Thekkady & Vagamon!

It's May'16! 
It's my Birthday month!! 
It's our First Wedding Anniversary!!!

Me and my husband had many reasons to celebrate this time! After our honeymoon, this was our first vacation where it was just the two of us. Long drive was the plan!!! Thinking of the very first long drive in our new Hyundai Verna made me super excited! My husband had a 2-week long break before joining another company and thus we planned a week long vacation to a hill station considering the heat in May. I was more than happy to take a break from the busy days at work. This was our time to cherish the year long togetherness😊!

Long drive!!!

God's Own Country, KE-RA-LA was my first thought! But my traveller husband had visited this state for about 3-4 times already before marriage. He didn't want to revisit the well-known spots, so he searched for an offbeat location from his treasured collection of age-old paper cuttings. Vagamon was the place that caught his eyes and asked me to look up for more information. The lush green meadows with a combination of pine forests at Vagamon looked like a good match for our expectation of a lazy vacation. Gavi is another hill station nearby which is known for it's scenic beauty untouched by the mighty hands of modernity. The nearest town Thekkady in the Idukki district is popular for it's rainforests, wildlife, spice plantations and the Ayurvedic spa. Hill stations and wildlife sanctuary across the Periyar lake sounded perfect!

There you go planning! Route map!

• Bangalore --> Krishnagiri --> Dharmapuri --> Salem --> Karur --> Dindigul --> Theni --> Kumily (Thekkady) 
• There is a nice 6-lane national highway until Dindigul, followed by a good 2-lane road to Thekkady. The road gets curvy only in the last 15 kms of the journey.
• Thekkady is around 510 kms away from Bangalore which will take about 8-9 hrs journey along with a couple of hrs for breakfast+lunch+tea/coffee. So you need an entire day to drive till Thekkady and halt for a night before you head to Vagamon the next morning.  
• Vagamon and Gavi are close to 40-45 kms away from Thekkady which takes about 1 and a half to 2 hrs drive on the hilly roads. 

The Monday Morning!!!
Luggages ✅
Shades😎 ✅
Water bottles ✅
Fruits and Snacks ✅
Car pillows ✅
Camera ✅


Let's go!!! Woohoo! How often do you get a beautiful Monday morning without having to think about work 😎. The 6 lane NH, the views and the early morning breeze touching my face gently felt so good. I was hungry by 8 AM and as planned, we stopped at the famed Saravana Bhavan near Krishnagiri. The hot Pongal with raitha 😋 and Idly-vada-sambar was a good start for the day! The drive continued with the music, the leg pulling conversations, the Sun and our search for the tender coconut which we hardly find in Tamil Nadu highways. Luckily, we found the small size tender coconuts to quench our thirst, just before we reach Dindigul for lunch. I wanted to eat light so that I keep myself awake and talk to my driver husband till we reached our destination. The Restaurant at the highway junction with a bypass to Theni (I don't remember the name) was decent enough for the meal. And the cold butter milk saved us from the heat.

The 6 lane fun ended as we took the bypass road to Theni but the road was good nonetheless. After a couple of hours journey, we entered Kerala at around 4.30 in the evening. We witnessed a small waterfall besides the curvy road where we clicked the first Selfie of our trip😊. Checking for the Elephant Route Resort directions, we were a little suspicious on the narrow path we were asked to take from the main road, until it lead to the resort. We booked this accommodation through Goibibo app for a better deal, so do check!

Elephant Route Resort.

We were received at the resort in a very traditional way with the flowers, garland, decorated pooja thali and the much needed welcome drink of course! The suite accommodation had a large area with the open glass view to the green fields which was awesome! The clean white and red combination bed covers had this cute kissing ducks made out of white towels♡. The balcony with a table and chairs tempted us to order some evening snacks to the room itself. We were hungry and tired after the day long journey. By the time we freshened up, our snacks order was at the doorbell. We sat in the balcony listening to the elephant trumpets and ate the decorative snacks with refreshing coffee.

A bit of relaxation and then we walked towards the nearby elephant feeding area that also had Kathakkali as the cultural event for the evening. The elephants were noisy, the young ones were too cute. Even the big sized ragi balls looked so tiny for those mighty mammals. After watching them getting fed, it was time for us to feed ourselves with some tasty food. So we went back to the resort restaurant, although with a bit of skepticism about the coconut oil used for cooking in Kerala. The food was OK with the north Indian style roti, curry and fish finger. Returning to our room balcony, it was time for us for a quick memory test! Revisiting some of our past moments was fun! Trust me, husband's have poor memory, so be sure to feel more superior!!😀

Elephant camp!

My love for the cute baby elephants continued the next morning as I saw the mahouts giving them a nice shower. After the morning walk in the green fields, we returned back to the resort for breakfast which had both continental and Indian varieties. We settled the resort bills and thanked the resort staff for a pleasant stay before starting to Vagamon, the hill station.

Tea plantations on the way to Vagamon.

