Mankayam-Ponmudi Trek, Kerala

At 8.00 a.m, our party of 19 boarded the Van from Thiruvananthapuram. After breakfast at Palode, we reached Mankayam at around 11 a.m. The journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Mankayam took around 3 hours.

Mankayam is situated near Palode in Nedumangad Taluk, Thiruvananthapuram district, in the Indian state of Kerala. Mankayam ecotourism, managed by the State Forest Department  conducts various activities for the visitors. Visitors can go to nearby picturesque spots and can also go for trekking. You can choose a half day or a full day trek .

Mankayam is a reserved place, with houses and a couple of shops. Not much happens here and this is precisely its charm. Our accommodation was arranged in Ponmudi Valley Resort. The resort where we stayed is a mix of modern and ancient huts. It has all basic facilities like A/c room, kitchen, open dining hall etc. The highlight of the resort was the Mankayam river  flowing just  beside .

And I walked around the resort watching the beautiful lawns and the garden. Rubber and coconut trees sentry in to the courtyard .

MANKAYAM TO AYAMPARA - AYIRAVALLIPARA TREK

Our first activity in the chart was trek to Ayampara. Dropped our luggage inside the room and carried our packed lunch and valuables in a small bag. Mankayam check post was the starting point of the trek. First few minutes trek was through plantations. The numerous farms flourished with acacia trees. There were around 15 streams to cross on this route.

And again a vast area of acacia tress. The path is less demanding with a usually chilled climate.

Spotted one hidden waterfall in the forest.   I could see the gushing water falling powerfully a few feet away from me.

There were small and large waterfalls. These waterfalls are perfect for nature lovers.  We took some aerial pictures of the breath-taking waterfalls while walking through the  height.

It was around 1 pm when we reached  a big waterfall. A less visited place, the waterfalls are surrounded by impressive greenery and rocks. The pathways are slippery but the view is  worth the risk. We bathed in the cold waters, had our packed lunch, relaxed for sometime by watching and listening to the crystal clear water falling from the top.

As there were numerous streams to cross, I took the advantage of getting refreshed by walking through the flowing water, enough to get recharged for sometime.

Continued our trek to a view point. In many place trek path was filled with flowing water and we walked through the slippery patches.

The forest area is rich in flora and fauna and various medicinal plants. I was lucky enough to spot and photograph a spider in nature green background.

The forest area is home to elephants and an elephant family just passed through a distance. So, we changed our route to Ayiravallipara view point. Soon we reached the view point that offered a breathtaking view of the surroundings - valleys and mountains.

It was around 5 p.m, we reached back to the resort. Strolling through the village in the evening, watching village life, beautiful surroundings, tasting black tea from a small tea stall and a bath in the Mankayam river made me feel relaxed. It was late evening by the time we came back to the resort, had group discussions and dinner .

DAY 2

BRAEMORE TO PONMUDI TREK

It rained all through the night and into the morning. After having breakfast, we vacated the resort. Put our luggage and packed lunch in the Van and we travelled to Braemore estate. Spread around 900 acres of tea, rubber, coffee and spices, Braemore estate is a privately maintained estate, which is just 8 kms from Mankayam.

We started our trek from the entrance of the Braemore estate at around 9 a.m.  The initial stretch itself was a difficult climb through the plantations.  Climbing immediately after a heavy breakfast wasn’t a bright idea. Luckily after the initial climb, the terrain alternated between steep climb and a Jeep road. It was a rainy day which did not dampen our spirits.

We had a pit stop in an open area where some film shooting had taken place last week. We could see remains of  small bamboo huts, temple and a well.

After a few minutes trek through the plantation area, we entered  the deep forest area. I took in the fresh air and listened for a different kind of music. We were walking through the mud jeep road path. There were plenty of plain brown leeches and they sat inert on leaves angling for passers by.

We had  frequent halts to remove leeches from our body by applying salt. The trek path suddenly curves and opens up to an open area where we found one ancient temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. The front side of the temple is a rivulet. Since the day was the first of the Malayalam month, we saw a lot of people visiting the temple and they reached the temple by jeep.

Then the trek goes through the old horse route to Braemore estates,which was used  by the Britishers. Rain and mist completely washed away our chances to take any photograph. Although it was constantly drizzling, we still enjoyed ourselves.

Soon we reached the Ponmudi road where a board 'Varayadu Motta' welcomed us. 'Varayadu Motta' is a mountain where famous Nilgiri Tahr is visible. When you trek to this mountain from Ponmudi, you have to go down from this point till Braemore estate through the same route we trekked so far and change your direction to 'Varayadu Motta'.

We could see the Ponmudi road ahead of us and the tourists going to the top by car. Then 2 kms walk through the tar road to KTDC cafeteria.

It was around 2 pm we reached the Cafeteria that marked the end of the trek to Ponmudi. By that time our van had already reached with our packed lunch.

BISON VALLEY TREK

Our next activity was a trek to Bison valley. By 3 p.m  we started our trek by entering into the shola forest of the eastern slope. The surrounding place was filled by mist and we could not see anything. Enroute we passed through Sita theertham which is a small rivulet originating from the sides of a rock. We were walking through rocky patches and grass lands and we were on the constant lookout for Indian gaur, wild dogs, bear and elephants. But with no luck.

By around 5 p.m we reached back to the KTDC cafeteria that marked the end of our two days trek.
All of us were fed up with leech bites and we spent around half an hour  removing the leeches from our body. Had tea and snacks from the cafeteria and started our return journey to Thiruvananthapuram.

A day which actually witnessed a heavy rain in the State, with flooded roads and which infact saw most of them indoors during the day, had a few of us trekking through the forest and waterfalls, braving the rains and the heavy downpour ....However , it was fun all the way. Afterall, what is life without a little fun !!!