Agasthyamalai — Attraction in Tamil Nadu

Entry to Agastyaarkoodam peak and its surrounding areas is restricted as per Kerala Forest Department. A controlled and defined trek provided by the forest department is accessible only during trekking period defined. Every year trekking starts on Makaravilakku festival in Sabarimala Temple and ends on Sivarathri (Rs.1000/- Per head). Usually, the trek is open for 100 days or during the period by Forest Department only. Only 100 Entry Passes shall be issued each day of the trek and the entry passes are given on first come first serve basis. The service may only be applied by the registered applicants. The department has entrusted guides to handle 10-member groups, who will be departing from Bonakkad forest station at 8 am, to reach the base camp at Athirumala, 16 km into the forest, by evening. The steep 8km-climb to Agastyaarkoodam will begin early morning next day and the travelers will be able to return to the base station by afternoon. Slow trekkers can stay at the base camp for another night before returning to Bonakkad. Trekkers are not allowed to bring alcohol and cigarettes and cooking is restricted inside the forest area. Vehicles reach only till Bonacaud which is around 50 km from Thiruvananthapuram. Elephants and wild bulls are in abundance in this part especially in the evenings. This service is intended for applicants above the age of 14 years. It will be better to go for the non season (as a package tour for 5). During season, though every 2 km there will some camps for rest as well as the weather will be more mild with no rain- hence less risky. All together it is such a nice experience one should surely have. Nearest railway station: Thiruvananthapuram Central, around 61 km from Bonacaud. Nearest airport: Trivandrum International Airport, around 69 km from Bonacaud.This is my second visit to this place. I did visit last year in January and wrote a detailed review titled "Agasthiyarkoodam Trekking 2018"

So, i am not going to write a details again but will list down the changes i observed this year. New travelers can read my last year review first to know the details.

Here are the differences compared to last year trip:

We made the similar travel arrangement from Chennai this year too. We stayed in a hotel near to bus stand in Trivandrum so that we can walk to the bus stand on the morning of 21st Feb 2019. We planned for 3 days trek 21-23 Feb. We used the bus to reach Bonacaud. This is convenient and economical too. The bus fare is 53/- The entry pass price this year is increased to 1000/- from 500/- last year Women are allowed to trek from this year. The Athirimala base station has a separate stay rooms and toilet facilities for ladies. Pooja is not allowed to be performed for Agasthiyar statue at top due to some court order. So there are complete check at the picket station for any pooja materials and are not allowed to take it with you. We took six hours on the first day for trekking from picket station to Athirimal base camp (9:45 AM to 3:45 PM) The Athirimala base camp and canteen is renovated nicely. It is better than last year. The climate on the first day was hot during the trek time but it got very cold in the night during our stay at base camp. Second day weather was very cold and very very windy at the top. Our visibility was reduced to few meters only on the second day. We took 4 hours to reach the top and about 3 hours to climb down on the second day. There are forest officers (including a lady officer) at base camp and they come to top to check. They have put a fencing around The Agasthiyar statue at top. So unlike last year, we can go near the statue and perform pooja. We just have to pray from the distance. The wind was very high especially during the rope climbing and literally pushing us. On the third day we took about 5 hours to reach the picket station. We took 1:30 PM bus from Bonacaud to reach Trivandrum and returned to Chennai by 8:20 PM

It was a good experience overall and happy to be able to complete this trek the...

One of the best trekking experiences in South India spanning a distance of 52km approx up and down..🙀 Usually the forest department allows 100 people daily during the month of January to March in groups with a guard each. Entry fee is ₹1000 per person during the season and ₹2000 per person during off season .You will have to book the tickets online(with a hi-speed wifi😝).Blink and you'll loose your way to paradise.Plastic is not allowed!!!❌

You can take a bus from Trivandrum KSRTC Bus terminal to Bonacaud and ask the conductor where to drop off. From there you will have to walk for atleast 30 min to reach the first base of the trek which is office of forest department. You can have your food from there or have it on the way. Carry many food items,(like groundnut sweet,orange,dates,grapes,water) with you cause this trek is exhaustive.😵

Start the journey atleast by 9 am, so that you can enjoy the view and reach the base of the mountain. You will get coffee and snack approximately costing ₹20.There are places you can bath in waterfalls, don't miss that. 😍At the base, you have toilet and bathroom facilities but I would prefer to bath in the stream nearby. You will be staying in the dormitory there. Dinner will be rice soup, peas, pappad and pickle costing ₹100.

