Thenmala in Kerala is India’s first ecotourism destination. We went on a two-day trip. The first day was spent at Thenmala and Five Falls in Kutralam. The second day we went to Agasthiyar Falls and Courtallam Border Rahmath Shop.
The package entry fee for Thenmala was Rs.480 per head for one day. We started with the adventure zone. You have to climb approx 100 steps of the wooden elevated walkway to enter the adventure zone. The steps are wide and have resting spots for every four or five steps and so it was not difficult to climb.
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| Elevated Walkway |
Inside the adventure zone, you have to go down small and sometimes steep steps. Monkeys are all around us when we walk the zone. After a soft trek of approx 15 minutes we reach the area where there are many adventure activities. There is net tunnel, pedal boat, cargo net, flying fox, and wall climbing. If you just want to chill, the fishes in the pond are great to look at and feed.
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| Adventure Zone Area |
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| Zip Line |
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| Pedal Boat |
Next, we went to cross the hanging bridge. The bridge offers a beautiful view of the Thenmala or Parappar Dam on the Kallada River. The gushing water in the dam was a treat for the eyes.
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| Hanging Bridge |
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| Thenmala Dam View |
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| View of the other side of the bridge |
Next, we went for boating in the reservoir area. We boarded a 24-seater boat. The journey in the boat was awesome and scenic. We saw small islands inside the boating area and went for an almost 30 minute drive in the waters. The windows in the boat were large and we could get a good view of the forests and water.
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| Boating Area |
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| Islands in the Boating Area |
We also visited the tourism office which has a big honeycomb model inside it. There are maps of the ecotourism area and a dinosaur and cow statue stand outside the office. There are other areas like butterfly park, deer park, garden with tall and large statues, and leisure zone areas. But we were running short of time and could not cover it in a day. So, you need to move at a slightly fast pace if you want to cover all the areas in the ecotourism place.
In the night we stopped for a dip in the five falls at Kutralam. The next day we went to Agasthiyar falls. It was a wide and beautiful falls with gushing water. My friends who went for a dip told it was five times more forceful than the Kutralam falls. I spotted a single tree with more than 10 monkeys on it. We ended the day with a good meal at the famous Kutralam Border Rahmath hotel.
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| Agasthiyar Falls |
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| More than 10 monkeys on a tree :) |
We stayed in the DMNS guesthouse in Kutralam. It was a neat and good guesthouse at very nominal rates. But they did not have Wi-Fi. The roads near the guesthouse was peaceful to walk on with large banyan trees along the sides. It was a happy trip and we had lots of fun.
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| DMNS Guest House |
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| Banyan Trees |
You can click here to visit the Thenmala Ecotourism Website.
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