In Wagamon, all you need is a little bit of time

Being in a place like Kerala, I am in this phase of insatiable lust for everything. Be it reading papers, magazines, studying or travelling. There is always room for more. As our semester exams ended on 17^th of December, I couldn’t wait to go out somewhere. So hence on 18^th, I went for a small trip to vagamon hill station situated 60 kilometres from Kottayam.

Travelling for the first time when you have no idea how to get there can be tricky. Hence, I along with my friend started out the journey quite early at around 6. 30 AM. We first took a bus to Pala, then Erattupetta and from Erattupetta to Wagamon. I now feel we could have got a bus directly from Pala KSRTC to Wagamon.

As we proceeded towards Wagamon, the scenery started getting better and better. The hills on the other side looked magnificent and I couldn’t take my eyes away from it. It looked like a painting.  Seeing the plains below was an exhilarating experience. The air started becoming cooler and pure.

After the bus, dropped us at Wagamon bus stop we were at a loss. What to do next, we thought. We got into an auto and asked the driver to show us the places of Wagamon of tourist interest. It was really childish thing to do, I accept. But when there is no good public transport system, there is no other way than hiring the auto for the entire day. Moreover, we had limited time.

The first place he took us was the pine forest. There were just pine trees planted by the British according to our tourist guide. I have never been inside a real forest and this just took my breath away. I inhaled deep to realize that it was the purest air that made its way to my lungs. There was neither smoke nor dust just cool and pure air. There is a stone engrave led way which one may follow to feel the forest. Then you climb back up. Scenic places are all like these; one has to work a little.

 The next place we were taken was the suicide point.

 Lush tea gardens adorned the roads and it made me like I was in Assam. We were told that to reach the suicide point we have to walk for two kilometers. There were small hillocks everywhere covered with grass. The wind that blew played carelessly with my hair. It took away all the tiredness of constant walking. Moreover, when we think about hill stations the image of snow and fog comes to our mind but Wagamon is not like that. It can be very sunny and hot and the next moment there can be clouds everywhere. I did a huge blunder wearing a thick black kurta and to make matters worse, I even took a thick stole.

Wild flowers which were pink and yellow in colour adored the place. The last night’s dew which melted gave a illusion of a small stream propping out of nowhere. But we couldn’t find out the suicide point. The roads continue to lead us in different directions with no signs of the suicide point.

Moving on we went in search for Wagamon waterfall. We can’t enter the waterfall but can only see from a distance. It was disappointing as I couldn’t go near the waterfalls and the level of water was quite insignificant. it looked just like a ribbon of water. What are the reasons behind the lesser water flow, I couldn’t know for sure. It can be easily guessed that it should be because of some dam. I had to draw pleasure from the sound of the water running.  It looked like the picture we used to draw when we were little: the mountains, the river and the sun.

Later, the auto driver stopped at the downstream of the waterfalls. It finally felt nice that my feet touched the cold water of the waterfalls.

The auto driver dropped us back to the bus stop. We were lucky that the bus to Pala had just reached the bus-stop otherwise we would have to wait for at least an hour to get the next bus.

To be honest, it wasn’t an entirely satisfactory trip. Maybe, because I had more expectations from it or maybe it was the limited time span.  The ride back was an extremely bumpy ride.

Wagamon has many resorts and hotels and that is the way one should explore Wagamon. Staying for a weekend, can do give enormous benefits to the tired mind.