Page 5 - Kerala Holidays Magazine Volume 1
P. 5
The drive started at 645 AM _ IST and we chose stopped by another viewpoint, where we saw
the route through Athirappally waterfalls and the Sholayar Reservoir. The scenic beauty took
Sholayar forest. As we entered the forest our breath away.
reserve, we saw a couple of monkeys perched
upon the branches of the tree. The winding The perfectly blue waters and the green
roads and tall trees giving us a forest feel. We forestation was a sight to behold. As we drew
could hear water flowing somewhere nearby. closer to the Malakkappara checkpost, we
Our next target destination was Athirappally started seeing the tea plantations. Our hopes
waterfalls. started to die out, but we did spot a few wild
bison, deers, and wild hogs on our way out.
The lower viewpoint is better if you can manage After spending some time at the upper
a small and steep hike downhill. Here we started viewpoint at Sholayar Dam, we decided to go
the next leg of our road trip. This time our to Nallamudi Poonchola's viewpoint.
destination was Sholayar Dam and we drove
through the Sholayar Rainforest. This stretch is We started over to Pollachi, Tamil Nadu.
a combination of scenic views, thick jungle Pollachi - Valparai road has got 40 Hairpin
sections, and plantations. We then stopped at curves, which are awesome and mesmerizing
the penstock pipes which are used to pump road strips. Especially at 38th and 10th, I
water to the Peringalkuthu Hydroelectric Project. believe, we could see the rest of the hairpins
It is a beautiful view on the way. Now our full downhill. Also while we were in the last hairpins
concentration was towards spotting wildlife. We or so we started seeing Aliyar Dam. We drove
for another 2 hours and took a short break
somewhere near Pollachi.
That was our last break. Officially we called this
trip ended and bid goodbye to our friends there.
Athirappally Waterfalls.
“ Situated in Athirappilly Panchayath of Thrissur
District in Kerala, India on the Chalakudy River,
which originates from the upper reaches of the
Western Ghats at the entrance to the Sholayar
ranges. It is the largest waterfall in Kerala, which
stands tall at 80 feet.”
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