Civved : Vagamon

laluks · 14th March 2011, 17:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by saleem_k

Sir, great narration and wonderful pics. Thanks for bringing out the beauty of such places for people like us who don't know that such places exist. I've become a fan of your threads, so please continue exploring! :-)

Thanks saleem_k.
I started like you, wondering how and why people travel and find all those places. Now it has become a kind of addiction

laluks · 15th March 2011, 00:07

Day02, 30.08.2010
Vagamon

Woke up to a lazy morning by 09:00AM. PPGs already had their bath and was ready watching some TV shows.

Wifey was watching the pouring rain outside from the balcony of the room.

I quickly freshened up and we all went ahead for the breakfast. One word - LOUSY food and service.

It was raining very heavily.

We finally decided to checkout from Summer Sand Resort by 11:00AM.

The entry to the resort is through very bad roads.

When we reached there in the night in the mist, we were careful on this stretch.

Summer Sand experience was average. That place desperately needs some maintenance.

We decided to drive to Panchalimedu and some areas of Kuttikanam.

continued....

laluks · 15th March 2011, 00:18

Day02, 30.08.2010
Vagamon

We drove through the windy roads toward Kuttikanam direction.

Some views enroute to Kuttikkanam.
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Size: 236.5 KB

From Kuttikkanam we drove towards Mundakkayam direction.

There is a big waterfall by the road side.

Valanjamkanam Waterfalls.

We continued onwards in Mundakkayam direction and a little further took a left turn to Panchalimedu.

Onward road to Mundakkayam was closed due to a landslide in the heavy rains. So all Vehicles were forced to take the narrow route towards Panchalimedu. Before reaching Panchalimedu, road forks and right exits on the highway (KK road) and the left goes to Panchalimedu.

We drove towards Panchalimedu

continued...

laluks · 15th March 2011, 00:39

Day02, 30.08.2010
Panchali Medu

Panchalimedu is about 10KM from Kuttikkanam. It is a beautiful place for trekking. Winds here are pretty strong.

According to Hindu legends it is believed that this place was one of the many hiding spots of Pandavas and Panchali. Hence the name Panchalimedu. The entire story I am still to find.

From here during Sabarimala season you can witness the Makaravilakku.

On a clear day you can see the vast never ending views of the hills and valleys.

We reached Panchalimedu by 13:00PM.

Parked Civvy at Panchalimedu

Can you imagine this is 13:00PM in the afternoon? Jr. PPG is all coldish.

PPGs trekking. Do you notice the cross?

I was ahead, I looked back and see that PPGs are missing

Ah! Here they come through the mist

PPGs at the XIth cross. There are three more

It is too misty, windy and chilly. Wifey aborts the mission

PPGs too abort the mission at the XIth cross.

Some sister moments

We trekk back

Saw a temple office.
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The mist cleared when reached towards the road. Jr. PPG is happy about it.

Jr. PPG is very happy that she runs around

We could not spend much time here since it was too windy and misty. The temperature was around 16 degrees.

Both at Calvary Mount and Panchalimedu, we were not able to complete the path of the cross. I was a bit superstitious by now and worried.

We decided to drive back by 13:30PM.

continued...

laluks · 15th March 2011, 00:47

Day02, 30.08.2010
Kuttikkanam

We drive back towards Kuttikanam.

We found a small water fall near the road.

There is another hidden water fall near the hairpin curve on KK road. I parked Civvy on KK road and trekked 100m into the bushes near the hairpin.

We continued onwards to Kuttikkanam.

continued..

laluks · 15th March 2011, 00:55

Day02, 30.08.2010
Kuttikkanam

At Kuttikanam we took a small detour towards Trishanku Hills.

Civvy parked at Thrishanku Haven Resorts parking

The views of Trishanku Hills.

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There is a Police Checkpost there now.

PPGs were hungry by now and attacked a wild Guava tree. See them feasting on it

Some panorama of Trishanku Hills

We returned towards Vagamon by 14:30PM.

continued...

laluks · 15th March 2011, 01:08

Day02, 30.08.2010
Kuttikkanam

We drove on towards Vagamon.

We found this Miracle Cross enroute. I have listened to many stories of this cross from the localites by now.

Some sceneries enroute

Found this sign board.

Made a note that no matter what it takes I must give a try to climb the Kurishumala hills all the way up through the way of the cross. Since my first two attempts at Calvery Mount and Panchali Medu was not successful, I was already worried enough.

We reached our next stay destination by 15:30PM. This place was chosen such that we would be in here for the next two days fully before the drive back to Bangalore. It was already the 12th day of roaming from home on a very hectic rainy visit to Kerala.

continued...

laluks · 15th March 2011, 01:19

Day02, 30.08.2010
Vagamon Heights

We reached our destination for the day - Vagamon Heights.

