29th July 2018, 12:11
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| BHPian  | Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Introduction A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles. This was a very special trip for us, as we would all be going our separate ways soon after this. A very special thanks to neethu, sandeep, sasi, sundar and manisha for making this a wonderful and memorable trip! This was a 'semi-planned' trip. As in we did plan a trip, but the destination wasn't finalized until a few hours before we started! The plan was for us to visit the hills, but the heavy rainfall and the ensuing landslides/ road closures made us strike off a lot of destinations from our initial plan. Many of the trekking trails were closed due to the heavy monsoon rains and the others were kinda unsafe. After a LOT of debate, we finalized on Vagamon. Our other finalist was Illikkalkallu view point. Sadly, my beloved Baleno had to sit this one out. First, the trip was planned for 8 people (though only 6 could make it), and second, the roads to Vagamon were not that good. And that meant only one thing. We needed an SUV  Let me confess, I am not a fan of SUVs. They are big, unwieldy, and have terrible road manners. I'd take a low slung, low GC, road hugging sedan any day over an SUV. But desperate times call for desperate measures. We booked a Scorpio via Zoomcars. Here she is, at their yard. Sitting all big and off-roady.  The interiors were spartan, though decently maintained. Not a lot of rattles, and thankfully, the tires were good. The route:  We didn't get time to make detailed plans. So we decided to rely on Google maps and trip adviser to help us out. Last edited by GeneralJazz : 29th July 2018 at 12:20. |
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29th July 2018, 12:27
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon The Trip We start by 7.30 AM from Kakkanad. Some punctuality issues were there, but lets just gloss over that. We had breakfast from Nandanam hotel on the way to Thripunithra. And that meant selfies!   Malankara Dam We got this one from Google maps. Its between Thodupuzha and Muttom.  Not a lot to see here, but it does provide some photo ops. Beautiful! I meant the background ofcourse!    Some "bothie" action!  It was calm and peaceful there.  I'll have to admit, she does look good!  And she can take you places where you can get some great shots!  Last edited by GeneralJazz : 29th July 2018 at 12:53. |
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29th July 2018, 19:30
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Malankara Dam to Vagamon Lake  Our first stop was the Vagamon Lake. From Kanjar, there are two roads to Vagamon, both meeting at Pullikanam. One goes through Moolamattom and the other via Kannickal. The former is the main road and passes through towns while the latter was the 'road less traveled', at least according to some locals at Kanjar. They told us the roads were in bad condition, but hey we have an SUV so why not! Supper narrow roads through all that greenery? I love it!  Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!  Woah! A recently cleared landslide  And then we saw the first waterfall!  And another  And another and another and another   These are normally dry throughout the year and came to life with the monsoon. There were plenty of houses here and seems like they all have a personal waterfall in their backyard! Fun!  Looks like theres a waterfall at every turn! Well actually it was every other turn so... And yeah, pics at every single one of them!  She looks perfectly at home in the jungle!  I did miss my Baleno. She would have looked gorgeous next to the waterfall. But I gotta admit, the Scorpio is one butch son-of-an-SUV!  We ran into a group of college kids on a bunch of bikes and a rather good looking Xenon. I wanted to park the two SUVs together for a pic but the kids started lighting up joints and we had to scoot.  Last edited by GeneralJazz : 29th July 2018 at 19:45. |
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29th July 2018, 19:58
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Viewpoints Once we neared the top of the hill, the viewpoints became more beautiful. The roads were OK so far  Beautiful landscape. It was cloudy and cool.  Our in-house photographer!  A different perspective!  Oh yeah!  Lil' miss sunshine!  You can see the 'koda manju' (mist/fog) descending the hills. We would soon be engulfed by it!  Last edited by GeneralJazz : 29th July 2018 at 20:03. |
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29th July 2018, 23:26
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon More Viewpoints The route was beautiful with so many viewpoints. You could spend an entire day just driving here. Some pics from the drive  We could see the fog approaching from a distance      A hairpin bend with kind of an embankment gave us an opportunity for more photos   Each phone/camera brought out a different shade of green, but you get the picture  I had to take a U turn on the hairpin bend to get the next picture. Maneuvering an SUV is so much harder!  I just had to take her back down to get this wide shot   This is AWESOME!!  The happy couple!  We met our Scorpio's cousin. Damn she is a looker!  We hit the road once again after spending close to half an our taking pics. The roads were fine for a few more kms but then this!  The road kinda ended. Nothing but rocks and dirt and mud for the next few kms. My poor poor Baleno would have died a sad lonely death here, her innards torn out by the cruel vicious rocks! But the Scorpio actually seemed bored by all this! She just powered through all this without a fuss! Still every time I went over a rock, I expected that heart-wrenching sound of underbody hitting some thing. Not a sound!  The fog was almost upon us. We needed to move fast. We hoped it didn't bring any rains with it.  Last edited by GeneralJazz : 29th July 2018 at 23:29. |
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30th July 2018, 22:32
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Vagamon Town We reach Vagamon town by around 12.30 PM and decide to have lunch. Lunch at Kailas Restaurant. Food was decent.  See the mist outside the window  After lunch, we spend some time walking around town in the dense mist. It was fun until a slight drizzle forced us back into the car. Tea Lake, Vagamon I dunno if this is on the other side of a hill, or if we outran the mist, but it was somewhat clear by the time we reached the lake. At the parking lot. The road is not paved and the rain washed away the dirt exposing rocks. Seemed like we were the only ones there   Entrance to the lake area  The path leads further into the tea estate  Somebody made a new friend! Unfortunately he started following us and got all excited. We had to shoo him away  There is a wooden bridge to cross the lake. There is a zip like parallel to the bridge for whom walking is just too mainstream. The hazy background is not some special effects but the fog which had started to catch up. Heavy rain followed    There is a small abandoned cottage on the other side of the lake. We took shelter here.  This is a beautiful scene! They could easily fix this cottage up and turn it into some kind of a homestay. The view would be phenomenal! A lake in the front yard. Tea estates all around. A forest with trekking trails in the backyard! What more could you want?  And then the fog descended. And how!  Heavy rain and strong winds followed. A short break in the rain gave us an opportunity to make a break for it  Sorry to leave you here all alone buddy  Last edited by GeneralJazz : 30th July 2018 at 22:37. |