The journey on the hilly roads amidst the beautiful tea plantations had excellent views! We did stopover in couple of places to click some pictures, which is a must! The journey was good but some stretch of the road was under repair. We were concerned about a specific steep U turn we had to take to reach our destination. Luckily, we did not miss the turn. Ugh!!! Adrak Summer Sand Hill Resort boards were found which lead us to the resort without much confusion. Each resort we had booked left us so excited at the very first look of it. After all, the resorts were booked by me😉! While we checked-in, I glanced few book shelves in the waiting area near the reception. More than the rooms here, we liked the place around and the food got better comparatively. The resort was artistically beautiful with a pond, a small bridge across the pond, ducks, swings and the pine forest view from the back door of Nalukettu-3 (our room). The traditional Kerala style entrance to the rooms added to the looks! 

Typical Kerala style entrance.

Nalukettu-3, our room!

Pine forest.

Misty evening!

Once we settled in, I was all ready for the photo shoot 😍! My Mr was already hanging around with the camera for the nature clicks. But then, it was time to capture his beautiful wife😜. The weather was getting cloudy as we clicked pictures in every nook and corner of the resort. There you go! It started raining cats and dogs by lunch time. We ran up to the resort restaurant, where we were assisted to a window side table with the pond view. Like I said, the food got better with the hot Schezwan Fried rice, hot side dish, lemonade😋. Due to heavy rains and misty evening, we couldn't get out of the resort😞. Yet, we managed to take a walk in the dense Pine forest behind the resort. It was too scary for me in the misty weather and it felt like there's a ghost hiding in every distant tree 😱. I din't want to go any further after certain point and pulled my reluctant husband back to the resort. It was getting dark as well. The tourists here had littered the place which felt bad😟. We ate snacks, drank hot coffee and sat sometime watching the rain just outside the reception area. Even with the poor visibility, I could see that our white car was fully covered by mist. The boredom sitting in the room made us make few calls to our friends. There was no Airtel network at all and my lucky Docomo network worked here at the hill station pleasingly for once! 

Vagamon Meadows - Mottakunnu.

Lake view!

The next morning, it was time for some more scenic views of Vagamon. The Vagamon Meadows, locally called Mottakunnu (I think it roughly translates to Bald Hills in Malayalam), is a well known shooting spot. There's a minimal entry fee of about 30 bucks per person. One will surely feel close to nature with the lush green meadows all around in a windy climate. Ideal place for lovers to sit & have a romantic talk, kids to jump around, foodies to munch on some snacks, for hours together! If you further drive down the hill, there's a beautiful eye-catching lake amidst the tea plantations, where you can do some pedal boating. The wooden bridge across the lake connecting the tea plantations makes it a nice little place for photography 😍. 

Orchidarium.

Vagamon Orchidarium filled with varieties of orchids, roses and other plantations is a nice location to spend an hour or two in the evening. The small hillocks, pond and the wooden benches in the lawn will surely get you relaxed. One can buy varieties of plants and nature products like honey, spices, tea powders etc. There's a small cafeteria for refreshments and it has lovely views especially on a misty evening!

Suicide point meadows!

Suicide point is another location to your list of sight seeing here. The point where you start walking towards the Suicide point is very similar to the meadows. Though we spent some time here before we started back to Thekkady, we could not walk all the way to the view point. One might argue that you find meadows literally in all the hill stations. But the lack of crowd here gives the much needed privacy for couples 😉, solitude for wanderers and a perfect shot for photographers!

BLUE EYES !!!

After two nights of wonderful stay at the foggy hill station, we got back to Thekkady for our anniversary celebration! Driving back through the same hilly roads surrounded by tea plantations, we reached the Forest Canopy Resort. This was the luxurious of all the resorts we stayed in so far and is exorbitant in its pricing. The reception area itself was so beautiful with its modern architecture. The hospitality here impressed me a lot, with each and every staff doing a "Namaste"🙏 every time they see their customers, which is a very warm gesture. The resort was placed on a hilly area which had narrow pathways and steep turns, with some beautiful cottages built by the side of those narrow roads. There are shuttle services and our cars are not allowed to be driven in these pathways. "The Blue Eyes-Jacuzzi Villa" is the accommodation we stayed in which had a private Jacuzzi and steam bath 😊. It had the best in class interiors and was unique in every way. The balcony was the best part here with a mind-blowing view of the dense forest surrounding us. The stay was worth it for all the facilities and the luxury it provided. It had a large gym area, swimming pool, basket ball ring and a badminton court. Indoor sports room had Table Tennis, Carom, Ludo, Chess, Foosball etc. Before the dinner, we relaxed in the pool for sometime. Having booked such wonderful resort, we both felt that we should skip our planned visit to Gavi. And we did 😊.

Hill top Blooming Cherry!

Meen Pollichettu!

I've got to say, Meen Pollichettu at the Blooming Cherry restaurant was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted in my life 😋. We surely cannot forget it's taste for the rest of our lives. It was a (I believe) King fish slice covered with the thick red paste of spices, wrapped in the banana leaf and roasted. My mouth was watering as I saw the dish getting closer and closer to me as the waiter walked towards us. You can see that I couldn't even wait till my hubby reached out to his cellphone to click its pic. Trust me, everything we ate here was yummy! The restaurant is placed at the hill top, so we get nice views of the greenery, the pool and the outdoor play area. The staff were so courteous that they made yummy appams specially for us for the breakfast. Overall the food made me think of staying at this place for a couple of days more😉.

