Ponmudi - A getaway for a couple of hours...
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Saturday, June 23, 2007
Labels:
India,
Kerala,
Ponmudi,
weekend getaway
I felt a strong urge to drop everything and run ... to the hills , to the open spaces and hide from the world..Its such a paradox if you think about it . Urban life with its claustrophobic environment binds you..there is big brother watching you...you are connected and networked all your life . Try breaking it and you can lose your self in the vast open arms of nature where silence greets you and you are cut off from the world ..I did just that and got away for a couple of hours one Saturday ,a recluse retreating into the hills , running away from civilisation
I was in God's own country when I heard of a lesser known hill station,Ponmudi. The images that flashed on my mind were some dirty motels, boating in a lake , tea shops selling snacks, loud tourists having a louder picnic,some drunken revellers and lots of kids... and yet I went , just to add another destination to my conquests ..
The journey was quick...about an hour through winding roads across hills ...the scenery changed from a mosaic of browns and greens to blues and greens ...we were the lone travellers ..
It was a dead end , all roads led to a panoramic 360* view of the hills . small hillocks branching into mountains as the western ghats stood tall amongst us ...hills , hills and more hills,some carpeted by grass and some by rocks...some barren and some fertile,some near and some far ..we climbed a few and reached to the top . We were soon joined by a group of school kids and some trekkers who were silent in their quest to conquer new heights
The clouds were scooping down , only to be brushed aside by the winds . The mountain winds gripped me in an embrace as I allowed myself to be swayed in its grip . The silence was all pervading...there were no motels or snack bars ...just us and the mountains .
As you climb and reach new heights , you see the world opening up at the other end . At every level, the view changes and so does your perspective . I let the moments sink in ...it seemed forever . It purged my soul and refreshed me from the urban chaos .. If you believe in magic , this is it .
It was the quickest getaway ..a couple of hours and life became the usual mundane cycle...and I had returned to the mad pace called life
Getting there
Get to Trivandrum , the capital city of Kerala best known for Kovalam beaches and givernment offices . Ponmudi in the western ghats is a little more than an hour drive from there . Translated as the golden peak,its about 65 kms drive there and you could trek here 
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