Riding 'fast' to Kakkayam dam

Riding ‘fast’ to Kakkayam Dam

It’s pretty hard to pass the time during the month of Ramadan. Especially when it’s Sunday. As for riding, I’m not much interested in going for a long ride without my regular breaks for a Sulaimani (Black tea). So all in all, a ride during Ramadan is something most are reluctant to attempt. 


But, last Sunday was too boring; so I decided to take a break in the afternoon. On a whim, I called my cousin and luckily he was at home with his Xtreme by 2:00 pm (My Bull being in the workshop for the past few months). I’ve never tried a ride with an extreme time constraint. I had to be back by 6:50 pm, Iftar time (Breaking Fast). And interestingly  I had no plans for the destination. Anyhow, I left it for my intuition to decide and ordered the wheels to roll. 

Waiting for the ride

Within no time, I was on the road: My second home. Heading straight to the petrol bunk at Atholi for a top up, my mind was doing calculations; and the million dollar question: “Where are you heading toward?”. Two destinations started knocking in my brain, two Dams. Both 50 km away from Atholi.

1. Kuttiyadi Dam (Peruvannamoozhi Dam)

2. Kakkayam Dam.

           
 Now after filling up the tank and waiting at the petrol bunk, it was time to make my decision. The brain got confused and refused to answer, but the heart always has its answer. The heart chose the Latter; Kakkayam Dam.

The Route

Now that I have a destination. The next aim is to reach the dam before they would close the entrance at 4:00 pm. Time was 2:45 pm. So, I throttled up the bike to reach there before time. 

Let me give you a brief introduction of the place. 

Kakkayam is a picturesque dam site situated in Kozhikode. This picnic spot, teeming with exotic wildlife, offers excellent trekking and rock climbing opportunities. The best time to visit here is between November and April. One should go 14 km uphill from Kakkayam to reach the dam's site. On the way to Kakkayam is an exotic location that makes your jaws drop. It’s known as Kariyathan Para. Since I was in a rush to climb up to the dam, I didn’t stop there. Also, I’ve been there a couple of times. Let’s keeps that for some other time. Going forward. Taking a left turn from Ekarool near Balussery, I kept going towards Kakkayam dam skipping the picturesque valleys and waterfalls, so that I could make up to the Dam site. My next stop was near a small waterfall on the road, and I did some experiment with my camera. And believe me, there were hundreds of such falls along the way since it was Monsoon. 

The very first falls

Yet another beautiful fall

Ek Aur...

The last time to enter the Road to Dam is 4:15 pm. Luckily I made it till there just before 4:00 pm. The forest department charged me Rs. 40 to enter. Rs 40 to view a Dam. Isn’t that too much? Anyways, I’ve come here all the way from Atholi. Now there’s no point in turning back. So I decide to proceed.

 It was a good 14 km up the hill through a narrow and zigzagging ghat road. But hats off to the concerned department for keeping the tarmac in such a superb condition despite the monsoon and constant landslides. The road was narrow that two cars can not pass by. Both sides were covered with dense green plants that added to the beauty of the way.

Enroute

The Climate along with the natural scenic beauty kept on getting more and more beautiful as the bike kept climbing up. The temperature was dropping every turn you take and every gear you shift. The mist started appearing that added to the great feel while you ride up. Both the sides of the road were always moving my concentration away from riding safely. I was trying hard to focus on the road but couldn’t help myself but to take breaks and click some snaps every now and then.

Could not resist these scenic views

Poser bike

What a view

After a good 45 min into the ride, I approached a small parking area that had just three or four cars parked there and a few bikes. The lady there asked me to produce the ticket. After showing her the ticket, I turned around to see what was waiting for me.

OH MY GOODNESS!! What a sight. It took my breath away. And my heart skipped a few beats. That was Marvelous maaaaan!!. Such a beautiful sight along with that cold climate was taking me away from the world. No words can possibly describe the feeling I had at the time. No camera in the world can capture that beauty. Nature's spectacular sight can give you goose bumps only if clubbed with the climate you experience there. Its one of the reasons people spend huge amount of money to go to their favorite location. If beauty can be experienced from a picture, a downloaded image would have done wonders.

Random views of valley at the Entrance

The police requested me to fill up and sign their register where I should provide my details. That also include a column for Homeland line number so that they can inform them if something goes wrong.

“Pretty risky area,” I said to myself. The first board that welcomed me was “Photography not allowed on Dam Site.” And I was like “WWWWWHAAAT, Came all the way here and they say, No photography, aaaah!! $#$%@*(!&#@%@”. 

But I was relieved when the policeman said: “Don’t worry, you can take pictures but make sure that you don’t trespass the limits. Stay away from No Entry areas”. I was more than happy to hear this.
Then he asked me:”What makes you travel alone?” to which I did not answer but thought to myself: “Traveling Solo doesn’t mean that you are alone, but it means that Nature is treating you personally.”

It was a short walk of 1.5 kilometers to the dam site. I checked my phone and found that both of my numbers were out of coverage. It was very good to disconnect every string and be alone here so that you can indulge in nature without any distractions. The dam was a pretty small one but pretty attractive with the green algae and most exotic backgrounds. I couldn’t enter many areas since it was blocked. But managed to get a few pictures of dam and its surroundings.

The Idea & Vodafone number you're trying to reach is ..................................

Some Snaps at Dam site

The Kakkayam Dam

I was not alone there

I was actually planning to return after taking a few snaps at the dam site but was informed about a waterfall another 1.5 km ahead. The watch told me that it was already 5:10 pm. I did not offer my obligatory evening prayers. Confused again.

Anyways, not wasting much time I forwarded to the waterfalls in a quicker pace. Just after a 500 meters of I walk I spotted this board called ‘Urakkuzhi’ Waterfalls. A walk of 500 meters through a paved rock road it took me another 10 minutes to reach there. There I spotted a hanging bridge, and I proceeded towards it, even though it was written at the entrance “Entering on this bridge is prohibited as it has not received a fitness certificate yet.”  I just turned towards my right, and I was speechless. Wow man, what a sight!!! That was fantabulous, I was overjoyed. I was wondering whether I was still in Calicut. The sad thing is my camera could not capture the beauty of the place in its glory. Time was ticking, and I had to go back. Wish I had more time. I had to hurry, and I had to run all the way back.

Board showing the way to urakkuzhi falls

The Urakkuzhi Falls

The policeman was waiting there at the entrance. I said to him: “Brother, earlier I thought forty rupees was too much, But now I realize that this is worth it.” Biding my farewell to him, I throttled the bike to its maximum. But had to be careful about the roads. Even though the time was passing, I couldn’t resist but stop again at few places for few more snaps.

On my way back

Into the Mist

The Cloudy hills

The Misty Hilltop

 

I knew I can not make it home for the Iftar (Breakfast) since the time was 6:15 pm when I left Kakkayam town after my prayers. So I called up my aunt and informed that I’ll be there for the Iftar, and she was more than happy to hear that (I think so :D).  I found a sign board that my destination was 23 km and I had 30 minutes with me. Recollecting the scenery I came across a few moments earlier, I thanked myself for giving me a wonderful treat in this Ramadan. I was cruising to my aunt’s house where my chicken biriyani was waiting for me………..