PONMUDI

Ponmudi: An idyllic hill resort with narrow, winding pathways and cool, green, wooden environs, Ponmudi is located 915 metres above sea level. Well known for its beautiful mountain flowers, exotic butterflies, small rivulets and springs, this hill station also has excellent trekking trails.

A mere one and a half hour’s road journey separates the beaches of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) from Ponmudi Hills, one of the nest Tourist Spots in Kerala. The name Ponmudi, a hill station so close to the sea, in Malayalam means golden crown. On the way to Ponmudi, the thick tropical forest greets one at the foot of the Ponmudi hill range.
The road passes under a canopy of thickly matted foliage. The forest recedes gradually giving way to neatly clipped tea bushes. As one leaves the city behind, one enters the region of plantations – rubber, pepper, cardamom and tea. The change is abrupt. The tappers can be seen going about briskly gathering the milky fluid from rubber trees collected in coconut shells.
Coconut thatch mats cover almost one half of the road, over which women spread black pepper for drying. One may come across a lone elephant ambling along carrying his mahout atop and his breakfast of coconut thatch in his trunk. Tea estates at Ponmudi are not as big as those in the Munnar hills. Large water sprays shower the gardens.