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31st July 2018, 23:17
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Tea Lake to Vagamon Meadows The fog brought heavy rain with it. Visibility was poor.    Some of the hairpin bends were being paved. Roads were truly horrible. Hard a hard time navigating around the rocks. However, these weren't a match for the Scorpio. A bit further ahead we saw a Superb going past us. No idea how they were gonna manage that section  Vagamon Meadows It stopped raining for a while and we decided to risk visiting the place. Plenty of space to park. It was very wet and muddy. I forgot to bring sandals and ruined my favorite shoes   A light drizzle had started and we decided to take our umbrellas and rain coats. We soon found out that they were absolutely useless!  Entrance to the meadows. Theres a ticket counter there. Please check out some summer time pics of the meadows, its completely brown and barren before the rains!  This area is known for lightning strikes during monsoons. And yet here we are during the monsoons in the middle of a storm   You can see the lightning conductor on one of the hills   It was quite an experience! Heavy winds, fog and eventually rain. It was so cold! A time lapse of the fog blowing across. Sorry for the shaky cam, I was shivering! It started raining soon. We couldn't keep the umbrellas open in the wind. We ran back to the car, but nearly lost our way in the dense fog. This was the best part of our trip! Drenched to the core!  |
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1st August 2018, 22:21
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| BHPian | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Back to Cochin It was only around 3PM, but we decided to head home. It was raining too heavily and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in case of a landslide/fallen trees. The dense fog slowed down our progress considerably. On the way back we spot one more view point and decided to stop. The scene was just too beautiful to miss!    She served us wonderfully during this trip. Rough roads, mud, rocks. Not once did she complain. I have to say I am impressed!   She's rough, crude, loud and isn't easy to handle, kinda the opposite of my Baleno. But yeah, she gets the work done and looks damn good doing it!  Here we are, one last time before we go our separate ways  Epilogue Up and down, it was 200 kms and 12 hours. For a trip that was very nearly cancelled the day before, it was fantastic! We've had a few outings before but by far this was the best. The rain, the fog, the cold, the hills, the ride and above all this crazy bunch of travelers! Our timing was perfect. Vagamon during summer is just dry and during the peak of monsoon, could be dangerous. Once again lemme thank my friends for being such awesome travel companions. With everyone going their separate ways, I doubt this little posse will get together for another trip. But hey, at its best, life is unpredictable. Until next time! Last edited by GeneralJazz : 2nd August 2018 at 22:03. |
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3rd August 2018, 08:22
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| Team-BHP Support  | |
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3rd August 2018, 09:44
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| BHPian  | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Great write up and equally good photographs of a relatively newer spot on the Kerala tourist map. Any post or thread featuring Vagamon brings back lot of memories, for my hometown is close to this beautiful highlands. Numerous nights I have spend with friends during our college days atop the meadows of Vagamon, bantering amidst the chilly fog. Gone are those days, but memories never fade. Off late, the meadows were misused heavily by wedding photographers and tourists which forced the local authorities to restrict access to the same. In my opinion, the tourist spots of Vagamon looked so much more beautiful a decade back.  Last edited by bhp_maniac : 3rd August 2018 at 09:59. |
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3rd August 2018, 11:19
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| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney, AU
Posts: 939
Thanked: 814 Times
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3rd August 2018, 12:52
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| Distinguished - BHPian   | Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Quote:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post4072846 Some pics similar to the ones you shared .   | |
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3rd August 2018, 17:49
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| BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Ahmedabad
Posts: 681
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| Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Quote:
They certainly have some really unexplored places and Vagamon as such is not as a popular destination for the tourists since its relatively a new find for the major population outside Kerela. Thanks again for sharing! | |
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4th August 2018, 23:43
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| BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chennai
Posts: 61
Thanked: 53 Times
| Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon Quote:
Malayalathil Paranjaal "Jeevithakaalam Muzhuvanum Manassinu Kulirekunna, Chundil Punchiri Vidarthunna Oru Adipoli Yathra" Quote:
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Did you had "Chaaya" and "Parippuvada" in that climate? One of the best combination for energy for the body.  | |||||
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6th August 2018, 10:58
| #15 |
| BHPian  Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chennai
Posts: 519
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| Re: Cochin Diaries: The misty hills of Vagamon great travelogue and very misty pictures  I was at Vagamon, an year back and stayed at Vagamon Heights and enjoyed the beauty. We spent a lot of time within this private forest, where they had their own lake, boating etc., the misty conditions were really superb. The drive to Vagamon and the place itself is very lovely and not much of crowd. We went from Chennai - Dindigul - Theni - Cumbum - Kumily and up into Vagamon. Swami |
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