Arun Wilson

Nithin Mathew

Decided to visit Kottayam on a quick & very random trip

Quick getaway from office

Lijo  V Dheivadaasan

Wanted to visit Illikkal Kallu for a long time and finally that happened spontaneously due to a power outage at work. In half hour, fixed the rout map and we were on the way to one of the most hyped places in Kerala recently. 
 
The drive was through scenic countryside, steep hills and total greenery everywhere we went. Made use of the mobile camera as much as we can as they were too soon to run their juices out. 
 
The roads are mostly good, although uphill. We made use of Google maps and it was very good at getting us there even though one or two times we asked the locals just to make sure that we were on the right direction. At the foot of the hill, local jeeps will take the visitors up to the view of the partially cut Illikkal Kallu. There is an entrance fee of 10 and jeep charges of 20 per person. The jeeps take you uphill for about 1.5 kilometer which to be honest can easily be hiked. We did not take the Jeep ride on the way back, instead just walked and it took only 10 minutes! 
 
Up on top, there are few small shops selling snacks and teas and stuff and then there is the view. There is steep falls, tall mountains surrounding and the dark sky that about to pour down made the place look serene. The Illikkal Kallu looks magnificent and the half cut rocky portion is unlike anything I have ever seen. It look as if it was cut straight down by a large sword. 
 
Untill last year people used to climb on top of Illikkal Kallu but that stopped after few accidents which resulted in some of them loosing their lives. The pathway towards the rocky mountain is narrow with drops in each side, at the bottom of the mountain there is a cave and then at top, there is a small rocky bridge connecting two large rocks. Its called Narakapalam or hell&#39;s bridge as a walk through it has a fair chance of slipping down to the bottom, few hundreds Meters down. 
 
Being an adventure junkie myself, it was very difficult for me to not go and explore the cave and the bridge but recently I have started valuing my life more ;) 
 
After visiting Illikkal Kallu, we were off to Kattikayam Waterfalls which presented us with one of the most adventurous and surprising exploration we ever had.

Illikkal Kallu

After getting hyper energized from Illikkal Kallu, we decided to visit Kattikayam Waterfalls nearby. Arun was pretty disappointed that his phone will run out of juice soon making it an exploration without any photographs. But we decided to visit in any case hoping the universe will give us one splendid time, and boy it did. 
 
The waterfall is located near to Illikkal Kallu but the road towards it is muddy for most part. On a rainy day, it will be much better to leave the car and just hike to the falls. Fortunately we did this as the sky was so dark and it was a very good decision as we later found out. 
 
You need to do a short hike of about a kilometer to reach the falls. At first it would look very small but after climbing down some cemented steps, you will realize that it is at least a hundred meters tall and has two drops. We went to the first drop and it started raining with thunders and lighting. The area is pretty much open so the chances of getting struck by lightning were high. And besides we were very very sacred that made the exploration very quick adrenaline rushing. 
 
The first real view of the fall comes after climbing down the cemented steps. It falls from a height of about 40 Meters to a pool below. Not wanting to waste anytime as the rain and the thunders were getting stronger, took off the clothes and jumped right in. The water was cold, the pool was not that deep even though it gets scarier going right near to the bottom of the falls. We had a refreshing dip and the sky started to open up poring so much rain. The dark color of the sky was at times lit by the golden rays escaping through the clouds. The waterfall was magnificent and the mysteriousness of the sky elevated the sense of adventure. 
 
After the first drop to the pool, the river flows through another steep rock for about 30 Meters and then to its bottom. Me and Arun wanted to go down gripping on to the protruding rocks but soon found out that it is too risky considering the slipperiness and the bad but adventurous weather. 
 
Soon the rain intensified. We had no towels and was planning on drying ourselves out in the open but that backfired big time. Worse yet, we had no plastic bags to keep our phones from getting drenched. As it started to thunder and lightning a lot more it occurred to us that the area is not safe anymore and started to run back in the storm. We climbed back the stairs to the top of the fall and waited for the rain to stop in a small tent which sells teas and snacks. 
 
Eventually we realized that the rain will never stop and made a run back to the car which was parked a kilometer or so from the falls. The mud was very slippery and if the car was brought nearer to the fall, it for sure would have got stuck in there. We reached the car completely wet and starter journey back amidst the storms. 
 
Driving back shivering, we lost our way one time, had some nice black coffee to warm ourselves up. Arun sat in the back topless as his t shirt was fully wet and cold. On the way back we started to see the after effects of the huge storm. Trees were fallen throughout the road, one time there was a long traffic jam as the fire force was chopping down a large tree fallen on to the road. Rubber plantations looked as if they took the most beating- so many rubber trees were down in every plantation. 
 
The spontaneous and one of the most adrenaline filled trip ended by having some porotta and beef at Thodupuzha town. And then we headed home with our heart content and belly full.

Travalour

Quick getaway from office

Trip details

Created by

Nithin Mathew

Explored with

Route map of the trip

Attractions visited in the trip

12 Apr 2018

Illikkal Kallu

Kattikkayam Waterfalls

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Arun Wilson

Nithin Mathew

Arun Wilson