Three hour travel trail to Ettikulam Beach & Ezhimala
I was on a personal visit to my home town in the month of Oct 2015 which i usually go and come back after meeting my parents.This time was no different other than that i thought of going to some beach which i came to know from one of my friends who visited when he was in Kerala for my nephew's engagement.The beach is called Ettikulam Beach and this was near the place called Ezhimala where the Indian Naval Academy has come up.Living near by this place, i have never came across this beach's name,but when my friend Mukesh showed me the video of this place i decided to have a look of this place from close quarter.
On a sunny afternoon i decided to go for a travel trail and explore this place.I started my journey from my house through bus and reached Payyanur bus stand.From bus stand i hired a auto to Ettikulam beach.Baiju,that's the name of the auto driver and he soon became very friendly during my journey towards the beach.Alongside the way to the beach,there were small villages and hamlets made in typical Kerala village style with women folks working by the side of their houses.The sight of the villages is so mesmerising that we, who visit Kerala from a heavy life in Bangalore feel that we are from an other world.So refreshing to see the greenery around the place and lakes,coconut trees,traditional wells in houses,its all we see once a while when we visit Kerala.The beach is around ten kms from Payyanur via Payyanur railway station.It took me around forty minutes to reach the place.By the time i reached the place the time was around 3.00pm.The beach is near the Naval Academy and i was able to see two police men guarding the beach.There was no crowd around the beach which surprised me.I asked Baiju why the state of this beach is like this.The answer was the crowd usually comes only after 4.30 pm.
As i started walking through the beach,it was evident that the beach was having a different texture of sand which is different from other beaches.
The beach bay are less in width and so there is less area for the general public to walk through.The tidal waves here along the beach was very unpredictable.I clicked some shots and asked Baiju to move towards the gate side of the Naval Academy just to see how much will be the area of this beach.From here i was able to get a clear picture of the length and breadth of this beach.The coconut trees along the bay was very nostalgic to see from the shore side.
I took some good photos and asked Baiju to just see for what should be the length of this beach.He told we can reach the other side of the beach where we can see the meeting point of the seabed with the lake.I became very eager to reach this place as i have never seen in my life such a sight.The place was some 2-3 kms from the gate side of the Naval Academy where we were now standing.
Soon we reached the other side and there was the sprawling beach with the lake meeting the beach and a long stretch of beach some 2 kms long with the tidal waves going up and down.I was witness to some good boats standing in the bay side and i took some more photos with my point and shoot camera,the sony cyber shot.
As rightly said by Anuradha Goyal, in her blog, that point and shoot is very helpful during a travel tour,the camera was very handy during this three hour trail along the beach.This place need to be brought in the travel map of Kerala as a beach destination as there is immense scope in this area.There can be less scope for hotels but there is every possibility of home stays to be developed in and around this place as this area is a village area with a small traditional population.This will purely give employment to the vast stretch of people in and around this place.Small budget hotels can also be brought in this place.
Soon i thought of now moving back to home.The time was around 4.15pm.I boarded the auto and we started to move.On my way i saw a board stating about the biggest statue of Hanuman in North Kerala and a signboard which was marking the way.I asked Baiju about the place and he was quick to response.He told that the said place is on top of the Ezhimala hill and we can reach the place in next 15 minutes.I told him to embark towards the place.This place was not in my plan at all and it came as a surprise for me that something like this is near to my house but i am not aware of the same.
The journey to the hills is very steep and we reached in the next fifteen minutes,and there was the huge statue of Hanuman.This is the highest idol of Hanuman in Kerala (41 feet)
Ezhimala hills is some 300 mtrs in height above the sea level.This is said to be the historical capital of Mushika kingdom.The name Ezhimala is said in Malayalam as seven hills and this is a group of seven hills surrounding this terrain.In the ancient folklore of Kerala its mentioned that the seven hills are part of the 'Rishabadri' mountain that fell on earth when Lord Hanuman was carrying the mountain with Mrita Sanjivani and other herbs to Sri Lanka.
The Anjaneya statue was installed by Sunson Herbal Products and Surya Trust,Payyanur in memory of U Surendra Shenoy(Founder of Surya Ayurvedics,Payyanur).The huge statue is made of concrete cement and is sculpted by a local artist Mr.K.K.R.Vengara (Some of his works i found here https://www.flickr.com/photos/kkrvengara/ ).
I was awestucked after seeing this humongous statue of Lord Hanuman.I just went up stairs and saw the statue from very close quarters.It was awesome to see one of my favourite god from very close quarters.Just some of the old Ramayana stories were running through my mind while seing this huge statue of Lord Hanuman.
There was a persom who was sitting in the store which sells the ayurvedic products of the Surya Ayurvedics.He told that there is a Muttapan temple next to the statue and there is a sunset point just behind the statue.Myself and Baiju went straight to the sunset point.There was a small platform built with concrete where some 5-6 people can stand and see the sunset.But what i saw was much more than a sunset.The point from where i was seeing the sight,the sea and the sky were looking as one and the same and i was not able to figure out from where the sea starts and end and from where the sky starts and end.The rest of the area was covered by green forest and mountain ranges.It was like a mirage and i was completely dumb stuck by the mere visual of such a sight.If the time would have been before 12 'O' clock them the sight would have been much more worthy.