The next day start early, take breakfast with you which will cost something around ₹50. You'll have to walk a bit fast because you can stay at the top for only like 1 pm max. because fog will be heavy and wild elephants will come.❄️ You'll have to climb some places by catching the ropes but it's do-able,not too much hard. You can reach the top and enjoy the view and refreshing cold air and see the Agasthya Saint temple🕉️.Also Neyyar dam is visible from Agasthyamalai.Nowadays worshipping is not allowed by the court.

You can descend the peak by 12 pm and reach the base that evening. You can either choose to go back the same day if you reach the camp early or stay back at the camp. But I would prefer the latter because you can enjoy the mountains, take bath in the cold waters, watch the flora and fauna, sip a cup of coffee, play a music and lie on a flat rock near the camp beside the stream and enjoy the view of the mountain.❤️

You can descend the next day, be careful because descend is hard. Take a stick with you for balancing. You legs will ache that day because of the walk. You can reach the base, inform them you have reached safely and go to Bonacaud,catch a bus to Trivandrum..😍

By far this is the best trip of my life, you can enjoy very well too..2,3 days without any network connection ,and connecting to the nature is also another great experience.I would highly recommend this trip to all the people, visit this place atleast once in your lifetime💯

P.S : Don't take plastic items because those are not allowed. You can take plastic bottles but it will be numbered from the base and you should bring back the same number of bottles as you've taken or else they will not give back the amount you've paid for them. Please don't litter the surroundings, coz this is a world in itself to be maintained by us....

Agasthyarkoodam is a 1,868-metre (6,129 ft)-tall peak of the Pothigai mountain range of Tamil Nadu and within Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala in the Western Ghats of South India. The peak lies on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.This peak is a part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve which lies on the border between the Indian states of Kerala ( in Pathanamthitta , Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts) and Tamil Nadu (in Kanyakumari district, Tirunelveli district). The perennial Thamirabarani Riveroriginates from the eastern side of the range and flows into the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.Agasthyarkoodam is a pilgrimage centre for devotees of the Hindu sage Agastya, who is considered to be one of the seven rishis(Saptarishi) of Hindu Puranas. In Tamil traditions, Agastya is considered as the father of the Tamil language and the compiler of the first Tamil grammar called Agattiyam or Akattiyam and also the Malayalam language is considered to be born from Agasthya. There is a small stone statue of Agathiyar at the top of the peak and the devotees can offer pujas themselves. Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve is among 20 new sites added by UNESCO to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves in March 2016. The International Co-ordinating Council added the new sites during a two-day meeting on March 19, 2016 in Lima, bringing the total number of biosphere reserves to 669 sites in 120 countries, including 16 transboundary sites. Agasthyarkoodam is 32 km from Neyyar Damand 23 km from Bonacaud, near Ponmudi. The major city and airport nearest to Agasthyarkoodam is Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum) and its Trivandrum International Airport, around 61 km away. The nearest railway stations are Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala and Ambasamudram, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu. The trekking path, nearly 35 km, is from Bonacaud. Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve is part of the Agasthyarkoodam range. Part of the peak can be seen from the Upper Kodayar region. Other major rivers which originate from the mountain are the Karamana River, which flows through the Thiruvananthapuram district and is the major source of drinking water to the city, and the Neyyar River (also in the Thiruvananthapuram district). The peak of Agasthyarkoodamcan be reached only by trekking up to it. Trekking is allowed based on strict guidelines and is open to pilgrims during January to mid-March. Trekking passes are issued by Kerala Forest Department from the district office at Trivandrum.The trekking route starts from Bonacaud. The route "Neyyar-Agasthyakoodam" is not open to the public. Vehicles reach only till Bonacaud which is around 50 km from Thiruvananthapuram. The trek to the peak is 20 km long from Bonacaudand requires two days. The first part of the trek can be started from the base station Bonacaud in the early morning and is 14 km through the forest to the camp. Elephants and wild bulls are in abundance in this part especially in the evenings. The final part i.e. the 6 km long trek can be done from the camp to the top of Agathyakoodam mountain on...