Kollam - Cashew Capital of the World

Kollam -- Cashew capital of the World

Videos on   Kollam

Kollam - its backwaters - Mayanad  ,Ashtamudi lake

Kollam (IPA: [koɭɭəm]) or Quilon (Coulão), formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast in Kerala, India on Ashtamudi Lake.  Kollam is known as the "Cashew Capital of the World", Kollam is noted for its traditional cashew business and is home to more than 600 cashew-processing units. Every year, about 800,000 tonnes of raw cashews are imported into the city for processing and an average of 130,000 tonnes of processed cashews are exported to various countries worldwide

Kollam is the Cashew Capital of the World

Kollam's rich history

Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels. Desinganadu's rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Persian merchant Sulaiman al-Tajir found Kollam to be the only port in India visited by huge Chinese junks. Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin.

V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began (824 AD) and Quilon became the premier city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore and Cochin.  Kollam Port was founded by Mar Sabor at Thangasseri in 825 as an alternative to reopening the inland sea port of Kore-ke-ni Kollam near Backare (Thevalakara), which was also known as Nelcynda and Tyndis to the Romans and Greeks and as Thondi to the Tamils.

Below are the must visit places in Kollam

1 Neendakara 

Neendakara is a village in Kollam district 9 km north of Kollam city in Kerala, India. It is Kollam district's intermediate fishing port. Neendakara is 30 km north of Paravur.

Neendakara - Atilla of fishing boats

When Portuguese traders settled in Kollam (then Quilon) in the early 16th century, their ships passed through the Neenadakara bar, now the site of Neendakara Bridge, part of National Highway 47, which connects the village to Sakthikulangara across Ashtamudi Lake. In Malayalam, Neendakara means "a long bank".

The headquarters of the Indo-Norwegian Fisheries Community project, established in 1953, was based in Neendakara until 1961, when the site was handed over to the Government of Kerala

2 Tangasseri Lighthouse or Thangassery Lighthouse 
This is situated in Tangasseri, near Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of two lighthouses in the Kollam Metropolitan Area and is maintained by the Chennai Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships. In operation since 1902, the cylindrical lighthouse tower painted with white and red oblique bands has a height of 41 metres (135 ft), making it the tallest lighthouse on the Kerala Coast. (This lighthouse tower is opened for visitors only during the evenings from 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.)

Thangassey Lighthouse

Prior to construction of the lighthouse, the British East India company had installed a tower with an oil lamp. In 1902 they commissioned Tangasseri Lighthouse, which by 1930 had suffered cracks in the tower that required jacketing masonry to be installed.

The lighthouse is located on the coast at Tangasseri in Kollam city and is the only location in India that still maintains Anglo-Indian culture. Tangasseri is home to remnants of an ancient Portuguese built coastal defence, the St Thomas Fort, a Portuguese Cemetery, a canal, the ancient port of Quilon and the Infant Jesus Cathedral.

3 Munroe Island
Located 27 km from Kollam, is Munroe Island. Formed by the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake and Kallada River, this island is named after Colonel Munroe, the British Resident of erstwhile Travancore State. He is credited with having integrated several backwater regions by digging canals. The discovery of stone age tools and megaliths stand testimony to the antiquity of this islet which shelters a quaint little village.

Munroe Islands - ideal for cruise

A unique country craft cruise is offered by DTPC at Munroe Island in this  typical backwater Island village of Kerala, Morning Cruise from 0900 hrs & Afternoon Cruise  from 1400 hrs

4 The Thirteen Arch Bridge
The Kollam–Sengottai branch line is a railway line in South India which connects Kollam ... The 13 Kannara bridge or 13 Arch Bridge (Pathimoonu kannara palam) is a 108–year–old bridge at Kazhathuruthi. The bridge consists of 13 arches.

13 arch bridge

5 Thenmala
Thenmala is a tourist place near Punalur town, Kollam district in Kerala. Thenmala is the first planned eco-tourism destination in India. The Thenmala dam was built across Kallada River. Thenmala is famous for being the shooting location in Malayalam and Tamil movies.

