There are few places you know, where you go back again and again.. Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala is one such place for us.
Our itineraries were as follows:
Day 1: Visit Jatayupara, after the visit drive to Trivandrum. Take rest and visit Saphalyam complex, Conemara market and Palayam church.
Day 2: Visit Thiruvallam Parasurama temple, Magic planet
Day 3: Visit Ponmudi and Peppara Dam
Day 4: Return to Cochin. On the way visit Kottarakkara Ganapathy temple.
Day 1(25th January 2020):
Jatayupara/ Jatayu Earth's center, Chadayamangalam:
Jatayupara, is a park and tourism centre located at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala. It stands at an altitude of 1200ft above mean sea level. This park has the world’s largest bird sculpture (200 feet (61 m) long, 150 feet (46 m) broad, 70 feet (21 m) in height of the great bird Jatayu. The big Jatayu sculpture was sculpted by Rajiv Anchal; who is the Director of 'Guru', the only Malayalam movie which was India's official entry to Oscar.
To reach the top of the rock there are different facilities available like cable car, walkway, zipline and helicopter ride. We opted for cable car. We are not sure about heli ride, we felt like it is not yet open to public. There is also an adventure park available.
The place has a connection to the Hindu epic called the Ramayana. History says that, Ravan the king of asuras, kidnapped "Sita" wife of Lord Rama and tried to take her to his kingdom Lanka on his Puspaka Vimana. Jatayu; the huge bird opposes Ravan and result in a battle between them. In the war Ravan chopped off Jatayu's one wing and escaped to Lanka with Sita. With a fatal wound, Jatayu falls on top of a big rock. Later Rama & Lakshmana found wounded Jatayu and he passed the message and died on the laps of Rama. Hence, the rock got the name Jatayupara.
The inside of sculpture is a museum which is not yet functional and we are hoping it to be opened soon. There is also a temple dedicated to Lord Rama, construction of which is in progress. You can also see footprint of Lord Rama here.
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| Footprint of Lord Rama! |
You can book tickets online from the below site:
We booked online for time slot 10AM-12PM.
Entry fee for Jatayu Earth's Center:
Walkway - Rs. 250/- per person ( Time slots available are : 10AM -12PM, 12PM - 3PM, 3PM - 5PM)
Walkway and zipline - Rs. 500/- per person ( Time slots available are : 10AM -12PM, 12PM - 3PM, 3PM - 5PM)
Cable car - Rs. 450 per person ( Time slots available are : 10AM -12PM, 12PM - 3PM, 3PM - 5PM, 5PM - 8PM)
Entry fee to Adventure park: Rs. 595/- per person
For videos please visit our channel:
https://youtu.be/YPyep14QNQ4
Saphalyam complex:
Saphalyam complex is one of the oldest shopping complex in Trivandrum. Though it doesn't appeal to the eyes there are really good shops available inside the complex where you could find the latest and trendy dresses. One of my favourite shop is 'Costume', I never miss a chance to shop from here whenever I pass through this place.
Conemara market:
Conemara market as the name suggests is a small market behind Saphalyam complex.
Palayam church:
St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral, also known as Palayam Palli is the Roman Catholic Latin Rite cathedral of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum.
Day 2(26th January 2020):
Thiruvallam Parasurama temple:
Parasurama Temple is a 2000-year old, temple located at Thiruvallam, Thiruvananthapuram on the Kazhakkuttam-Kovalam bypass. This is the only temple in Kerala dedicated to Lord Parasurama, the creator of the state as per the Mythology. Thiruvallam Parasurama Temple is famous as a holy spot where devotees offers homage to the souls of the departed which is called balitharpan. Balitharpan is a ritualistic act of purification whereby the dead are freed of their earthly shackles and their souls are set free. The Thiruvallam temple offers devotees the chance to perform balitharpan every day.
Karkidaka Vavu is the most solemn day when devotees swarm the place in the hope of freeing their beloved dead from the bondage of this world. Special prayers are offered and people return comforted in the belief that their dear ones are now in total unison with the Maker.
The temple is run by the Travancore Devaswom Board. Right on top of the main entrance to the temple stands an image of Parasurama holding his axe.
One of the uniqueness of this temple is that it is situated at the meeting place of 3 rivers (Triveni Sangama); namely - Karamana River, Killi River, and Parvathiputhanar River. This uniqueness makes it a holy site to carry out bali rituals.
Magic planet, Trivandrum:
Who does not love magic! Magic Planet is a museum of magic. This is totally a new concept located at the Kinfra Film and Video Park situated at Kazhakuttom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
This is a great place to spend a day with family. The pioneering project was the foresight of Gopinath Muthukad to hand down the elixir of magic to the young generation and moreover to rehabilitate the Indian street magicians who carries on the true legacy of Indian magic.
A multitude of fascinating activities awaits visitors here. A number of activities like Traditional Indian Magic, Intimate Magic, Mirror Maze, Balloon twist, Illusion, Circus castle, Comedy magic, Tempest drama, Street magic, Mpower, etc. are performed here. Apart from this the opening and closing ceremony is a treat to watch.
Reporting time to the theme park is 9:30AM. When we went the activities started by 10AM only. There are activities one after the other and there will be a staff available to guide you to your next show.
Food and beverages from outside are not allowed inside the Magic Planet.
Entry fee: Rs. 490/- per person
Timing : 10AM to 5PM
You can also book your tickets online from the below mentioned site:
We booked directly from the office after reaching Kinfra gate.
For more videos please visit our channel:
https://youtu.be/gOjVoaoburE
Day 3(27th January 2020):
Ponmudi:
Ponmudi, the Golden peak is a hill station located at around 65 kilometres from Trivandrum. Ponumudi is one of ideal places for trekking due to the presence of immense landscape blessed with remarkable forests and mountains. Ponmudi is also called Kashmir of Kerala.
Reaching Ponmudi is not that difficult because of the well connected roads and proper transportation facilities but the drive to the hill top is adventurous. The roads to the place are narrow and there are 22 hairpin bends which starts from Vithura. There are KSRTC bus services available till the hill top. So if you do not have a vehicle you can always go for the bus service.
Entry fee: Rs. 30/- per person
Still camera : Rs. 50/-
Timing : 8:30AM to 5PM
For videos please visit our channel:
https://youtu.be/7Ucp5LLZ8RI
Peppara Dam:
Peppara Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Karamana River which lies on the route to Ponmudi. Yes, ofcourse there is a slight variation from the route though. We didn't had any plans to visit the dam but as we had time and we missed the diversion to Meenmutty we thought of visiting the Dam. The Dam was deserted but the exquisite beauty of Karamana river adds to the beauty of the place.
Day 4(28th January 2020):
Kottarakkara Ganapathy temple:
Kottarakkara Ganapathy Temple is a popular shrine located at Kottarakkara in the Kollam district. This temple is famous for Unniappam, which is the main offering to Lord Ganesha in this shrine. The place where this dish is prepared is situated in front of the Ganapathy shrine. Even though the main idol of the temple is Lord Shiva, the temple is popular with the name of Lord Ganesha. In fact, the real name of this temple was Kizhakkekara Shiva Kshethram. You could say the whole family of Lord Shiva resides here.
The idol of Mahaganapthy in the Kottarakara Ganpathy Temple was carved by the well known sculptor, Perumthachan. Non-Hindus are permitted.
