MEGAMALAI - Nature at your doorstep

"Each moment of the year has its own beauty."                                                                              - said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

To decorate your holiday with lots of happiness and cherishable moments you have a very beautiful spot amidst you, very close to you……..it is MEGAMALAI, the abode of bounty nature.

 

Megamalai as the name suggests is truly the home for clouds and heaven for mankind. The place is definitely one among the very few spots where one can witness nature at its best.

ROUTE DIRECTIONS:

• Situated in the Western ghats, Megamalai is between THENI and CUMBUM.
• Travel 22km from THENI towards CUMBUM direction and you reach CHINNAMANUR.
• From CHINNAMANUR take a slight deviation towards the left and travel 43km, you reach MEGAMALAI.
• Apart from this, MEGAMALAI  is also 130km from MADURAI and is well connected by road.

The uphill is a wonderful route with greenery around you in every inch and beautiful view of the Theni town and Cumbum valley accompanying you almost throughout. As you gain altitude the cool breeze smoothly passes over you and you can feel the inhalation of unpolluted, fresh oxygen.

The place is rich in flora and fauna. Though a large number of wild animals have been noticed by the villagers living there, the tourists can notice Lion-Tailed Macaques, deer very commonly and quite rare visitors are the Elephants and Bison. A major portion of the mountain range is thickly populated with Tea estates. Coffee and cardamom plantations also cover a reasonable percentage of the area. There is a small village on top with a very minor population. As we near the town of Megamalai we can witness lots of plantation workers engaged in plucking tea leaves and the other group transporting them to the factories in small tractors and trucks.

Megamalai is said to be the abode of river Vaigai. Another range of Vellimalai is also a part of this Megamalai range and this Vellimalai is at a slight higher altitude of 1650m above sea level. There is a small dam situated here in Megamalai called the MANJALARU DAM. Though the dam is not open to public, a portion of the catchment area is visible as we pass by the road. Also 2-3 temples (quite small) can be seen along the road sides.

The most important and the vital attraction of Megamalai is the big lake that is surrounded by mountains on all sides. It is one of the most beautiful, virgin, calm and unpolluted water body one can witness in their life time. Any one will fall in love with this big lake at their first sight of it. Though there is no such facility like boating in this big water body one can sit along the banks of it, wet their legs and have a wonderful time. It is only safe for people who know proper swimming to get deep inside and have a swim here as it is 20-30 feet deep (it may be even more).

There is no proper accommodation facility available here in Megamalai except for a lone Panchayat guest house with few rooms which can be availed on prior intimation to the concerned authorities. Fortunately there are 2-3 tea shops and snacks shops and they are our saviours. But for those who are very particular about food, it is better to pack and take along with them. Since this hill station is in its very early stages of development not much tourist spots have been developed for the visitors, as of now. So one can have long walks along the trails, amidst the tea estates and enjoy the climate. There are few buses from Theni and Chinnamanur to Megamalai but they are quite rare and cannot  be relied upon for their fixed timings. The bus ticket costs from Rs.10-15 depending on the private or government buses one gets in.

Though this hill station is not much familiar to most of the tourists, contrastingly it has regular visitors from the nearby towns and districts. One full day is comfortably enough to explore this destination (half a day is just correct). Though the place is calm and secluded, it is very much safe for families to go and enjoy the place. It is better and time saving if the tourists can avail their own modes of transport (cars, mini buses, tourist buses, etc). The ghat roads are not much in good condition (as in May 2010), but one can quite comfortably reach the spot.

For all those who want to have a short break from their regular routine, explore the unexplored, have lots of adventure, soothing climate and a definite change from our very own Ooty and Kodaikanal, Megamalai is definitely the right choice and a welcome change. The place is a very good blend of Valparai (for its tea estates) and Kodaikanal (for its climate).