Travel stories within Thiruvananthapuram …
It is a beautiful mountain in the Ponmudi hills of the Thiruvananthapuram district. It is also called Varayaattumudi. It is a very tough trekking route and about a 14 km walk in both directions. There is another way to the top which will take more distance and time. It is through Mankayam. We chose the short path. After Iravikulam in Kerala, Varayattumotta is the place where you can see the Nilgiri tahrs
After the second trip, several years went with failed attempt to book the tickets. I was away from home for a year and could not go that year either. Finally in 2018 a few of us decided to go together again. I, Parameswaran, Kesavan, Harishankar, Rakesh, Jishnu, Vishnu, Muhammad Rabiat and Zenith were the nine members of the group. In this we were all relatives except Rabiat and Zenith. Tickets usually run out shortly after the booking starts. Everyone was anxious about the ticket availability. Finally, we managed to give everyone’s details and, luckily got the tickets. The trip was on February 2, 3 and 4.
We started early morning in my car. After parking the car at Nedumangad, we entered in the Bonakad bus at 5 pm. After reaching Boncaud, we went to the office of the forest department. There was a small canteen there. We had our breakfast from there and collected our parcelled lunch also
Agasthyakoodam trip was a dream that came to my mind during my school days. The main reason behind that was my uncle, Anil. My uncle was the one who climbed Agasthyakoodam hills many years ago. The first pilgrimage was in 1987. Then in January 2002 (when I was in eighth grade) my uncle called to say that the season for that year would begin shortly
This trip is still one of the most memorable trips which I made as a child. The period was 2000-2001. I was in fifth grade or sixth grade. During vacations, I used to go to my grandmother’s sister’s place. A small trip on the K.S.R.T.C bus followed by short walk with my grandma. From Vellanad in Thiruvananthapuram district to Venjaramoodu. My uncle was there to give me more encouragement than I needed for my travels and readings.
