The Peninsula Tour – Nelliyampathy

After a wonderful time in Palakkad, we headed to Nelliyampathy, deep in the forest with lots of tea estates in the surrounding areas. The drive from Palakkad took us through some beautiful paddy fields that seemed to extend to the horizon and up to the Pothundy Dam in Nenmara. A short walk up leads you to the top of the dam. The view of the surroundings is stunning. A few minutes from the dam is the Forest Checkpost that leads us to Nelliyampathy. It was a 24 km drive through a beautiful ghat that had quite a few view points where one could stop the car and enjoy the sights. A Lion tailed macaque sat on the roadside and stared us down.

The resort we stayed at, Vanya by Citrine is nestled in the middle of the forest. The access is through a village and tea estates, culminating in a dirt road , access to which requires one to unlock a chain, the key to which is hidden in a tree nearby. The final few kilometres to our resort required off roading.

A trip into the forest and hilltops, which, for most part was off roading took us to various view points, from which we could see neighbouring towns, an adjoining tiger reserve and even a bit of Pollachi and Valparai in Tamil Nadu. It was a clear day and we could see seven layers of hills. On our way back a Gaur decided to stare us down, before we could reach the hotel.

We were woken up by the whistling of the Malabar Whistling Thrush, a beautiful bird. We also spotted a pair of hornbills. We left the resort with a resolve to visit after the rains in October.

Guruvayur, my hometown, is our next destination. The Udayasthamana Pooja that my mother had booked nearly 3 decades ago will be performed on Feb 10th.

Here’s the link to the photos – https://photos.app.goo.gl/kK87DnZEuHz3H7DT8