Munakkal Beach is situated in Azhikode
, a small village in Thrissur District , Kerala. It's around 9 km away from Kodungallur Town. The beach lies on the coast of Arabian sea , which has attractions like 400 meter open air auditorium , 1300 meter walkway , food court , skateboarding grip for children and a rain shelter. Basically , this beach was developed under the tsunami rehabilitation programme by the harbour engineering department. It's the largest beach in the Thrissur District.
Macro photography is the art of capturing small objects in very large photographs. It is extreme close-up photography where size of the subjects in the frame , will be larger than the life size. There are some technical terms related with macro photography. The lens which is used to take such photographs are known as macro lens , which is of focal length 50 mm or above. Also , there is a term , reproduction ratio , which refers to the ratio of the subject size on the sensor plane to the actual subject size. For macro photos , this should be at least 1:1. Sometimes , it would exceed that limit and it is called as micro photography.
Athirapally Falls, a famous tourist destination in India , is situated on the west flowing Chalakudy River. Falling the water from a height 80 feet , It's the biggest waterfall in Kerala,. It's nick named as the 'Niagara of India' , as it offers spectacular view to the visitors. The Chalakudy river run smoothly in the beginning , but becomes turbulent while reaching the athirapally falls. It then falls down with huge sound , producing white foam that offers a fantastic experience being in the green dense forest.
The river provides habitat of 85 different species including fishes. Also , The forest area has a wide variety of species including the great horn-bill , Asian elephants , tigers , leopards etc. Thrissur District tourism promotion council organizes daily jungle safari from Chalakudy to Malakkappara (Athirapally is on this route). It's a unique opportunity to experience the rich flora and fauna of Athirapally - Vazhachal ecotourism , covering Kauthukapark, Thumboormuzhy Dam & Butterfly garden, Athirappilly water falls, Vazhachal falls etc. All these points leads to the fact Athirapally is a favorite picnic spot of the people of India. Moreover , this place is a paradise of film makers. Many Indian movie sequences and songs are cinematographed here. They love this location to be included in their frames.
Front View of Athirapally Falls
During Monsoon
The first two pictures in the blog were taken when I had a trip during a north west monsoon season. As you see , there was a huge amount of water falling down , which looked muddy sometimes. Besides , It's a awesome feeling to enjoy the dazzling waterfall during such a climate. The next two snaps were captured during a sunny evening. Although I focused on capturing the star shaped sun into my frames , I didn't forget to hearten the charm of the place. I waited for my moment to get the sun just above the mountain in my frame to capture the last photograph.
Sunny Evening
Sunset
Where to stay in Athirapally
As I hail from Irinjalakuda , which is about 40 kms from Athirapally , I really don't want to stay there to get the fun out of it. People who travels long distance to reach , can make use of resorts and villas nearby. There are some great places like Rainforest Resort (offers a spectacular view of Athirapally falls) , Ceasar Palace Hotel etc. If you think these are costly or don't want a full time experience , stay in any budgetary hotels at Thrissur or Chalakudy and have a trip in the morning time. Moreover ,places like Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary or Munakkal Beach can be visited if you have a long travel plan.
How to reach Athirapally Falls
(Source : www.trawell.in)
By Air. Nearest Airport: Kochi - Cochin International Airport (55 Kms) Direct Flights to Kochi.
By Train. Nearest Train Station: Chalakudy Railway Station (30 Kms) Thrissur Railway Station (55 Kms) ...
By Bus. Nearest Bus Station: Athirapally Bus Station (0 Kms) Chalakudy (30 Kms)
Onam
is a harvesting festival, celebrated by Malayalis , also known as Keralaties(People of Kerala). Irrespective of religion, cast and creed, it’s observed by all the people of the Indian state Kerala. As per Epics (Purana), Keralites, during Onam commemorate the visit of the King Mahabali , who ruled Kerala in the ancient times. It’s believed that the king was very generous and there was no discrimination during his reign.
Raw Banana Chips
Pookkalam
Onam
falls on ‘Chingam’, the first month of the Malayalam calendar. The actual
celebration begins on the day ‘Atham’ and last for another ten days. The
biggest festival is on the day ‘Thiruvonam’ , when the people is at the peak of
joy and enthusiasm. On this day, the front of the houses will be decorated with
flower carpet, known as ‘Pookkalam’, to welcome King Mahabali. A special buffet
lunch, known as ‘Onasadya’ will be prepared and served in each homes. People
also indulge in various traditional games like Thiruvathirakali , Pulikkali ,
Vallam kali (boat race) etc.
Onam Special Buffet Lunch
In
this blog post, I included some of the photos which I took during the Onam
celebrations in last 5 years. The first photo is of the raw banana chips (Kayupperi
or Kaya varuthathu in malayalam), is a famous snack served in Onasadya. It’s supposed to have so many dishes (mostly ten
or more), for the special lunch. But you can’t see it in the snap shared. Commonly a huge ancestral house would go for
a lunch with lots of curries, as there would be a lot of people to help each
other in preparation and cooking. Pookkalam is another peculiarity about Onam,
which I used to draw up with utmost delight.
At present,
Onam celebrations are very minimal for me, whereas I found it well during the
childhood days. Especially when I was in college, we used to prepare very huge
Pookkalam. As there were a lot of talented people included in this activity,
the result was magnificent. The more the head count are there, the more the
festival is blissful.
Moreover there is another attraction , a national park called Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary is situated near to the dam and the reservoir. It's a sanctuary established in 1984 , which is on the western slopes of Nelliyampathi Hills. The highest peak in the sanctuary is Punda peak. The sanctuary consist of the watershed areas of Kurumali river and Muplyam river. To visit the sanctuary , permission should be obtained from wild life warden of Peechi division. It also offers trekking path for the adventure travelers. People can stay at inspection bungalow if they need. It is one of the world’s 25 bio-diversity hot-spots, the haven of innumerable species of endangered plants and animals.
On the way - NH 47
On the way - Agricultural lands
Chimmini Dam - All the shutters are opened
During 2011 September , I visited Chimmini dam. It was a family pleasure trip , just after the Thiruvonam (National festival of Kerala) day. My DSLR was just one month old during this time and I was learning the techniques of it. The atmosphere was cloudy when we reached the location. It started to drizzle when we were seeing the reservoir from the top of the dam. The view was really beautiful while being there. We didn't visit the wildlife sanctuary as it required prior permission and our intention was only for an evening trip.
View of the Chimmini Dam Reservoir
On the way back
Tile Factory - Snap on Return
How to reach Chimmini Dam
Nearest railway station: Thrissur, about 41 km
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 58 km from Thrissur town
If you are coming from Thrissur or Palakkad side , continue on NH 47 and turn left from Amballur junction to drive for another 25 km. If you are from Kochi or Chalakudy turn right at the same junction.