After spending some time and taking some photos,we came down and went to the Muttappan temple.The temple at that point of time was closed and the priest of the temple told that it will open by 6.00pm.The time was around 5.00pm and waiting till 6.00pm was not feasible for me as i was having some work at my home.I asked Baiju to start the return journey to Payyanur town.I reached the town by around 6.00pm and took anaother auto to my home Kunhimangalam.
This was one of my very hurried trips to a very beautiful place which is still completely unexplored and not very popular in the Kerala Tourism circuit.There are lot of places in Kerala like this which are either not popularised or not taken care of.There is immense potential for the same to be developed.
By writing this piece,i am trying to bring this place in the tourism map of the North Kerala Tourism.For those who want to visit this place
How to reach here
Location:North Kerala
District : Kannur - approximate distance 55-60 kms
Nearest Airport : Karipur airport,Calicut - Approximate distance 150 km
Nearest Railway station: Payyanur railway station- Approximate distance 8-10 km
Nearest town: Ramanthali - Approximate distance 2-3 km.
Accomodation available at Payyanur
Thanks for your patient reading
On a sunny afternoon i decided to go for a travel trail and explore this place.I started my journey from my house through bus and reached Payyanur bus stand.From bus stand i hired a auto to Ettikulam beach.Baiju,that's the name of the auto driver and he soon became very friendly during my journey towards the beach.Alongside the way to the beach,there were small villages and hamlets made in typical Kerala village style with women folks working by the side of their houses.The sight of the villages is so mesmerising that we, who visit Kerala from a heavy life in Bangalore feel that we are from an other world.So refreshing to see the greenery around the place and lakes,coconut trees,traditional wells in houses,its all we see once a while when we visit Kerala.The beach is around ten kms from Payyanur via Payyanur railway station.It took me around forty minutes to reach the place.By the time i reached the place the time was around 3.00pm.The beach is near the Naval Academy and i was able to see two police men guarding the beach.There was no crowd around the beach which surprised me.I asked Baiju why the state of this beach is like this.The answer was the crowd usually comes only after 4.30 pm.
 |
| Ettikulam Beach |
 |
| Ettikulam Beach |
 |
| A boat in Ettikulam Beach |
 |
| Lake which meets the seashore |
 |
| Lake Meeting the Seashore at Ettikulam Beach |
 |
| A boat standing by the seashore at Ettikulam Beach |
The journey to the hills is very steep and we reached in the next fifteen minutes,and there was the huge statue of Hanuman.This is the highest idol of Hanuman in Kerala (41 feet)
 |
| Anjenaya Statue, Ezhimala, Kannur |
The Anjaneya statue was installed by Sunson Herbal Products and Surya Trust,Payyanur in memory of U Surendra Shenoy(Founder of Surya Ayurvedics,Payyanur).The huge statue is made of concrete cement and is sculpted by a local artist Mr.K.K.R.Vengara (Some of his works i found here https://www.flickr.com/photos/kkrvengara/ ).
 |
| Anjenaya Statue, Ezhimala, Kannur |
There was a persom who was sitting in the store which sells the ayurvedic products of the Surya Ayurvedics.He told that there is a Muttapan temple next to the statue and there is a sunset point just behind the statue.Myself and Baiju went straight to the sunset point.There was a small platform built with concrete where some 5-6 people can stand and see the sunset.But what i saw was much more than a sunset.The point from where i was seeing the sight,the sea and the sky were looking as one and the same and i was not able to figure out from where the sea starts and end and from where the sky starts and end.The rest of the area was covered by green forest and mountain ranges.It was like a mirage and i was completely dumb stuck by the mere visual of such a sight.If the time would have been before 12 'O' clock them the sight would have been much more worthy.
 |
| From the sunset point |
This was one of my very hurried trips to a very beautiful place which is still completely unexplored and not very popular in the Kerala Tourism circuit.There are lot of places in Kerala like this which are either not popularised or not taken care of.There is immense potential for the same to be developed.
By writing this piece,i am trying to bring this place in the tourism map of the North Kerala Tourism.For those who want to visit this place
How to reach here
Location:North Kerala
District : Kannur - approximate distance 55-60 kms
Nearest Airport : Karipur airport,Calicut - Approximate distance 150 km
Nearest Railway station: Payyanur railway station- Approximate distance 8-10 km
Nearest town: Ramanthali - Approximate distance 2-3 km.
Accomodation available at Payyanur
Thanks for your patient reading
Please share your thoughts & comments.
Join my Facebook page :https://www.facebook.com/SujithPhotostream
Follow me on twitter : https://twitter.com/sujith768
Follow me on Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sujith768/
Follow me on twitter : https://twitter.com/sujith768
Follow me on Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sujith768/
Copyrights Sujith Nair - ©SujithPhotography
All rights reserved 2015
Comments
Post a Comment