For this day trip, we planned a quick, half-day getaway from the city. It had been a while since we went for a long drive and so the blueprint for the day was simple: go for a long drive that’s not too tiring, some mild-difficulty level trekking, see some elephants;) , spend time by a river, eat lunch and return. An inconvenience during the trip was that it was raining when we began from Kochi and it rained throughout the trip. However, we were well-prepared for this and carried all the necessary items listed below:
Umbrella
Raincoats
Bottle of water
Mobile and charger
3 plastic covers - one for our raincoats, one for our electronics and an extra just in case
Protective cover for our backpack
First stop was to the Kodanad Elephant Training Centre which is about an hour away from Kochi (32km). We weren’t sure if it was a centre for training elephants for ‘commercial’ purposes or whether it functioned as a sanctuary for elephants that were either orphaned, found stranded or were ‘trouble makers’. It was the latter. However, they were chained within their enclosures, but you can’t expect them to be running around as well.
The centre is situated right along the banks of the river Periyar. After parking our bike and leaving our bags and helmets with the sweet security chechi, we paid a parking and entry fee (they accept only cash) and began walking towards enclosure for the elephants which is about 500m from the starting point. On the way there is a butterfly garden (although we didn’t see much), and enclosures for sambhar and spotted deer (there were a lot of them!).
Asha looking super happy after a shower
As we walked we began seeing the gentle giants one by one, each in their own compound., finishing up on their breakfast. Each compound had the elephants name and their ages. Only one of them had an explanation of how and where he was rescued from. When we asked a caretaker, he told us that another girl was found in a well when she was quite young. Usually by 09:30 they are taken for a morning bath by the river and we are allowed to watch. We were excited about this part. But to our dismay, because the water levels were too high that day, it was too dangerous for the elephants to get out into the water. Nevertheless, they were still amazing to look at and one of them even kept bobbing her head when we stood nearby. Because the centre is situated in a forested area, it is very peaceful to stroll about. We took a path that led us to a canteen where we had tea and hot, crispy vadas. A tip would be to get here first thing in the morning, around 08:30 itself, because as we were exiting, a lot of people in buses were arriving.
The next spot was about half an hour away - Paniyeli Poru Eco Tourism. We paid the parking and entry fee which came to 120 (again, only cash). There wasn’t any place to leave our things (helmets, bag etc). We decided to take the bag along and left the other things on the bike in the hope nothing goes missing and asked the security chechis to ‘just keep an eye’. There’s lush greenery all around, especially because it had just rained. The walk to the river is not too long and we walked right alongside it. There were watchmen and women keeping a lookout for people in case anyone decided to take a swim. The current was strong because of the rains so it was dangerous to get in, otherwise we are allowed to swim within the allowed areas. We found a secluded spot under the shade, on some rocks and dipped our legs in the water for the longest time until it was about time for lunch.
Keep a lookout for a kaleidoscope (did you know that a group of butterflies are called a kaleidoscope?) of yellow butterflies. These butterflies sit together and don’t flutter off even if you carefully slide in right next to them. Some people were even catching them and making reels! Please don’t do this and let them be.
Lunch was an hour's drive away, so we walked back to our bike and belongings, which were safe and sound and right where we left them. We started at around 11:45 and reached there before 13:00. Lunch was at Idly Shop all the way at Muvattupuzha. We got the Masala dosa and the Onion Tomato Podi roast, and an Onion uthappam. They were all delicious with amazing chutneys. We missed out on the wide varieties of Idly because this is available only after 15:00. So if you like a late lunch or want a snack with your tea, this would be a good spot.
And so came an end to our day. We were only an hour away from our home and before it rained again, we called it a day and headed back. If you want to continue and extend to a full day trip, you could go to Devikulam, Chinnakanal etc and make it a round trip. Lockhar Gap Road, Aanayirangal etc are some of the beautiful view points along the way.
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