A Voyage To The God’s Own Country

Once you have family and kids it is quite impossible to explore new places and fulfill your craving for traveling and adventure. So after became a parent we both literally dropped our travel dreams and started enjoying our parenting. But every time I feel jealous when my colleagues and friends posting pictures about their exciting and fun trip on social media. One such day one of my friends has posted a dashing picture of their family tour in Kerala. I was so excited and curious because she is like me who has an 8-month-old baby. She forwards me some pictures and also mentions about a travel company called Gogeo Holidays in Kerala who organized each and everything for a comfy and tension-free family holiday. We consulted them and they offered so many customized tour packages especially for the family at best prices. From which we opted a 4-day package to Munnar and Vagamon.

nilgiri-tahr

After all the waiting and exciting we reach Kochi where our holiday started. On the way to Munnar, the climate was so pleasing and soothing from the first glance itself I completely fell in love with the tempting beauty of Kerala. God’s own country, a heavenly paradise that perfectly blends both tradition and urban culture. Eminent for its rustic backwaters, remote wildlife, the precious aromatic spices, captivating waterfalls, an unending array of tea and coffee plantations, all together Kerala is an ideal destination for a kick-ass holiday. Travelers from across the world will find this state not only because of its rich heritage and culture but also serene beauty and warm welcoming especially during festival seasons like Onam, Vishu, Thrissur Pooram. By witnessing an amazing sunrise in Munnar we started a spectacular day there. Reclining tea plantations, picturesque landscapes, exotic flora, and fauna made Munnar a popular destination among tourists. The two fascinating things about Munnar is Neelakurinji and Neelagiri Tahr. Neelakurinji is a beautiful miracle in Munnar blooms once every 12 years and unfortunately, we are not lucky enough to see that astonishing view.

The very first thing that we explore in Munnar is the Eravikulam National Park, the place is renowned for its endangered inhabitant – the Nilgiri Tahr. The park is about 97 sq. km in area and a home for rare and unique species of animals. It was the first time I saw a Nilgiri Tahr. It is basically a mountain goat unique for its shaggy fur, a bristly mane and the most attractive curved horns having a length of 30 to 40 cms. My husband, Jofin is trying hard to grab its attention by making funny noises and try to give some foodstuffs. But it doesn’t care about his existence at all. We try to take pictures of it, but the one which was close to us is not a camera person or scopophobia. Even though our baby was just 9 months old, still he got surprised and giggling continuously by seeing the Nilgiri Tahr. Our guide explained about its unique features and also about the threat faced by the several habitats of Tahr due to eucalyptus cultivation and temple tourism. Inside the park, there was one more spectacular place called Anamudi Peak which is the highest peak in South India having a height of about 2700 m.

Munnar

Meesapulimala is something we both want to explore after heard a lot about it on Instagram. But trekking with our baby is not a big yes so we switch to plan B, which was sightseeing the Tea Museum in Nallathanni Estate of Tata Tea in Munnar. Munnar is called as the tea bowl of South India and its own legacy when it comes to the evolution of tea plantations. In this museum, we can find artifacts, photographs, and machinery which clearly pictures the origin and evolution of tea plantations in Munnar. One of the major attractions in this museum is the Pelton Wheel which used in power generation plants in the 1920s. Then also show us a clear demonstration of the head to toe preparation of tea dust in the industries. Near the museum there was a stall from we can taste the different varieties of tea and we purchased some good stuff from there.

Our next holiday destination was Vagamon. Vagamon is must visit place in Kerala having a spectacular view of a beautiful meadow, tea gardens, and green valleys. Pine hills are the first place we visited in Vagamon. Vagamon is synonymous with the pine forests. For a Malayali like me, the pine forest in Vagamon is quite familiar from the movies ‘Devathoothan’ and ‘Thalavattom’ which perfectly show the mesmerizing beauty of pine forests. The shadows falling from the pine trees in the morning along with the chirping of birds make your morning dashing. More than us, our baby was so surprised and curiously looking at the tall trees without even blinking his little eyes. Vagamon id often called the jewel of Idukki which is spread over Peermade taluk of Idukki to the Meenachil and Kanjirappally taluks of Kottayam. the climate was so pleasing and cooling hence this amazing paradise got nicknamed as the Scotland of Asia.

PINEFOREST

An alluring network of green meadows is another fascinating thing one can explore in Vagamon. Enveloped with tall trees and lush greenery and the multi-colored flowers it is one of the romantic spots used in countless movies. There are at least 17 meadows in Vagamon and it offers a plethora of amazing activities like adventurous trekking or even boating through meadow valley. Another astonishing fact about Vagamon is its three hills which celebrate India’s religious diversity. Thangal Para hills have some devotional home for Muslims, Murugan Para is a religiously important place for Hindus and Kurisumala is a hill for Christian heritage and traditions. From June to September is the seasonal period with great availability of tour packages which includes many adventure activities because it is the best period to visit Vagamon. Here I realize that nothing can stop you from traveling and exploring the world. A visit to Kerala is totally worthy and we returned to our home town with a lot of remarkable memories.

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