabar squirrels,sambhar deer and hedgehogs inside the park.Shloka and Vihaan also made new friends.
The complimentary breakfast at Periyar House restaurant was really good.There was juice, bread,butter,idli,dosa,omlette,fresh fruits,tea and coffee.With our stomach and heart filled with goodness, it's now time to start for the next destination since the rains have also hold for sometime.
Bye bye Periyar, see you Munnar!
