The year 2020 was a big learning for the whole world. It taught us to stay away from people and yet stay close to them. It brought many families closer, helped many with their skill and hobby development. But as the year passed everybody had reached their saturation points. It taught what isolation could do to us. It taught us why we should have gone out to explore more. With so much learning and an year indoors, as the world started taking big steps to try and get back to its so called new normal, I too thought I'd start the new year off by taking one of my long pending bucket list item: A ride to Malakkappara via Athirappally.
The thing about us people are that we often go to far away places keeping the ones close to us thinking "yeah its always there, I can go there anytime". However, the sad thing is that "anytime" seldom comes! I too am one of those typical humans. And hence this trip was my first to the famous Athirappally waterfalls which is just 2.5Hrs from my home. Well! there are even closer locations that I've left with the "I can visit them anytime" tag. Let’s get those some other days.
A search in google for the best motorcycling routes in South India will, as always, yield you millions of results. However, one of the few results that would be common in all those results is the route from Valparai (Tamilnadu) to Chalakkudi (Kerala) via the mighty Athirappally falls. That’s one big reason it had gotten into my ride bucket list. And it is worth giving a try. But beware, this one is not anything small, especially if you are taking the ride alone. The dense jungle route could be quite stressful if you don't have the guts! So, did I have the guts to complete this ride! Read on to find out!
After a week’s planning and shortlisting probable destinations and cancelling out options, we finally started the ride to Malakkappara. Three bikes and 4 people. A little after Chalakkudi into the Athirappally - Malakkappara road, the Chalakkudi river gives you company along the route for a considerable amount of time. Listening to the sound of rapids of Chalakkudi river and passing numerous farmlands we finally reached our first destination. The majestic Athirappally waterfalls. An amazing location that has become the location for numerous movies, the waterfall that Siva was always fascinated by to climb in Bahubali, is the largest waterfall in Kerala which stands tall at 80 feet. A sign board on the way to the basin of the falls warns people with heart diseases on the sight of the waterfalls as it could be overwhelming. You will realize that it’s not over hyped with such warnings once you witness it for yourselves once. You could feel your heart racing as the falls reveal itself on the clearing at the end of the trail. You need to get a ticket to enter the waterfalls which you can use to visit the Vazhachal falls also.
Spending about an hour around the falls and getting some hot pazhampori and tea, we continued our ride. Towards Malakkappara. The route is very notorious for its high animal sightings, especially elephants and almost the entire journey once you cross the Vazhachal check post is through the dense forests. And for this reason, we wanted to be back to Athirappally before 5 in the evening, before things could get darker. And hence we skipped the visit to Vazhachal falls on our return.
“We are going on a bike ride through the forest and the officials have informed us about all the rules and possible difficulties en route. We are taking this route on our own responsibility”. Read the declaration form that all bikers must sign and submit at the Vazhachal check post before entering the forest route. Already running at high bpm our hearts reached their peak performance, pumping as much as it could. After giving the people and vehicle details taking the ride, a pass was issues which must be shown to the other end of the route at Malakkappara before the mentioned time to avoid any penalties. The pass is required for all the vehicles to ensure no one wanders inside the forest and keeps the ecosystem undisturbed as much as possible.
We are now 50Kms from our star destination, Malakkappara. As soon as the check post is crossed, the surroundings are dominated by the tall trees with occasional forest department building and small settlements. The route has two of the power projects in Kerala, Peringalkuthu and Sholayar and their corresponding reservoirs. Crossing the river at various places, sighting the huge penstocks of the power projects dropping down to a tiny dot at the drop of the hills and many viewpoints, we reached Malakkappara at around 2PM. A few Kilometers into the jungle, there were fresh elephant dunks that confirmed we are not alone. The final 15-20Km stretch before Malakkappara was very thick and even the sunlight seems to be struggling to touch the earth evading the tall thick vegetation. And us, after hearing all the stories and the signs of elephant presence were taking each turn expecting the unexpected and that is something that makes this a thrilling ride. This route guarantees a full adrenalin rush.
Malakkappara or Malaghappara (angel rocks) is a small hill station at a height of 949m above sea level. As soon as you emerge from the jungle, you will be greeted with large coffee plantations and tea plantations that goes beyond the horizon. The temperature is pleasant even in the afternoon. Spending about an hour in Malakkappara we started back to Athirappally at around 3. We were told, to return before 3.30 from the check post at Malakkappara for safety reasons. Well, we have witnessed the route firsthand, we had a quick lunch, a few snaps in the, a ride through the town of Malakkappara till the upper Sholayar dam and started our ride back. Like what happened at the Vazhachal check post, we did a check in at the Malakkappara to get the pass that must be produced at the other end within 2 hours.
We were used to the route by then and it was even more enjoyable now. And it was fast. With w few stops at the viewpoints we missed on our onward journey, we managed to reach back the Vazhachal check post by 5.30. A small rest with the view of Chalakkudy river gushing down the slopes at the Vazhachal falls, we started back to our homes. That is one ride to remember. And adds another one to the wish list, to complete the full circle covering Pollachi-Valparai-Malakkappara-Athirappally-Chalakkudi.
Until we meet in another post, stay safe and get back to the new normal.
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