It had been a while since I had visited my dad's hometown in Thrissur. Each time I planned on going there, it would somehow not happen.
This time, we had a long weekend approaching, and we (my dad, mom and I) decided to make the most of it. We packed our bags and headed straight to Thrissur and what's more, we even visited Athirapally falls that is located pretty close to Thrissur. And what I experienced was just MAGIC!
Thrissur - The Land Of Festivals
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Athirappally falls is seen on the lines of the Niagara falls. Flowing from a height of 80 feet, with a width of 330 feet, what you see in front of you can captivate you totally with its beauty. Such is the grandeur of the falls that it attracts tourists from across the country.
Route Taken From Bengaluru To Athirapally Falls
Bengaluru-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Thrissur-Athirapally
My Travel Partners: My dad, mom and I
Mode Of Transport: Our very own car
Distance From Bangalore To Athirapally Falls: Approx. 522 km
Day 1:
We started early from the city to avoid what is popularly known as "Traffic", we headed onto the elevated highway across Electronics City and off we were towards Tamil Nadu.
We decided to make our first stop for the day at Adyar Anand Bhavan in Krishnagiri, after a filling breakfast, we proceeded further on the 4-lane highway to reach our destination for the day.
Also Read : 12 Mesmerising Waterfalls In South-India
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As the car zoomed through the highway, we could notice that the dry and barren lands of Tamil Nadu had almost gone, as we were driving into the lush greenery of Kerala.
We drived through the Walayar Checkpost and we decided to stop over for lunch at a roadside eatery. After filling our hungry stomach, we drived past the Kuthiran Dharmasastha Temple, a very famous temple here, where most tourists halt and take the blessings of the lord.
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We reached our destination for the day, which happens to be our ancestral home, which is in Thrissur. After a lot of catching up done with the battalion of relatives, my dad and I decided to take a dip in the nearby temple pond to take away the tiredness of the long drive.
After which we decided to head towards the famous Guruvayur Temple to have a darshan of Lord Krishna and call it a night.
Day 2:
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We decided to head towards the Athirappally Falls after a power-packed breakfast. The waterfalls is around 30 km from Thrissur, and it is located at a place called Chalakudy.
As we drived through the highway, we couldn't stop thinking of the beautiful sight that would await us at Athirappally, and very soon we reached our destination. After parking our car, we headed towards the ticket counter.
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As we stood at the ticket counter, we could hear the gushing sound of the water and I couldn't wait to finally see the waterfalls. The first sight to greet us was the Chalakudy river, which forms the waterfall and later flows into the Arabian Sea.
The Walk Down
To get the complete view of the waterfalls, we decided to walk down instead of standing on the river bed to catch the waterfall in its full splendour. The pathway which takes us down is filled with bamboo trees and it tends to get slippery at times. We have to walk this lane a little carefully.
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We decided to sit and enjoy the sight of the waterfall flowing down along with the cool breeze that brings in a few water droplets falling on your face, and trust me that is something worth experiencing.
As we sat there, a thought just crossed my mind as to what a famous film-shooting spot this is. The waterfalls is a very common shooting location for Malayalam films, Hindi films and various other language movies too.
You would see it featured in the Hindi blockbuster "Dil Se" in the song "Jiya Jale", and in the 2007 movie "Guru" in which Aishwarya Rai can be seen enjoying the nature around her in the song "Barso re". Not to forget, even the most latest blockbuster hit "Baahubali" was shot here.
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Vazhachal Waterfall
Along with Athirappally falls, there is another waterfall called Vazhachal which we wanted to also visit. We decided to head towards Vazhachal and began our walk up. Vazhachal is around 5 km from the main entrance of Athirappally.
This waterfall was not as grand as Athirappally; and to get to view this waterfall, we had to go through the thick forests of the Sholayar range, which houses both the falls. After spending some time at this waterfall, we finally decided to head back.
Also Read : More About Vazhachal Waterfalls
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Day 3:
Carrying all the energy which we got from a visit to these waterfalls, we took it along with us and headed back to the city life of Bengaluru, making a promise in our hearts to return to this Nature's paradise soon; or at least I made a promise to myself to return to this place with my gang of guys.