Aluva is a small town situated near the big city of Cochin (15 KM). It is a well known wholesale market as well as an industrial area. We can find many factories in and around its premises. “Aluva railway station” which is one of the most crowded railway stations in Kerala, make nearest parts of the town stay awake 24×7. There are more than 100 Rickshaws available at night, in front of the railway station. There are 3 major hospitals in the town that works all time. Police station is near and their patrolling is live & strong everywhere.
But I like this place for its famous Hindu pilgrim center “Manappuram” – situated near the banks of river Periyar – the longest flowing river in Kerala. Manappuram is the place where the river Periyar gets divided into 2. Manappuram will be filled with tens of thousands of believers on the day of “Maha Sivarathri”. On those days, the believers pray and do some rituals for their dead ancestors. They visit Manappuram every year in this special occasion to do the same. Main attraction of Manappuram is the Shiva Temple located nearby, approx 30 to 40 meters from the river bank.
Most portion of this temple will be under water at the time of flood in Periyar. The land is filled with many Peepal trees and they make a murmering sound, when the wind hits its leaves and branches. It is a fantastic experience to sit at the raised platforms of these peepal trees, enjoying cool wind.
Yesterday (15-06-2017) I visited Manappuram with my siblings. I have visited the place many times before but this time it was different. First difference was the new bridge built over river Periyar – through which we enters Manappuram. It wasn’t there last year. Instead, we crossed the river in a motor boat.
The climate was interesting. Even though it was rainy season in Kerala, the sky was clear, temperature was also fine – neither too hot nor too wet. There were many people around. Some taking bath in the river, some getting rest under the trees and some others having some snacks from the tea stall. There were many shops nearby, which mostly sell pooja related materials. Cloths like towels, mundu were also available at these shops. Another attraction were the nearby tea stalls, which sell tea with hot spicy veg snacks. At the farthest side, there was a vegetarian restaurant too! We walked around some time looking at the temple and surroundings. We spend around 30 minutes sitting under the trees enjoying the wind! Beside the trees there was a grass land with dozens of freely grazing Goats.
The west side of the land has a collection of dense trees inhabited by thousands of local birds. An area separated from Manappuram with a large and long compound wall. That place is called “Harithavanam” (Green Forest)! We decided to enter Harithavanam and walked straight through the muddy road towards the entrance. We had to walk almost 500 meters through the road to reach the entrance.
Last time I visited, it was more like an abandoned place. But now, it has turned to be a tourist attraction. There was a huge name board at the entrance, saying “Harithavanam – Jungle Track”. I wondered what they mean by “Jungle Track”?! That was new to me! There was a man sitting in the cabin near the entrance. He told us to buy tickets to enter the jungle track (Rs 10/ticket – I remember last time there was no gatekeeper as well as no tickets). Anyway, we bought the tickets and entered the “Jungle Track”! There was a footpath leading us into the woods. To the left there was an old jetty, left open towards the river. There were some benches nearby, for those who love to sit beside the river.
Before explaining what I see here now, I would like to describe this place as I saw it last time! It was almost an year ago.. I was with my friend. As I told before, there was no gatekeeper or any tickets. There wasn’t even a human being around! We entered the jungle with a great interest. The light inside Harithavanam was dim like a dense forest, as the sunlight was stopped by the thick branches and leaves of the trees. Floor was filled with dry leaves and thousands of insects were crawling everywhere. Most of the dry leaves were covered with white bird shit! We could hear the birds singing, everywhere! The climate was almost same but I really felt some strange wilderness that time. The silent & gentle flow of river Periyar was breath taking. It is silent but, the current is so strong in the center. Many people has been drowned! The banks are filled with tall grown bamboos. There wasn’t any fence, I could remember. We wandered there for some time, took some photographs and left the place in a hurry – that horrifying it was!
But Now!? Now its more like a children’s park or a farm! We saw different types of birds and animals caged everywhere behind the gatekeeper’s cabin. There was also an aquarium at the left side. We saw a German Shepard barking at us in a cage with great anger! There was a “see saw” in the ground, and 2 swings tied up to the trunk of nearby trees.
The place was messy and foul smell was arousing from the corner where they dispose the waste! I saw the river bank nicely fenced with some steel nets (for safety purpose – I guess). We started walking through the footpath enjoying the greenery! In fact, I didn’t see this path last time! I know this foot path was here a long time ago. But when I was here last time, it was almost covered with dry leaves, hiding from my sight!
Now, the dry leaves seems much less, and the mud floor was visible, but still I felt foul smell of bird shit in the air. This forest is the habitat of thousands of local birds. They use this land as their toilet! No wonder the air carries foul smell, all day long! Bird shit, I saw it everywhere! Just kidding.. it does not bothers me! Most amazing thing that shook me was that shop (a kind of cool bar or a small cafe), right at the middle of this “green forest”! That was so satisfying.. I saw every possible refreshments like colorful sodas, ice creams, bottled juices, biscuits, snacks and lot other stuffs, except the shop keeper! I wonder where he went, leaving his shop open!
We continued our walking and saw many benches built on either sides of the footpath. Unfortunately all seats were occupied by couples (having their good time)! In fact, nobody in my team was interested to sit and relax. The trees are so dense, making the surroundings a little bit dark.
After passing almost 400 meters, we reached the end, where we saw a toilet as the end point. The area behind the toilet was occupied by thick bamboos of pale green and yellow color. The footpath was really circling the whole jungle through the borders. We continued walking through other side of the path, which led us directly to the entrance (The entrance itself is the exit).
On our way back, we checked the swings and found out that it was too risky for adults. The tree was tired of handling the weight of two adults. After spending an hour at Harithavanam, we managed ourselves out. I must tell you, it is a beautiful place to hang out.
Anyway, we had a great time together. I really enjoyed the visit. Manappuram and Harithavanam are two awesome places to visit, if you ever happened to be in Aluva. Find some time to get there, its worth it!