After an over night stay at Blue Eyes, it was our Anniversary morning! It felt so special, one year had flown so fast. We just wanted to relax for the day and enjoy each others company, without wanting to cover all the sight seeing places out there. My husband was in no mood to drive, yet the Periyar Tiger Reserve was a must visit for having come so far. So we asked the resort staff to make the booking for the famous boat ride in the Periyar lake for the noon slot, followed by a spa appointment in the evening. The day started with so many memories of the past year, like how we were decked up, the rituals, the celebrations, the moment we tied the knot, the wedding delicacies, the photo shoot, the gifts etc. Everything we recalled made us smile with joy, after all, it was a year well spent! We had a small private garden in our accommodation where we sat sipping some nice coffee, taking calls from family and friends. And then it was the Jacuzzi time!!! We had a duplex sort of an accommodation where the ground floor had a private Jacuzzi plus the steam bath. For the first time ever, we experienced the Jacuzzi & its promise to get you relaxed! It felt like a massage, extremely relaxing, at times ticklish and fun! We spent a good hour and a half in the Jacuzzi before heading for the lunch.

Boating!

Scenic Periyar Lake!

Post lunch, the resort staff gave us the photocopies of the booking made for the boating. Tickets can be booked online as well as at the counter directly! There are 4 slots in a day with each cruise lasting 1 and a half to 2 hours. There are limited seats, so the chances of making direct bookings at the counter is less, especially during peak seasons. I suggest you don't miss this beautiful ride, go for an online booking in advance. The seats are on a first-come-first-served basis. Parking and camera charges are extra.

Wild Buffaloes.

Birds on the skeletal remains!

The entrance to the Periyar Tiger Reserve was crowded and yet we made our way to the parking lot inch by inch. It rained as we walked towards the boating area. The smell of mud felt pleasant as we stood under the huge trees, watching the boats come closer to us, finishing their earlier ride. While we waited for the ride, my husband told me the story behind how this Periyar lake was formed, when the Mullaperiyar dam was constructed amidst the dense forest decades ago! The big boats had a good covering for shade. Rains vanished as we started to sail with the life jackets on. The skeletal remains of the trees that protrude from the water add up to the scenic beauty. The ride was awesome and we got to see wild boars, spotted deers, elephants, wild buffaloes, monkeys and birds. No Tigers 😞, though it was close to evening. There are jungle camps to actually experience the wild life. My nature-lover husband clicked as many snaps as he wanted while I enjoyed the ride thoroughly, considering it was so calm amidst a beautiful dense forest.

Later in the evening, we bought some home made chocolates, banana chips and Ayurvedic massage oil as a takeaway from this place! After snacking and relaxing for a while at the resort, there was a phone call from the spa reminding us about our appointment for the evening. The Ayurvedic full body massage was disappointing😞 for its hype I had heard of in Kerala, but the steam bath was good for consolation. I think the masseuse was a newbie to the job, the inexperienced hands could not do any better. While I waited near the pool area, my husband came back with an even more disappointed expression and we laughed as we shared our experiences humorously😀.

Anniversary pastry!

Dinner time!!! It was a Black Forest pastry for our anniversary! 😋 Blooming Cherry staff surrounded us for the celebration. As we cut the cake, they wished us and clicked a few pictures for us. Yet we badly missed our family, so dialed them immediately, sharing the happenings around us😊. After that, the yummy tummy food came, which we leisurely had for a couple of hours, relishing each and every dish we ordered, the mocktail, the rotis, the curry, the fish, the biryani etc.

It was Saturday morning and time for a long drive back to Namma Bengaluru! We appreciated the Blooming Cherry restaurant staff and the chef for the amazing food they served. And also the hospitality of each and every staff at the resort. I had my own complaints towards the spa, which the staff was very sorry about. Upon settling the bills, we started our drive back home and reached Bengaluru by late evening to face the weekend traffic 😄.

The memorable first long drive!!!


Additionally,

Periyar Boating

• Entry Timing : 0600 hrs – 1800 hrs
• Boating Time : 0730, 0930, 1115, 1345 and 1530 hrs 
• Periyar Tiger Reserve entry fee : Rs. 35 (Indians) & Rs. 300 (foreigners)
• Boating fee    : Around Rs. 225.00 per person.
• Cameras : Rs. 25 (still) & Rs. 200 (video)
• Vehicle entry : Rs. 50
• Online booking link : http://www.periyarfoundation.online/
• Carry ID Proof for verification at the Entrance Check Post.
• Report at the Entrance at least an hour prior to the Boating time. 

Elephant Route Resort, Thekkady : http://www.elephantroute.com/
Adrak Summer Sand Hill Resort, Vagamon : http://www.summersand.in/

Forest Canopy, Thekkady : http://www.forestcanopy.in/