This is a 300 odd acre property, and has some beautiful hills and valleys and lakes inside.

Parked Civvy near the gate, since the roads have all been washed away by the pouring rain, and only vehicles like jeep or SUVs are better inside.

Mr. Harish comes to greet us and he took care of us for the next two days. He took us inside in a Jeep.

We reached the main reception area

We directly plunged on to the Kerala lunch. It was 16:00PM, but the lunch tasted so well, and with a big tummy went to our assigned cottage.

continued...

laluks · 15th March 2011, 01:50

Day02, 30.08.2010
Vagamon Heights

By 17:30PM Mr. Harish came to pick us up for a safari in the property. Since the rains have subsided and mist cleared off he insisted the we must do the safari now.

Moon Mountain accross the road.

The views of the valley from the viewing point.

The waterfall closer

Some panoramas

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The muddy path which we took

We parked at a vantage point

Wifey trying to capture the beauty

Mother Daughter moments

All girl moment

Beautiful!

It turned out to be a good decision to do the Safari, since we could see all around the property and the deep valleys around it.

After the safari we went near the lake

continued....

laluks · 15th March 2011, 02:00

Day02, 30.08.2010
Vagamon Heights

Mr. Harish did some stunts in his 4x4 Jeep near the lake.

Wifey was impressed, and Mr. Harish promised to give her the Jeep next day for driving around.

We drove back to our cottage, and it was a fun drive.

YouTube - DSC 6187

We had some nice dinner and we retired for the day though we were offered a campfire. Rain started again, heavy down pour. Listening to the music of the rains I slowly slipped into my sleep, quite happy the way things happened till this day in our trip.

gowda79 · 15th March 2011, 20:25

Nice travelogue and pictures.

Need to know the rates at the summer sands and how good is the place in ambience and people over there, planning to go next month.

Also please let me know if you have any logs for this route.

laluks · 15th March 2011, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowda79

Nice travelogue and pictures.

Need to know the rates at the summer sands and how good is the place in ambience and people over there, planning to go next month.

Also please let me know if you have any logs for this route.

Thanks gowda79.

You can have a look here reservation

You can ask for discounts, they offered me some in the monsoon.

Place looks good fom outisde, interiors are typical hotelish.

Restaurant service was slow and lousy when we were there. Probably since you go in summers, there would be enough people and service could be better.

Route log for this area specifically I'll put up once the log is over. Else you could check here for the full route of our Onam drive.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...namtriplog.kml

MohsinRoadster · 16th March 2011, 08:37

Nice write up as usual and excellent pics too. Entering Vagamon heights must have been like entering the gateway to heaven.
Thanks for bringing out this place through your lense. I guess this is a less explored place in this forum.

laluks · 16th March 2011, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by MohsinRoadster

Nice write up as usual and excellent pics too. Entering Vagamon heights must have been like entering the gateway to heaven.
Thanks for bringing out this place through your lense. I guess this is a less explored place in this forum.

Thanks MohsinRoadster. The property is around 300 odd acres. This property has been raided by many TBHPians before

.

Vagamon is a beautiful little destination with so many other beautiful locations nearby.

PearlJam · 16th March 2011, 09:41

laluks, your travelogues never cease to amaze, thanks for bringing out the lesser known places nicely!

