Kerala tourism Guide

Ponmudi or the golden crown is a beautiful hill station blessed with natural beauty and scenic splendor in the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram district. It is a beautiful picnic spot to relax and rejuvenate and escape from the hectic pace and monotony of city life during the weekends. This is a trekker’s paradise with tea gardens, streamside forests, gurgling brooks, real rain forests, spice plantations and wildlife in abundance. Ponmudi hill station is situated at a height of 3002 feet above sea level and 60 kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram. You have to maneuver through narrow winding roads and 22 hairpin bends to reach this place. Ponmudi is part of the Western Ghats mountain range and home to many beautiful mountain flowers, exotic butterflies, springs and rivulets. Ponmudi is home to many endangered species of birds and some of the birds native to this place are the Malabar Grey Hornbill, Painted Bush Quail, Broad-tailed Grass Bird, Nilgiri Pipit and Wayanad laughing thrush. Ponmudi also has many species of reptiles and amphibians like flying frog, Malabar tree toad and endangered Travancore tortoise. Some of the tourist attractions of Ponmudi are the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, golden valley, echo Point, Ponmudi Falls, Mist-laden valleys, Meenmutty Falls, deer park, variety of orchids growing in the wilderness and Agasthyarkoodam one of the highest peaks in the Western Ghats. They is a small zoo in Ponmudi where you can see barasingas or swamp deer’s leisurely strolling and various other trekking spots. Ponmudi has many tourist accommodations in the form of cottages maintained by Kerala tourism Development Corporation.