Vagamon - Kerala's Best Kept Secret

Vagamon is a quaint hill station located in Idukki district of God’s own country(Kerala state). It is called Kerala’s best kept secret since it is untouched by modernization. One can get lost in tranquility here since this place has so much to offer from tea plantations, tranquil meadows, waterfalls, enchanting Pine forests and lush greenery all around. National Geographic Traveler has listed Vagamon on their directory of the "50 most attractive places to visit in India".

In this blog, I will take you along our 2 day’s trip to this amazing destination. We had booked our 2 nights stay at Holiday Vagamon which was supposedly the best property out here with great reviews.

 

Day 1 - Our Journey to Vagamon from Bangalore

The only route to reach Vagamon from Bangalore is via Salem-Theni-Kumily route and the total time was showing up as 11 hours to cover this long distance. So we started off at 5:30 am from Bangalore.

We reached Vagamon almost at around 6 PM with 2-3 pit stops.  

Holiday Vagamon is a great property as it stands out in the middle of tea plantation. Since it was overbooked, we were given a separate stay away from the property. But this stay also was good since ours was the only property here in the middle of lush green serene plantations. But the only problem was we had to drive to the main property for dinner or room service or to raise any other issues.

 

Day 2 - Exploring Vagamon

We woke up to a bright sunlight and chirping of birds which was really soul soothing. As we stood by our balcony, we then realized as to what an amazing location we are put up. 

We then freshened up and headed to Holiday Meadows for our complimentary breakfast. We had booked a Jeep for Rs2500 at the property itself. After a yummy wholesome breakfast, we headed to the parking where our driver was waiting for us. He told us that our short trip would take around 3 hours where he would take us to 5 important touristy spots around Vagamon which would be total off-roading. He advised us to see the other places on our vehicle since those roads are easily accessible.

 

We set off on this adventurous off-roading experience along the mystic hills of Vagamon.

 

Suicide Point

He stopped our vehicle at the tip of the hill which was a bit scary. But as we got down we could see only lush green mountains all around. This was a WOW moment for us. Best part of the experience was that it was just us on hill-stop. So we got ample opportunities to click blanket pictures of Mother nature in its own pure form.

 

Thavalapara Viewpoint

This viewpoint is accessible from main road itself and offers great views

 

Kottamalai Viewpoint

This viewpoint offers panoramic views of the Vagamon hills and the surrounding meadows.

 

Ulupooni – Viewpoint, Vellaramchitta Tunnel and Waterfalls

Journey to Ulupooni is totally off-road. Infact in few places there is no road at all. Thanks to Mahindra Jeeps which can ply on any roads we were able to brave through these roads easily. We first reached a viewpoint which offered enchanting views of the meadows and Idukki reservoir. There are some shops here on the hill-top selling refreshments.

After this we drove towards the Ulupooni waterfalls and the specialty of this place is a tunnel where you can feel water droplets from the top massaging your body giving a relaxing experience. People form human chain to walk till the tunnel and head back. Clicking pictures is little risky here due to gushing water as you may slip. But its really worth going just for the experience. 

He dropped us back to our property by 12:30 PM and advised us to see Meadows and Pine valley after 4 PM. So we decided to relax a bit now. We reached our property and freshened up a bit since the scorching heat and the adventurous jeep ride had loosened up every muscle of our body.  Then at around 3PM we headed back to Vagamon town and had lunch at Kailash Restaurant. We had ordered veg meals and it was good. We then set off straight to Meadows.

 

Vagamon Meadows

This place is a collection of small meadows spread over a large area. This is the most popular tourist spot in Vagamon because this is the first time since morning we saw so many cars and people at one spot. There is an entry fee of Rs 10 per adult. There are lot of activities inside the meadows like zip lining, boating, sky cycling etc. We could see some people camping too. Best part is you can climb up to any meadow in case you want some peace, sit back and relax the fresh breeze engulfing you along with the enchanting views of the lush green meadows around.

 

Vagamon Pine Forest

There is a designated parking for Pine valley. From parking you need to walk almost for a kilometer till the entrance of the pine valley. Here you will need to take entry ticket of Rs.10 per adult. This valley is a vast area occupied by Pine trees on steep slopes overlooking the enchanting Vagamon valley. As you start walking you will find interesting signboards on footprints of animals, bird feet, state birds, state animals and state flowers to educate tourists. I really found this very informative.

After a refreshing walk in Pine forest, we came back to our serene homestay, had dinner and then slept with the satisfaction of day well spent in nature’s lap at this quaint hill station.

 

Day 3 - Bye Bye Vagamon

 

Nature woke us up today as well early in the morning at 6 am. We freshened up and reached our homestay reception to a wholesome breakfast and to complete the check-out formalities. While our final bills were getting ready, we took a stroll around the property and clicked some pictures. 

We then bid adieu to Holiday Vagamon and started our journey back to Bangalore.

Most of the roads leading to/from Vagamon are through the beautiful Tea estates. So needless to say we took multiple pit-stops for pictures which delayed our return journey a bit. But we were so mesmerized with the landscapes of Vagamon that we just couldn’t resist. It was so peaceful here.  We totally enjoyed the drive from Vagamon till Kerala-TamilNadu border enjoying the lush green landscapes enroute.

Please note if you are planning this trip from Bangalore, would suggest you to plan your stay at Vagamon for at least 2 nights since 2 full days will be lost only in reaching the destination. But its totally worth it to unwind from the weekday blues and revive your soul in this picturesque hill-station.