Kallada Irrigation Project - Thenmala

Thenmala attracts foreign and domestic tourists with a host of attractions. Boating on the lake, a rope bridge, trekking, mountaineering, biking and a musical fountain.  Thenmala is approachable both from Trivandrum and Punalur by road. The waterfall called Palaruvi is a prime attraction nearby.


Watch this space for more on Kollam!!

Trek to Narayangiri & Kayaking in Manchanabele Dam – 13 & 14 MAY 2016

View from Narayangiri hills

"Jobs fill your pocket, adventures fill you soul."

This trek was a first of all sorts. Reason : This was the first time a trek plus get2gether planned by our friends from Kendriya Vidyalaya (Vizag Steel). Our friends Srinivas, Vamsi, Rajeev, Soman, Manmeet, Veena, Kanchan joined this trek. We had additional members for this trek : Hemanth – Kanchan’s husband and Kanchan’s colleague/friend Divya.

Also the trek was planned to Ramanagara (where the famous blockbuster movie Sholay was shot), God had different plans for us – the rain god department played truant by dispatching a heavy rain to Ramanagara and almost all of Bangalore.

Narayangiri hills

The Narayangiri hills lies on Jalamangala village which is around 20 Kms from Ramnagara and is famously known for the boulders and vast number of caves. This mountain is 3800 feet in height and has something very interesting things for everyone to explore.  Also there is a small temple built in peak having idol of Lakshmi Narasimha which is open to devotees only on weekends, also there are parts of many forts which was constructed by the local ruler under surveillance of maharajas of Mysore (Wodeyar Dynasty) in 16th century. Remains of the fort are like encircling the mountain which can be seen from the peak. Also there are vast number of natural caves, which can explored on the way to peak, you can find the footsteps near the foothills up to a point and then start trekking by entering the thick forests of Jalamangala which hosts many small wildlife.

Narayangiri Hills

2300 HRS : Our Tata winger van arrived . Wow .. I was extremely happy to meet all my friends !  

Baba was our driver + guide – Yes the same baba jaan whom I had mentioned in my Antharagange trek!

We embarked on an exciting night trek to Ramanagara. However upon reaching the base station, Swamy (the in charge of trek organizer) informed that rains had made it impossible to trek the Ramanagara route. He suggested the Narayanagiri trek. We discussed among our friends and soon started moving to Narayanagiri Base. We reached by  by 1230-1245 PM. Upon arrival, the sight of scorpions near parking area sent up shivers down the spine!

We were joined by another bus load of trekkers and then we all started climbing the steep Narayangiri hills. The terrain was full of rocks, mud & we crossed dense foliage and shrubs! Babajaan did inform me that this was a difficult trek involving 4 km – with steep inclines.  He also mentioned that this area gets frequent wild life visitors (sloth bears) from the neighboring forest !

There was mother and kid from the other trekker group. We also had Mr.Shakthi and his son whom we had met in the Antharagange trek!

Tip  : Bringing children below 6-7 years might not be the best idea as these treks require stamina and the child might find it difficult to do such treks!

We arrived close to the peak by 0230 hrs & took a break – now the entire terrain was rocky. Small steps were cut into the rocky surface and rods were fixed at certain places as handrails.  We reached the peak by 0300 hrs. Baba and his assistants quickly made a bonfire. Our group was able to enjoy a relaxing bonfire. We chatted for quite some time… Roasted a few corn cobs on bonfire. Also snacks were shared by thoughtful members who prepared and packed them for this moment. Dr. Soman performed a micro surgery on Manmeet’s "injured finger”. Dr.Kanchan’s help was also enlisted to remove the wicked thorn – Operation was declared a Success..probably at the insistence of the doctors!  

I decided to wear my jacket and sleep inside the cozy sleeping bag- obviously I just cannot miss my sleep! I dreamt of the galactic clouds, nebula, Andromeda galaxy and milky way galaxy that Srini had spotted and shown. Yes.. you can watch the starry sky, galactic clouds and galaxies from these mountains on a clear sky.

By sunrise, my friends were up and taking pictures of the sunrise near the Laxmi-Narayana temple

We started to descend downhill from the peak by 07:00 AM. I do not have words to describe Mother Nature’s beauty at Narayangiri. I could not believe that we had trekked through such beautiful locations. The descent is not simple as we need to carefully place our steps (as per guides advice) on rocky terrain and climb down.

