Vacations are all about refreshing yourself by leaving all the worries behind. It is the best way to regain your energy that ultimately makes you more productive. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to visit Kerala for an official trip. A group of my colleagues Jagjit, Ila and Tahir accompanied me on this tour.

Kerala Hillstation

We embarked on our journey to the hill stations of Kerala. As we reached Kerala, the soothing hill stations welcomed us with full enthusiasm. Being in the lap of nature, I was feeling awesome and the charm of nature captivated me for a long time.

The first hill station we visited in Kerala was Munnar. Situated at the confluence of three rivers named Nallathani say, and kundala Muthirapuzha, this hill station delighted us with its enchanting backwaters and lush green tea gardens. With it, the cool climate also made our visit a pleasurable experience.

Being a nature lover, I was simply awe-struck to see the beauty of nature. It welcomed us in the forms of exotic orchids, clamorous waterfalls and meandering rivers. The huge peaks of mountains were coquetting with the fog and mist which was a spectacle to hold.

Two of my colleagues Jagjit and Tahir also tried adventure of rock climbing there. At that time, I was enjoying nature walk with Ila. After that, we all decided to visit the Eravikulum National Park, which is 15 km from Munnar. The place withholds mesmerizing beauty with grasslands and hill tops. This park is 97 sq. km. in extent and exhibits impressive natural beauty of exotic flowers.

We saw there Nilgiri Tahr, Tigers, Elephants, Langur, Small-clawes Otter, Leopards and Marten.

On being reached hotel, we treated our taste buds with hot sambhar, idles and coconut rice.

Idduki was our next destination, known for tantalizing natural beauty and bio-diversity. We got to see there Idukki Arch Dam, Hill View Park and Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary which was an unforgettable experience. You can only know why it is being called the prized hill station of Kerala after visiting the attractions of Idduki.

Vythiri, the hill station we visited next day, was ultimate traveller’s delight. Strolling around the gardens was truly a refreshing experience for us. As we started moving ahead, the surprises got revealed. We found there several long rope bridges hanging over the stream and tree houses that added to our interest in this pleasing hill stations.

Wayand, Ponmud, Devikulam and Vagamon are some other hill stations which were a part of our exploration during our Kerala Hill Stations Tour.

Far away from the commotion of metro life, these hill stations are a wonderful mean to refresh yourself in the lap of mother nature.

Come to Kerala and explore the heart stirring beauty of hill stations!

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How would you feel watching and clicking a herd of over 20 mammoth elephants bathing in a serene lake just in front of you? Especially when you are a crazy wildlife lover; especially when you’d travelled thousands of kilometres to explore the finest greens of your country; especially when giant wild creatures drive you crazy! The answer is that you become speechless, because the beauty is beyond adjectives, beyond descriptions.

The story starts with my arrival in the dense greens of the Western Ghats in the southern Indian state of Kerala. I was booked in Aranya Niwas – a forest rent house in the park’s tourist complex area. Located 260 km from Trivandrum, 200 km from Cochin and 140 km from Madurai, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary boasts of being a Tiger Reserve as well.

I contacted a Kerala travel guide and asked him to take me to the best attractions of Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. While entering the dense greens, a herd of playful wild elephants was my first remarkable view near the Periyar Lake. My guide told me that it was a favourite haunt of those elephants for frolicking in the water. While stepping in deeper areas, we came across other inhabitants like wild dog, barking deer, mouse deer, Nilgiri langur (a primate), bonnet macaque, sambhar, porcupines, squirrels and gaur (Indian bison). Unluckily, we could not spot any leopard but watching those elusive creatures was very thrilling and exciting.

I stopped for a quick bite in the afternoon at a small canteen inside the park. While going through the Periyar travel guide, I came to know that around 260 species of birds are also found at Periyar. My guide, being familiar to the entire area, took me to the other side of the Periyar Lake where I clicked a number of rarest birds like darters, cormorants, ibises, gray herons, mynas, flycatchers, orioles, wood pigeons, kingfishers and blue-winged parakeets.

I returned back to my resort by a motorboat, for which I was supposed to take special permission from the forest authorities. But my guide, again, helped me out in the issue. He insisted me to explore some other nearby places like tribal villages around Periyar and spice / coffee plantations, but I was running short of time. So I preferred going back to my resort. We exchanged our contact numbers and planned a schedule for the next day’s sightseeing as well.

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