The Scotland of Asia
The picture perfect region of Vagamon in Kerala is a must visit for all travellers.
It was my fifth planning to this region. The last four didn’t materialize and this time too, I landed in Kochi with a negative thinking that this is not going to happen. The reason – During official tours, travelogue comes just as a hobby. The plan was simple. Take a trip to Vagamon. Not a big deal by any standards. Not an adventure trip either. But it still didnt materialise.
Among various web information available on this beautiful place including Wiki, VagamonOnline describes it as a ”never-ending line of lush green hills, breathtaking ravines and meandering rivulets, perfect tourist place situated 1200 meters above the sea level spot surrounded by the greenery of tea gardens , fresh cool air, murmuring Pine forests ,small waterfalls, attractive meadows”.
I realized this when my trip did materialize. I should thank my business investment partner Jose Nedumcanal to whom I made promises all the five times asking to accompany him to the hills. He was born and spent his last five decades in this region.
Homes such as this keeps Nature intact
His home at Palai reflects the ethos and culture he was brought up. It is lush green with beautiful interiors dedicated to nature. Not to mention the delicious seven course meals served.
It was a 3 hour drive from Airport to his home. I took an extra hour for two reasons. Had to give nutrition to my body being lunchtime which consumed half of the time and a terrific accident involving a private car and state transport bus blocked the other half. It was getting almost dark when I reached his home. The first priority – as we had already discussed previous evening – was to collect fresh Palm Toddy. I rushed my luggage inside the house and we set out for Mission Toddy.
The sky was overcast and drizzling made our 15 kilometer trip to Poonjar more melodious. Toddy picking during monsoon is erratic. Additionally Coconut Toddy tastes better during rains than Palm. (If you are interested in knowing differences, here it is.) Though I had inclination to Coconut, we had very little choice as our benovelant suppliers were already up on the Palm Trees waiting for us. We carried with us a 10 litre Jar. I was informed the cap of the jar was kept half open to let the air in so that its slow fermentation that leads to forming Carbon Dioxide can be prevented. It didnt matter to me since I live in a dry state.
In about twenty minutes toddy arrived. The Mountain View from where we picked up the fresh toddy was so beautiful that I made up my mind to visit Poonjar again next monsoon.
Streams coming out of Mountains, sound of rivulets, cool breeze laced with sprinkling rain water was an experience for me. I stay in Ahmedabad amidst concrete jungle and any green patch is heavenly. But for the family of Regi – the person who delivered us Toddy – it was as usual. His tiny daughter looked perplexed smiling at strangers and his wife brought two glasses for us to taste the freshness. Regi is an employee of Jose Chetan (as we call him out of respect though he leaves no stone unturned to make himself as young as possible. Chetan is normally used in Malayalam to address Elder Brother) to supervise his estate which comprises of Rubber and to a certain extend Palm Trees. By the time they discussed business, I reduced the toddy by three glasses masquerading as tasting.
So we had almost 8 litres left with us. We reached home within no time and my first step was to experience the cold water bath. It was almost 8 PM and to my horror I realised my brief case is struck. The lock, I presume, got struck and the default opening number of three zeroes got disfunctional. I tried and tried and tried till the time got annoyed. We collectively decided to break open which means the brief case itself will be damaged. I still have a week and 15 kgs of stuff to carry back home.
The Skybags branded briefcase from VIP Industries, fortunately, had a 24x7 helpline. I called them up who gave me a number in Kochi. He in turn gave me the number of a person called Manu who worked for a shop nearby which sold Skybags. By 9 PM, the entire fiasco was solved. And we gulped another 5 litres out of which 70% turned out to be my contribution to a good night’s sleep.
We kept our plans open to go to the mountains/valleys of Vagamon next day because of inclement weather. When it rains, the visibility turns to almost zero and I am a big suspect at my own risk taking ability under such circumstances. But the morning turned out to be sunny. Post breakfast, we started our journey. When we set out, there was no concrete plan. But later the plan looked something like this.
Through the state highway, from Pala we crossed Bharananganam –the tomb of Saint Alphonsa – a Christian dominated place and entered Erattupetta, a Muslim dominated area. The shops were almost shut for the Ramadan Season. Briefly, we crossed Teekoy and from this pointthe brown and light green areas started to become dark green.
The breathtaking view of the valley is unique and one of its kind in the region
During monsoon the grassy green meadows, mountains and the valleys look just out of a Photoshopped picture book. The pine forests, waterfalls, mist and the scattered tea plantations adds twist to tale. No wonder National Geographic has included Vagamon in their ’50 most attractive places to visit in India’. Interestingly this place has a unique feature and it is in the naming of three hills- Kurishumala, Muruganmala and Thangal Para – each named after Christian, Hindu and Muslim religion respectively.
Like all beautiful places, credit for discovering this place also goes to the British few years before India became independent. Immediately on discovery, they realized the climate is suitable for tea plantation and it slowly began to grow. But unlike in the neighbouring Munnar where you can find large corporations controlling tea estates, here the ownership is limited to individuals or mid size companies.
Vagamon recently came into prominence after a police raid on terror training camps. I decided to visit the place where this camp was purportedly held. Reaching here, I realised how dangerous this place could be after dark. The place is so isolated that you hardly get any visitors to this region except for the Thangal Para Urs festival which attracts of thousands of devotees each year.
A gate at the road near multiple rocks – very precariously poised - leads to another huge rock where Dargah of Sheikh Fariduddin is located. It is widely believed that this Afghan Sufi Saint lived and died here 800 years ago. Legend is that the tiny stone he used to grind with is what transformed in to this spherical rock.
Accidents have happened innumerable times here and the most recent was that of four house surgeons who could not see the valley due to mist and plunged down and died instantly. Railings have now come up and at many places work to erect railings are in progress.
The beauty of valleys are eroded with unregulated construction. Time to put a full stop to this ecological disaster waiting to happen
As I was passing though Kaarikadu Top, one of the top most hills, I was reminded of a recent accident wherein a family of four – on their way to Bharanganam Pilgrim Centre. Last month, a 42 year old super market owner and Kalkoonthal native Saji Valliamthadathil along with his wife and two daughters fell from here. His wife and a daughter survived though. I could zoom enough to take a glimpse of the remains of their vehicle.
Though I could not spot any private or state owned transport plying through the route, a waiting shed corrected me that there must be one. And yes, there are buses but not very frequent.
But now comes the most unfortunate part. In the name of promoting tourism the place is destroyed with uncontrolled and unplanned construction that just do not fit into the ethos of the place.