Our Guide - Mr.Baba who led us through uncharted and unfamiliar territories...safely!

Tip : Follow the guide/guru’s instructions – Donot try to be creative!

Please carry your garbage back to base for safe disposal - respect mother nature!

Mr.Baba's assistant ! The Steep descent from Narayangiri hills.  

We found mango plantations at the base. Kanchan took the intiative to collect the mangoes…. Soon the entire group was relishing on the harvested mangoes. I chatted up with the locals and got to know that the government was planning a 700 step route to the temple. They did inform that it takes one day to cut a step on the rock!

Post this, we reached the base camp by 08:00 AM.  Baba drove us through some very tough terrain to the camp site of escape2explore at Manchanabele Dam. We freshened up and attacked a delicious buffet breakfast. Swamy briefed us about the kayaking activity with dos and donts.

Escape2explore does conduct programs for corporates wrt team building at Manchanabele – combining it with water sports.

We wore safety jackets and got into kayaks. This was a first for most of the friends except Veena. Kayaking through azure blue waters of Arkavathi river cannot be described – you need to just do kayaking to experience the thrill and fun.

Manchinabele backwaters

Manchanabele dam a reservoir, about 40kms from Bangalore was built for irrigation purpose across the river Arkavathi. This place is a well known film shooting spot. Backwaters at the dam with Savanadurga on the backdrop, make it very picturesque.  The dam may not be an exciting piece of architecture but what takes your breath away is the beauty of the water and the mountains around them. It is an excellent picnic spot. Various adventure activities are offered by escape2explore like rappelling, kayaking, swimming,  paintball. 



Please carry your trash back. It’s disheartening to see a lot of people litter and spoil the beauty of the backwaters.

Kayaking in Manchinabele dam

Post the water sports and swimming session, we hopped into our Tata Winger and drove back to the Bangalore city. We bid goodbye to each other with a promise to meet at Barleyz for dinner!
We hope to meet more often and for treks and sports activity.

Our Tata Winger Van

At AntharaGange on 01 May 2016 !

Unforgettable Sunrise at Antara gange

You can find success before work only in fairy tales and dictionaries!

In actual life – it invariably arrives after hard work and imaginative toil

There is always a battle to be fought before it is won

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth

Two incidents to share before we start on the trekking expedition: First I recollect my meeting in March 2016 with my school friend Siddharth Kapoor! He said a sentence – Raghu I visited Himalayas, but sadly there were no Indians in the expeditions. That is when he started his adventure sports startup named Dare2Venture to educate, enlighten, inspire and provide reliable trekking services into Himalayas/Mt Everest & on Norh east India circuit.

Secondly, I remember my phone call to my parents when I told them about the night trek to Antara Gange. They were anxious and concerned for me just said – please take care and be safe!  Do not try funny (read adventurous) things. They asked me if I would be entering into any water bodies. These concerns were in the right place. Reason - There had been alarming number of incidents of trekkers entering forests and water bodies without experienced guides resulting in tragic incidents and accidents.   I did explain to them that this night trek was a relatively simpler one and being conducted by regular and well experienced operator for a group of 60 -70 enthusiasts.

About The Anthargange trek : This trek is one of the most sought after trek around Bangalore. It's the combination of trekking and cave exploration that drives the excitement factor. Anthargange hill is completely surrounded by boulders. Located around 65km from Bangalore near Kolar, this hill is at an altitude of 1712m above sea level. Anthargange night trip is perfect for trekking and night cave exploration. Around 3km trek is pretty moderate as the journey begins by making your way through broken rocks and tricky path in the boulders to finally reaching the cave site to probe. This amazing experience of making your way through the formation and crawling at times because of the cave's volcanic rock formation is a tale worth sharing.

The experience at Anthargange cave takes you back to the primeval times. And you finally get to be a "Cave Man".

About Antara Gange  - Antara Gange is a mountain situated in the Shathashrunga mountain range in the southeastern portion of the Indian state of Karnataka. Antara Gange literally means "Ganges from deep" in Kannada. It is about two miles from the town of Kolar and seventy kilometers from Bangalore. Antara Gange is famous for the temple situated on the mountain. 

