Parambikulam Wild life Sanctuary - Part 2

Here are the balance pictures taken at Parambikulam Wild Life Sanctuary:
1. Thunakadavu Dam View taken from an elevation enroute to Parambikulam Dam
2.A blissful shot of yours faithfully & Shobha my better half
3,4,5,6: Pics taken at Parambikulam Dam
7,8 :Refreshment Zone: Tea Stalls carry exotic names like Maruthu, Chandanam, Thekku, Veetti, Veppu etc ( all local names of trees)
9,10 : Parambikulam Area
11. Another group of deer grazing
12. Checkpost at Sanctuary exit
13. Bamboo Grove at Top Slip
14. Archway enroute from Top Slip to Pollachi on return trip.

Parambikulam Wild life Sanctuary - Part 1

12 June 2011: This happened to be our 36th wedding Anniversary Day ! We planned to do something unique - instead of the customary celebration at home or going to a nice restaurant. We decided to take a day trip to the Parambikulam wild life sanctuary. We left Coimbatore around 7.00 am. We reached Pollachi around 8.15 am then turned towards Trichur Road and motored another 40 Kms via Zamin Uthukuli (famous for butter) & Vettaikaranpudur, to reach the foothills of the Anamalai mountain Range. At the checkpost at the foothills we had to back entry tickets for Top Slip- From thereon it was an 8 Km ghat road ( this road was mostly kuccha) with several hair pin bends. The last few Kms of the climb there were thick bamboo groves on either side of the road - see pic below.

See above some shots taken at Top Slip.
From there we traveled another 3 Kms to the Kerala Border where the Parambikulam Sanctuary begins. We had to wait for about one hour at the Forest Office. At 11.00 am we boarded a special bus which was to take us through a 3 hour drive through the Sanctuary. This was one of the most exciting, exotic & scintillating trips we have ever undertaken.Pics above: 1. Checkpost/Forest Office 2. Waiting for the Bus 3. Bus enters the Sanctuary - Tour begins. Almost immediately after we took off we found spotted deer (see pic below)We also sighted a black bear but from a distance. Then we reached the Thunakadavu Dam & reservoir where we had a brief stopover. Pics below were taken at this spot. Magnificent Views !
Next we proceeded through dense forest area. Our route was lined with teak plantations - we came across more deer groups. We saw a couple of stags with large antlers indulging in a stag fight. We were taken to the Kannimara Teak Tree - believed to be over 450 years old, the largest living teak tree in the world with a girth of 6.57 metres and a height of 48.5 metres. Kanni - Mara means virgin tree. According to an old tribal legend when this tree was axed blood oozed out - since then it has been worshiped as a sacred virgin tree. A truly magnificent specimen.(See pics below) ---To be continued ( for official website log onto : www.parambikulam.org)

Kodanad View

1 May 2011: This year May Day fell on a Sunday. We had not gone on a long drive for quite awhile and we took a spot decision to take a day trip to Kothagiri in the Nilgiris. Kothagiri, which is around80 kms. from Coimbatore is a small unpretentious town which has a salubrious climate. It forms a triangle with Ooty and Conoor. Situated at a altitude of 1750 metres it is one of the lesser frequented hill stations. Kothagiri derives its names from the Kota Tribes - who are the traditional artisans who are experts in the art of pottery & terracotta baking.

From Kothagiri we drove 18 Kms to Kodanad - it was a spectacular drive with through well manicured tea gardens. The Kodanad estate measuring around 20 acres is currently owned by J.Jayalalitha the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. Here are some of pics taken enroute to & at Kodanad. The four chaps in traditional attire are Irulavar tribals who actually live in the valley deep down. Many of these tribals have taken to snake catching for a living. These four though work on banana plantations.

Aranmula - A Quaint Kerala Village

12 May 2010: Our next stop was at the Aranmula located at a distance of around 7 Kms from Chengannur. First we visited the Parthasarathy temple, located atop a hill, whose architecture is similar to the Chengannur Temple. It is situated on a sprawling campus with many trees and several sub shrines. We witnessed the Thulabharam (weighing a person on the temple scales against items like rice, bananas, sugar etc which are then given as offerring to the deity) of a 6 months baby and pics are enclosed.

Next we visited the Vastu Vidya Gurukulam where we had a morning appointment with the consultant design engineer. Vasthu sasthra is the branch of Veda which deals with traditional Indian way of environmental friendly construction adopting universal principles of creation. This is a combination of science engineering and spirituality. Vastu vidya came from, Sanskrit word Vas & Vidya. Vas means dwell and Vidya is knowledge is stated to spring from Sthapadya Veda the sub Veda of Atharvaveda. Traditional Kerala temple is an excellent example of Vasthu designing. This institution, under Department of Culture, offers consultancy services for Vastu Vidya and Mural painting (Traditional Kerala Temple painting). Enclosing herewith pics of the main office building of the Gurukulam.

Aranmula is situated on the banks of the river Pamba. We went to the local PWD Guest House, a quaint old building with nice rooms recently renovated. There is a full grown jackfruit tree with plenty of green prickly fruits hanging down. From there we had breathtaking view of the river(see pics below). Incidentally these are nice rooms where one can stay at a very nominal tariff @Rs.500/day :Vallam Kali means boat race in Malayalam which is the language of the State of Kerala. It is mainly conducted during the season of the harvest festival Onam in Autumn. Vallam Kali include races of many kinds of traditional boats (paddled longboat) of Kerala. The race of Chundan Vallam (snake boat) is the major event. Hence Vallam Kali is also known in English as Snake Boat Race and now in recent years has become a major tourist attraction. Typical snake boats are 100 to 120 feet long, and hold around 100 rowers. Each of the villages in the region has its own snake boat, which they take great pride in. The battling snake boats of Kerala have over 400 years of history associated with them.(Sorry no pics!)

Aranmula is also famous for its traditional metallic mirrors known as Aranmula Kannadi. It is made of copper tin alloy and the ratio is a closely guarded secret.This is a unique art & handed down from generation to generation. Presently only five families are involved in this art in Aranmula and these families hold a patent. We visited one such family and studied the process of manufacture of this unique and beautiful mirror. See pics below:

Chengannur Mahadeva Kshetram

12 May 2010:
We made a day’s visit to Chengannur & Aranmula , two small but important towns in Kerala State. Our first stop was at Chengannur. It is 117 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram on the banks of the Pamba River. The nearest towns are Pandalam on the south, Thiruvalla on the north, Mavelikkara on the west and Aranmula and Pathanamthitta on the east. It is also the nearest railway station to go to Sabarimalai.(Sabarimalai is the abode of Lord Ayyappa where lakhs of devotees flock every year for darsan after trekking barefoot for miles through jungles and rocky hills)

Chengannur is famous for its Shiva temple -“Chengannur Mahadeva Kshetram”, where thousands have darshan of Aaratu festival of Goddess Parvati or Devi.(The goddess is taken and immersed in the temple tank in a grand ceremony) As per Temple legends this is assumed to be one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. It is a sprawling temple complex with a circular Sanctum. Lord Shiva and Parvathi Devi are the main investitures of this temple. The vimanam of the main shrine is a conical copper plated structure similar to pagodas in Thailand. Devi’s main Idol is made with an alloy of five metals (Pancha-loham). The temple was constructed centuries back in accordance with an architectural design evolved by the famous Perunthachan.
Here are some photographs of the temple complex: