Train journey from Shoranur to Nilambur

How about travelling in a train with a group of 50 friends.  On a Sunday morning, we were travelling from Shoranur to Nilambur. The focus of this train journey is  not reaching the destination but to enjoy the day with like minded people. This route is often described as " Green Tunnel" because both sides of the railway line is covered by trees, mostly teak. Since we were travelling in monsoon, nature had become more greener.

We started at 6.30 am from Shoranur.  It is a 60 km journey, that will generally take about 2 hours. As it inches through dense greenery,  it crosses bridges, rivers etc . It  is one of the most scenic train routes in Kerala. We reached Nilambur at around 9.30 am.

Nilambur is located in  Malappuram district which is a world of fascinating views. There is an argument that the name 'Nilambur' is derived from the word 'Nilamburam'. It means that the place is the land of bamboo's. This is the city where you can see the influence of  the Chaliyar river and the Nilgiri hills.

After having  breakfast, we proceeded to DFO bungalow which is the first place in our chart. We splitted into two vehicles. On reaching the bungalow, the team first visited the bungalow and a few of them even proceeded to sky walkway.

The bungalow is located on the banks of the Chaliyar river amidst dense trees. It was built by the British in 1928. The main parts the building are made of spear and teak. The main attraction of the bungalow is spacious halls and varandahs. The bungalow was the official residence of DFO till 1970.

Old DFO Bunglow

Then we proceeded to sky walkway. It is a six meters walkway and you can enjoy the sound of birds chirping by walking among trees and touching the tallest branches. Regardless of how long the bridge is, the views are endlessly astounding.

Sky Walkway

Next place in our chart was Conolly's Plot. The main attraction of the place ia a hanging bridge across Chaliyar river.

Though I started walking on it, I was so much scared and couldn't even reach the middle of the bridge. But the surrounding river view as seen from this bridge was just breath taking.

Once you cross the bridge, you will reach Cannoli Plot - one of the oldest teak plantations anywhere in the world.

The place was named after H.V Conolly, the district collector of Malabar during British rule, who  along with local sub forest conservstor Chathu Menon, successfully carried out planting of new teak trees between 1841 and 1885. In 1993, the area was preserved for research purpose.

One of the major attractions in the plot is the oldest teak known as Kannimari.

Conolly's Plot

It was around 2pm. Almost everyone was hungry so we headed for lunch. Post lunch, we moved to last place in our chart, Teak Museum. It is a must see.

You can see the root-system of a gigantic tree in full size. Some of the attractions are the traditional granary and a miniature model of a sailing vessel(Uru), made of a teak wood.

Teak Museum

I got back to the  station with a lot of great memories in my head. I could smell that hash for days.