Antharagange temple

In the temple is a pond which gets a continuous flow of underground water from the mouth of a Basava (stone bull). There is a steep, narrow path to the top of the mountain. There are seven villages on this mountain, including Therhalli. The mountain consists of granite rocks and lot of caves around. 

The trekking program  does not cover this temple visit.

1, 2, 3 and Off to Antargange

2230  hrs - The promised pickup arrived in the form of a 50-55 seater bus and I was only happy to start this new experience by hopping into it. I was happy that my school friend Kanchan was in this big group of trekkers. We made new friends Vaman, Ankit, Ashish!

Friends are like amazing places! Some friends and places are known to us since school / childhood days and some very new places are like the very new friends you make when you visit new places!

The bus driver went full throttle and zipped zapped through and out of Bangalore after Tin factory / KR puram. After entering Kolar, the bus driver had to engage the vehicle on first gear and negotiate several wicked hairpins before reaching Antargange base Kolar).

0100 hrs – We reached the base and were greeted with large rocks and boulders that looked menacing and ready to roll on to us! All the participants were eager to start off the trek. We were given big sticks and sleeping bags to carry. I asked my friends if the stick was being given as a form of defense against possible wild animal encounters.

Trek commenced immediately when our guide  coordinator Mr. Baba ( am going to call him baba jaan as he had our jaan (life) with him ) told all participants to take a right and start walking through a field (instead of the road).

trek and cave exploration - Antaragange!

We crossed through difficult, rocky and challenging terrain dotted by cactus and thorny plants before reaching the mysterious caves (or clefts) formed by numerous volcanic rocks.

The caves have several and difficult gaps through which enthusiasts need to slide out. In certain places, the gap between clefts/rocks are just wide enough for a medium sized person! In certain other places were helped by babajan who held our hand and gave us a pulling move to take us to a higher rock!

We completed the cave explorations and emerged into the open ground surruounded by the same rock mountains
.

We could now enjoy the view of starry skies and the millions of lights below in Kolar .

Bonfire was lit by Babajaan and his assistant Junior baba. Several of the enthusaisats danced to popular Punjabi and hindi songs! My friends climbed on to rocks to enjoy the beautiful views! I was feeling sleepy and opened the sleeping bag. I slept comfortably for next 3 hours

0600 hrs I was woken up by the howling and cold winds. I wore my jacket and climbed higher rocks with Ashish and Ankit to witness the amazing sunrise!

Antharagange - view from the hilltop

0700 hrs – my friends called me and told me that Babajaan had given instructions to move back to the base where our bus was parked. We bid bye to Antarganga and I wished more of our friends could join this trek and witness this natural wonder!

Back at base for return!

Winding roads -- way back!

We had breakfast at Kamath hotel((Kolar) by 0800hrs and were served hot & crispy dosa, kara pongal and idlis. This part of the program was very quick as all enthusiasts were having voracious appetite! The late comers were welcomed by sight of empty vessels that once held sweet pongal, kara pongal, soft idlis and crispy dosas. They had to be content with simple cut papaya & the fast finishing coffee!     

0900 hrs - We crossed Tin factory - KR Puram by 0900 hrs. I said bye to my friends and hopped off the bus. I caught the first available bus to MG road& got down at Trinity to collect my bike from office! As I got off the bus, I heard the evergreen and popular song from blockbuster movie Roja being played in a car by AR Rahman sir’s fan  

Chinna Chinna Aasai Siragadikum Aasai

Muthu Muthu Aasai Mudinthuvaitha Aasai

Vennilavu Thottu Muthamida Aasai

Ennai Intha Bhoomi Sutrivara Aasai

The translation is,

I like to do small things, I like to fly like a bird

My dreams are like small pearls, I like my dreams to come true soon

I have a liking to touch the moon and give a kiss

I want to travel around the world!

I reached home before 10:00hrs. Now you can guess what happened … I slept like a log!  

Antara ganga is a must visit and perfect night trek spot that need to be visited in a large group and with proper preparation guidance from a well experienced operator like Escape2explore http://www.escape2explore.com/   

I hope that this travelogue will serve as an insightful article for all my readers and friends who want to kick start their trekking programs! Bye for now and do take care! Wishing you happy times ahead…

Also check photos on 
Anthargange Photos on Instagram