15th March 2011, 00:07	#32
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Vagamon Woke up to a lazy morning by 09:00AM. PPGs already had their bath and was ready watching some TV shows. Wifey was watching the pouring rain outside from the balcony of the room. I quickly freshened up and we all went ahead for the breakfast. One word - LOUSY food and service. It was raining very heavily. We finally decided to checkout from Summer Sand Resort by 11:00AM. The entry to the resort is through very bad roads. When we reached there in the night in the mist, we were careful on this stretch. Summer Sand experience was average. That place desperately needs some maintenance. We decided to drive to Panchalimedu and some areas of Kuttikanam. continued....
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 00:18	#33
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Vagamon We drove through the windy roads toward Kuttikanam direction. Some views enroute to Kuttikkanam. From Kuttikkanam we drove towards Mundakkayam direction. There is a big waterfall by the road side. Valanjamkanam Waterfalls. We continued onwards in Mundakkayam direction and a little further took a left turn to Panchalimedu. Onward road to Mundakkayam was closed due to a landslide in the heavy rains. So all Vehicles were forced to take the narrow route towards Panchalimedu. Before reaching Panchalimedu, road forks and right exits on the highway (KK road) and the left goes to Panchalimedu. We drove towards Panchalimedu continued...
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 00:39	#34
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Panchali Medu Panchalimedu is about 10KM from Kuttikkanam. It is a beautiful place for trekking. Winds here are pretty strong. According to Hindu legends it is believed that this place was one of the many hiding spots of Pandavas and Panchali. Hence the name Panchalimedu. The entire story I am still to find. From here during Sabarimala season you can witness the Makaravilakku. On a clear day you can see the vast never ending views of the hills and valleys. We reached Panchalimedu by 13:00PM. Parked Civvy at Panchalimedu Can you imagine this is 13:00PM in the afternoon? Jr. PPG is all coldish. PPGs trekking. Do you notice the cross? I was ahead, I looked back and see that PPGs are missing Ah! Here they come through the mist PPGs at the XIth cross. There are three more It is too misty, windy and chilly. Wifey aborts the mission PPGs too abort the mission at the XIth cross. Some sister moments We trekk back Saw a temple office. The mist cleared when reached towards the road. Jr. PPG is happy about it. Jr. PPG is very happy that she runs around We could not spend much time here since it was too windy and misty. The temperature was around 16 degrees. Both at Calvary Mount and Panchalimedu, we were not able to complete the path of the cross. I was a bit superstitious by now and worried. We decided to drive back by 13:30PM. continued...
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 00:47	#35
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Kuttikkanam We drive back towards Kuttikanam. We found a small water fall near the road. There is another hidden water fall near the hairpin curve on KK road. I parked Civvy on KK road and trekked 100m into the bushes near the hairpin. We continued onwards to Kuttikkanam. continued..
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 00:55	#36
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Kuttikkanam At Kuttikanam we took a small detour towards Trishanku Hills. Civvy parked at Thrishanku Haven Resorts parking The views of Trishanku Hills. There is a Police Checkpost there now. PPGs were hungry by now and attacked a wild Guava tree. See them feasting on it Some panorama of Trishanku Hills We returned towards Vagamon by 14:30PM. continued...
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 01:08	#37
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Kuttikkanam We drove on towards Vagamon. We found this Miracle Cross enroute. I have listened to many stories of this cross from the localites by now. Some sceneries enroute Found this sign board. Made a note that no matter what it takes I must give a try to climb the Kurishumala hills all the way up through the way of the cross. Since my first two attempts at Calvery Mount and Panchali Medu was not successful, I was already worried enough. We reached our next stay destination by 15:30PM. This place was chosen such that we would be in here for the next two days fully before the drive back to Bangalore. It was already the 12th day of roaming from home on a very hectic rainy visit to Kerala. continued...
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 01:19	#38
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Vagamon Heights We reached our destination for the day - Vagamon Heights. This is a 300 odd acre property, and has some beautiful hills and valleys and lakes inside. Parked Civvy near the gate, since the roads have all been washed away by the pouring rain, and only vehicles like jeep or SUVs are better inside. Mr. Harish comes to greet us and he took care of us for the next two days. He took us inside in a Jeep. We reached the main reception area We directly plunged on to the Kerala lunch. It was 16:00PM, but the lunch tasted so well, and with a big tummy went to our assigned cottage. continued...
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 01:50	#39
laluks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,552 Thanked: 16,397 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Day02, 30.08.2010 Vagamon Heights By 17:30PM Mr. Harish came to pick us up for a safari in the property. Since the rains have subsided and mist cleared off he insisted the we must do the safari now. Moon Mountain accross the road. The views of the valley from the viewing point. The waterfall closer Some panoramas The muddy path which we took We parked at a vantage point Wifey trying to capture the beauty Mother Daughter moments All girl moment Beautiful! It turned out to be a good decision to do the Safari, since we could see all around the property and the deep valleys around it. After the safari we went near the lake continued....
	() Thanks

15th March 2011, 20:25	#41
gowda79 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,478 Thanked: 194 Times View My Garage	Re: Civved : Vagamon Nice travelogue and pictures. Need to know the rates at the summer sands and how good is the place in ambience and people over there, planning to go next month. Also please let me know if you have any logs for this route.
	() Thanks

16th March 2011, 08:37	#43
MohsinRoadster BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 301 Thanked: 31 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon Nice write up as usual and excellent pics too. Entering Vagamon heights must have been like entering the gateway to heaven. Thanks for bringing out this place through your lense. I guess this is a less explored place in this forum.
	() Thanks

16th March 2011, 09:41	#45
PearlJam BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 631 Thanked: 1,660 Times	Re: Civved : Vagamon laluks, your travelogues never cease to amaze, thanks for bringing out the lesser known places nicely!
	() Thanks